Integrating simulation and optimisation in health care centre management

In this paper we address an important design and management problem in a health care centre where a set of services, required by one or more categories of users in different but predetermined sequences, are provided. Various types of servers and facilities are assigned to the different services and are subject to budget restrictions. The number of servers of each type assigned to each service affects the overall efficiency of the system and its indicators, such as the total time spent in the system by the various categories of users. We present a methodology that interactively uses system simulation, estimation of target function and optimisation to calculate and validate the optimal configuration of servers. Such a methodology constitutes the core of an effective decision support system for health care managers. In this paper we describe an application of the proposed methodology and show its effectiveness in improving the management of a transfusion centre.