Operations Management in Health Care

Catalog description

Health care operations focuses on how managers design and run care delivery systems in environments characterized by high uncertainty, complex processes, and significant human and financial stakes. This course examines the distinctive operational challenges of health care, including variability in patient demand and acuity, patient flow and wait times, capacity and resource constraints, workforce design and staffing, and supply chain management. Using core operations management frameworks—such as process analysis, queueing, and capacity planning—students will learn to diagnose operational problems and evaluate tradeoffs among quality, access, cost, and workforce sustainability. The course applies these tools to a range of settings, including ambulatory care, hospitals, emergency services, among others. The will course emphasizes managerial decision-making rather than technical optimization, with learning driven by cases, applied analyses, and class discussion. By the end of the course, students will be equipped to assess and improve health care delivery operations and to contribute effectively to operational design and improvement initiatives in health care organizations.