Evaluating the Military Medical Evacuation Dispatching and Delivery Problem via Simulation and Self-Exciting Hawkes Process
Abstract
The location, allocation, and utilization of military medical evacuation (MEDEVAC) resources significantly impact the quality and timeliness of medical care to injured troops. In 2009, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates introduced the Golden Hour mandate that entails the evacuation of critically-injured troops to military treatment facilities (MTFs) within an hour to prevent further complications. To develop high-quality policies that improve MEDEVAC system performance, several papers in the current literature assume that MTFs have both the capacity and capability of treating any patient, regardless of the type of injury. However, these assumptions are unrealistic when conducting high-intensity operations. While acknowledging MTF limitations, this thesis simulates the MEDEVAC dispatching and delivery system to evaluate the impact that MTF limitations have on system performance. Furthermore, this thesis adopts a realistic approach to modeling request arrival behavior via a Hawkes process. Results indicate that the MEDEVAC system, under the baseline policy, fails to meet the standard set by the Golden Hour mandate. As such, this thesis explores simple heuristic policies that seek to improve system performance. The insights gained from these explored policies highlight the substantial impact MTFs have on MEDEVAC systems and should be considered in future research.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Mar 24, 2022
- Accession Number
- AD1170722
Entities
People
- Virbon B. Frial
Organizations
- Air Force Institute of Technology