The Role of Operations Research in Regional Health Planning

Operations-research workers have not met with much success in being accepted as integral members of regional-health-planning teams, owing in part to a lack of understanding by health planners of the skills the operations researcher has to offer and in part the analyst's inability to demonstrate that he can close the gap between theoretical modeling and the implementation of his results. This paper explores the growth of regional health planning in the United States and highlights its important problem areas. The literature of operations-research applications to health planning is reviewed critically with respect to the feasibility of models and the appropriateness of assumptions. Specific problems with the types of studies currently in the literature are identified and recommendations are made for improved coordination between operations-research workers and health planners.