The Hospital as a human system

This is the authors' abstract. We don't add key points for this paper.

EDITOR'S NOTE: This article represents an unusual departure from ordinary procedure for this journal. With the permission of its author and the publisher of the journal, Physics in Medicine and Biology, we are republishing it exactly as it appeared in October, 1962. The article was called to our attention by an Australian scientist, Dr. William H. Weekes, now at the Melbourne Institute of Technology. As early as 1938, Professor Revans was concerned with a systems approach to health care. Perhaps his clearest presentation of his ideas on this topic appears in the following article. For more than 50 years, he has made recommendations for improving health care in numerous countries, and although health delivery systems have become more complex in that half-century, his concepts seem to be as relevant today as they were when the article was first published. Particularly remarkable are his relating of the concepts from physics to communication and information flow in a human system, including such ideas as noise and feedback loops. In addition, he recognizes the promise of digital computers, linear programming, and simulation for improving effectiveness of human organizations such as hospitals.