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Healthcare
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Evaluation and Potential of Effective Decision-Making in Healthcare
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Evaluation and Potential of Effective Decision-Making in Healthcare

A special issue of Healthcare (ISSN 2227-9032). This special issue belongs to the section "Health Policy".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 28 February 2025 | Viewed by 3560

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Marion Sabine Rauner

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Business Decisions and Analytics, Faculty of Business, Management, and Statistics, University of Vienna, Oskar-Morgen-Stern-Platz 1, A-1090 Vienna, Austria
Interests: public and non-profit management; disaster management; health care management; strategic management; disease policy modeling; technology assessment
Prof. Dr. Doris A. Behrens

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
1. Department of Economy and Health, Faculty of Health and Medicine, University of Continuing Education Krems, 3500 Krems an der Donau, Austria
2. Employee Wellbeing Service, Aneurin Bevan University Health Board, Llanfrechfa Grange, Cwmbran NP44 8YN, UK
Interests: operation research in healthcare; systems thinking/dynamics in healthcare; public health

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The Special Issue on "Evaluation and Potential of Effective Decision-Making in Healthcare" seeks to bring together a diverse array of research, insights, and innovations aimed at enhancing decision-making processes within the healthcare domain. In an era characterised by rapidly evolving medical technologies, demographic shifts, and growing patient expectations, the ability to make informed, timely, and cost-effective decisions is paramount. Therefore, this Special Issue calls for illustrative policy examples that evaluate the potential of decision-support systems, considering suitable cost and effectiveness parameters from a societal perspective for an appropriate time horizon. We welcome contributions based on simulation and mathematical analytics as well as conceptual and theoretical papers in that field. By showcasing cutting-edge research and practical solutions, this Special Issue seeks to empower healthcare professionals, policymakers, and stakeholders with the knowledge and tools needed to understand the impact of policy and regulation on healthcare choices, navigate the complex landscape of healthcare decision-making and ultimately improve patient outcomes.

Dr. Marion Sabine Rauner
Prof. Dr. Doris A. Behrens
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Healthcare is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • healthcare
  • system analysis
  • decision-making
  • policy modelling
  • decision-support systems
  • cost-effectiveness analysis
  • simulation

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue polices can be found here.

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

34 pages, 963 KiB  
Article
Evaluating the Impact of the Level of Robustness in Operating Room Scheduling Problems
by Bernardetta Addis, Giuliana Carello and Elena Tanfani
Healthcare 2024, 12(20), 2023; https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare12202023 - 11 Oct 2024
Viewed by 465
Abstract
Managing uncertainty in surgery times presents a critical challenge in operating room (OR) scheduling, as it can have a significant impact on patient care and hospital efficiency. Objectives: By incorporating robustness into the decision-making process, we can provide a more reliable and adaptive [...] Read more.
Managing uncertainty in surgery times presents a critical challenge in operating room (OR) scheduling, as it can have a significant impact on patient care and hospital efficiency. Objectives: By incorporating robustness into the decision-making process, we can provide a more reliable and adaptive solution compared to traditional deterministic approaches. Materials and methods: In this paper, we consider a cardinality-constrained robust optimization model for OR scheduling, addressing uncertain surgery durations. By accounting for patient waiting times, urgency levels and delay penalties in the objective function, our model aims to optimise patient-centred outcomes while ensuring operational resilience. However, to achieve an appropriate balance between resilience and robustness cost, the robustness level must be carefully tuned. In this paper, we conduct a comprehensive analysis of the model’s performance, assessing its sensitivity to robustness levels and its ability to handle different uncertainty scenarios. Results: Our results show significant improvements in patient outcomes, including reduced waiting times, fewer missed surgeries and improved prioritisation of urgent cases. Key contributions of this research include an evaluation of the representativeness and performance of the patient-centred objective function, a comprehensive analysis of the impact of robustness parameters on OR scheduling performance, and insights into the impact of different robustness levels. Conclusions: This research offers healthcare providers a pathway to increase operational efficiency, improve patient satisfaction, and mitigate the negative effects of uncertainty in OR scheduling. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Evaluation and Potential of Effective Decision-Making in Healthcare)
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12 pages, 3839 KiB  
Article
Capacity Planning of Virtual Wards for Frail and Elderly Patients
by Harriet Grange, Gemma Johns, Alka Ahuja, Paul Harper, Elizabeth Williams and Daniel Gartner
Healthcare 2024, 12(5), 533; https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare12050533 - 23 Feb 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1620
Abstract
This paper investigates the planning of virtual ward (VW) capacity including the remote monitoring of frail and elderly patients. The main objective is to optimize VW hub locations across a region in the United Kingdom. Furthermore, assigning the optimal number of clinicians to [...] Read more.
This paper investigates the planning of virtual ward (VW) capacity including the remote monitoring of frail and elderly patients. The main objective is to optimize VW hub locations across a region in the United Kingdom. Furthermore, assigning the optimal number of clinicians to different regions needs to be considered. We develop a mathematical model that minimizes the setup and travel costs of VW hubs and staff. Our experimental analysis evaluates different levels of demand considering postcode areas within different Trusts, also known as Health Boards, in the National Health Service (NHS). Furthermore, our experiments provide insights into how many hub locations should be deployed and staffed. This can be used to individually find the number of remote monitors and clinicians for each facility as well as the system overall. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Evaluation and Potential of Effective Decision-Making in Healthcare)
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17 pages, 1220 KiB  
Article
Efficiency of Obstetric Services in Germany—The Role of Variation and Overheads
by Steffen Flessa
Healthcare 2024, 12(1), 9; https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare12010009 - 19 Dec 2023
Viewed by 938
Abstract
The number of obstetric departments in German hospitals has declined in the last decades. In particular, rural hospitals are challenged to sustain their delivery services. In this paper, we analyse the role of variation and overheads of obstetric departments from the perspective of [...] Read more.
The number of obstetric departments in German hospitals has declined in the last decades. In particular, rural hospitals are challenged to sustain their delivery services. In this paper, we analyse the role of variation and overheads of obstetric departments from the perspective of current and future German hospital financing. For this purpose, we develop a Monte Carlo simulation model that analyses the workload of the labour room and the obstetric ward. The results show that a hospital with less than 640 deliveries per year cannot break even. In order to offer services 24 h per day, 365 days per year, five nurses, five midwives, and five gynaecologists are needed. This results in high fixed costs. At the same time, the variation coefficient of the labour room and the obstetric ward declines with an increasing number of deliveries. Consequently, small hospitals have a higher risk of over- and under-utilization in the course of the year. This paper acknowledges that economics is not the only decision dimension. The quality of the institution and the transport to the hospital have to be considered, as well as the population’s wish for nearby services. However, the simulations clearly demonstrate that unless the hospital financing system is changed fundamentally, the decline in the number of hospitals offering delivery services will continue. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Evaluation and Potential of Effective Decision-Making in Healthcare)
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