IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/inm/orinte/v54y2024i2p188-204.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

A Simulation Study for a Safe Reopening and Operation of the Trager Institute Optimal Aging Clinic During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Author

Listed:
  • Shahab Sadri

    (Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Louisville, Louisville, Kentucky 40223)

  • Arsalan Paleshi

    (Graham School of Business, York College of Pennsylvania, York, Pennsylvania 17403)

  • Lihui Bai

    (Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Louisville, Louisville, Kentucky 40223)

  • Monica Gentili

    (Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Louisville, Louisville, Kentucky 40223)

Abstract

In this study, we develop a discrete-event simulation model to aid the Trager Institute, an outpatient clinic for optimal aging located in Louisville, Kentucky, in determining their safe reopening strategies during the COVID-19 pandemic and operational strategies beyond the pandemic. The model studies the movement of several groups of people (e.g., healthcare providers, navigators, patients, staff) and the operations of the clinic’s primary and ancillary services. The main objective is to ensure that the clinic operates safely while COVID-19 restrictions are in place and to improve its providers’ utilization rate. The model simulates people’s movement in the clinic, monitors the congestion level in four common areas, and identifies the peak hours during a day. We also study various overbooking and telehealth policies to overcome high cancelation or no-show rates and low utilization for providers. Simulation results using AnyLogic have helped the management decide to reopen the in-person services during the COVID-19 pandemic based on the safe congestion level demonstrated by the simulation. Insights on optimal overbooking and telehealth policies can shed a broader light on other healthcare organizations.

