| Article ID: | iaor1999746 |
| Country: | United Kingdom |
| Volume: | 48 |
| Issue: | 9 |
| Start Page Number: | 884 |
| End Page Number: | 891 |
| Publication Date: | Sep 1997 |
| Journal: | Journal of the Operational Research Society |
| Authors: | Tobin P., McGurk C., Sier D. |
| Keywords: | optimization: simulated annealing, scheduling |
The scheduling of surgical procedures in hospitals is examined in the context of an optimisation problem. The solution procedure proposed uses simulated annealing to find improved solutions. An assessment of current practice reveals that customising of any automated procedure will be necessary as the contraints used to describe the problem are often hospital specific.