Implementing Systems Engineering Techniques into Health Care - An Investigation into Using Problem Based Learning in Medical Schools to Teach Systems

Health care delivery in the United States needs improvement. Each year, between 44,000 and 98,000 people die as a result of medical errors and the United States is outranked by 3/4 of developed countries in life expectancy and infant mortality. In a recent report, The National Academy of Engineering and the Institute of Medicine recommend that implementing systems engineering and systems engineering tools should be used in health care to improve the industry. A unique way to implement systems thinking in health care is to educate future caregivers in systems thinking so that they can recognize problems and make improvements from within. The implementation of systems skills into medical school curriculum was tested at the University of Missouri-Columbia School of Medicine, which has a Problem Based Learning curriculum. The lack of a resource for medical students to research health care systems engineering prompted the creation of a handbook entitled Handbook of Health Care Systems Engineering for Medical Students. This book is addressed to medical educators, medical students, and any other health professional looking to implement systems engineering into health care.