Optimal Allocations of Healthcare Resource Using Simulated Annealing

Allocations of healthcare resource have always been a tough issue for the administration. A number of resource allocation strategies are used however the majority of them are neither value-based nor need-driven. The goal of the project is to ascertain the optimal allocation that maximises value and minimises inequality among individuals without exceeding the budget available. To solve this multi- objective cost-constraint combinatorial optimisation problem, a metaheuristics method, simulated annealing, was used in this project. The results showed a distinct dominance of simulated annealing over the baseline scenario i.e., a random allocation. In comparison to the existing method of the original project, a significant advantage was not observed. Further research in improving simulated annealing algorithm as well as in data collection of input parameters that reflects the actual data is encouraged to prove that such approach is valuable in healthcare resource allocation.