Patient flow modeling is a growing field of interest in health services research. Several techniques have been applied to model movement of patients within and between health-care facilities. However, individual patient experience during the delivery of care has always been overlooked. In this...

This paper explores the rationing of bed capacity in a cardiac intensive care unit (ICU). We find that the length of stay for patients admitted to the ICU is influenced by the occupancy level of the ICU. In particular, a patient is likely to be discharged early when the occupancy in the ICU is...

Healthcare systems in developed countries are facing the challenge of dealing with changing social structures as a result of rapidly aging populations. This study examines the relationship among the geographical distribution of healthcare resources, healthcare service provision, and...

Hospital readmission has become a critical metric of quality and cost of healthcare. Medicare anticipates that nearly $17 billion is paid out on the 20 % of patients who are readmitted within 30 days of discharge. Although several interventions such as transition care management have been...

Purpose – This paper aims to explore if actions used at a hospital to manage a variable acute patient flow can be categorised using the concepts of lean, agile and leagile. Design/methodology/approach – Empirical evidence from a university hospital was gathered by interviews, internal...

Purpose This study aims to explore the involvement of middle management in forming strategies to manage variable acute patient flows at a hospital. Design/methodology/approach Empirical evidence from a university hospital was gathered via interviews, internal documents, observation and...