Managing Chronic Health Conditions with Limited Resources

Abstract

In this work, we aim to help patients and providers manage chronic health conditions using operations research. Providing quality care to patients means managing limited resources, including time, money, and medication. We explore two approaches to minimize the burden of resource scarcity on patient outcomes: 1) reducing resource demand and 2) increasing resource availability. First, we focus on reducing resource demand by optimizing the treatment regimen required to prevent disease progression. We provide a means of finding the optimal treatment interval for a patient in order to minimize the number of treatments and clinic visits without compromising patient health. We then provide a framework for optimizing the treatment of multiple chronic conditions and describe when it is optimal to synchronize treatment across conditions. We highlight the usefulness of these treatment planning models using a case study on patients with neovascular age-related macular degeneration, a chronic eye disease. Second, we seek to maximize the availability of chronic disease treatment in situations where patients face resource scarcity, such as in the case of organ transplantation. For patients on the transplant waiting list, the need for transplants far outpaces donation rates. We describe two polices designed to improve patient outcomes by increasing donation rates. We believe this work offers both theoretical and practical value to the field of healthcare operations research. By making chronic disease treatment more efficient and more readily available, we hope that the decision policies presented here drive meaningful change and make a lasting difference in the lives of patients.