Automated Bed Assignments in a Complex and Dynamic Hospital Environment

• Published in: Interfaces (Providence) Vol. 43; no. 5; pp. 435 - 448
• Main Authors: Thomas, Bex George, Bollapragada, Srinivas, Akbay, Kunter, Toledano, David, Katlic, Peter, Dulgeroglu, Onur, Yang, Dan
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Linthicum INFORMS 01-09-2013; Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences
• Subjects: Analysis; Asset management; Assignment problem; Automation; Beds; Cloud computing; Costs; Decision making; Decision support systems; Electrical equipment and supplies industry; Emergency medical care; Goal programming; Health centres; Health services; Hospital administration; hospital bed management; Hospital management; Hospital services; Hospital staff; Hospitals; Human error; Literature reviews; Mathematical programming; New York; Optimization; Patient satisfaction; Patients; Studies; U.S.A; Iran; United States; United States > US
• ISSN: 0092-2102; 2644-0865; 1526-551X; 2644-0873
• DOI: 10.1287/inte.2013.0701

Bed management, an important function of any hospital, has a major impact on patient care, patient flow, patient and staff satisfaction, and ultimately on the hospital’s operating margin. A key challenge in bed management is optimizing the bed-assignment process in a complex and dynamic operating environment. Efficient bed assignment requires the merging of clinical information, hospital operations information, interdependencies between units, and real-time information on patients, resources, and workflows. We have developed analytical decision support tools with embedded mathematical models to periodically recommend bed-patient assignments. Using an innovative mixed-integer goal-programming modeling approach, we are able to accommodate the multiple goals and complex operating rules of different hospitals. We implemented and hosted our prototype bed-assignment solution as a cloud-based application for Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York.