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Optimization in Healthcare Delivery Modeling: Methods and Applications

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Handbook of Healthcare Operations Management

Part of the book series: International Series in Operations Research & Management Science ((ISOR,volume 184))

Abstract

Optimization methods have been applied to a wide variety of problems in healthcare ranging from operational level scheduling decisions to the design of national healthcare policies. In this chapter, we provide an overview of several practical optimization applications in the domain of healthcare operations management, including appointment scheduling, operating room scheduling, capacity planning, workforce scheduling, healthcare facility location, organ allocation and transplantation, disease screening, and vaccine design. We provide detailed examples to illustrate the use of different optimization techniques such as discrete convex analysis, stochastic programming, and approximate dynamic programming in these areas.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    A function f : ℤ q → ℝ ∪{∞} is L-convex iff \(f(z) + f(y) \geq f(z \vee y) + f(z \wedge y)\) for all z, y ∈ ℤ q and \(\exists r \in \mathbb{R} : f(z + 1) = f(z) + r\quad \forall z \in {\mathbb{Z}}^{q}\) where \(z \vee y = (\max (z_{i},y_{i}) : 0{\ast}\leq i \leq q) \in {\mathbb{Z}}^{q},z \wedge y = (\min (z_{i},y_{i}) : 0 \leq i \leq q) \in {\mathbb{Z}}^{q}\) (Murota 2003).

  2. 2.

    Subdifferential of a convex function f is the set of all subgradients and denoted with ∂f.

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  1. Richard Ivey School of Business, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada

    Sakine Batun & Mehmet A. Begen

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  1. Sakine Batun
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  2. Mehmet A. Begen
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Correspondence to Mehmet A. Begen .

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  1. , IOE Department, University of Michigan, Beal Ave 1205, Ann Arbor, 48109, Michigan, USA

    Brian T. Denton

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Batun, S., Begen, M.A. (2013). Optimization in Healthcare Delivery Modeling: Methods and Applications. In: Denton, B. (eds) Handbook of Healthcare Operations Management. International Series in Operations Research & Management Science, vol 184. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-5885-2_4

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