Healthcare Delivery in the Information Age – Serie

It is a tragic paradox of American health care: a system renowned for world-class doctors, the latest medical technologies, and miraculous treatments has shocking inadequacies when it comes to the health of the urban poor. Urban Health Knowledge Management outlines bold, workable strategies for addressing this disparity and eliminating the “knowledge islands” that so often disrupt effective service delivery. The book offers a wide-reaching global framework for organizational competence leading to improved care quality and outcomes for traditionally underserved clients in diverse, challenging settings. Its contributors understand the issues fluently, imparting both macro and micro concepts of KM with clear rationales and real-world examples as they: •Analyze key aspects of KM and explains their applicability to urban health.•Introduce the KM tools and technologies most relevant to health care delivery.•Offer evidence of the role of KM in improving clinical efficacy and executive decision-making.•Provide extended case examples of KM-based programs used in Washington, D.C. (child health), South Africa (HIV/AIDS), and Australia (health inequities).•Apply KM principles to urban health needs in developing countries.•Discuss new approaches to managing, evaluating, and improving delivery systems in the book’s “Measures and Metrics” section. Urban health professionals, as well as health care executives and administrators, will find Urban Health Knowledge Management a significant resource for bringing service delivery up to speed at a time of great advancement and change.

Pervasive healthcare is an emerging research discipline, focusing on the development and application of pervasive and ubiquitous computing technology for healthcare and wellness. Pervasive healthcare seeks to respond to a variety of pressures on healthcare systems, including the increased incidence of life-style related and chronic diseases, emerging consumerism in healthcare, need for empowering patients and relatives for self-care and management of their health, and need to provide seamless access for healthcare services, independent of time and place. Pervasive healthcare may be defined from two perspectives. First, it is the development and application of pervasive computing (or ubiquitous computing, ambient intelligence) technologies for healthcare, health and wellness management. Second, it seeks to make healthcare available to anyone, anytime, and anywhere by removing locational, time and other restraints while increasing both the coverage and quality of healthcare. This book proposes to define the emerging area of pervasive health and introduce key management principles, most especially knowledge management, its tools, techniques and technologies. In addition, the book takes a socio-technical, patient-centric approach which serves to emphasize the importance of a key triumvirate in healthcare management namely, the focus on people, process and technology. Last but not least the book discusses in detail a specific example of pervasive health, namely the potential use of a wireless technology solution in the monitoring of diabetic patients.

It is a tragic paradox of American health care: a system renowned for world-class doctors, the latest medical technologies, and miraculous treatments has shocking inadequacies when it comes to the health of the urban poor. Urban Health Knowledge Management outlines bold, workable strategies for addressing this disparity and eliminating the “knowledge islands” that so often disrupt effective service delivery. The book offers a wide-reaching global framework for organizational competence leading to improved care quality and outcomes for traditionally underserved clients in diverse, challenging settings. Its contributors understand the issues fluently, imparting both macro and micro concepts of KM with clear rationales and real-world examples as they: •Analyze key aspects of KM and explains their applicability to urban health.•Introduce the KM tools and technologies most relevant to health care delivery.•Offer evidence of the role of KM in improving clinical efficacy and executive decision-making.•Provide extended case examples of KM-based programs used in Washington, D.C. (child health), South Africa (HIV/AIDS), and Australia (health inequities).•Apply KM principles to urban health needs in developing countries.•Discuss new approaches to managing, evaluating, and improving delivery systems in the book’s “Measures and Metrics” section. Urban health professionals, as well as health care executives and administrators, will find Urban Health Knowledge Management a significant resource for bringing service delivery up to speed at a time of great advancement and change.

Rapid progress in health research has led to generation of new knowledge and innovative practices in management of illness. This has resulted in a significant challenge for health professionals: if today we discovered a new therapy through research, when will this discovery be regularly prescribed or utilized to treat all patients suffering from this condition? Knowledge translation is the non-linear and often complicated process of translating knowledge into routine health practices. Technology enabled knowledge translation (TEKT) is the use of information and communication technologies (ICT) to accelerate knowledge translation. With the ubiquity of the internet, the proliferation of different approaches in communication and social networking, and the continuously improving technologies from netbooks to smartphones, there are rich opportunities for TEKT in health education, service delivery, and research.

