Quantitative applications for health care planning, scheduling and resource allocation

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My research involves the application of Industrial/Systems Engineering techniques focusing on demand and capacity modeling and resource allocation issues in the health care industry. I am particularly concerned about the tendency in health care to treat departments as independent silos of activity. For example, decision makers construct schedules for the operating rooms with little or no consideration of the impact this has on recovery rooms and wards. The Emergency Department functions almost independent of the rest of the hospital. Doctors are typically independent entrepreneurs who are motivated by the welfare of their patients and by their personal compensation; they are not primarily concerned with system efficiency. Hospitals make operational decisions independent from nursing homes, home care and the community (including GPs.) It is little wonder that the system is inefficient and cumbersome. At the same time, the government is constantly bombarded with desperate requests for more money. How should limited financial resources be distributed? How should scarce human resources be allocated?