Recent Modeling and Analytical Advances in Hospital Inpatient Flow Management

• DOI: 10.1111/poms.13132
• Publication Date: 2019-11-15T13:38:47Z
• Authors: Jim G. Dai; Pengyi Shi
• Keywords: Leverage (statistics); Inpatient care

Inpatient flow management plays a critical role in care delivery, patient outcomes, and hospital operational financial costs. Modeling performance analysis of inpatient present unique features challenges that differ from operations other service industries. In this study, we review recent modeling analytical advances the setting management, with particular focus on time models motivated observations discharges. We first compare two new developed to capture time‐of‐day dynamics, reveal interesting connections between models. then methods analyze systems Based one method, which is amenable one‐dimensional exact under certain conditions, further introduce its approximations have explicit forms enable efficient computations large systems. particular, showcase how leverage powerful tool, Stein’s method framework, for steady‐state characterizing error bounds. conclude study by literature important aspects propose future research directions, both perspectives.