scispace - formally typeset
Search or ask a question
Book ChapterDOI

Optimization, Simulation and Predictive Analytics in Healthcare

TL;DR: This chapter discusses the use of operations research techniques such as optimization, simulations and predictive analytics in healthcare, from strategic resources and capacity planning to operational and clinical issues such as resource scheduling and treatment planning.
Abstract: This chapter discusses the use of operations research techniques such as optimization, simulations and predictive analytics in healthcare. The chapter introduces optimization problems in healthcare, from strategic resources and capacity planning to operational and clinical issues such as resource scheduling and treatment planning. Case studies using operations research in healthcare in Singapore will be presented, followed by some insights into improved healthcare delivery.
Citations
More filters
Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article , a fully portable photonic smart garment with 30 multiplexed polymer optical fiber (POF) sensors combined with Artificial Intelligence (AI) algorithms was developed to evaluate the system ability on the activity classification of multiple subjects.
Abstract: Smart textiles are novel solutions for remote healthcare monitoring which involve non-invasive sensors-integrated clothing. Polymer optical fiber (POF) sensors have attractive features for smart textile technology, and combined with Artificial Intelligence (AI) algorithms increase the potential of intelligent decision-making. This paper presents the development of a fully portable photonic smart garment with 30 multiplexed POF sensors combined with AI algorithms to evaluate the system ability on the activity classification of multiple subjects. Six daily activities are evaluated: standing, sitting, squatting, up-and-down arms, walking and running. A k-nearest neighbors classifier is employed and results from 10 trials of all volunteers presented an accuracy of 94.00 (0.14)%. To achieve an optimal amount of sensors, the principal component analysis is used for one volunteer and results showed an accuracy of 98.14 (0.31)% using 10 sensors, 1.82% lower than using 30 sensors. Cadence and breathing rate were estimated and compared to the data from an inertial measurement unit located on the garment back and the highest error was 2.22%. Shoulder flexion/extension was also evaluated. The proposed approach presented feasibility for activity recognition and movement-related parameters extraction, leading to a system fully optimized, including the number of sensors and wireless communication, for Healthcare 4.0.

18 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, emergency department (ED) overcrowding is a well-recognized worldwide phenomenon which affects the quality of emergency care, a direct consequence of which is a long wait for visit and treat.
Abstract: Emergency department (ED) overcrowding is a well-recognized worldwide phenomenon which affects the quality of emergency care. A direct consequence of overcrowding is a long wait for visit and treat...

4 citations

Posted Content
TL;DR: In this paper, a discrete event simulation (DES) model is proposed to study the patient flows through a medium-size ED located in a region of Central Italy recently hit by a severe earthquake.
Abstract: Emergency Departments (EDs) overcrowding is a well recognized worldwide phenomenon. The consequences range from long waiting times for visits and treatment of patients up to life-threatening health conditions. The international community is devoting greater and greater efforts to analyze this phenomenon aiming at reducing waiting times, improving the quality of the service. Within this framework, we propose a Discrete Event Simulation (DES) model to study the patient flows through a medium-size ED located in a region of Central Italy recently hit by a severe earthquake. In particular, our aim is to simulate unusual ED conditions, corresponding to critical events (like a natural disaster) that cause a sudden spike in the number of patient arrivals. The availability of detailed data concerning the ED processes enabled to build an accurate DES model and to perform extensive scenario analyses. The model provides a valid decision support system for the ED managers also in defining specific emergency plans to be activated in case of mass casualty disasters.

2 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper , a solution approach for staff scheduling problems at inpatient clinics where demand for services and patient discharges are considered to be stochastic is described, where the authors use Monte Carlo Simulation to generate samples of these scenarios and a well known Stochastic Optimization algorithm, called the Sample Average Approximation (SAA) to find a robust solution for the problem across all possible scenarios.

