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Review
. 2025 Aug 16:16:11795972241271549.
doi: 10.1177/11795972241271549. eCollection 2025.

Exploring the Landscape of Operating Room Scheduling: A Bibliometric Analysis of Recent Advancements and Future Prospects

Md Al Amin  1 , Majed Hadid  1 , Adel Elomri  1 , Rabah Ismaen  2 , Ismail Dergaa  3 , Hind Alashi  2 , Amal Jobran Al-Hajaji  4 , Moustafa Alkhalil  5 , Omar M Aboumarzouk  2   6   7 , Abdelfatteh El Omri  2   8
Affiliations
Review

Exploring the Landscape of Operating Room Scheduling: A Bibliometric Analysis of Recent Advancements and Future Prospects

Md Al Amin et al. Biomed Eng Comput Biol. .

Abstract

Background: Operating Room Scheduling (ORS) is vital in healthcare management, impacting patient outcomes, economics, and the shift to value-based care. The academic literature offers various solutions with distinct pros and cons.

Aim: This study aims to (i) outline ORS challenges across surgical specialties; (ii) examine ORS's impact on healthcare goals, focusing on patient outcomes, value-based care, and economics; (iii) assess academic solutions' real-world applicability; and (iv) conduct a bibliometric analysis to track ORS research progression, pivotal works, and future directions.

Methods: We performed a comprehensive bibliometric analysis using Scopus data. Biblioshiny from Bibliometrix aided data mining and analysis, spanning 2000 to 2023, tracking publication trends, themes, co-occurrence, and co-citation networks.

Results: ORS publications steadily rose, notably post-2013, led by developed nations like the UK, Australia, the US, France, and Germany. Key themes included operating rooms, surgery, and humans. Seven primary research routes emerged, covering Surgery Duration, Allocation, Advanced Scheduling Integration, and Patient Flow Optimization. Citation analysis highlighted heuristic algorithms and integer programing as central ORS themes.

Conclusion: This study offers a panoramic ORS overview, advocating an integrated approach aligning patient outcomes, economics, and value-based care. Bibliometric analysis charts ORS research evolution guides future research, and holds significance for practitioners, policymakers, and academics, enhancing ORS paradigms and healthcare delivery.

Keywords: Healthcare management; optimization; patient outcomes; resource allocation; surgical procedures; value-based care; workflow efficiency.

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Conflict of interest statement

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Flowchart of the bibliometric analysis methodology for ORS research.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Flow chart of the study selection process based on the systematic reviews and meta-analyses (PRISMA) protocol.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Annual publication trends and average citations for ORS research (2000-2023).
Figure 4.
Figure 4.
Primary sources of ORS research publications.
Figure 5.
Figure 5.
Geographical distribution of ORS-related publications (2000-2023). Abbreviations: MCP, Multi Country Publication; SCP, Single Country Publication.
Figure 6.
Figure 6.
Top 10 locally cited ORS documents from 2000 to 2023.
Figure 7.
Figure 7.
Top 10 globally cited ORS documents from 2000 to 2023.
Figure 8.
Figure 8.
Collaborative networks of leading authors in ORS research (2000-2023).
Figure 9.
Figure 9.
Co-citation network of key ORS publications (2000-2023).
Figure 10.
Figure 10.
Keyword co-occurrence network in ORS research.
Figure 11.
Figure 11.
Keyword frequency distribution in ORS publications (2000-2023).
Figure 12.
Figure 12.
Multiple correspondence analysis (MCA) of keyword clusters in ORS research.
Figure 13.
Figure 13.
Thematic evolution of ORS research from 2000 to 2023.
Figure 14.
Figure 14.
Thematic centrality and evolution in ORS research: 2000 to 2023.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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    1. Hadid M, Elomri A, Padmanabhan R, et al. Clustering and stochastic simulation optimization for outpatient chemotherapy appointment planning and scheduling. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022;19(23): 15539. doi: 10.3390/ijerph192315539 - PMC - PubMed
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