Optimal service order for mass-casualty incident response

In the aftermath of a mass-casualty incident, one of the first steps in the response is to triage the casualties. Triage systems categorize the casualties based on criticality, and then prioritize casualties for transfer to hospitals for further treatment. The prioritization is usually based on simply ordering the casualty types without considering the available resources to transport them and the scale of the disaster. These factors can significantly affect the outcome of the rescue efforts. In this research we study a mathematical model to incorporate the above mentioned factors in the triage process. We assume a disaster location with a set of casualties, categorized by criticality and care requirements, that must be transported to hospitals in the region using a fleet of available ambulances. The goal is to maximize the expected number of survivors. We analyze the structure of the optimal solution to this problem, and compare the performance of the model with the current practice and other related models in the literature. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.