Optimization of Mobile-Integrated Services: Insights from a Healthcare Use Case

Mobile-integrated service delivery models are emerging as innovative alternatives to traditional centralized models. These models are applied across various service sectors. Due to their significant benefits and growing demand, most existing literature and practical implementations focus on healthcare applications. Their advantages have been demonstrated in several studies. Nevertheless, the literature lacks studies that examine these models from an operations research perspective. Therefore, this study is among the first to describe the mobile-integrated service delivery model through the lens of operations research. It compares the traditional centralized location-based service delivery model with the mobile-integrated alternative and highlights key efficiency-related challenges. Several delivery strategies are discussed, and an optimization model is applied to one of them, focusing on routing. An empirical study is conducted using the case of coronary heart disease (CHD) examinations. In CHD diagnosis, a preliminary consultation determines whether three tests, Complete Blood Count (CBC), Electrocardiogram (ECG), and Computed Tomography (CT), are required. The sequence of these examinations is arbitrary. The results are then sent to a consultant for evaluation. The resulting routes by diagnostic type, demonstrate the model's ability to assign all patients efficiently while minimizing total travel distance. However, the results also reveal overlapping service visits due to the absence of integrated scheduling, highlighting a critical area for further development. This setup illustrates the complexity of the problem and the need for scheduling to avoid service overlap. Several extensions are proposed to advance this topic toward real impact on practice.