Discrete-Review Control of Service Processing Networks with Applications to Patient Flow Management in Emergency Departments

服务处理网络的离散审查控制及其在急诊科患者流量管理中的应用

• 批准号: RGPIN-2018-04518
• 负责人: Sarhangian, Vahid
• 金额: $ 2.26万
• 依托单位: University of Toronto
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2019
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2019-01-01 至 2020-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=683828
• 关键词: Discrete; Review; Control; Service; Processing

Control of stochastic queueing networks which are often used in modeling and analysis of service systems (e.g., hospitals, contact centers, and ride/bike sharing systems) has been the subject of extensive research in the past. The literature is predominantly concerned with continuous-time control, whereby the controller can interact with the system at any point in time. In many service settings, however, the system manager can only interact with the system at discrete and possibly long time-intervals. That is, although relevant information is becoming available, the controller cannot exercise control before the beginning of the next review time. ******The limitation of control to discrete-time or discrete-review policies often fundamentally changes the structure of the optimal control policy, making the corresponding continuous-time policy (if known) impractical and the insights from it hard to interpret. Despite applications and potential benefits, however, discrete-review control of queueing networks has remained mostly unexplored in the literature. ******The proposed research program aims to first provide fundamental insights on the impact of imposing the discrete-review limitation on the performance of dynamic control policies, and second, to develop practical and effective discrete-review policies for control of complex queueing networks. In particular, I will consider two important operational decisions, namely dynamic capacity allocation and capacity planning, and study queueing models that are mainly motivated by applications to patient flow management in Emergency Departments (EDs). Through collaboration with two large healthcare providers (Tritium Health Partners (THP) in Mississauga, ON, and New York Presbyterian (NYP) hospital in New York, NY) and using their data, the program will involve calibrating the models, estimating the performance of the proposed polices, and working towards their implementation in practice. ******An important characteristic of this research program is that it emphasises practical policies and relies on models that are informed by real-world data. Therefore, if successful, the outcome of the research can contribute to reduction of waiting times in EDs across Canada, where overcrowding is of growing concern. Further, although the proposed models are mainly motivated by applications to patient flow management, they capture dynamics and features that are present in various service systems. Therefore, it is expected that the methods and insights developed in this program will be useful and lead to further research for other service systems where continuous-time control is not feasible, due to either human-effects or high cost of interacting with the system.

随机排队网络的控制通常用于服务系统（例如医院、联络中心和乘车/自行车共享系统）的建模和分析，这在过去一直是广泛研究的主题。文献主要关注连续时间控制，控制器可以在任何时间点与系统交互。然而，在许多服务设置中，系统管理员只能以离散且可能较长的时间间隔与系统交互。也就是说，尽管相关信息变得可用，但控制者无法在下一次审查时间开始之前实施控制。 ******对离散时间或离散审查策略的控制限制通常会从根本上改变最优控制策略的结构，使得相应的连续时间策略（如果已知）不切实际，并且难以解释其见解。然而，尽管有应用和潜在的好处，排队网络的离散审查控制在文献中仍未得到探索。 ******拟议的研究计划旨在首先提供关于对动态控制策略的性能施加离散审查限制的影响的基本见解，其次，开发实用且有效的离散审查策略来控制复杂的排队网络。特别是，我将考虑两个重要的运营决策，即动态容量分配和容量规划，并研究主要由急诊科 (ED) 患者流量管理应用推动的排队模型。通过与两家大型医疗保健提供者（安大略省米西索加的 Tritium Health Partners (THP) 和纽约州纽约长老会 (NYP) 医院）合作并使用他们的数据，该计划将涉及校准模型、估计拟议政策的绩效，并努力在实践中实施。 ******该研究项目的一个重要特点是它强调实际政策并依赖于基于真实世界数据的模型。因此，如果成功，该研究的结果将有助于减少加拿大各地急诊室的等待时间，而加拿大各地的急诊室过度拥挤的问题日益令人担忧。此外，尽管所提出的模型主要是由患者流量管理应用激发的，但它们捕获了各种服务系统中存在的动态和特征。因此，预计该计划中开发的方法和见解将是有用的，并导致对其他服务系统的进一步研究，在这些系统中，由于人为影响或与系统交互的成本高昂，连续时间控制不可行。