Operations research/management contributions to emergency department patient flow optimization: Review and research prospects

Soroush Saghafian; Garrett Austin; Stephen J. Traub

doi:10.1080/19488300.2015.1017676

Operations research/management contributions to emergency department patient flow optimization: Review and research prospects

Soroush Saghafian, Garrett Austin, Stephen J. Traub

Emergency Medicine

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

64 Scopus citations

Abstract

In recent years, Operations Research/Management (OR/OM) has had a significant impact on improving the performance of hospital Emergency Departments (EDs). This includes improving a wide range of processes involving patient flow from the initial call to the ED through disposition, discharge home, or admission to the hospital. We review approximately 350 related papers to (i) demonstrate the influence of OR/OM in EDs, and (ii) assist both researchers and practitioners with the OR/OM techniques already available to optimize ED patient flow. In addition, we elaborate on some practical challenges yet to be addressed. By shedding light on some less studied aspects that can have significant impacts on ED operations, we also discuss important possibilities for future OR/OM researchers.

Original language	English (US)
Pages (from-to)	101-123
Number of pages	23
Journal	IIE Transactions on Healthcare Systems Engineering
Volume	5
Issue number	2
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1080/19488300.2015.1017676
State	Published - Apr 3 2015

Keywords

Operations research/management
emergency department
operational efficiency
patient flow
patient safety

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Safety, Risk, Reliability and Quality
Safety Research
Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health

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10.1080/19488300.2015.1017676

Cite this

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Operations research/management contributions to emergency department patient flow optimization: Review and research prospects

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Keywords

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