There is little doubt that information technology is a major force in transforming healthcare systems: physicians need to have considerable patient data at hand, even if diagnosis and treatment are relatively straightforward. But data are only as useful as ICT—information communication technology—systems make them. Inefficient handling of data can quickly lead to chaos, and possibly to fatalities. Strategic ICT Planning in Pathology illuminates these problems, as well as their potential solutions, based on a unique body of research from Australia. Focusing on core strategic factors such as laboratory information systems capability and effectiveness, business-IT alignment, strategic spending, research and education, and end-user involvement, the book explains why pathology labs lag behind other hospital departments. Survey and focus group findings pinpoint the importance of Strategic Information System Planning (SISP), and its relationship to quality service delivery and an improved bottom line [ok?]. Among the topics covered: Approaches to SISP and IS effectiveness measurement. The OpenLabs project and pathology practice. Development of a framework for SISP. Focus groups: the view from the hospital laboratory, the private pathology lab, and the experts. Key findings and their implications for strategy, planning, and business outcomes. Future research directions, including reverse SISP. Strategic ICT Planning in Pathology is a go-to resource for healthcare administrators and researchers in healthcare management, health policy, and health services research interested in troubleshooting systems, conducting surveys on IS, or better understanding how quality ICT works.

Pervasive healthcare is an emerging research discipline, focusing on the development and application of pervasive and ubiquitous computing technology for healthcare and wellness. Pervasive healthcare seeksto respond to a variety of pressures on healthcare systems, including the increased incidence of life-style related and chronic diseases, emerging consumerism in healthcare, need for empowering patients andrelatives for self-care and management of their health, and need to provide seamless access for healthcare services, independent of time and place. Pervasive healthcare may be defined from two perspectives. First, it is the development and application of pervasive computing (or ubiquitous computing, ambient intelligence) technologies for healthcare,health and wellness management. Second, it seeks to make healthcare available to anyone, anytime, and anywhere by removing locational, time and other restraints while increasing both the coverage and qualityof healthcare. This book proposes to define the emerging area of pervasive health and introduce key management principles, most especially knowledge management, its tools, techniques and technologies. In addition, the book takes a socio-technical, patient-centric approach which serves to emphasize the importance of a key triumvirate in healthcare management namely, the focus on people, process and technology. Last but not least the book discusses in detail a specific example of pervasive health, namely the potential use of a wireless technology solution in the monitoring of diabetic patients.

A growing, aging population; the rise to epidemic proportions of various chronic diseases; competing, often overlapping medical technologies; and of course, skyrocketing costs compounded by waste and inefficiency - these are just a few of the multifarious challenges currently facing healthcare delivery. Anunexpected source of solutions is being imported from the manufacturing sector: lean thinking.Lean Principles for Healthcare presents a conceptual framework, management principles, and practical tools for professionals tasked with designing and implementing modern, streamlined healthcare systems or overhauling faulty ones. Focusing on core components such as knowledge management, e-health, patient-centeredness, and collaborative care, chapters illustrate lean concepts in action across specialties (as diverse as nursing, urology, and emergency care) and around the globe. Extended case examples show health systems responding to consumer needs and provider realities with equal efficiency and effectiveness, and improved quality and patient outcomes. Further, contributors tackle the gamut of technological, medical, cultural, and business issues, among them: Initiatives of service-oriented architecture towards performance improvementAdapted lean thinking for emergency departmentsLean thinking in dementia care through smart assistive technologySupporting preventive healthcare with persuasive servicesValue stream mapping for lean healthcareA technology mediated solution to reduce healthcare disparitiesGeared toward both how lean ideas can be carried out and how they are being used successfully in the real world, LeanPrinciples for Healthcare  not only brings expert knowledge to healthcare managers and health services researchers but to all who have an interest in superior healthcare delivery.

