EURO 2024 Copenhagen
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2545. Optimal decision control for a mixed fleet emergency medical services system with dispatch protocols for ALS ambulances using semi-Markov decision processes.

Invited abstract in session MA-10: EMS logistics, stream OR in Health Services (ORAHS).

Monday, 8:30-10:00
Room: 11 (building: 116)

Authors (first author is the speaker)

1. Stelios Koukoumialos
Business Administration, University of Thessaly
2. Giannis Kechagias
Department of Economics, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
3. Alexandros Diamantidis
Department of Economics, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
4. Theodosis Dimitrakos
Mathematics, University of the Aegean

Abstract

A mathematical model for the analysis of an Emergency Medical Service (EMS) system with a specific number of advanced life support ambulances (ALS) and a specific number of basic life support ambulances (BLS) is presented in this work. The system admits incoming emergency calls which are divided into two classes: (i) urgent, high-priority calls for which the patient’s life is potentially at risk and (ii) less urgent, low-priority calls. Advanced life support units can serve both calls, while basic life support units handle only low-priority calls. The system either serves the incoming calls or forwards them to other systems if there are not enough ambulances for serving. Under a suitable cost structure, the system is modeled using an appropriate Markov decision process in continuous time for which we seek a stationary policy that minimizes a predefined optimality criterion for vehicle mixes over a set of candidate ambulance fleets. Based on this formulation, it is possible to implement standard Markov decision algorithms, such as the standard value-iteration algorithm and the standard policy- iteration algorithm.

Keywords

Status: accepted

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