A compartmental model to describe acute medical in-patient flow through a hospital
Managing patient flow in hospitals is a critical part of effective secondary care. Considering a hospital as a multi-compartment system through which patients pass, we will derive relevant equations to allow a description of patient flow through these departments as a series of interconnected dynami...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2025-02-01
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| Series: | Heliyon |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405844025006401 |
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| author | Tahani Al-Karkhi Kit Byatt |
| author_facet | Tahani Al-Karkhi Kit Byatt |
| author_sort | Tahani Al-Karkhi |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Managing patient flow in hospitals is a critical part of effective secondary care. Considering a hospital as a multi-compartment system through which patients pass, we will derive relevant equations to allow a description of patient flow through these departments as a series of interconnected dynamic relationships. These relationships are determined by many factors, some known, and many interdependent. We do not need to, and indeed cannot, know all of these factors (as needed for discrete event simulation, or agent-based modelling), but will merely examine the net changes between compartments (i.e. a ‘system dynamics’ approach). Using this approach, we were able to identify two relevant states of equilibrium: the first (trivial) is when the hospital is empty; the second, is when there is activity. We plan to use bed usage data from a UK hospital in an attempt to validate this methodology and then assess its generalizability. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-1878a14ca9784cf09153392b077c5bb7 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2405-8440 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-02-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Heliyon |
| spelling | doaj-art-1878a14ca9784cf09153392b077c5bb72025-02-02T05:29:03ZengElsevierHeliyon2405-84402025-02-01113e42260A compartmental model to describe acute medical in-patient flow through a hospitalTahani Al-Karkhi0Kit Byatt1School of Mathematics, Statistics and Actuarial Science (SMSAS), University of Essex, Wivenhoe Park, Colchester CO4 3SQ, United Kingdom; Corresponding author.Consultant Geriatrician, Independent Medical PractitionerManaging patient flow in hospitals is a critical part of effective secondary care. Considering a hospital as a multi-compartment system through which patients pass, we will derive relevant equations to allow a description of patient flow through these departments as a series of interconnected dynamic relationships. These relationships are determined by many factors, some known, and many interdependent. We do not need to, and indeed cannot, know all of these factors (as needed for discrete event simulation, or agent-based modelling), but will merely examine the net changes between compartments (i.e. a ‘system dynamics’ approach). Using this approach, we were able to identify two relevant states of equilibrium: the first (trivial) is when the hospital is empty; the second, is when there is activity. We plan to use bed usage data from a UK hospital in an attempt to validate this methodology and then assess its generalizability.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405844025006401DynamicsModelling bed usageStability analysisBifurcation analysis |
| spellingShingle | Tahani Al-Karkhi Kit Byatt A compartmental model to describe acute medical in-patient flow through a hospital Heliyon Dynamics Modelling bed usage Stability analysis Bifurcation analysis |
| title | A compartmental model to describe acute medical in-patient flow through a hospital |
| title_full | A compartmental model to describe acute medical in-patient flow through a hospital |
| title_fullStr | A compartmental model to describe acute medical in-patient flow through a hospital |
| title_full_unstemmed | A compartmental model to describe acute medical in-patient flow through a hospital |
| title_short | A compartmental model to describe acute medical in-patient flow through a hospital |
| title_sort | compartmental model to describe acute medical in patient flow through a hospital |
| topic | Dynamics Modelling bed usage Stability analysis Bifurcation analysis |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405844025006401 |
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