ANALYZING THE SPATIOTEMPORAL PATTERNS OF EMERGENCY MEDICAL TRAVELS FROM FCD DATA

Abstract. Night emergency medical service as an emergency situation usually requires fast response time. This is not only related to the accessibility of the road, but also to the spatial distribution pattern of the hospital. A reasonable spatial distribution can help reduce travel time. Based on the characteristics of hospital trips in Shanghai, this paper extracts the night emergency medical visit trajectories of Shanghai from Floating Car Data (FCD) and analyzes the general statistical characteristics, including time characteristics, travel distance, etc. Using the alpha-shape algorithm and Moran ’s I index, the spatial distribution patterns of medical facilities in Shanghai was explored. The results show that: (1) The emergency medical travels mainly occur before midnight (18:00–24:00), and the number of weekend travels is slightly less than that of working days; (2) The travel radius of most emergency travels is less than 15km, and the time consumption is less than 30 minutes; (3) In terms of spatial distribution, the medical resources in Shanghai have great regional differences and high concentration, showing a "core-edge" pattern. The medical resources decrease from city centre to the suburban area in a radial pattern. These findings are helpful for us to understand the characteristics of emergency travels in cities and identify areas where medical resources are scarce. It can provide suggestions for the decision makers in the Ministry of Health and help optimize the allocation of medical resources.