Multi-objective surgery scheduling integrating surgeon constraints

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to generate a daily operating theater schedule aiming to minimize completion time and maximum overtime while integrating real-life surgeon constraints, such as their role, specialty, qualification and availability. Design/methodology/approach: The paper deals with complete surgery process using multi-objective surgery scheduling approach. Furthermore, the combinatorial nature of the studied problem does not allow to solve it to optimality. Therefore, the authors developed two approaches embedded in a tabu search metaheuristic, namely, weighted sum and e-constraint, to minimize completion time and maximum overtime. Findings: The integration of the upstream and downstream services of an intervention and the consideration of the specific constraints related to surgeons are very essential to obtaining more closed schedules to the realty. Practical implications: The paper includes implications for the development of efficient schedules for a significant number of operations coming from different specialties throughout its complete surgery process under multi-resource constraints. Social implications: The paper can help hospital managers and decision makers to well manage the budget by minimizing the overtime cost and by offering efficient daily operating theater schedule. Originality/value: The results of the paper will help hospital managers and decision makers to well manage the budget by minimizing the overtime cost and offering efficient daily operating theater schedule.