Pam is a healthcare administration leader for a large  network of hospitals and health service centers that is attempting to  predict future healthcare utilization at their centers over the next 5  years. She obtains data regarding patient use across the hospital  network and health service centers and projects forward over the next 5  years to determine which areas might experience continued growth. After  applying her time series model, she is able to demonstrate that, indeed,  the hospital network and health service centers will experience  significant growth. As she prepares to share her results and findings  with the board, she also considers advocating for the development of a  new regional health service center to fill one of the areas that will  experience the most growth according to her forecast projections.

As a current or future healthcare administration leader, you may be  asked to assess strategic planning and decision making using time series  analysis.

For this Discussion, review the resources for this week, and reflect  on time series models and forecasting. Think about how you might  implement these methods for healthcare administration practice.

By Day 3

Post a description of some variables that you might  evaluate using time series in your health services organization or one  with which you are familiar. Then, explain what types of models might be  most appropriate to measure, and analyze these variables. Be specific,  and provide examples.