Coronavirus and the Flu
Some doctors worry the combination of coronavirus and the flu could tax our healthcare system. This afternoon, a deep dive into emerging research which suggests mask wearing can help to reduce the spread of both.
The INFORMS Analytics+ Conference showcased how companies are turning advanced analytics and AI into measurable operational results
In most emergency departments, beds are a hot commodity. But some patients don’t actually need a bed for their treatment – and accurately identifying those people is a low-lift but effective way to increase efficiency without sacrificing care quality, finds a study recently published in the journal Management Science.
The researchers developed a simple decision tree, informed by mathematical and machine learning models, to help staff decide whether a patient truly needs a bed or can be routed to a “vertical processing pathway” – that is, an area where they can be treated sitting up. Many hospitals already have such an area but don’t necessarily have a systematic way to decide which patients are treated there.
Diversity alone won’t get the votes for funding public education. It takes communities that are more integrated and connected, where residents have a sense of shared stake.
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Some doctors worry the combination of coronavirus and the flu could tax our healthcare system. This afternoon, a deep dive into emerging research which suggests mask wearing can help to reduce the spread of both.
INFORMS, the leading international association for operations research and analytics professionals, announced it has awarded Intel its 2020 Franz Edelman Award for Achievement in Advanced Analytics, Operations Research, and Management Science for its use of operations research (O.R.) to maximize revenue and minimize cost in corporate decision-making.
In 2017, Americans paid around $34 billion in overdraft fees. The hefty fees often hit consumers unexpectedly and can lead to dissatisfaction or even attrition. “Analyzing Bank Overdraft Fees with Big Data,” explores consumer behavior that causes the fees, just how the fees impact customers and banks, and how banks can better address the issue for the benefit of all. The paper was written by New York University Professor Xiao Liu, and Alan Montgomery and Kannan Srinivasan, both professors at Carnegie Mellon University. It was published in the December 2018 issue of Marketing Science, journal of the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS).
Dr. Adarsh Bhimraj was feeling “helpless” in April about his ability to treat the dozens of Covid-19 patients admitted everyday to the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio. In those early weeks of the outbreak, Bhimraj and his colleagues struggled to understand why some patients died and others recovered. It happened quickly, he said, adding that the disease could turn in a moment, sending a patient unexpectedly to the intensive care unit, where some died in days.
On the day that a COVID-19 vaccine is approved, a vast logistics operation will need to awaken. Millions of doses must travel hundreds of miles from manufacturers to hospitals, doctor’s offices, and pharmacies, which in turn must store, track, and eventually get the vaccines to people all across the country. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, along with state and local health departments, coordinates this process. These agencies distributed flu vaccines during the 2009 H1N1 pandemic this way, and they manage childhood vaccines every day. But the COVID-19 vaccine will be a whole new challenge.

OR/MS Today is the INFORMS member magazine that shares the latest research and best practices in operations research, analytics and the management sciences.
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