A Multiobjective Model for Regional Planning of Health Facilities

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Abstract
Presented herein is a multiobjective planning model for a regional health-facility system. The system consists of a regional center, intermediate and local hospitals, and health centers. This planning model is based on the maximization of the system effectiveness. A step-by-step planning procedure which includes all interactions among facility levels is applied. First, by means of an iterative algorithm, the sizes and locations are obtained for each chosen number of facilities. Next the optimal system is determined by evaluating alternative systems according to their effectiveness, in terms of cost and utilization criteria. A numerical example is given to illustrate the computational procedure.