Planning ambulatory health care delivery systems

This paper develops an optimal ambulatory health care delivery system for a community, by determining the optimal number, size and location of health centers. The demand for ambulatory health care services is given. The objective is to maximize the difference between the benefits of the patients receiving treatment and the total cost of the system. Utilization of facilities, which is a function of distance, is expressed in terms of benefits and incorporated into the cost-benefit analysis. The model is illustrated by a numerical example.