How should one allocate a fleet of ambulances to fixed bases with the goal of keeping response times to calls as small as possible? We present two new models for this problem, both of which are based on the Erlang loss formula. The first model is stylized, and shows that allocating ambulances in proportion to the offered load is not necessarily optimal and can often be substantially improved up...

Estimates of ambulance travel times on road networks are critical for effective ambulance base placement and real-time ambulance dispatching. We introduce new methods for estimating the distribution of travel times on each road segment in a city, using Global Positioning System (GPS) data recorded during ambulance trips. Our preferred method uses a Bayesian model of the ambulance trips and GPS ...

There are several constants and hyperparameters to be specified in the Bayesian model. To set the GPS position error covariance matrix Σ, we calculate the minimum distance from each GPS location in the data to the nearest arc. Assuming that the error is radially symmetric, that the vehicle was on the nearest arc when it generated the GPS point, and approximating that arc locally by a straight l...

background: identification of the effective factors in reducing response time in prehospital emergency medical service (ems) can assist in improving its services. this study aimed at reviewing the effect of applying global positioning system (gps) on response time of tehran ems ambulances. materials and methods: of 132 tehran ems stations, 24 ones were randomly selected, and relevant data, incl...

This paper describes the ant-based vehicle navigation algorithm (known from literature) and then proposes its modification. Because the performance of these two versions of the algorithm is unsatisfactory, the new, really revised algorithm is introduced. Experiments performed on real-world data show, that this new algorithm is much more efficient and gives better results than its predecessors. ...

Transgender/gender-nonconforming (GNC) individuals experience discrimination at high rates, including 19% in one study who reported having been refused medical care based on the their transgender/GNC identity. These individuals may also experience a lack of respect from medical personnel, a dearth of culturally competent knowledge and medical information around their medical needs, and concerns...

We present an efficient approach to ambulance fleet allocation and dynamic redeployment, where the goal is to position an entire fleet of ambulances to base locations to maximize the service level (or utility) of the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) system. We take a simulation-based approach, where the utility of an allocation is measured by directly simulating emergency requests. In both the ...

The decision of which servers to dispatch to which customers is an important aspect of serverto-customer systems. Such decisions are complicated when servers have different operating characteristics, customers are prioritized, and there are errors in assessing customer priorities. In this paper, we formulate a model for determining how to optimally dispatch distinguishable servers to prioritize...

INTRODUCTION The concept of emergency medical services (EMS) is new to Sri Lanka. This article describes the development, delivery, and future ideas for EMS in Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka also faces frequent natural hazards that justify the establishment of an EMS service. METHODOLOGY Data and information regarding emergency medical care in Sri Lanka were collected and reviewed from resources includ...

We aimed to know the risk-stratification-based prevalence of bacterial contamination of ambulance vehicle surfaces, equipment, and materials. This study was performed in a metropolitan area with fire-based single-tiered Basic Life Support ambulances. Total 13 out of 117 ambulances (11.1%) were sampled and 33 sites per each ambulance were sampled using a soft rayon swab and aseptic containers. T...