Article ID: | iaor20023319 |
Country: | United Kingdom |
Volume: | 53 |
Issue: | 4 |
Start Page Number: | 387 |
End Page Number: | 396 |
Publication Date: | Apr 2002 |
Journal: | Journal of the Operational Research Society |
Authors: | Caballero R., Gmez T., Ruiz F., Arenas M., Bilbao A., Rodrguez M.V. |
Keywords: | programming: goal |
In this paper, a Goal Programming model is developed in order to study the possibility of decreasing the length of stay on the waiting list of a hospital that belongs to the Spanish Health Service. First, a problem is solved to determine the optimal planning for one year, so as to make the maximum waiting time decrease to six months (at present, some operations have a waiting list of more than a year). Afterwards, two other problems are solved in order to determine the impact that a further reduction of the waiting time (four months) would have on the requirements of extra resources for the hospital. The particular problem for the Trauma service is described in detail, but global results are shown and commented on.