Euro is the "Association of European Operational Research Societies"
within IFORS, the "International Federation of Operational Research Societies"
EWG ORAHS, OR applied to health services
| Name | EWG ORAHS, OR applied to health services |
|---|---|
| Website | http://orahs.di.unito.it/ |
| Newsletter | ORAHS Newsletter Published twice a year |
| Online newsletter | Downloadable from http://orahs.di.unito.it/ |
| Board | Sally Brailsford (Chairman) UK Roberto Aringhieri (Secretary) Italy Harald Buhaug Norway Luc Delesie Belgium Roger Beech UK Xiaolan Xie (2007 organiser) France Martin Utley UK Marek Lubicz (2006 organiser) Poland Marion Rauner Austria Leonid Churilov Australia Mike Carter (2008 organizer) Canada Erik Demeulemeester (2009 org.) Belgium |
| Coordinator | Prof. Sally Brailsford s.c.brailsford@soton.ac.uk University of Southampton School of Management SO17 1BJ Southampton United Kingdom Phone: +44 (0)23 8059 3567 |
| Purpose and history | The EURO Working Group on Operational Research Applied to Health Services (ORAHS) represents a network of persons involved in the application of systematic, quantitative analysis in support of planning and management in the health services sector. ORAHS was formed in 1975 as part of a programme for developing special interest groups within the European branch (EURO) of the International Federation of Operational Research Societies (IFORS). Membership is open to persons with an interest in applying systematic, quantitative analysis to planning and management problems in the health area. Operational Research (OR) is systematic, quantitative analysis in support of rational policy and decision making. This umbrella concept of operational research covers many analytic approaches and methods, such as simulation modelling, mathematical programming, decision analysis, cost effectiveness analysis, development of indicators, and methods for forecasting, monitoring and evaluation. The emphasis in ORAHS lies not on the techniques as such, but on applying these to health care. The objectives of the group are:
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| Members | The group has at present 205 members from 23 countries, mainly in Europe but also with 35 from overseas. |
| Past activities | The group meets every year, each summer, for one week in a different European host country, and occasionally outside Europe. Full details of past meetings, plus links to websites where there is one, can be found on the ORAHS website http://orahs.di.unito.it/ In 2011 the 37th annual meeting of the Working Group took place in Cardiff, Wales. The conference chair was Paul Harper (harper@cardiff.ac.uk. The theme of the meeting was "OR informing national health policy". Meetings are open to anyone with a quantitative background and an interest in the subject area, although numbers may be restricted to ensure that open debate is practicable. During the meetings, papers are presented and discussed, computer applications demonstrated and decisions regarding group affairs prepared and taken. Associated with the meetings, study tours to local healthcare facilities are arranged with opportunities to discuss planning and management problems with local health services managers. A well-developed social programme gives good opportunities for informal discussions and friendly get-togethers with members and accompanying families. Papers presented at the meetings cover a range of different projects, approaches and methods. Studies at strategic, operational and tactical levels have included the planning of health services systems, resource allocation, investment analysis, manpower planning, admission planning, staff scheduling, performance measurement, quality assurance and the use of information systems to improve decision support. The proceedings of the meetings are often produced as a publication. Besides the annual meetings, the Working Group also engages in different joint projects and activities. |
| Future activities | The 38th meeting of ORAHS will take place in 2012 in Enschede, the Netherlands(info: Erwin Hans Hans@utwente.nl). ORAHS members will also be organising the health stream at the EURO XXV conference in Vilnius. More information on these future activities but also on the past meetings can be found via the website of the Working Group: http://orahs.di.unito.it/ |
| Publications | A few years after its start the Working Group through its then chairman Duncan Boldy, produced a "state of the art" book on the subject of "OR applied to Health Services" (Croom Helm 1980). A more recent book entitled "Enhancing Health Services Management" (Open University Press, 1997) has been edited by two members of the group, Steve Cropper and Paul Forte, and many of the chapters were contributed by other members. Feature issues of EJOR were produced in 1987 and 1998. As a follow-up of the Vienna meeting in 2001, a Feature Issue of EJOR on "OR Applied to Health Services" has been published (OR Applied to Health Services. European Journal of Operational Research, M. Rauner and J.M.H. Vissers (eds.), Volume 150, Issue 1, Pages 1-114, October 2003). The 2005 meeting and ESI in Southampton has also resulted in a Feature issue of EJOR. |
| Budget | The membership of ORAHS is free of charge. The annual meetings are covered by the fees of the participants EURO supports the EWG ORAHS by a small amount per member per year, and by specific subsidies for meetings for guest speakers and for participants from low income countries. |
| Last modification | 2011-12-19 |
