Impact of Workload and Resource Availability on Hospital Productivity

Abstract

In this collection of essays, I develop a deeper insight into how to incorporate the behavioral aspects of medical care into resource allocation and decision making. Clinicians can, and do, react to variations in the state of the hospital (e.g. an increase in patient load or a decrease in available equipment), by altering patient care in an attempt to meet the needs of all patients. Understanding how these behavioral responses to changing hospital conditions affect care and resource use is necessary for the efficient allocation of equipment, workers, and other resources so as to maximize patient throughput and quality of care.