the CDC annually contributes over $100
million of its budget and significant human resources to polio eradication activities for which it maintains high standards
for developing evidence-based policies
and expectations of cost-effective use of
its resources. In 2001, the CDC launched
a collaboration with Kid Risk, Inc. to use
a range of operations research and management science tools combined with
the best available scientific evidence and
field knowledge to develop integrated analytical models for the evaluation of the
global risks, benefits, and costs of polio
eradication policy choices.
The analytical results from the collaboration significantly furthered polio eradication in many ways, including more rapid
response to outbreaks and reaffirmation
that pursuing eradication instead of control
is the “best buy” to prevent cases of paralysis and to save lives and money.
Recognition of polio eradication as a
major program in need of stable financing helped support a fundraising effort
in 2013 that raised over $4 billion from
donors to finish the job. The team foresees increased integration of operations
research and management science tools
to perform simultaneous probabilistic
and dynamic modeling for other complex
global health challenges, including other
vaccine-preventable diseases like measles and rubella.
A NA L Y T I C S
Members of the Edelman Award-winning team from the
CDC and Kid Risk, Inc.
Along with the CDC, the other finalists competing in the 2014 Franz Edelman
Award Competition included teams from
Alliance for Paired Donation, The Energy
Authority, Grady Health System, Australia’s
NBN and Twitter.
MAYO CLINIC EARNS INFORMS PRIZE
Mayo Clinic, the innovative healthcare organization that has used analytics throughout its organization to provide
economical, quality services in an era of
ballooning medical costs, was named the
2014 winner of the INFORMS Prize. The
prize was presented at an awards gala held
in conjunction with the 2014 INFORMS
Conference on Business Analytics and
Operations Research in Boston.
“Operations research is deeply rooted
in Mayo Clinic’s culture,” says Mayo Clinic
President & CEO John Noseworthy, M.D.
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