An analyst who works for a hospital concentrates on a different set of problems. They schedule admissions, manage patient flow, and assign shifts. They also monitor use of pharmacy and laboratory services. They also need to predict demand for added hospital services. The duties of the operations research analysts also vary according to the structure and management philosophy of the employer or client.
Some firms have all operations research in one department.
Others scatter operations research personnel through all divisions. Some operations research analysts specialize in one type of application. Other analysts are generalists. Most operations research analysts start out as generalists. Some analysts have a great deal of professional autonomy, while others are more closely supervised.