A Blueprint for Healthcare Facilities to Enable Dynamic Operational Planning During the Covid-19 Pandemic

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has challenged healthcare systems globally. Sudden and rapid changes such as the fluctuations in confirmed COVID cases, the utilization of intensive care units and the availability of medical teams tested the resilience of healthcare facilities while forcing them to continuously update the operational plans. This research provides new insights into enabling healthcare to be agile while responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods The research provides a comprehensive summary of published changes made by various healthcare facilities in response to the pandemic. Results A blueprint is proposed to assist management in exploring and selecting the appropriate alternatives, allowing them to make decisions faster in a dynamic environment. Conclusions The blueprint can be tailored to each hospital based on its unique characteristics and the current epidemiological situation. In the future, a study could evaluate the use of simulation in automating the process of developing dynamic operational plans based on pre-selected criteria.