Constrained Optimization Methods in Health Services Research—An Introduction: Report 1 of the ISPOR Optimization Methods Emerging Good Practices Task Force

William Crown, Nasuh Buyukkaramikli, Praveen Thokala, Alec Morton, Mustafa Y. Sir, Deborah A. Marshall, Jon Tosh, William V. Padula, Maarten J. Ijzerman, Peter K. Wong, Kalyan S. Pasupathy

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

31 Scopus citations

Abstract

Providing health services with the greatest possible value to patients and society given the constraints imposed by patient characteristics, health care system characteristics, budgets, and so forth relies heavily on the design of structures and processes. Such problems are complex and require a rigorous and systematic approach to identify the best solution. Constrained optimization is a set of methods designed to identify efficiently and systematically the best solution (the optimal solution) to a problem characterized by a number of potential solutions in the presence of identified constraints. This report identifies 1) key concepts and the main steps in building an optimization model; 2) the types of problems for which optimal solutions can be determined in real-world health applications; and 3) the appropriate optimization methods for these problems. We first present a simple graphical model based on the treatment of “regular” and “severe” patients, which maximizes the overall health benefit subject to time and budget constraints. We then relate it back to how optimization is relevant in health services research for addressing present day challenges. We also explain how these mathematical optimization methods relate to simulation methods, to standard health economic analysis techniques, and to the emergent fields of analytics and machine learning.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)310-319
Number of pages10
JournalValue in Health
Volume20
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - Mar 1 2017

Keywords

  • care delivery
  • decision making
  • modeling
  • policy

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Health Policy
  • Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health

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