Pathfinder-Project ORM

 

Health Care Logistics Prof. Walther

Over ten percent of the German gross domestic product are used to finance the health care system. The demographic development and the introduction of case-based lump sum compensation increase cost pressures on hospitals.

The present pathfinder project rests on the assumption that the quality and efficiency of medical care under limited resources can be improved by using mathematical optimization models and methods in hospital planning processes.

The lack of coordination of central tasks such as appointment scheduling and transport logistics leads to non-optimal processes and thus to consumer and employee dissatisfaction. An integrated and simultaneous planning process is to exploit optimization potentials and result in more robust, stable processes.     

The present pathfinder project aims to analyze these optimization potentials, assess whether the planning tasks lend themselves to enhancement through the available optimization models and methods, and identify and secure the expertise from RWTH researchers that is required for successful research and implementation.

As a result, an interdisciplinary interest group in the field of health care optimization will be established at RWTH Aachen. The group will develop a joint proposal for further funding.