The waiting times distribution of public hospitals using a GAMLSS approach: the case of Andalusia (Spain)

Patients’ waiting times are caused by the imbalance between the available supply and the existing demand in the health sector. Exceeding maximum waiting times may worsen diseases and entail additional costs to public health systems. This paper studies the theoretical probability distribution that be...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Caro Navarro, Ángela, Haro García, Julia de
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2024
País:España
Institución:Universidad de Alcalá (UAH)
Repositorio:e_Buah Biblioteca Digital Universidad de Alcalá
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:ebuah.uah.es:10017/61389
Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/10017/61389
https://dx.doi.org/10.38191/iirr-jorr.24.016
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Model selection
Waiting lists
Waiting times
GAIC
GAMLSS
Selección de modelo
Listas de espera
Tiempos de espera
Economía
Geografía
Sociología
Economics
Geography
Sociology
Descripción
Sumario:Patients’ waiting times are caused by the imbalance between the available supply and the existing demand in the health sector. Exceeding maximum waiting times may worsen diseases and entail additional costs to public health systems. This paper studies the theoretical probability distribution that best fits the average waiting times for non-urgent surgeries and first outpatient consultations for Spanish public hospitals in the region of Andalusia. For doing this we apply Generalized Additive Models for Location, Scale and Shape, which cover a wide range of probability distributions. We propose the final selected models as a tool to be considered by health authorities for a better management of waiting times/lists.