Abstract for: Emerging Opportunities for System Dynamics in UK Health and Social care- The Market-Pull for Systemic Thinking

The field of health and social care in the UK has been very receptive to systemic thinking in recent years and has been extensively and successfully modelled. This paper describes two trends in health care thinking in the UK which build upon this receptivity and are creating market pulls for whole systems ideas. These are the related areas of health needs analysis and service-line reporting, two concepts that are in search of a language and methodology to help deliver their potential. The paper describes how system dynamics is being applied to both these trends. The work is creating a natural progression for communicating system dynamics models and improving their impact on the thinking of clinicians and managers, particularly in mental health as epitomized by the