Multiple Service Home Health Care Routing and Scheduling Problem: A Mathematical Model

Abstract

The home health care routing and scheduling problem (HHCRSP) is an extension of the vehicle routing problem (VRP) that are scheduled and routed to perform a wide range of health care services. Nurses, doctors and/or caregivers provide these services at patients' home. In this study, a mathematical model for HHCRSP is presented. The model is extended to take into account additional characteristics and/or constraints based on specific services, patient needs. In the home health care (HHC) problems, services that must be performed simultaneously or within a convinced time are undoubtedly very important. Thus, we consider several numbers of services, skill requirements for the care workers and time windows. Generally, the main aim of the HHC problems is minimizing the travelling distance as well as maximizing the patients' satisfaction. Thus, the model in this study contains both of these objectives taking into account several measurements.