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.
American teenagers start their school day too early.
Medical experts have been clear for years: sleep cycle changes during puberty make it hard for teenagers to learn in the early morning. Later school start times have been linked to better sleep, improved mental health, stronger academic performance and even safer driving.
Most school district leaders know about this problem and care about fixing it. But changing the schedule can feel operationally impossible.
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Sam Burer, professor of business analytics in the Tippie College of Business, was the recipient of the 2020 INFORMS Computing Society prize for his pioneering work on low-rank semi-definite programming. The prize is an annual award for the best English language paper or group of related papers dealing with the Operations Research/Computer Science interface.
The development of a COVID-19 vaccine is at the forefront of everyone’s minds. Recent news suggests that a solution may be available in 2021, though the hope is sooner. The race for a vaccine adds to a body of evidence that suggests when under pressure the pharmaceutical industry reacts quickly.
When it comes to COVID-19, what happens in Vegas doesn’t stay in Vegas. Las Vegas casinos reopened June 4, and they have become a likely hotbed for the spread of the novel coronavirus, public health experts said. But if tourists return home and then test positive for COVID-19, the limitations of contact tracing in the midst of a pandemic make it unlikely such an outbreak would be identified.
A vaccine for the coronavirus that causes covid-19 appears to be our best strategy to ending the current pandemic. Unfortunately, the fastest time frame in which scientists have managed to create any vaccine in history was four years, and there’s already plenty of skepticism surrounding the safety, availability, and effectiveness of any future covid-19 inoculation. So let’s go over the most pressing questions.
Thank you very much for the excellent article, “Get your flu shot!” Aug. 16, page A1, with the interview with Dr. Mark Kenton, who is urging that we get a flu shot this year, due to the Covid-19 pandemic. I agree that this is imperative not only for our community’s health but also to try to limit the demands for healthcare resources during what will certainly be very challenging fall and winter seasons with students returning to our towns and with still many unknowns about the coronavirus.
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