Appointment Scheduling Problem under Fairness Policy in Healthcare Services: Fuzzy Ant Lion Optimizer

Abstract

This study addresses the application of the Integer Linear Programming technique for the patient Appointment Scheduling Problem (ASP). In this research, we propose a Mixed-Integer Linear Programming (MILP) model to formulate the problem and treat patients admitted to hospitals and stay in a queue based on their general health status (urgent or regular patients). Moreover, the ASP has two main objectives that often provide early patient admissions. The first objective is based on fairness policy as an essential factor in the healthcare service to help minimize patient waiting time. The second one is to maximize the efficiency of healthcare services in line with patients’ satisfaction. Moreover, we have addressed the Fuzzy Ant Lion Optimization (FALO) strategy and Non-dominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm II (NSGA-II) are utilized to compare and solve the resulting multi-objective ASP. As the application of the model, fairness policy is analyzed in scenario 1 using FALO, and in scenario 2, NSGA-II is applied. The performances of the solution algorithms are then tested using datasets of a big regional hospital in Shanghai. The outcomes indicate potential advantages of implementing the presented approach. In particular, the suggested FALO increases the fairness and patients’ satisfaction by more than 80% while reducing the waiting times by 50% within the basic appointment scheduling system.