Professor Alec Morton has been a Visiting Professor at the Management School at the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) at Hefei, Anhui Province, China, during the month of August.
Professor Morton’s host, A/Prof Yong Jun Li, is an expert on the efficiency analysis technique Data Envelopment Analysis which is used to measure the relative efficiency of different provider organisations. Together, the two have been exploring opportunities to use decision analysis techniques to help explore the impact of different assumptions about the relative value of different inputs and outputs on conclusions about relative efficiency.
He also visited the Ministry of Health in Beijing to understand how the Chinese healthcare system is responding to the current ambitious reform programme and to discuss the potential for applying health economics to support decisions about what treatments should be funded under the public insurance system. During his stay, Professor Morton has given a course to USTC PhD students on “Frontiers in Multicriteria Decision Analysis” and has given talks both in the Department seminar series and to a 300-strong audience at a conference on publishing in scientific journals in management science and engineering. He has also taken the time to visit the beautiful countryside in the neighbourhood of Hefei, enjoy the delicious local food, and attend the famous Anhui opera.
“I’ve found people here fantastic hosts and I’ve had an amazing time” said Professor Morton. “I recommend anyone who has the opportunity to visit China to do so, and I look forward to going back again soon.”