Dr. Frederick Mosteller, professor of Statistics and a leading expert on socioeconomic issues in contemporary medicine, has been appointed chairman of the Department of Health, Policy and Management at the Harvard School of Public Health (SPH), school officials announced yesterday.

Mosteller, immediate past president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and a standing member of its Institute for Health, has pursued extensive health service research in the cost-effectiveness of advancements in medical technology. He is currently researching innovations in the design and execution of surgical treatments.

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"Dr. Mosteller has an outstanding history of having approached difficult problems in the health care system in a creative and original way," Dr. Howard H. Hiatt '46, dean of the SPH, said yesterday. "His aim in analysis is to provide guidelines for immediate action," he added.

David A. Hamburg, director of the division of health policy management, yesterday called Mosteller "a leading pioneer" in the use of statistics in evaluating medical treatment. "He collaborates extremely well with medical personnel in coordinating patient treatment and believes in fostering innovations to improve service for the individual," he added.

Mosteller first came to Harvard in 1946 as a lecturer in Social Relations and received tenure as professor of Mathematical Statistics in 1951. He was appointed chairman of the department of Statistics when it was established in 1957. He joined the SPH in 1977 as chairman of the department of Biostatistics and later founded its Center for the Analysis of Health Practices.

As Chairman of the department of health policy and management, he will coordinate graduate research in health management and statistical, economic and political analysis of health care. "We must also consider whether to extend community service to the greater Boston area in an effort to improve health care," Mosteller said recently. "We hope to develop parallel programs in management for persons with advanced degrees in law, medicine and dental studies and by expanding our personnel base, we hope to stimulate further topics for research."