How can operational research make a real difference in healthcare? Challenges of implementation

Keywords OR in health services; Implementation Abstract This paper is based on the keynote address given by the paper's first author at EURO 2021. We draw on our experience over more than three decades to define the critical challenges of healthcare implementation. We do not address issues pertaining to technical quality of a solution. Rather, we focus on five general characteristics of the problem that should be carefully considered for any healthcare project that requires implementation. The problem needs an internal Champion; there should be a current Critical Issue; one must understand and adapt to the Cultural dynamics of the organization; appropriate Data exists; and we need to manage Expectations. We illustrate each with examples of our successes, failures, and mixed results. Finally, we summarize what short and long-term steps we believe the operational research community can take that will lead to improvement in each of these areas. Author Affiliation: Department of Mechanical & Industrial Engineering, University of Toronto, 5 King's College Road, Toronto, ON, M5S 3G8, Canada * Corresponding author. Article History: Received 30 November 2021; Revised 11 April 2022; Accepted 16 April 2022 Byline: Michael W. Carter [mike.carter@utoronto.ca] (*), Carolyn R. Busby