Alexander Kolker

General Electric | GE

Staffing planning is paramount for cost-efficient workforce management. An accurate assessment of the required staffing level for the specific time period is an integral part of the hospital budgeting and planning process. Daily fluctuations of patient census create staffing planning challenges to many organizations. There is a growing trend for ho...

The intended readers of this chapter are primarily leaders of organizations and, particularly, hospital/clinic leaders who are trying to improve the efficiency of organization’s/ hospital’s operations using principles of business analytics and management science. The main goal of this chapter is providing an overview of business analytics and manag...

This chapter presents a quantitative analysis of patient flows for a typical hospital-wide system that consists of a set of interdependent subsystems: Emergency Department (ED), Intensive Care Unit (ICU), Operating Rooms (OR), and Inpatient Nursing units (NU) including an effect of patient readmission within 30 days of discharge. It is quantitative...

Provides multiple concrete examples of applications management engineering/operations research methodology This Briefs Series book illustrates in depth a concept of healthcare management engineering and its domain for hospital and clinic operations. Predictive and analytic decision-making power of management engineering methodology is systematicall...

ABSTRACT This chapter illustrates the predictive and analytical decision-making power of healthcare management engineering compared to traditional management reasoning. An overview of the domain of healthcare management engineering is provided. Four types of problems are illustrated in details: (i) dynamic supply and demand balance using discrete e...

A series of webinars presented online live and recorded.

I am teaching an online course "Introduction into Healthcare Management Science & Operating Research" at the National Healthcare System (NHS)- Midlands & Lancashire Commissioning Support unit, the United Kingdom (UK)

an updated time series forecast with additional data files and details

 Why getting data should not be a starting point in business analytics, and why more data do not always result in more accurate predictions  The simulation analytics methodology in comparison to machine learning and data science approach  Examples of two business cases: (i) Healthcare: Pediatric Triage in a Severe Pandemic-Maximizing Population...

The purpose of this presentation is providing an overview of the main approaches in using big data: data focus vs. business analytics focus. The following topics will be covered: - Why getting data should not be a starting point in business analytics, and why more data not always result in more accurate predictions - The simulation analytics method...

The goal of this chapter is to illustrate two mathematical game theory concepts for allocating costs (savings) between cooperating participants, specifically in healthcare settings. These concepts are the nucleolus and the Shapley value. The focus of this chapter is on the practical application of the Shapley value for the cost sharing within the b...

Customers' reviews and the feedback on the book "Healthcare Management Engineering: What Does this Fancy Term Really Means?"

Many resources discuss machine learning and data analytics from a technology deployment perspective. From the business standpoint, however, the real value of analytics is in the methodology for solving some systemic holistic problems, rather than a specific technology or platform. In this presentation, the focus is shifted from the technology deplo...

http://journals.lww.com/ccmjournal/Citation/2016/09000/Pediatric_Triage_in_a_Severe_Pandemic___Maximizing.16.aspx Objectives: To develop and validate an algorithm to guide selection of patients for pediatric critical care admission during a severe pandemic when Crisis Standards of Care are implemented. Design: Retrospective observational study us...

presents the methodology and examples of application of the optimal nursing unit staffing with variable (random) patient demand.

The goal: Predict the number of patients that are expected to be discharged from the unit / ED in the next period of time given current Length of Stay (LOS).

150,000 records were obtained from the multi-center Virtual PICU Systems (VPS) database. Prediction equations for probability of death (POD) and duration of ventilation (DOV) were derived. Discrete Event Simulation (DES) was used to determine thresholds of POD and DOV that would maximize PICU occupancy and patient survival. DES further was employed...

Main Concept and Some Definitions. The “newsvendor” framework approach. Staffing a nursing unit with variable census (demand) Linear optimization framework approach. Minimizing staffing cost subject to variable constraints Discrete event simulation framework approach. Staffing a unit with cross-trained staff Key Points and Conclusions

This presentation outlines the domain of data science and data analytics, their focus, interconnection and the role for hospital operation management. Multiple examples of healthcare business analytics problems and the most appropriate solution methodologies are presented.

The goal of this chapter is describing an application of mathematical game theory for allocating costs (savings) between cooperating providers. Two main concepts are presented: the nucleolus and the Shapley value. The focus of this chapter is on practical application of the Shapley value concept. The intended readers are primarily leaders of organi...

