Projects: Healthcare Management Analytics Lab

Neurointensivists care for patients with life-threatening neurological conditions in the Neuro Intensive Care Unit (ICU), working closely with neurosurgeons, neurologists, radiologists, and others. At the University of Chicago Medicine, they are also the first responders to any suspected stroke emergencies for patients throughout the hospital. Like many hospital service lines, they provide essential services that contribute to the hospital’s overall profitability, but it is unclear how much of this profit should be allocated directly to them. For example, they refer patients to neurosurgery, but they also manage the Neuro ICU which takes care of patients after surgery. As a result, it is difficult to provide financial justification for expanding the service line unless its impact on the overall financial picture is better understood.

The goal of this project is to conduct a financial analysis of the neurointensivist service line that provides rigorously defensible ranges for their financial contribution. You will develop standardized rules to assess the incremental value of the service line across each patient episode’s timeline. By applying these rules to all episodes of care across many years, and recalculating reimbursements, you will be able to assess the financial value of the service line along various dimensions. A similar approach will be applied to other service lines that care for the same patients, to construct a profit allocation that is fair and meaningful. This project will give you deep exposure to hospital finances, and tools to help address an important open problem in hospital administration.