Optimization of the utilization of reusable medical devices

This paper deals with the optimization of net compositions within hospitals. A net is a group of standard reusable medical devices (RMDs) needed for either a single surgery or several surgeries. The optimization of net compositions leads to a reduction in the hospital's operation cost. Furthermore, it leads to an improvement in the quality of care. For example, less instruments have to be cleaned by the central sterilization service departments. Solving this problem to optimality is considered an NP-hard problem. To tackle this problem, the paper uses a hybrid solution that identifies RMDs with potential shared level. In addition, it proposes a methodology for another hybrid solution; one enabling surgeries with potential shared RMDs. Furthermore, the paper uses two adjusted metaheuristics simulated annealing and tabu search. None of the two, however, have led to a significant cost reduction, which can be explained by the good performance of the hybrid solutions.