EURO 2024 Copenhagen
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4265. Optimizing Patient Flow and Personnel Welfare in Emergency Departments: A Multi-objective Approach

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

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

Authors (first author is the speaker)

1. Burak Pac
Industrial Engineering, Gebze Technical University

Abstract

Emergency room overcrowding remains a significant challenge in healthcare systems worldwide, often involving several-hour-long waiting times for patients and creating a stressful, intense environment for physicians and nurses. Traditional strategies, such as redirecting arriving ambulances to alternative emergency departments, have limitations in fully optimizing patient flow and resource allocation. This study presents a novel approach to address this issue by systematically redirecting patient demand to specific emergency departments, integrating real data analysis with system modeling. The primary objectives include minimizing system time for patients, ensuring equitable emergency room crowding levels, and maximizing emergency physician and nurse welfare by accommodating their preferences regarding location and shift schedules across a network of public emergency medical centers within the city. By considering factors such as travel times, patient volume, and service durations, the proposed methodology aims to optimize system performance using multi-objective computing budget allocation for non-dominated sorting particle swarm optimization. Additionally, the study explores the use of genetic programming as an alternative approach. This research offers a comprehensive solution to the complexities of patient flow management in emergency departments, with promising implications for practical implementation in healthcare systems.

Keywords

Status: accepted

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