Title: Location-allocation models for healthcare facilities with long-term demand

Authors: Ruilin Ouyang; Tasnim Ibn Faiz; Md. Noor-E-Alam

Addresses: Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, Northeastern University, 360 Huntington Ave, Boston, MA 02115, USA ' Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, Northeastern University, 360 Huntington Ave, Boston, MA 02115, USA ' Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, Northeastern University, 360 Huntington Ave, Boston, MA 02115, USA

Abstract: Healthcare facility location decisions are of great importance due to their impact on direct and social cost of people's well-being in a region. Optimal location decisions considering only current demand may become suboptimal as demand distribution changes. Considering future demand realisations in the decision making process can ensure long-term optimality. We present three mathematical models which follow grid-based location approach, and consider current and future demands in providing optimal location-allocation decisions. The first model considers allocations of present and future patients only to the nearest facilities. The second model allows patients to travel to facilities within allowable distance. The third model allows allocation of patients from one location to multiple facilities. The models are implemented with AMPL and numerical instances are solved with the CPLEX solver. Results show that the models are capable of solving medium size problems and the third model performs better in providing high quality solutions.

Keywords: healthcare facility location; grid-based location problem; long-term location decision; integer programming.

DOI: 10.1504/IJOR.2020.107531

International Journal of Operational Research, 2020 Vol.38 No.3, pp.295 - 320

Received: 30 Jan 2017
Accepted: 09 Oct 2017
Published online: 01 Jun 2020 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article