Modelling resource availability in general hospitals: design and implementation of a decision support model

Admission planning in general hospitals means selecting elective patients from a waiting list in order to obtain optimal utilisation of the available beds, nursing staff and operating theatre facilities while taking into account emergency admissions. Also, a wide variety of other factors, often situational and not explicitly stated, play a part in this decision process. As such, it is a complex problem which is difficult to handle for any decision maker. In this paper a statistical model for the prediction of resource availability is presented. The model is first tested on empirical data. On the basis of the model a DSS was designed which is now in daily use in several hospitals. Problems encountered in that implementation process will be stated. The results obtained with the model show that such an approach based on statistical data provides sufficiently accurate results to be useful

Dementia and Depression with Ischemic Heart Disease: A Population-Based Longitudinal Study Comparing Interventional Approaches to Medical Management

BACKGROUND: We compared the proportion of ischemic heart disease (IHD) patients newly diagnosed with dementia and depression across three treatment groups: percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) and medical management alone (IHD-medical). METHODS AND FINDINGS: De-identified, individual-level administrative records of health service use for the population of Manitoba, Canada (approximately 1.1 million) were examined. From April 1, 1993 to March 31, 1998, patients were identified with a diagnosis of IHD (ICD-9-CM codes). Index events of CABG or PCI were identified from April 1, 1998 to March 31, 2003. Outcomes were depression or dementia after the index event. Patients were followed forward to March 31, 2006 or until censored. Proportional hazards regression analysis was undertaken. Independent variables examined were age, sex, diabetes, hypertension and income quintile, medical management alone for IHD, or intervention by PCI or CABG. Age, sex, diabetes, and presence of hypertension were all strongly associated with the diagnosis of depression and dementia. There was no association with income quintile. Dementia was less frequent with PCI compared to medical management; (HR = 0.65; p = 0.017). CABG did not provide the same protective effect compared to medical management (HR = 0.90; p = 0.372). New diagnosis depression was more frequent with interventional approaches: PCI (n = 626; hazard ratio = 1.25; p = 0.028) and CABG (n = 1124, HR = 1.32; p = 0.0001) than non-interventional patients (n = 34,508). Subsequent CABG was nearly 16-fold higher (p<0.0001) and subsequent PCI was 22-fold higher (p<0.0001) for PCI-managed than CABG-managed patients. CONCLUSIONS: Patients managed with PCI had the lowest likelihood of dementia-only 65% of the risk for medical management alone. Both interventional approaches were associated with a higher risk of new diagnosed depression compared to medical management. Long-term myocardial revascularization was superior with CABG. These findings suggest that PCI may confer a long-term protective effect from dementia. The mechanism(s) of dementia protection requires elucidation

Logistieke parameters in procesmatig werkende bedrijven

No abstract

Multi-donor trust fund for sustainable logistics (MDTF-SL) : position note on green logistics (supply chains)

Logistics – the services, knowledge, and infrastructure that allow for the free movement of goods and people – is now recognized as a key driver of competitiveness and economic development. Efficient logistics systems are a precondition for regions, countries, cities, and businesses to participate in the global economy, boost growth, and improve livelihoods. Policy making has turned its attention to sustainable growth paths, valuing scarce resources, minimizing environmental impacts, and allowing economies to prosper across generations. In this new integrated vision of development, sustainable logistics is a key nexus. To improve sustainable logistics practices in the developing world, private sector technologies and innovations, as well as governmental policies and academic knowledge, need to be brought together. The government of the Netherlands and the World Bank have taken a first step in this direction and established the first Multi-Donor Trust Fund for Sustainable Logistics (MDTF-SL) in September 2013

Logistiek in de (semi) procesindustrie

no abstrac

Green facility location

Transportation is one of the main contributing factors of global carbon emissions, and thus, when dealing with facility location models in a distribution context, transportation emissions may be substantially higher than the emissions due to production or storage. Because facility location models define the configuration of deliveries, green location models become an important alternative to reduce CO2 emissions in logistics.\u3cbr/\u3eThis chapter presents a variety of green location models that include the estimation of carbon emissions. It also provides basic guidelines in understanding these models in comparison with cost minimization models

Reaching 50 million nanostores : retail distribution in emerging megacities

With urbanization sprawling in emerging economies, retail opportunities abound. City structures, income distributions, and shopping patterns in emerging megacities are however very different from the ones we know from developed markets. One of the most dominant characteristics is the presence of millions of very small, family-owned and operated stores. We call these nanostores . In this paper, we define and characterize these nanostores, and the associated logistics and channel strategies to reach them as the next opportunity in global retailing. We argue that structures and characteristics are fundamentally different of the developed economies organized big-box retail, and hence new research opportunities can be identified