GO WITH THE FLOW:Using HL7 Messaging and Diagnosis-Related Groups to Characterize Inpatient Flow

Make explicit the expected resource requirements a patient presents upon admission Devise a method of incorporating these flow requirements into decision support model

Applying Systems Engineering Principles in Inproving Health Care Delivery

BACKGROUND: In a highly publicized joint report, the National Academy of Engineering and the Institute of Medicine recently recommended the systematic application of systems engineering approaches for reforming our health care delivery system. For this to happen,‎ medical professionals and managers need to understand and appreciate the power that systems engineering concepts and tools can bring to redesigning and improving health care environments and practices.‎ OBJECTIVE: To present and discuss fundamental concepts and tools of systems engineering and important parallels between systems engineering, health services, and implementation research as it pertains to the care of complex patients.‎ DESIGN: An exploratory, qualitative review of systems engineering concepts and overview of ongoing applications of these concepts in the areas of hemodialysis,‎ radiation therapy, and patient flow modeling.‎ RESULTS: In this paper, we describe systems engineering as the process of identifying the system of interest,‎ choosing appropriate performance measures, selecting the best modeling tool, studying model properties and behavior under a variety of scenarios, and making design and operational decisions for implementation.

Planning for Pandemic Influenza: Lessons from the Experiences of Thirteen Indiana Counties

Significant concerns exist over the ability of the healthcare and public health systems to meet the surge demands that would result from an event such as an influenza pandemic. Current guidance for public health planners is largely based on expert opinion and may lack connection to the problems of street-level public health practice. To identify the problems of local planners and prepare a state-level planning template for increasing health care surge capacity that accounted for these issues,a study was conducted of local pandemic planning efforts in thirteen counties, finding that cognitive biases, coordination problems, institutional structures in the healthcare system, and resource shortfalls are significant barriers to preparing and implementing a surge capacity plan. In addition, local planners identify patient demand management through triage and education efforts as a viable means of ensuring adequate capacity, in contrast to guidance proposing an increased supply of care as a primary tool