Publications

Resource Requirements Planning for Hospitals Treating Serious Infectious Disease Cases

Vugrin, Eric D.; Verzi, Stephen J.; Finley, Patrick D.; Turnquist, Mark A.; Wyte-Lake, Tamar W.; Griffin, Ann R.; Ricci, Karen J.; Plotinsky, Rachel P.

This report presents a mathematical model of the way in which a hospital uses a variety of resources, utilities and consumables to provide care to a set of in-patients, and how that hospital might adapt to provide treatment to a few patients with a serious infectious disease, like the Ebola virus. The intended purpose of the model is to support requirements planning studies, so that hospitals may be better prepared for situations that are likely to strain their available resources. The current model is a prototype designed to present the basic structural elements of a requirements planning analysis. Some simple illustrati ve experiments establish the mo del's general capabilities. With additional inve stment in model enhancement a nd calibration, this prototype could be developed into a useful planning tool for ho spital administrators and health care policy makers.