Reference number : GC-2017-Q4-00974, amendment number : , agreement type : G, recipient legal name : Lahrichi, Nadia (École Polytechnique de Montréal), recipient country : CA, recipient province : nan, recipient city : Quebec|Québec, recipient postal code : nan, program name english : Engage Grants for universities, program name french : Subventions d'engagement partenarial pour les universités, program purpose english : Telemedicine is the use of telecommunication and information technology to provide healthcare from a_x000D_
distance. The virtual interaction between the patient and the healthcare expert can be either pre-recorded or_x000D_
done in real-time. In this interaction, a healthcare expert offers advice on whether it is better for the patient to_x000D_
treat his/her symptoms, wait to see his/her regular doctor, go to a clinic, or go to an emergency room. In this_x000D_
project, we collaborate with Dialogue, a Montreal-based start-up that provides progressive and affordable_x000D_
healthcare, accessible on mobile, for Canadian companies. Dialogue employs different types of healthcare_x000D_
experts. Although employees work from 8am to 8pm from Monday to Friday, patients can log into the app at_x000D_
any time of the day. Dialogue currently dimensions and schedules the workforce by estimating ratios: number_x000D_
of chats a nurse can serve per hour/number of patients arriving to the system, number of assistants/number of_x000D_
nurses. Moreover, the estimate of the number of chats that a healthcare expert can serve per time period does_x000D_
not include the level of seniority and the experience of the employee. This planning method often results in the_x000D_
inability to hire an appropriate number of healthcare experts, in a decrease in the service level (i.e. patients_x000D_
usually wait a long time before being served), and in the over-utilization of nurses as they are usually allocated_x000D_
to overtime and they are assigned to more patients than they can handle. The objective of this project is_x000D_
therefore to provide Dialogue with a decision-support tool to staff dimensioning and scheduling. This involves_x000D_
several challenges from the modeling and solution perspectives. We face complex work regulations, demand_x000D_
variability and uncertainty and the length of the planning horizon. In order to address these challenges, we_x000D_
propose to use a two-stage stochastic programming model. This model will include uncertainty in demands to_x000D_
provide robust staffing and scheduling decisions that will react, in a better way, to changes in patients'_x000D_
requirements. We believe that the implementation of such a project will contribute to reducing patients' wait_x000D_
time and improving satisfaction. This should also relieve congestion in clinics and hospitals., program purpose french : Telemedicine is the use of telecommunication and information technology to provide healthcare from a_x000D_
distance. The virtual interaction between the patient and the healthcare expert can be either pre-recorded or_x000D_
done in real-time. In this interaction, a healthcare expert offers advice on whether it is better for the patient to_x000D_
treat his/her symptoms, wait to see his/her regular doctor, go to a clinic, or go to an emergency room. In this_x000D_
project, we collaborate with Dialogue, a Montreal-based start-up that provides progressive and affordable_x000D_
healthcare, accessible on mobile, for Canadian companies. Dialogue employs different types of healthcare_x000D_
experts. Although employees work from 8am to 8pm from Monday to Friday, patients can log into the app at_x000D_
any time of the day. Dialogue currently dimensions and schedules the workforce by estimating ratios: number_x000D_
of chats a nurse can serve per hour/number of patients arriving to the system, number of assistants/number of_x000D_
nurses. Moreover, the estimate of the number of chats that a healthcare expert can serve per time period does_x000D_
not include the level of seniority and the experience of the employee. This planning method often results in the_x000D_
inability to hire an appropriate number of healthcare experts, in a decrease in the service level (i.e. patients_x000D_
usually wait a long time before being served), and in the over-utilization of nurses as they are usually allocated_x000D_
to overtime and they are assigned to more patients than they can handle. The objective of this project is_x000D_
therefore to provide Dialogue with a decision-support tool to staff dimensioning and scheduling. This involves_x000D_
several challenges from the modeling and solution perspectives. We face complex work regulations, demand_x000D_
variability and uncertainty and the length of the planning horizon. In order to address these challenges, we_x000D_
propose to use a two-stage stochastic programming model. This model will include uncertainty in demands to_x000D_
provide robust staffing and scheduling decisions that will react, in a better way, to changes in patients'_x000D_
requirements. We believe that the implementation of such a project will contribute to reducing patients' wait_x000D_
time and improving satisfaction. This should also relieve congestion in clinics and hospitals., agreement title english : Workforce sizing and scheduling in Telemedecine, agreement title french : Workforce sizing and scheduling in Telemedecine, agreement number : EGP, agreement value : 25000.0, agreement start date : 2018-03-07, agreement end date : nan, description english : nan, description french : nan, expected results english : nan, expected results french : nan, additional information english : Grant or Award spanning more than one fiscal year (2017-2018 to 2018-2019)., additional information french : Subvention ou bourse octroyée s'appliquant à plus d'un exercice financier (2017-2018 à 2018-2019)., owner organization : nserc-crsng, owner organization title : Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada | Conseil de recherches en sciences naturelles et en génie du Canada