1 citations

References
More filters
Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors propose an approach that attempts to make this trade-off more attractive by flexibly adjusting the level of conservatism of the robust solutions in terms of probabilistic bounds of constraint violations.
Abstract: A robust approach to solving linear optimization problems with uncertain data was proposed in the early 1970s and has recently been extensively studied and extended. Under this approach, we are willing to accept a suboptimal solution for the nominal values of the data in order to ensure that the solution remains feasible and near optimal when the data changes. A concern with such an approach is that it might be too conservative. In this paper, we propose an approach that attempts to make this trade-off more attractive; that is, we investigate ways to decrease what we call the price of robustness. In particular, we flexibly adjust the level of conservatism of the robust solutions in terms of probabilistic bounds of constraint violations. An attractive aspect of our method is that the new robust formulation is also a linear optimization problem. Thus we naturally extend our methods to discrete optimization problems in a tractable way. We report numerical results for a portfolio optimization problem, a knapsack problem, and a problem from the Net Lib library.

3,364 citations

01 Jan 2004
TL;DR: An approach is proposed that flexibly adjust the level of conservatism of the robust solutions in terms of probabilistic bounds of constraint violations, and an attractive aspect of this method is that the new robust formulation is also a linear optimization problem, so it naturally extend to discrete optimization problems in a tractable way.
Abstract: A robust approach to solving linear optimization problems with uncertain data was proposed in the early 1970s and has recently been extensively studied and extended. Under this approach, we are willing to accept a suboptimal solution for the nominal values of the data in order to ensure that the solution remains feasible and near optimal when the data changes. A concern with such an approach is that it might be too conservative. In this paper, we propose an approach that attempts to make this trade-off more attractive; that is, we investigate ways to decrease what we call the price of robustness. In particular, we flexibly adjust the level of conservatism of the robust solutions in terms of probabilistic bounds of constraint violations. An attractive aspect of our method is that the new robust formulation is also a linear optimization problem. Thus we naturally extend our methods to discrete optimization problems in a tractable way. We report numerical results for a portfolio optimization problem, a knapsack problem, and a problem from the Net Lib library.

3,359 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: If U is an ellipsoidal uncertainty set, then for some of the most important generic convex optimization problems (linear programming, quadratically constrained programming, semidefinite programming and others) the corresponding robust convex program is either exactly, or approximately, a tractable problem which lends itself to efficientalgorithms such as polynomial time interior point methods.
Abstract: We study convex optimization problems for which the data is not specified exactly and it is only known to belong to a given uncertainty set U, yet the constraints must hold for all possible values of the data from U. The ensuing optimization problem is called robust optimization. In this paper we lay the foundation of robust convex optimization. In the main part of the paper we show that if U is an ellipsoidal uncertainty set, then for some of the most important generic convex optimization problems (linear programming, quadratically constrained programming, semidefinite programming and others) the corresponding robust convex program is either exactly, or approximately, a tractable problem which lends itself to efficientalgorithms such as polynomial time interior point methods.

2,501 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This paper proposes a model that describes uncertainty in both the distribution form (discrete, Gaussian, exponential, etc.) and moments (mean and covariance matrix) and demonstrates that for a wide range of cost functions the associated distributionally robust stochastic program can be solved efficiently.
Abstract: Stochastic programming can effectively describe many decision-making problems in uncertain environments. Unfortunately, such programs are often computationally demanding to solve. In addition, their solution can be misleading when there is ambiguity in the choice of a distribution for the random parameters. In this paper, we propose a model that describes uncertainty in both the distribution form (discrete, Gaussian, exponential, etc.) and moments (mean and covariance matrix). We demonstrate that for a wide range of cost functions the associated distributionally robust (or min-max) stochastic program can be solved efficiently. Furthermore, by deriving a new confidence region for the mean and the covariance matrix of a random vector, we provide probabilistic arguments for using our model in problems that rely heavily on historical data. These arguments are confirmed in a practical example of portfolio selection, where our framework leads to better-performing policies on the “true” distribution underlying the daily returns of financial assets.

1,569 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This paper provides a comprehensive survey of research on appointment scheduling in outpatient services and identifies future research directions that provide opportunities to expand existing knowledge and close the gap between theory and practice.
Abstract: This paper provides a comprehensive survey of research on appointment scheduling in outpatient services. Effective scheduling systems have the goal of matching demand with capacity so that resources are better utilized and patient waiting times are minimized. Our goal is to present general problem formulation and modeling considerations, and to provide taxonomy of methodologies used in previous literature. Current literature fails to develop generally applicable guidelines to design appointment systems, as most studies have suggested highly situation-specific solutions. We identify future research directions that provide opportunities to expand existing knowledge and close the gap between theory and practice.

928 citations