IMA International Conference on Quantitative Modelling in the Management of Health Care

Aim and ScopeHealth 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 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 SpeakersNick Barber Professor, Head of Department of Practice and Policy, School of Pharmacy, London, UKStephen Chick Professor, INSEAD, Fontainebleau, France Andrew Dillon Chief Executive, National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE), UKNigel Edwards Director of Policy, NHS Confederation, UKSteve Gallivan Professor, Director of Clinical Operational Research Unit, University College London, UKMike Pidd Professor, Associate Dean, Management School, University of Lancaster, UKYasar Ozcan Professor, Department of Health Administration, Virginia Commonwealth University, USACall for PapersWe invite researchers in all relevant problem domains and methodologies to submit abstracts of 300-500 words to Lucy Nye at Lucy.Nye@ima.org.uk by 20 January 2007. Case studies are particularly welcome. Authors of accepted abstracts will be notified by 5 February 2007. Authors should indicate whether they wish to make an oral or a poster presentation. Poster presentations are particularly welcome as they stimulate discussion and feedback. We are also planning a special poster presentation session for PhD students to show their work in progress. Selected papers presented at the conference (whether orally or as a poster) will be published in the Springer journal Health Care Management Science and the IMA Journal of Management Mathematics.The VenueGoodenough College is a beautiful residential college for international postgraduate students and visiting academics. It lies in the heart of London's Bloomsbury, an area reputed for its pubs, restaurants, and cultural activities, within ten minute walk from the British Museum and the British Library, and benefits from excellent transport links. Further information can be found at the College's website - http://www.goodenough.ac.uk.