Simulating casualty transportation and allocation policies for mass casualty incident scenarios

Abstract

During mass casualty events, fast medical care must be provided to often many affected individuals. When resources like ambulances are limited, decision makers may need to consider incorporating mass transportation vehicles to assist with transportation. With time being a crucial factor, on-field decisions are typically based on practical and straightforward policies, such as sending casualties to the closest hospital until the capacity limit is reached. However, the integration of mass transportation vehicles necessitates a re-evaluation of these conventional policies. Therefore, this study aims to develop and evaluate various casualty transportation and allocation policies during mass casualty incidents using discrete-event simulation. An important feature of this study is the differentiation between life-threateningly and severely injured casualties. Life-threateningly injured casualties require immediate transportation to a hospital, whereas the latter can be considered stable enough to be transported using alternative modes of transportation, freeing up ambulances and decreasing overall transportation times.