Enhancing reliability: A hub-and-spoke model for health systems facing disruptions

Strategically locating healthcare facilities is crucial for ensuring accessible and efficient service delivery, particularly during emergencies and disasters. Many healthcare systems employ a hub-and-spoke model; however, disruptions at hub facilities can significantly undermine their effectiveness. This paper addresses the challenge of optimizing hub locations in the face of such disruptions. We propose a novel mixed-integer, bi-level optimization model rooted in game theory to determine the optimal placement of hubs and the assignment of spokes while minimizing transportation costs and maximizing demand coverage. To address the complexity of this multi-objective problem, we developed two metaheuristic algorithms designed to generate Pareto-optimal solutions. Computational experiments reveal that these algorithms deliver high-quality solutions efficiently, offering practical tools for decision-makers to improve the resilience and efficiency of healthcare systems under both normal and disrupted conditions.

کلیدواژه ها:

Hub Location ، Healthcare ، Disruption ، Bi-objective Optimization ، Disaster Management