Highlights from the third annual Mayo Clinic conference on systems engineering and operations research in health care

In August 2010, the Third Annual Mayo Clinic Conference on Systems Engineering and Operations Research in Health Care was held. The continuing mission of the conference is to gather a multidisciplinary group of systems engineers, clinicians, administrators, and academic professors to discuss the translation of systems engineering methods to more effective health care delivery. Education, research, and practice were enhanced via a mix of formal presentations, tutorials, and informal gatherings of participants with diverse backgrounds. Although the conference promotes a diversity of perspectives and methods, participants are united in their desire to find ways in which systems engineering can transform health care, especially in the context of health care reform and other significant changes affecting the delivery of health care.