Program eases decision making

A useful tool to assist management with complex multiple-criteria decision making is the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) microcomputer program. The AHP requires the user to judge the relative importance of each criterion, then specify a preference for each alternative relative to each criterion. The result is a prioritized overall ranking of the decision alternatives. Providence Ventures, Inc., used the AHP to assist a recent hospital client in selecting a magnetic resonance imaging vendor. A committee was appointed to narrow the decision alternatives down to three vendors, using the following criteria: price, technology, sitting, service, service contract, cryogen contract, and patient comfort. A key factor in the AHP is establishing priorities and preferences through the pairwise comparison procedure. The program asks the user, for example, if price and technology are equally important. If the response is no, the user tells the program which is more important and by how much, assigning a weight to each criterion. Similarly the user enters pairwise preferences for the vendors in regard to each criterion. The program then computes the overall decision. The entire process takes 10 to 15 minutes. A tool such as the AHP enables the manager and hospital to gain control of resources by saving time in reaching a decision, double checking other decisions for validity, using the model to audit department head decisions, and standardizing the decision-making process.

Evolution of a computerized support system for health care capacity planning

This paper describes the evolution of a computerized support system for health care capacity planning within the Veterans Administration (VA) health care system. The VA's early attempts at computerization are described, along with the subsequent refinements made necessary by the deficiencies in those early attempts. The evolution of both the planning logic and the software configurations in set forth, along with some plans for future development.

Leveraging the hospital executive

Executive information systems can provide critical decision support in the fast-paced environment of top hospital management. However, executives need precise information, not overwhelming data.

A procedure for locating emergency-service facilities for all possible response distances

The problem of locating emergency-service facilities involves the assignment of a set of demand points to a set of facilities. One way to formulate the problem is to minimize the number of required facilities, given that the maximum distance between the demand points and their nearest facility does not exceed some specified value. We present a procedure for determining the numbers of such facilities for all possible values of the maximum distance. Computational results are presented for a microcomputer implementation.

Building a data architecture

Will product line management become a reality in healthcare? A hospital MIS professional outlines some of the major obstacles, facing the success of this marketing tool. A method for overcoming these hurdles is discussed.

The spreadsheet and physician productivity

Friction between medical education faculty members and other physicians at St. Vincent Medical Center, Toledo, Ohio, led to a program to assess both the costs and the contribution of the teaching faculty to the overall goals of the institution. Because the existing information system proved to be unequal to the task, a specially designed spreadsheet system was developed to be used for medical education physicians. The computer-based system that was developed permits a detailed analysis of the productivity of these physicians. More important, it allowed the medical education function to provide solid justification of its efforts on behalf of the medical center.

Aiding you with decision support capabilities

In 1987, hospitals confirmed the importance of information systems by spending $3.6 billion on processing capabilities and $146 million on consulting. In this money well spent? Can you benchmark your expenditures and the capabilities of your HIS?

Elements of effective and efficient medical management decision making

Physicians are assuming increasing responsibility in determining the types and amounts of medical services provided for their patients. They can provide these services at less cost than is presently done. Accurate and concise clinical and financial information is necessary for physicians to make correct medical management decisions.