Authors
Luyi Yang, Shiliang Cui, Zhongbin Wang
Publication date
2022/5
Journal
Production and Operations Management
Volume
31
Issue
5
Pages
2204-2221
Publisher
SAGE Publications
Description
In the event of a virus outbreak such as Covid‐19, testing is key. However, long waiting lines at testing facilities often discourage individuals from getting tested. This paper utilizes queueing‐game‐theoretic models to study how testing facilities should set scheduling and pricing policies to incentivize individuals to test, with the goal to identify the most cases of infection. Our findings are as follows. First, under the first‐in‐first‐out discipline (FIFO), the common practice of making testing free attracts the most testees but may not catch the most cases. Charging a testing fee may surprisingly increase case detection. Second, even though people who show symptoms are more likely to carry the virus, prioritizing these individuals over asymptomatic ones (another common practice) may let more cases go undetected than FIFO testing does. Third, we characterize the optimal scheduling and pricing policy. To maximize case …
Total citations
202120222023202412137
Scholar articles
L Yang, S Cui, Z Wang - Production and Operations Management, 2022