Long work hours and sleep deprivation have been typical for resident physician training programs in the US hospitals for a long time. However, there is abundant scientific evidence that links fatigue with deficits in human performance, accidents and errors in the various safety-sensitive industries, including medicine. Recently the US Institute of...

Alexander Kolker will briefly introduce discrete event simulation and demonstrate why it is the methodology of choice for situations that are too complicated to represent using analytic formulas (e.g., queuing analytic theory). He will specifically identify the wide range of problems to which it can be applied in healthcare management and operation...

Some fundamental management engineering principles in healthcare settings are summarized. These principles have been illustrated both by examples presented in this book and in examples published elsewhere.

This chapter includes detailed analysis of five problems using the linear and probabilistic resource optimization and allocation methodology: linear optimization of patient service volumes for different service lines; optimal staffing for 24/7 three-shift operations; physician resident scheduling to meet Institute of Medicine (IOM) new restricted r...

Comparative analysis of traditional approach, queuing analytic theory formulas (QAT), and discrete event simulation (DES) is provided. Eleven capacity and patient flow problems and five staffing and scheduling problems are analyzed in details using side-by-side a traditional approach, QAT and DES. Serious limitations of QAT compared to DES are demo...

Definitions and comparison of traditional management and management engineering approaches are provided. Factors that contribute to the difference in these approaches are discussed.

This chapter demonstrates an application of mathematical game theory for allocating cost savings (gains) between cooperating providers. As an alternative to traditional accounting allocation basis, there is a growing interest in cost allocation principles based on logic of game theory. The most widely used method of joint-cost (savings) allocation...

This chapter includes two problems for forecasting of a time series using past data points. It is argued that the past data points used for forecasting of the future data points should be strongly correlated with each other. It is illustrated that the strongly correlated past data points can be identified from the autocorrelation function of the ti...

This chapter includes an application of business intelligence (BI) and data mining (DM) based on advanced multivariate data analysis. Two examples are presented: principal component decomposition of the large dataset of original observational data to identify contributing independent variables (BI), and cluster analysis (DM) to identify the distinc...

http://viewer.zmags.com/publication/644753a2#/644753a2/29Healthcare management engineering Modern medicine has achieved great progress in treating individual patients. However, according to the highly publicized report “Building a Better Delivery System: A New Engineering/Healthcare Partnership” [1], relatively little material resources and techni...

In this consulting project, staffing needs and utilization for a team of the US Bank Fund Financial Analysts were analyzed using simulation modeling methodology. Staffing recommendations are provided for the timely completion of daily financial reports.

What is this book about? The focus of this book is the application of management engineering principles and methodologies on the scale of a separate stand-alone hospital or a large clinic. It can be said that the entire hospital is a patient; management engineering methodology is a medical field with different specialties developed to address diff...

http://www.igi-global.com/book/management-engineering-effective-healthcare-delivery/50314 http://www.amazon.com/Management-Engineering-Effective-Healthcare-Delivery/dp/1609608720/ref=pd_sim_b_3 Due to massive technological and medical advances in the life sciences (molecular genetics, biology, biochemistry, etc.), modern medicine is increasingly...

Most surgical patients require post-operative care in the Intensive Care Units (ICU). However ICU bed capacity and its ability to handle the patient flow is limited. Elective surgeries, emergency and add-on surgeries compete for limited ICU resources. Demand for emergency and add-on surgeries is largely beyond hospital control and cannot be schedul...

Mucoepidermoid carcinoma (MEC) is the most common malignant salivary gland tumor. The presence of mucin (MUC) genes has been correlated with patient prognosis using immunohistochemical techniques. This study was undertaken to 1) investigate the expression of newly discovered MUC genes in MEC specimens, 2) assess the correlation of this expression t...

This chapter describes applications of the discrete events simulation (DES) and queuing analytic (QA) theory as a means of analyzing healthcare systems. There are two objectives of this chapter: (i) to illustrate the use and shortcomings of QA compared to DES by applying both of them to analyze the same problems, and (ii) to demonstrate the princip...

To demonstrate the power of the modern management engineering and its foundation-the operations research-for quantitative analysis of complex healthcare systems. • To quantitatively illustrate the critical effect of subsystems’ interaction on the entire system outcome. Objectives 2 • To summarize fundamental Management Engineering principles and th...

Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin Modern healthcare achieved great progress in developing and manufacturing

The use of Management Engineering methodology for staffing decision-making. • Case Study 1 - Quality and Cost: Outpatient Flu Clinic. Outline 2 • Case Study 2 - Quality and Cost : Optimal PACU Nursing Staffing. • Overall Take-Away. • Summary of Fundamental Management Engineering principles

This chapter describes applications of the discrete events simulation (DES) and queuing analytic (QA) theory as a means of analyzing healthcare systems. There are two objectives of this chapter: (i) to illustrate the use and shortcomings of QA compared to DES by applying both of them to analyze the same problems, and (ii) to demonstrate the princip...

One of the major elements in improving efficiency of healthcare services is patient flow. Patients require a variety of healthcare resources as they receive healthcare services. Poor management of patient flow results in long waiting time of patients, under/over utilization of medical resources, low quality of care and high healthcare cost. This ar...

Mucin gene 19 (MUC19) has been identified as a major gel-forming mucin in the human middle ear (ME). The objectives of this investigation were to characterize the expression and assess the regulation of MUC19 in the ME cell culture models utilized in the study of otitis media (OM). Findings demonstrate that MUC19 is expressed in both human immortal...

Despite the considerable number of publications on ICU patient flow and analysis of its variability, a basic and practically important question remained unanswered: what maximum number of elective surgeries per day should be scheduled (along with the competing demand from emergency surgeries) in order to reduce diversion in an ICU with fixed bed ca...

This chapter describes applications of the discrete events simulation (DES) and queuing analytic (QA) theory as a means of analyzing healthcare systems. There are two objectives of this chapter: (i) to illustrate the use and shortcomings of QA compared to DES by applying both of them to analyze the same problems, and (ii) to demonstrate the princip...

A discreet event simulation methodology has been used to establish a quantitative relationship between Emergency Department (ED) performance characteristics, such as percent of time on ambulance diversion and the number of patients in queue in the waiting room, and the upper limits of patient length of stay (LOS). A simulation process model of ED p...

Develop a quantitative methodology to address the issue : A methodology was developed based on discrete event simulation that address the issue: Given the number of unscheduled emergency and add-on surgeries, how many elective surgeries per day should be scheduled in order to reduce the percentage of time due to ‘no ICU beds’ to an acceptable low l...

A reader delve into the question: "What does it mean to apply the Lean methodology?"

A methodology based on discrete event simulation was developed to quantitatively analyze and predict an impact of patients’ Length of Stay (LOS) on ED diversion (both for admitted and discharged home patients’ groups). The maximum LOS limit was identified that would result in significant reduction or elimination the ED patient diversion.

Exposure to blood-borne diseases remains an occupational risk. Mandates have improved training in how to report exposures for all health-care workers. How exposure rates of surgical residents correlate with experience and mandatory training to reduce risk is not known. It was hypothesized that enhanced training would result in an increased reportin...

A semiempirical thermodynamic model is proposed for prediction of the solubility of salts in mixed aqueous−organic solvents. This model requires only standard thermodynamic properties for the pure components and for the solutes at infinite dilution in each solvent. The new method is illustrated with predictions of solubility for several salts in mi...

A thermodynamic model is proposed for prediction of vapor−liquid equilibria (VLE) in mixed aqueous−organic solvents containing salts. The model is based on thermodynamic relations that include explicitly the effect of a solute on the activity coefficients of the cosolvents in the mixture. These relations are derived by integrating the multicomponen...

A new approach is presented for calculation of activity coefficients in multicomponent aqueous electrolyte and non-electrolyte solutions. The approach is based on an integration of the Gibbs-Duhem equation. It is shown that using standard thermodynamic properties for the pure components and for the components at infinite dilution in water, it is po...

A new approach is presented for calculation of activity coefficients in aqueous electrolyte solutions. This approach requires only standard thermodynamic properties for the pure components and for the solutes at infinite dilution. No adjustable mixture parameters are necessary. This new procedure has been applied to calculate: (1) the solubility of...

Kolker, A.R. 1992. A new procedure for calculating the temperature dependence of thermodynamic characteristics of water-salt systems. Fluid Phase Equilibria, 74:109-125.A new procedure for calculating the temperature dependence of some thermodynamic characteristics of water-salt systems without mixture adjustable parameters is proposed.The temperat...

Kolker, A.R., 1991. Thermodynamic modelling of concentrated aqueous electrolyte and non-aqueous systems. Fluid Phase Equilibria 69: 155-169.A new approach to computer simulation of activity coefficients of components in both aqueous and non-aqueous phases is proposed. Only values of standard thermodynamic properties of components are used as initia...