There is increasing recognition that the current American healthcare system has major failings and limitations, with extraordinary escalation in costs, lack of healthcare access and coverage, and a high rate of complications, error, and waste. Recently, many institutions have proposed the development of a new area of interest, a hybrid of healthcare delivery and systems engineering, called Health Systems Engineering. The primary purpose of this scholarly concentration is to allow individuals with an interest in "healthcare systems operations" an opportunity to participate in education and applied research on industrial engineering and optimization principles that apply to healthcare.