An application and framework for evaluating emergency department networks using location analysis and geographic information systems

In this paper we use fundamental location science models to evaluate how well a network of Emergency Departments (EDs) covers a population and to investigate a number of realistic changes. The parameters for the models are determined using Statistics Canada data and geographical information systems. The fundamental models are reformulated to account for the location of existing facilities to support brownfield analysis and benchmarking of the existing ED networks found in three Canadian provinces. Focusing on one province, Nova Scotia, a number of changes to the network are investigated including adding and removing EDs and extending the province's collaborative emergency centre program. By adapting the fundamental models and using standardized and publicly available data sets we provide a framework for other jurisdictions wanting to evaluate their ED networks and changes to them. This is a necessary step to optimize the capability, distribution, and mix of EDs in a given geographic region.