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The absence of systematic disparities in health utilization leads to achieving equity in health. However, equity in delivering healthcare services is always challenging because of the financial and medical resource constraints. In this regard, a practical multi-objective mixed-integer linear programming model with priority-differentiated demand classes is presented for cost-effective inventory management of blood products considering the health equity. The system deals with multiple substitutable products. There are elective and non-elective demands, which are categorized into three main classes based on medical urgencies. The health objectives are investigated to achieve a desirable health equity level in delivering healthcare services to patients. Moreover, the economic objective is pursued to minimize the total costs incurred across managing the inventory without weakening the service level. An effective demand-oriented hybrid heuristic is proposed to issue and allocate blood for equitable demand satisfaction. In this regard, a goal programming approach is utilized to find an optimum solution. The applicability of the model is validated through a real case study. Finally, several sensitivity analyses are conducted to gain useful managerial insights. According to the results, the proposed model presents a proper solution by making a reasonable health-economic trade-off. The results also confirm a beneficial improvement in the patient care and promotion of health equity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rapid population growth has resulted in ever-growing demand for healthcare services, which forces managers to use costly resources such as operating rooms effectively. The surgery-scheduling problem is a general title that is attributed to such problems as patient selection and sequencing of surgeries at the operational level, setting their start times, and assigning resources. Hospital managers usually encounter elective surgeries that can be delayed slightly and emergency surgeries whose arrivals are unexpected, and most of them need quick access to operating rooms. Reserving operating room capacity for handling incoming emergency surgeries is expensive. Moreover, emergency surgeries cannot afford long waiting times. This paper deals with the problem of surgery scheduling in the presence of emergency surgeries with a focus on balancing the efficient use of operating room capacity and responsiveness to emergency surgeries. We proposed a new algorithm for surgery scheduling with a specific operating room capacity planning and analyzed it using simulation method based on real data. This algorithm respects working hours and availability of staff and other resources in a surgical suite. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]