Timely Access to Health Care: Customer-Focused Resource Allocation in A Hospital Network

Intern. J. of Research in Marketing 25 (2008) 294–300

7 Pages Posted: 14 Apr 2015

See all articles by Rahul Govind

Rahul Govind

University of Mississippi - School of Business Administration

Rabikar Chatterjee

University of Pittsburgh

Vikas Mittal

Rice University

Multiple version iconThere are 2 versions of this paper

Date Written: 2008

Abstract

This research focuses on the allocation of available hospital resources to different disease types to better serve the needs of patients. The proposed method examines a network of hospitals in a geographical area and determines the proportion of resources that each hospital should devote to different disease classes. The objective is to maximize the customer's utility (specifically, speed of access to medical care) rather than private profit. The approach accounts for the spatio-temporal pattern of disease incidence within the geographic area, and it incorporates the driving distance to a hospital as well as the types of roads in determining travel time. The application focuses on the Greater Los Angeles area, consisting of 525 ZIP codes. Results show a significant shortage of available bed-days for diseases related to socio-economic status, especially in the center-city area.

Suggested Citation

Govind, Rahul and Chatterjee, Rabikar and Mittal, Vikas, Timely Access to Health Care: Customer-Focused Resource Allocation in A Hospital Network (2008). Intern. J. of Research in Marketing 25 (2008) 294–300 , Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2593932

Rahul Govind (Contact Author)

University of Mississippi - School of Business Administration ( email )

PO Box 3986
Oxford, MS 38677
United States

Rabikar Chatterjee

University of Pittsburgh ( email )

135 N Bellefield Ave
Pittsburgh, PA 15260
United States

Vikas Mittal

Rice University ( email )

6100 South Main Street
250 McNair
Houston, TX 77005-1892
United States

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