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Abstract
The National Academy of Engineering and the Institute of Medicine have proposed a new partnership between engineering and health care to generate significant performance improvements. Significant systems engineering research opportunities have been identified in system design, analysis, and control. Research publication levels suggest a significant gap between the current industrial engineering health systems research level and the necessary level to generate meaningful contributions. An approach to align the interests and potential of industrial engineering research with the identified health system needs and with the primary health systems research funding organizations is identified.
Keywords: Health Systems, Systems Engineering, Industrial Engineering Research
1.0 Introduction
The health care sector of the United States economy consumes 15% of the Gross Domestic Product, a percentage that is rising. However, in the past 18 years, only eight research papers, focused on health systems, have been published in IIE Transactions, with none since 2000. This suggests a significant gap between current level of research by industrial engineers on health systems and the necessary level to generate meaningful contributions.
In 2005, the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Institute of Medicine (IOM) proposed a new partnership between engineering and health care to generate significant improvements at all levels of the health care delivery system. The core of the proposal is a reliance on systems engineering for analysis and improvement.
Within the context of a four-level framework focusing on patients, care teams, organizations, and the environment, systems engineering has been focused on tools for system design, analysis, and control. Significant research opportunities have been identified in each of these focus areas.
This paper outlines an approach to align the interests and potential of industrial engineering research with the identified health system needs and with the primary health systems research funding organizations.
2.0 NAE/IOM Report
In the United States, health care was a $1.6 trillion sector of the economy in 2004. However, the sector is facing increasing challenges in its ability to be effective, especially in regard to safety, quality, cost, and access [1]. In 2001, the IOM established six quality aims for health care: safe, effective, timely, patient-centered, efficient, and equitable [2].
However, the IOM perceived that there is not a concentrated effort within the engineering community to improve the performance...