EURO 2025 Leeds
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499. Why healthcare is the most rewarding area in which to do OR

Invited abstract in session MB-24: Why healthcare is the most rewarding area in which to do OR, stream Tutorials (and Workshops).

Monday, 10:30-12:00
Room: Esther Simpson 3.02

Authors (first author is the speaker)

1. Sally Brailsford
Southampton Business School, University of Southampton

Abstract

Throughout the lifetime of EURO healthcare has consistently been a popular application area for OR. Indeed ORAHS, the EURO Working Group on OR Applied to Health Services, celebrated its own 50th anniversary in 2024. In this tutorial I will attempt to explain why health OR is so popular and why I have spent the last 36 years of my life working in this area. I will provide a brief introduction to this vast field, focusing mainly (but not exclusively) on simulation methods. I will also discuss some of the application domains included in a recent EJOR invited review article, co-authored by six ORAHS members. I will describe the joys and challenges of doing OR in healthcare, based in part on my own experience, and will reflect on the lessons I have learned over the years. The tutorial will conclude with some hints and tips for anyone starting out in this area, and some slightly more provocative statements aimed at generating a discussion among the whole audience.

Keywords

Status: accepted


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