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http://bura.brunel.ac.uk/handle/2438/551| Title: | A power law distribution in patients' lengths of stay in hospital |
| Authors: | Hellervik, A Rodgers, GJ |
| Keywords: | Health Care;Power law distributions;Preferential attachment;Resource competition;Rate equation |
| Issue Date: | 2006 |
| Publisher: | Elsevier |
| Citation: | Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, 379: 235-240, Jul 2006 |
| Abstract: | The distribution of patients' lengths of stay in English hospitals is measured by using routinely collected data from 11 years. It is found to be well approximated by a power law distribution spanning over more than 3 decades. To explain this observation, a theoretical resource allocation model is presented. It is based on iterative long-term scheduling of hospital beds, and its main assumption is that future beds are allocated preferentially. This represents a situation where di®erent parts of the health care system compete for resources, with bargaining powers proportional to current resource levels. |
| URI: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/03784371 http://bura.brunel.ac.uk/handle/2438/551 |
| Appears in Collections: | Mathematical Physics Dept of Mathematics Research Papers Mathematical Sciences |
Files in This Item:
| File | Description | Size | Format | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| los_model_paper.pdf | 287.31 kB | Adobe PDF | View/Open |
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