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TopState Of The Art And Contribution
The planning and scheduling literature covers a wide range of research methods from management and operational research that involve a combination of analysis and solution/technical evaluation.
The scheduling of surgical operations has been a topic of interest in the literature for several decades. In the past, researchers have focused on developing scheduling algorithms for single objective optimization, such as minimizing the total completion time or maximizing the utilization of resources.
More recently, there has been a growing interest in addressing the complexities inherent in the scheduling of surgeries by considering multiple objectives. Balas et al. (2015) proposed a multi-objective optimization model for scheduling surgeries that takes into account both patient waiting time and surgeon workload. Similarly, Anwar et al. (2017) presented a bi-objective optimization model for the scheduling of surgeries that balances the surgeon’s workload and patient waiting time.
In addition to considering multiple objectives, researchers have also started to address the constraints and complexities of the operating room environment. For instance, Ahmed et al., (2020) proposed a scheduling algorithm for the operating room that considers surgeon preferences, availability, and patient priority.
Several metaheuristics algorithms, such as genetic algorithms and simulated annealing, have also been applied to the surgical scheduling problem (Lin et al., 2023). The scheduling of surgical procedures continues to be a topic of interest among academic researchers (Eshghali et al.,2023; Wang et al., 2022).
Most papers focus on time constraints such as the opening period of the room, the available period for each time slot, and the average waiting time. Few studies take into account constraints such as priority by age, assignment laws, and room specialization, and even fewer consider the impact of budget and program feasibility. To our knowledge, few studies take into account constraints such as priority by age (Cardoen et al., 2009), assignment laws and rooms specialization respect (Sier et al., 1997). In (Saadani et al., 2006), the authors describe the problem as a three stages hybrid flow shop (HFS) taking into account the stretcher bearers.
The objectives of surgery scheduling are diverse and can include perioperative variable costs (Dexter et al., 2002), hospitalization cost (Colin, 2000) and the need for instruments (Kumar & Shim, 2006). As for operating theater multi-objective scheduling, it was proposed in (Cardoen et al., 2009) and (Lust & Meskens, 2012). Meanwhile in (Lust & Meskens, 2012), the authors assume that the number of awakening beds has no impact, and the day is divided into 20-minute intervals. They also minimize objectives related to operating room opening and nurses' specialties and affinities, which can be optimized at a medium-term level.