Industrial Engineering in Health Care

DANIEL J. EPSTEIN DEPARTMENT OF INDUSTRIAL AND SYSTEMS ENGINEERING - ISE 650 SEMINARTitle: Industrial Engineering in Health CarePresenter: David Belson, Adjunct Professor, USC Daniel J. Epstein Department of Industrial and Systems EngineeringDate and Time: Thursday, February 28, 2008, 12:00-1:20 PMRoom Number: GER 309Abstract: This talk will present what USC IEs have been doing in hospitals to improve productivity. In the last 4 years we have conducted 12 projects in 9 hospitals. By using IE methods from many different courses (simulation, 6-sigma, Lean, queuing, operations research, statistics, human factors, etc) it is possible to have a significant impact. Moreover, the need for health care improvement has created a strong job market for such work and is a reason for the new MS degree being offered by the ISE department.Health Care has become the largest segment of the US economy and is a prominent issue for government policy makers and politicians. There is much concern over why the USA has among the highest health care costs and poorest health among developed countries. Improving productivity in health care provides part of the solution. Engineering methods used by Toyota, for example, to revolutionize automobile production can be used to improve health care, such as reducing the delays experienced by patients in receiving care.Brief Bio: David Belson is an Adjunct Professor in the Daniel J. Epstein Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering at the University of Southern California. He has also held management positions at IBM, Ernst & Young, Universal Studios and other organizations working in the area of Industrial Engineering and technology. He has conducted management engineering projects in a wide variety of hospitals. Recent projects have involved applying industrial engineering in radiology and surgery. He is currently managing surgery process improvement projects for the California HealthCare Foundation in three large California hospitals. Dr. Belson teaches the USC graduate course "Improving Health Care Operations". He is a Fulbright Scholar and has taught at several foreign Universities. He holds a B.S. from the University of Washington, M.S. from UCLA and Ph.D. degree from USC, all in engineering.

Location: Ethel Percy Andrus Gerontology Center (GER) - 309

Audiences: Everyone Is Invited

Contact: Georgia Lum