Case Mix Planning using The Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution and Robust Estimation: a Case Study

Abstract

Management of surgery units and operating room (OR) play key roles in optimizing the utilization of hospitals. On this line Case Mix Planning (CMP) is normally applied to long term planning of OR. This refers to allocating OR time to each patient’s group. In this paper a mathematical model is applied to optimize the allocation of OR time among surgical groups. In addition, another technique is applied to provide an Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) considering different hospital performance measures. Furthermore, robust estimation approach is used to estimate the models' parameters using real data. The proposed model is solved using GAMS software. The results of the study performed in this paper reveal that the proposed methods results in an increase in total hospital operated “value of patients” by 21.5%. This value is defined according to hospital priority and includes moral and ethical considerations. In addition, for each resource, a sensitivity analysis of the findings to the changes is conducted. The results of the sensitivity analysis indicated that the value of the objective function significantly increased via reallocating OR time to surgical groups and/or enhancing the OR facilities to support more surgical specialties.