Management Engineering : A Guide to Best Practices for Industrial Engineering in Health Care

This special issue contains essays regarding the CHI ''95 conference, which featured a panel titled, Discount or Disservice? Discount Usability Analysis: Evaluation at a Bargain Price or Simply Damaged Merchandise? Wayne Gray, who organized the panel, presented a controversial critique of studies that had evaluated various usability evaluation methods (UEMs). The level of interest in this discussion led Gray to propose a review article that dealt with the issues in a more systematic fashion. The resulting essay, written by Gray and his collaborator Marilyn Salzman, conducted an in-depth review of a series of influential studies that used experimental methods to compare a variety of UEMs. Gray and Salzman''s analysis was framed using Cook and Campbell''s (1979) well-known discussion of various forms of validity. They used this to evaluate numerous details of these comparative studies, and they concluded that the studies fell short on the criteria by which good experimental studies are designed and interpreted.

Increasing costs and higher utilization of resources make the role of process improvement more important than ever in the health care industry. Management Engineering: A Guide to Best Practices for Industrial Engineering in Health Care provides an overview of the practice of industrial engineering (management engineering) in the health care industry.Explaining how to maximize the unique skills of management engineers in a health care setting, the book provides guidance on tried and true techniques that can be implemented easily in most organizations. Filled with tools and documents to help readers communicate more effectively, it includes many examples and case studies that illustrate the proper application of these tools and techniques.Containing the contributions of accomplished healthcare process engineers and process improvement professionals, the book examines Lean, Six Sigma, and other process improvement methodologies utilized by management engineers. Illustrating the various roles an industrial engineer might take on in health care, it provides readers with the practical understanding required to make the most of time-tested performance improvement tools in the health care industry.Suitable for IE students and practicing industrial engineers considering a move into the health care industry, or current healthcare industrial engineers wishing to expand their practice, the text can be used as a reference to explore individual topics, as each of the chapters stands on its own. Also, senior healthcare executives will find that the book provides insights into how the practice of management engineering can provide sustainable improvements in their organizations. To get a good overview of how your organization can best benefit from the efforts of industrial engineers, this book is a must-read.