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Purpose This article aims to contribute to the academic literature in better understanding the impact of Certificate of Need (CON) Law on Emergency Department (ED) care. Impact of CON Law on ED competition remains an unanswered empirical question. Methods We examine the impact of CON Law and its stringency on the intensity of competition (rivalry among competitors) between EDs measured by the Herfindahl-Hirschman Index (HHI). We then estimate the effects of CON Law on HHI by treating CON as an exogenous (endogenous) variable. Findings On average the CON legislation enhances ED competition. A possible reason is that the law hinders predatory behavior, and therefore acts as an effective anti-trust tool. Other findings indicate that competition is found to be positively related to a state's population size and median income and negatively related with the prevalence of employer provided insurance and magnitude of illegal immigration in a state. Practical implications This article sheds some light on how political regulations could affect healthcare market and hence may provide public policy makers some insights on reducing healthcare cost. Originality Our analysis of the impact of CON regulation on ED competition significantly contributes to the healthcare and strategy literature. The law potentially serves as an anti-trust tool in the hands of the government. We extend the empirical literature by treating CON Law and its stringency as exogenous (endogenous). Our comprehensive analysis considers a host of control variables such as population demographics, their health status and access to health care, healthcare facilities, political environment, in addition to the CON features. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) currently uses a bidding system to determine carriers and suppliers that would partner in providing food aid annually in response to global emergencies and famine. We mimic the USDA approach via a robust optimization model featuring box and ellipsoid uncertainty frameworks to account for uncertainties in demand, supplier and carrier bid prices. Through a case study utilizing historical invoice data, we demonstrate our model applicability in improving ocean carrier and food supplier bid pricing strategy and similar supply chain network optimization problems. Through a validation algorithm we demonstrate the value of our robust models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Background: Overcrowding diminishes Emergency Department (ED) care delivery capabilities. Objectives: We developed a generic methodology to investigate the causes of overcrowding and to identify strategies to resolve them, and applied it in the ED of a hospital participating in the study. Methods: We utilized Discrete Event Simulation (DES) to capture the complex ED operations. Using DES results, we developed parametric models for checking the effectiveness and quantifying the potential gains from various improvement alternatives. We performed a follow-up study to compare the outcomes before and after the model recommendations were put into effect at the hospital participating in the study. Results: Insufficient physicians during peak hours, the slow process of admitting patients to inpatient floors, and laboratory and radiology test turnaround times were identified as the causes of reduced ED throughput. Addition of a physician resulted in an almost 18% reduction in the ED Main discharged patient length of stay. Conclusion: The case study results demonstrated the effectiveness of the generic methodology. The research contributions were validated through statistically significant improvements seen in patient throughput and waiting time at the hospital participating in the study. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Online social networks (OSNs) have permeated all generations of Internet users, becoming a prominent communications tool, particularly in the student community. Thus, academic institutions and faculty are increasingly using social networking sites, such as Facebook and LinkedIn, to connect with current and potential students and to deliver instructional content. This has led to a rise in questions about the impact of OSN on academic performance and the possibility of using it as an effective teaching tool. To learn more about the impact on academic performance, we conducted a survey of business students at a large state university. Survey results were analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM). The results revealed a statistically significant negative relationship between time spent by students on OSN and their academic performance. The time spent on OSN was found to be heavily influenced by the attention span of the students. Specifically, we determined that the higher the attention span, the lower is the time spent on OSN. Further, attention span was found to be highly correlated with characteristics that predict or influence student behavior, such as their perceptions about society’s view of social networking, their likes and dislikes of OSN, ease of use of OSN, etc. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Hospitals are an integral part of a society''s critical functions designed to respond to man-made and natural disasters. Effective hospital capacity planning can significantly enhance the capability and effectiveness of treatment for emergency patients with injuries resulting from a disaster. Such information can be used for patient/ambulance routing, resource planning, and emergency operations management. In the current paper, we develop a generic simulation model that is capable of representing the operations of a wide range of hospitals given an earthquake disaster situation. Using results from our simulations, generalized regression equations are fitted to obtain steady-state hospital capacities. A parametric metamodel is then developed to predict transient capacity for multiple hospitals in the disaster area in a timely manner, as demanded by emergency operations management for guiding the routing and treatment of injured people. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]