Research Reports from the Department of Operations

Document Type

Report

Publication Date

3-1-1973

Abstract

This report discusses the progress to date of the initial phase of the obstetrical anesthesia manpower planning study in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, being performed under the sponsorship of the Maternal and Child Health Service, Health Services and Mental Health Administration, Department of Health, Education and Welfare. This study is organized into five major sections. First, the organization of the problem and of the research team is described, the steps employed during this phase to achieve the project's objectives are listed, the scope of the information base is defined, and the relevant literature is discussed. Second, definitions of the types of delivery and of anesthesia are presented, an obstetrical anesthesia system is described, and the patient process flow is discussed. Third, the various methods used to obtain both qualitative and attitudinal information, e.g., questionnaires, interviews, and time-data collection, are listed. Fourth, several significant results to date are discussed, including a classification of patient conditions to assess their risk level, the description and analysis of obstetric anesthesia tasks, the possibility of correlation of time-data with patient classifications, an analysis of these correlations, a discussion of anesthesia team design and a stochastic model for use in describing arrival and service time distributions. Fifth, preliminary results of both facts and attitudes concerning the obstetric practices are presented. These were obtained through three surveys: to the Hospital Administrators and to the Directors of Anesthesia Departments of 20 major hospitals in the Greater Cleveland area, and to Anesthesiologists practicing in Cuyahoga County. The conclusion outlines future work to be performed both in this and subsequent phases of the study.

Keywords

Operations research, Anesthesia in obstetrics, Maternal health services--Ohio, Health services administration--Ohio, Anesthesia, Hospitals--Anesthesia services, Anesthesiology--Ohio, Hospitals--Ohio--Cuyahoga County, Medical personnel--Supply and demand, Manpower planning, Medical personnel--Ohio, Cuyahoga County (Ohio)

Publication Title

Technical Memorandums from the Department of Operations, School of Management, Case Western Reserve University

Issue

Technical memorandum no. 290

Rights

This work is in the public domain and may be freely downloaded for personal or academic use

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