Providing both a framework and action plan for a systems approach to health care delivery based on a partnership between engineers and health care professionals, this title describes opportunities and challenges to harness the power of systems-engineering tools, information technologies and complementary knowledge in social sciences, and more.

1 Front Matter; 2 Executive Summary; 3 Part I: Consensus Report. 1. A New Partnership Between Systems Engineering and Medicine; 4 2 A Framework for a Systems Approach to Health Care Delivery; 5 3 The Tools of Systems Engineering; 6 4 Information and Communications Systems: The Backbone of the Health Care Delivery System; 7 5 A Strategy to Accelerate Change; 8 Part II: Workshop Presentations--Framing the Health Care Challenge; 9 Equipping the Patient and the Care Team; 10 Engineering Tools and Procedures for Meeting the Challenges; 11 Information Technology for Clinical Applications and Microsystems; 12 Barriers and Incentives to Change; 13 Appendix A: Agenda, NAE Workshop on Engineering and Health Care Delivery System, May 21-22, 2001; 14 Appendix B: Participants, Workshop on Engineering and the Health Care System, May 21-22, 2001; 15 Appendix C: Agenda, NAE Workshop on Engineering and Health Care Delivery System, February 6-7, 2003; 16 Appendix D: Participants, Workshop on Engineering and the Health Care System, February 6-7, 2003; 17 Appendix E: Agenda, NAE Workshop on Engineering and Health Care Delivery System, March 10-11, 2003; 18 Appendix F: Participants, NAE Workshop on Engineering and Health Care Delivery System, March 10-11, 2003; 19 Appendix G: Biographical Information