SUPPORT-HH: Ferramentas de apoio à decisão para a gestão da Hospitalização Domiciliária

Home Hospitalization (HH) emerges as a strategy with proven potential to alleviate pressure on health systems. It enables patients to recover faster, thereby enhancing overall capacity and reducing costs for hospitals. However, despite these recognized benefits, the adoption of HH presents new and complex management challenges that remain largely unaddressed in the existing literature. In fact, the literature on HH management is virtually non-existent, with only two publications addressing HH units [19-20], both of which focused only on the routing and scheduling of patient visits. However, the approaches either lack validation, do not consider important characteristics of HH management, or do not consider the inherent uncertainty in planning. Thus, there is a need for the development of decision support tools to aid in demand forecasting, resource planning and allocation, and scheduling of patient visits. SUPPORT-HH aims to address this research gap, with the primary goal of equipping health care providers with the necessary tools for effective HH management, with an approach structured around three key objectives, each targeting a distinct decision-making level within the HH management framework. 1. At the strategic level, SUPPORT-HH aims to develop decision support tools capable of accurately predicting the demand for HH services. This objective focuses on providing tools to aid in the planning of human and material resources, effectively determining the service capacity required to meet anticipated needs. 2. At the tactical level, SUPPORT-HH aims to develop decision support tools for the design of work shifts in HH. This involves considering the unique key characteristics of HH services, ensuring that staffing patterns are optimized for efficiency, fairness, and responsiveness to fluctuating service demands. 3. For operational planning, SUPPORT-HH aims to develop decision support tools for shift assignment, as well as the routing and scheduling of patient visits. This objective is vital to ensure that daily operations are efficient, minimizing travel times for health care providers and maximizing the continuity of care for patients. By establishing rigorous validation processes alongside a partner institution provider of HH, incorporating essential characteristics of HH management, and addressing inherent uncertainties in planning, SUPPORT-HH will bridge critical gaps identified in the few existing approaches. The project not only enhances academic understanding but also facilitates the wider and more effective implementation of HH services on a global scale.