Maartje Zonderland

Optimization in Health Care

Description of research

In this project we apply techniques from Operations Research and Operations Management to improve operational processes in health care. Using a problem-driven approach, our aim is to provide solutions for current problems at Leiden University Medical Center, which are also of interest to other hospitals. We start with improving processes at individual departments, for example (1) reorganization of processes at an anesthesiology outpatient clinic, (2) planning and scheduling of emergent surgeries for a neurosurgery department, and (3) fair allocation of scarce MRI scanner capacity among hospital departments. We then continue with the improvement of processes that involve several departments, such as (4) capacity analysis of the clinical neurosurgical patient care chain, and (5) determining an appropriate scheduling methodology for radio diagnostic procedures in care pathways.

Advisor(s)

Prof. dr. Richard J. Boucherie (University of Twente, Stochastic Operations Research)

Dr. Fred Boer (Leiden University Medical Center)

Duration

January 2008 – December 2011

Sponsor

Leiden University Medical Center

Strategic Research Orientation

IE&ICT - Industrial Engineering & ICT

Links to relevant web pages:

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www.lumc.nl

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http://www.math.utwente.nl/sor/

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http://www.choir.utwente.nl/

Pictures:

Maartje Zonderland