Institute for Healthcare Optimization (IHO) Information

The Institute for Healthcare Optimization (IHO) is an independent not-for-profit 501(c)(3) research, education and service organization focused on bringing the science and practice of operations management to healthcare delivery. The Institute grew out of the work of Boston University’s Program for the Management of Variability in Health Care Delivery (MVP) where we originally developed our approach for managing flow variability. Our approach has been successfully applied by several hospitals to simultaneously reduce cost and improve quality of care, contradicting the notion that improving quality and cost of health care has to involve trade-offs. Mission The mission of the Institute is to serve as a catalyst and to provide a vehicle for spreading the application of operations management and patient flow variability management techniques across the broader hospital community, as well as other parts of the health care delivery system. Greater adoption of scientific management practices would have a significant positive impact nationally on the compelling issues of access, quality, and cost of care.