Prescriptive Healthcare Analytics: A Tutorial on Discrete Optimization and Simulation

Mathematical Modelling, as a paradigm, has been used in many different industries and healthcare is no exception. In this tutorial, which is split into three parts, we will firstly provide an introduction to mathematical modelling techniques. This includes methods such as queuing theory, discrete event simulation (DES), and mathematical programming. The second part of the tutorial will focus on Integer and Linear Programming as part of Mathematical Programming. This part includes case studies which help participants learn to develop spreadsheet-based models with Open Source solvers. The third part of the tutorial is focused on DES modelling. In healthcare operations, especially in urgent and emergency care, there is a significant variation in demand. This requires careful consideration of statistical distributions in the inter-arrival time of and service duration to treat patients. The tutorial will close with a discussion of different pros and cons of techniques and highlight an analytics and modelling academy that Cardiff University runs in collaboration with the National Health Service in the U.K.