Logistical Design for Optimal Care (LogiDOC)

Driven by public opinion, increased health expenditures, an ageing population, and long waiting lists, a flood of changes in the healthcare system has been set in motion to try to make the Dutch hospitals more efficient. Supported by more advanced ICT (e.g. the introduction of electronic patient records) and a new financial system (the introduction of diagnose related groups), the majority of the hospitals is reconsidering the organisation of the internal processes. The challenge for hospital management is to redesign the internal layout and control in such a way that both the interests of the patient and of the hospital are addressed. This implies a wide variety of complex strategic decisions that contribute to the simultaneous optimisation of quality of care, costs and patient lead-time. The nature of hospital work does not allow copying success stories from industry, where logistical optimisation has a long history. Healthcare processes and supply chains show considerable differences, such as the high degree of uncertainty, the medical autonomy of clinicians, and the fact that patients cannot be treated as products. The models and techniques developed in LogiDOC provide tools to make and evaluate trade-offs, and to assess the impact of capacity decisions on performance indicators for quality of care (e.g. cancellation rate, waiting time), quality of labour (e.g. overtime), and productivity (e.g. costs, efficiency, utilisation). To establish broad recognition in the healthcare application domain and application of the research results we collaborate with the partners from the healthcare sector.