A0821
Title: Creating more equitable access to care through interhospital transfer networks
Authors: Korilyn Zachrison - Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School (United States) [presenting]
Abstract: There are a number of inequities in access to high-quality healthcare, in large part related to differences in where resources are located relative to where patients live and seek care. While one cannot move where hospitals are located, patients can be brought to a higher level of resources through interhospital transfer. The connections that are made between hospitals through patient transfer can be understood as a network. This network of interhospital transfers connects hospitals by moving patients to resources required for their care. The current state of interhospital transfer networks is not maximized for optimal patient benefit. However, by applying strategies from network science, such networks may be leveraged in a number of ways to create more efficient and more equitable systems of medical care.
