What is q-UPHS?

q-UPHS (quantitative methods for Uplifting the Performance of Health Services) is an organization for the collation and generation of knowledge on operations management, logistics and decision-making analysis in the health sector. Through research, teaching and interaction with the various agents within the healthcare system, q-UPHS contributes to improvements in health service efficiency, the quality of patient care and working conditions for healthcare professionals.

q-UPHS is a multidisciplinary organization in which university researchers join forces with healthcare professionals to seek and deliver solutions to problems facing the Health Services.  The complexity of these problems typically stems from the ever-changing, uncertain environment surrounding healthcare decision-making and outcome assessment. The q-UPHS working teams grapple with issues that are both challenging and impact-making; that is, intellectually demanding issues in which solutions lead directly to operational performance improvements in the health services.

Cooperation with Health Service Managers

Our research findings improve Health Service quality thanks to a multidisciplinary approach and the full support of Health Service managers, who play a catalytic role throughout entire research process, from helping to identify the problem and provide the required data, to supporting the implementation and/or use of the findings. Currently, q-UPHS is able to count on the cooperation of the Navarre Govt. Knowledge Planning, Evaluation and Management Service (data supplier) and the Clinical Management Support Service and the Sub-directorate for Planned and Emergency Admissions at the Navarre Hospital Complex.

Technologies

q-UPHS researchers address problems using specially-tailored mathematical modelling processes, in which a crucial role is played by health sector professionals who have a real awareness of the problem. Thenceforward, a wide range of techniques are used including simulation, heuristic and systematic mathematical optimization and a variety of statistical, probabilistic and computational tools.

Dissemination

The quantitative global approach used by q-UPHS as a support for healthcare decision making is not common in the Spanish health system and the degree of cooperation between university and health service managers is nowhere near that which exists in other developed European countries.  The q-UPHS proposes to address this shortcoming by sharing news about successful projects, information/announcements, forthcoming lectures, etc with Spanish-speaking research groups in order to encourage and motivate cooperation between academia and health professionals who are expressing their need for quantitative approximations to guide their decision making.