Research Reports from the Department of Operations
Document Type
Report
Publication Date
12-1-1973
Abstract
A research group, comprised of faculty and graduate students from the School of Medicine and from the Department of Operations Research of Case Western Reserve University, investigated ways to alleviate the shortage of anesthesiologists in obstetric practices. The nationwide problem is acknowledged by, and the project was sponsored by the Maternal and Child Health Division of the U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. The three project stages were: survey and detailed analysis of the existing situation in one region of the United States, the construction and validation of a computer simulation model to study alternative practice modes with speed, economy and non-human experimentation, and the establishing of a methodology for selecting an optimal anesthesia manpower team configuration. This methodology, which incorporates the simulation model provides team design charts based upon examining tradeoffs between personnel-associated costs and the quality of service to the patient. Service quality is measured in terms of the unavailability of anesthesia personnel for certain tasks. Actual data collected from one of the twenty hospitals participating in the study provided the data base for use as input in the simulation model, in generating realistic team configuration selection strategies. This report documents the general project mission, the data base and the methodologies used, and the study results and conclusions. For technical details and documentation see the Project Technical Report [10].
Keywords
Operations research, Anesthesiology--United States, Obstetrics--Research, Medical personnel--Supply and demand--United States, Simulation methods, Health services administration--Mathematical models, Anesthesiologists--United States, Computer simulation
Publication Title
Technical Memorandums from the Department of Operations, School of Management, Case Western Reserve University
Issue
Technical memorandum no. 318
Rights
This work is in the public domain and may be freely downloaded for personal or academic use
Recommended Citation
Reisman, Arnold; Cull, W.; Emmons, Hamilton; Dean, Burton V.; Lin, C.; Rasmussen, John J.; Darukhanavala, Phiroz P.; George, Thomas; and Gravenstein, J. S., "Simulation of Obstetrical Anesthesia Team Configurations Managerial Report" (1973). Research Reports from the Department of Operations. 523.
https://commons.case.edu/wsom-ops-reports/523