Saving lives, improving quality, and reducing cost through effective planning and operations management.
We believe that engineering directed at the key healthcare processes represents and timely opportunity of enormous consequence for our society. Engineering approaches that are integrated into the unique and complex environment of an healthcare organization are greatly needed. This approach can yield improved caregiving efficiency, higer quality processes, improved access, and a more satisfying work environment that yields better outcomes.
Today, rising healthcare costs threaten the most vulnerable members of US society (the aged and low income) and the problem will worsen as the population over age 65 (37 million, over 12% of the population in 2005) is expected to nearly double in the next 35 years. This age group spends on average 45% more per year on healthcare than people 45-54. In 2005, US spent $1.9 trillion on healthcare, or 15.5% of its GDP, more than any other country in the world, and spending continues to rise. This brewing crisis has become a major concern for state and federal governments, private insurance companies, hospitals, and labor unions.
Despite many proposals to improve healthcare costs, few solutions address hospital internal costs, an important component of the problem. Healthcare Engineering provides the tools to create scientifically sound systems enabling hospitals to not onloy reduce cost, but also to provide higher quality of care, a better working environment within the hospital, shorter patient stays, reduced waiting times, and better health outcomes.
Healthcare Engineering tools address the core value engines of a hospital and the processes that drive them, including inpatient admissions, operating rooms, nurse staffing, nurse daily assignments, ancillary services, outpatient scheduling, and materials management. Hospitals are wise to invest in Lean and Six Sigma improvement methodologies; however, these efforts can benefit greatly from the more technically advanced tools of Operational Systems Engineering and Industrial Engineering.
The Lab is multifaceted, ranging from the courses being taught to directed research studies with undergraduate and graduate students to doctoral research and funded research. In the long run, we believe that research and development drives innovation, but that educational outreach as part of a degree or as professional education is a powerful way to drive change in the healthcare industry..
The Healthcare Engineering Lab develops healthcare research interests from the undergraduate level up through the faculty at University of Michigan.
We are still in the early stages of development, but the following figure gives a perspective on the structure and scope of the envisioned effort.
Healthcare Reform Discussion Submission based on the public discussion held on 12/18/08 in Ann Arbor, MI. Our discussion group set out to add details to the critical and achievable Obama-Biden goal to “reduce inefficiency and waste and improve quality” in our health care system. This is a practical and worthy goal, with widespread support for the need to fundamentally transform the effectiveness of the processes and methods used to develop and implement healthcare delivery processes. The views expressed are those of the authors based in part on opinions expressed at the public meeting. The do not represent official views of the University of Michigan.Healthcare Reform Discussion Submission.
Some important ways that Industrial and Operations Engineering can contribute to the improvement of hospitals and healthcare delivery. IOE resources for Improved Healthcare.ppt
Collaborative research and outreach with the Ann Arbor VA Hospital .
Weekly Working Seminars held Feb. - June 2008 to gather interested parties in healthcare operations and to lay out current developemnts in research and practice.
Collaborative research and outreach with the Ann Arbor VA Hospital .
Grant proposals (eg., NSF).