Managing Occupancy Rates in a Hospital Emergency Department: Combining Model-Based and Model-Free Control Approaches*

The paper addresses a critical issue in healthcare management – the effective management of the emergency department (ED) within a hospital. It acknowledges the complexity of the hospital environment, which grapples with a multitude of challenges, including high demand for services, soaring costs, budgetary limitations, and finite healthcare resources. The proposed solution leverages a two-stage control approach to tackle the occupancy rate management in the ED. This strategy combines differential flatness as a tool for open-loop control and trajectory planning. This approach is valuable for modeling and controlling dynamic systems, as it helps in designing efficient trajectories for patients in the ED. Additionally, the paper introduces model-free control, which is a powerful technique to handle model inaccuracies, uncertainties, and unexpected demands for patient care. This approach allows for real-time adjustments in trajectory planning, ensuring that the system responds effectively to changing conditions. The simulations conducted on a real emergency department at Barner Hospital validate the effectiveness of the proposed framework. This is a significant achievement, demonstrating the adaptability and robustness of the system even in scenarios involving random demands and high-pressure care situations.