The fifth IMA international conference on QUANTITATIVE MODELLING IN THE MANAGEMENT OF HEALTH CARE will be held at Goodenough College, central London on 2nd - 4th April 2007.

Aim and Scope

Health and Social Care systems are undergoing major changes worldwide, due in part to changes in demography and in part to increased competition between parts of the system whether they are hospitals, primary care trusts, or general practitioners. Yet running health and social care systems efficiently and effectively is crucial to improving or even maintaining our quality of life. Over the years, extensive research has been conducted to find immediate and long-term solutions to issues that are routinely faced by health and social care management professionals, such as waiting lists and bed capacity, hospital redesign, workforce planning and scheduling, patient flow modelling, performance management, disease monitoring, and health care technology assessment. Simulation and modelling techniques (statistical analysis, stochastic processes, queuing theory, mathematical programming, heuristics, discrete event simulation, system dynamics, etc) have shown to be increasingly valuable in providing useful information to aid planning and management.

The aim of the conference is to bring together health care managers, clinicians, management consultants, and mathematicians, operational researchers, statisticians, economists, computer scientists etc from across the world with a view to bridging the gap between the communities and to exploring recent developments and identifying fruitful avenues for further research.

Keynote Speakers

Nick Barber, Professor, Head of Department of Practice and Policy, School of Pharmacy, London, UK
Stephen Chick, Professor, INSEAD, Fontainebleau, France
Andrew Dillon, Chief Executive, National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE), UK
Nigel Edwards, Director of Policy, NHS Confederation, UK
Steve Gallivan, Professor, Director of the Clinical Operational Research Unit, University College London, UK
Mike Pidd, Professor, Associate Dean, Management School, University of Lancaster, UK
Yasar Ozcan, Professor, Department of Health Administration, Virginia Commonwealth University, USA

Brief History

Previous conferences were held in Salford 1994, 1997, 2000, and 2004. These attracted medical practitioners working in hospitals and general practice; health service managers; health care management consultants; and operational research specialists, economists, statisticians, and mathematicians employed in the health care industry and universities. Two special issues of the Springer journal Health Care Management Science contain papers presented at the conference in 2000 and 2004.

This event will meet the requirements of the IMA Continuing Professional Development Scheme.