Suggested Citation

  • Shahab Sadri & Arsalan Paleshi & Lihui Bai & Monica Gentili, 2024. "A Simulation Study for a Safe Reopening and Operation of the Trager Institute Optimal Aging Clinic During the COVID-19 Pandemic," Interfaces, INFORMS, vol. 54(2), pages 188-204, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:inm:orinte:v:54:y:2024:i:2:p:188-204
    DOI: 10.1287/inte.2022.0032
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1287/inte.2022.0032
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1287/inte.2022.0032?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jonathan C. Woodall & Tracy Gosselin & Amy Boswell & Michael Murr & Brian T. Denton, 2013. "Improving Patient Access to Chemotherapy Treatment at Duke Cancer Institute," Interfaces, INFORMS, vol. 43(5), pages 449-461, October.
    2. Seokjun Youn & H. Neil Geismar & Michael Pinedo, 2022. "Planning and scheduling in healthcare for better care coordination: Current understanding, trending topics, and future opportunities," Production and Operations Management, Production and Operations Management Society, vol. 31(12), pages 4407-4423, December.
    3. Manion Anderson & Merve Bodur & Scott Rathwell & Vahid Sarhangian, 2023. "Optimization Helps Scheduling Nursing Staff at the Long-Term Care Homes of the City of Toronto," Interfaces, INFORMS, vol. 53(2), pages 133-154, March.
    4. John Kros & Scott Dellana & David West, 2009. "Overbooking Increases Patient Access at East Carolina University's Student Health Services Clinic," Interfaces, INFORMS, vol. 39(3), pages 271-287, June.
    5. Ahmadi-Javid, Amir & Jalali, Zahra & Klassen, Kenneth J, 2017. "Outpatient appointment systems in healthcare: A review of optimization studies," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 258(1), pages 3-34.
    6. Alberto Santis & Tommaso Giovannelli & Stefano Lucidi & Mauro Messedaglia & Massimo Roma, 2023. "A simulation-based optimization approach for the calibration of a discrete event simulation model of an emergency department," Annals of Operations Research, Springer, vol. 320(2), pages 727-756, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Setareh Boshrouei Shargh & Mostafa Zandieh & Ashkan Ayough & Farbod Farhadi, 2024. "Scheduling in services: a review and bibliometric analysis," Operations Management Research, Springer, vol. 17(2), pages 754-783, June.
    2. Tugba Cayirli & Kum Khiong Yang, 2019. "Altering the Environment to Improve Appointment System Performance," Service Science, INFORMS, vol. 11(2), pages 138-154, June.
    3. Hadid, Majed & Elomri, Adel & Mekkawy, Tarek El & Jouini, Oualid & Kerbache, Laoucine & Hamad, Anas, 2022. "Operations management of outpatient chemotherapy process: An optimization-oriented comprehensive review," Operations Research Perspectives, Elsevier, vol. 9(C).
    4. Kılıç, Hakan & Güneş, Evrim Didem, 2024. "Patient adherence in healthcare operations: A narrative review," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    5. Tugba Cayirli & Pinar Dursun & Evrim D. Gunes, 2019. "An integrated analysis of capacity allocation and patient scheduling in presence of seasonal walk-ins," Flexible Services and Manufacturing Journal, Springer, vol. 31(2), pages 524-561, June.
    6. Alireza F. Hesaraki & Nico P. Dellaert & Ton Kok, 2020. "Integrating nurse assignment in outpatient chemotherapy appointment scheduling," OR Spectrum: Quantitative Approaches in Management, Springer;Gesellschaft für Operations Research e.V., vol. 42(4), pages 935-963, December.
    7. Menel Benzaid & Nadia Lahrichi & Louis-Martin Rousseau, 2020. "Chemotherapy appointment scheduling and daily outpatient–nurse assignment," Health Care Management Science, Springer, vol. 23(1), pages 34-50, March.
    8. Bohui Liang & Ayten Turkcan & Mehmet Erkan Ceyhan & Keith Stuart, 2015. "Improvement of chemotherapy patient flow and scheduling in an outpatient oncology clinic," International Journal of Production Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 53(24), pages 7177-7190, December.
    9. Miao Bai & Bjorn Berg & Esra Sisikoglu Sir & Mustafa Y. Sir, 2023. "Partially partitioned templating strategies for outpatient specialty practices," Production and Operations Management, Production and Operations Management Society, vol. 32(1), pages 301-318, January.
    10. Haolin Feng & Yiwu Jia & Siyi Zhou & Hongyi Chen & Teng Huang, 2023. "A Dataset of Service Time and Related Patient Characteristics from an Outpatient Clinic," Data, MDPI, vol. 8(3), pages 1-15, February.
    11. Pan, Xingwei & Geng, Na & Xie, Xiaolan, 2021. "Appointment scheduling and real-time sequencing strategies for patient unpunctuality," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 295(1), pages 246-260.
    12. Sudhanshu Joshi & Manu Sharma, 2022. "A Literature Survey on Vaccine Supply Chain Management Amidst COVID-19: Literature Developments, Future Directions and Open Challenges for Public Health," World, MDPI, vol. 3(4), pages 1-28, October.
    13. Wenjuan Fan & Yi Wang & Tongzhu Liu & Guixian Tong, 2020. "A patient flow scheduling problem in ophthalmology clinic solved by the hybrid EDA–VNS algorithm," Journal of Combinatorial Optimization, Springer, vol. 39(2), pages 547-580, February.
    14. Aditya Shetty & Harry Groenevelt & Vera Tilson, 2023. "Intraday dynamic rescheduling under patient no-shows," Health Care Management Science, Springer, vol. 26(3), pages 583-598, September.
    15. Petropoulos, Fotios & Hyndman, Rob J. & Bergmeir, Christoph, 2018. "Exploring the sources of uncertainty: Why does bagging for time series forecasting work?," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 268(2), pages 545-554.
    16. Li Luo & Ying Zhou & Bernard T. Han & Jialing Li, 2019. "An optimization model to determine appointment scheduling window for an outpatient clinic with patient no-shows," Health Care Management Science, Springer, vol. 22(1), pages 68-84, March.
    17. Esmaeil Keyvanshokooh & Pooyan Kazemian & Mohammad Fattahi & Mark P. Van Oyen, 2022. "Coordinated and Priority‐Based Surgical Care: An Integrated Distributionally Robust Stochastic Optimization Approach," Production and Operations Management, Production and Operations Management Society, vol. 31(4), pages 1510-1535, April.
    18. Andrés Miniguano-Trujillo & Fernanda Salazar & Ramiro Torres & Patricio Arias & Koraima Sotomayor, 2021. "An integer programming model to assign patients based on mental health impact for tele-psychotherapy intervention during the Covid–19 emergency," Health Care Management Science, Springer, vol. 24(2), pages 286-304, June.
    19. Bowen Jiang & Jiafu Tang & Chongjun Yan, 2019. "A comparison of fixed and variable capacity-addition policies for outpatient capacity allocation," Journal of Combinatorial Optimization, Springer, vol. 37(1), pages 150-182, January.
    20. Creemers, Stefan & Lambrecht, Marc R. & Beliën, Jeroen & Van den Broeke, Maud, 2021. "Evaluation of appointment scheduling rules: A multi-performance measurement approach," Omega, Elsevier, vol. 100(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:inm:orinte:v:54:y:2024:i:2:p:188-204. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Chris Asher (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/inforea.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.