Track: Healthcare and Public Health M&S
Healthcare and Public Health managers, officers, and practitioners are constantly challenged by complex operational and strategic issues with extensive implications to patients, stakeholders, and industries. Hospitals, clinics, public health institutions and other healthcare venues continuously seek innovative ways to enhance efficiencies, and thus, decrease their costs while maintaining their financial viability as well as their quality of care delivered. To accomplish these efficiencies, many managers and health professionals design and implement interventions that assist in addressing these complex issues. Quantitative methods such as Modeling and Simulation (M&S), mathematical programming, and Markov Chains have the potential to successfully assist in exploring, understanding, and addressing these issues. Particularly, simulation models and optimization frameworks may provide sophisticated mechanisms that assist in capturing and processing the intricacies associated with these challenges. The purpose of this track is expressed as follows.
· To present innovative research that demonstrates the role of simulation models and optimization frameworks in the healthcare and Public Health domains.
· To describe novel techniques that can be used in the Healthcare and Public Health arena.
· To propose an agenda for simulation and optimization frameworks research in this area.
Some prospective topics for the track include:
· Healthcare operations management
· Population Health
· Terminal or Chronic Disease management
· Gentrification
· Patient-centered medical homes
· Climate Change and Public Health
· Emergency Department
· Reducing Health inequality, i.e. Healthcare access
· Economic models of financing of healthcare services
· E-health
· Community Health
· Healthcare training and optimizations
· Standards on healthcare delivery
· Others

Key Dates
Submissions of Extended Abstracts:April 12, 2012
Notification of acceptance:May 12, 2012
Final Camera-Ready Submission:June 12, 2012
Early Registration:July 1, 2012

FIRST SUBMISSION
Extended abstracts (minimum 2 pages), full draft papers or other proposals should be submitted for the review process through the submission section by April 12, 2012
The extended abstract or the full draft paper must contain title, authors, affiliations, addresses, main body and references.
Each extended abstract or full draft paper will be reviewed by at least two members of the International Program Committee taking into consideration scientific quality, originality and relevance. Only original papers, written in English will be accepted.
The extended abstract or the full draft paper should be prepared by following the final paper formatting. However any type of paper formatting can be accepted for the first submission.

NOTIFICATION OF ACCEPTANCE
Notification of acceptance will be sent by May 12, 2012.

CAMERA READY PAPER SUBMISSION
The International Program Committee will accept two types of camera ready papers: extended paper (10 pages, 2 columns); regular paper (6 pages, 2 columns) both for regular and special sessions.
The camera ready paper must adhere to the conference template. The .dot file contains the complete instructions for preparing a camera ready copy for the Proceedings. The final version of the paper must be a PDF file.
Your camera ready paper (extended paper or regular paper) in PDF format must be submitted by using the submission section before the June 12, 2012
The page limit for manuscripts is ten (10) pages (included in the author registration fee).Additional pages will require an additional fee.
If your work must be cleared or approved before publication by your institution, company, or governmental agency, please be sure that process will be completed by the due date above or we will not be able to include it in the CD Conference Proceedings.

CONTACT INFORMATION
For further information please contact Rafael Diaz (RDiaz@odu.edu) or iwish@msc-les.org.