Pam is a healthcare administration leader for a large network of hospitals and health service centers that is attempting to predict future healthcare utilization at their centers over the next 5 years. She obtains data regarding patient use across the hospital network and health service centers and projects forward over the next 5 years to determine which areas might experience continued growth. After applying her time series model, she is able to demonstrate that, indeed, the hospital network and health service centers will experience significant growth. As she prepares to share her results and findings with the board, she also considers advocating for the development of a new regional health service center to fill one of the areas that will experience the most growth according to her forecast projections.
As a current or future healthcare administration leader, you may be asked to assess strategic planning and decision-making using time series analysis.
For this Discussion, reflect on time series models and forecasting. Think about how you might implement these methods for healthcare administration practice.
Post a description of some variables that you might evaluate using time series in your health services organization or one with which you are familiar. Then, explain what types of models might be most appropriate to measure, and analyze these variables. Be specific, and provide examples.