A computational investigation of COVID-19 transmission inside hospital wards and associated costs

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Management
• Infectious Disease Epidemiology
• Hospital Operations

Background:

• The COVID-19 pandemic significantly impacted hospitals, causing intra-hospital transmission and reduced non-COVID-19 patient admissions.
• High treatment costs for hospitalized COVID-19 patients and revenue loss from canceled procedures present financial challenges.
• Understanding ward design's role in infection spread and cost is crucial for pandemic preparedness.

Purpose of the Study:

• To computationally investigate the impact of 4-bed vs. 6-bed hospital bays on COVID-19 transmission.
• To analyze the effect of ward configuration on hospital costs and patient waiting lists.
• To evaluate the influence of side rooms for contact isolation within different bay designs.

Main Methods:

• Computational modeling of COVID-19 transmission within hospital wards.
• Simulation of patient flow, including admission, discharge, and contact tracing.
• Comparative analysis of 4-bed bays and 6-bed bays under varying discharge scenarios.

Main Results:

• Four-bed bays showed reduced infection rates only when patient discharge time decreased from 10 to 5 days.
• Expedited discharge in 4-bed bays also resulted in lower treatment costs for COVID-19 patients.
• Six-bed bays were associated with shorter hospital waiting lists, especially when side rooms were available for contacts.

Conclusions:

• Optimizing patient discharge in 4-bed bays can mitigate COVID-19 spread and reduce healthcare costs.
• Six-bed bays offer advantages in managing hospital capacity and reducing waiting times, particularly with supportive isolation facilities.
• Ward design and operational policies (like discharge times) are critical factors in managing infectious disease outbreaks within hospitals.