Health Care Logistics in Depopulated Mountainous Areas: The case of Lleida's Pyrenees

Abstract

[EN] For many years, European demography is experiencing two worrying phenomena: aging and migrations of young people towards urban agglomerations. Rural areas are becoming depopulated, and many public services are becoming unsustainable. Health care assistance is one of those services called into question, specially for elder people living in small towns without access to primary care. Fortunately, technological development allows us to improve this situation. First by obtaining, storing, and analysing all kinds of data related to the patient's health. Second, by developing intelligent algorithms that optimize the available resources to provide a better service. This article studies the level of coverage of primary care centres in the Pyrenees of Lleida, Spain, and proposes the use of an optimization algorithm for an efficient and effective design of routes that allow primary health care professionals to move from a medical centre to the homes of patients who require a visit. To illustrate the use of this methodology, we present a study focused on Bausen, a depopulated municipality in the Aran Valley, close to the French border.