Rapid progress in health research has led to generation of new knowledge and innovative practices in management of illness. This has resulted in a significant challenge for health professionals: if today we discovered a new therapy through research, when will this discovery be regularly prescribed or utilized to treat all patients suffering from this condition? Knowledge translation is the non-linear and often complicated process of translating knowledge into routine health practices. Technology enabled knowledge translation (TEKT) is the use of information and communication technologies (ICT) to accelerate knowledge translation. With the ubiquity of the internet, the proliferation of different approaches in communication and social networking, and the continuously improving technologies from netbooks to smartphones, there are rich opportunities for TEKT in health education, service delivery, and research.

Pervasive healthcare is an emerging research discipline, focusing on the development and application of pervasive and ubiquitous computing technology for healthcare and wellness. Pervasive healthcare seeksto respond to a variety of pressures on healthcare systems, including the increased incidence of life-style related and chronic diseases, emerging consumerism in healthcare, need for empowering patients andrelatives for self-care and management of their health, and need to provide seamless access for healthcare services, independent of time and place. Pervasive healthcare may be defined from two perspectives. First, it is the development and application of pervasive computing (or ubiquitous computing, ambient intelligence) technologies for healthcare,health and wellness management. Second, it seeks to make healthcare available to anyone, anytime, and anywhere by removing locational, time and other restraints while increasing both the coverage and qualityof healthcare. This book proposes to define the emerging area of pervasive health and introduce key management principles, most especially knowledge management, its tools, techniques and technologies. In addition, the book takes a socio-technical, patient-centric approach which serves to emphasize the importance of a key triumvirate in healthcare management namely, the focus on people, process and technology. Last but not least the book discusses in detail a specific example of pervasive health, namely the potential use of a wireless technology solution in the monitoring of diabetic patients.

Pervasive healthcare is an emerging research discipline, focusing on the development and application of pervasive and ubiquitous computing technology for healthcare and wellness. Pervasive healthcare seeks to respond to a variety of pressures on healthcare systems, including the increased incidence of life-style related and chronic diseases, emerging consumerism in healthcare, need for empowering patients and relatives for self-care and management of their health, and need to provide seamless access for healthcare services, independent of time and place. Pervasive healthcare may be defined from two perspectives. First, it is the development and application of pervasive computing (or ubiquitous computing, ambient intelligence) technologies for healthcare, health and wellness management. Second, it seeks to make healthcare available to anyone, anytime, and anywhere by removing locational, time and other restraints while increasing both the coverage and quality of healthcare. This book proposes to define the emerging area of pervasive health and introduce key management principles, most especially knowledge management, its tools, techniques and technologies. In addition, the book takes a socio-technical, patient-centric approach which serves to emphasize the importance of a key triumvirate in healthcare management namely, the focus on people, process and technology. Last but not least the book discusses in detail a specific example of pervasive health, namely the potential use of a wireless technology solution in the monitoring of diabetic patients.

There is little doubt that information technology is a major force in transforming healthcare systems: physicians need to have considerable patient data at hand, even if diagnosis and treatment are relatively straightforward. But data are only as useful as ICT—information communication technology—systems make them. Inefficient handling of data can quickly lead to chaos, and possibly to fatalities. Strategic ICT Planning in Pathology illuminates these problems, as well as their potential solutions, based on a unique body of research from Australia. Focusing on core strategic factors such as laboratory information systems capability and effectiveness, business-IT alignment, strategic spending, research and education, and end-user involvement, the book explains why pathology labs lag behind other hospital departments. Survey and focus group findings pinpoint the importance of Strategic Information System Planning (SISP), and its relationship to quality service delivery and an improved bottom line [ok?]. Among the topics covered: Approaches to SISP and IS effectiveness measurement. The OpenLabs project and pathology practice. Development of a framework for SISP. Focus groups: the view from the hospital laboratory, the private pathology lab, and the experts. Key findings and their implications for strategy, planning, and business outcomes. Future research directions, including reverse SISP. Strategic ICT Planning in Pathology is a go-to resource for healthcare administrators and researchers in healthcare management, health policy, and health services research interested in troubleshooting systems, conducting surveys on IS, or better understanding how quality ICT works.

A growing, aging population; the rise to epidemic proportions of various chronic diseases; competing, often overlapping medical technologies; and of course, skyrocketing costs compounded by waste and inefficiency - these are just a few of the multifarious challenges currently facing healthcare delivery. Anunexpected source of solutions is being imported from the manufacturing sector: lean thinking.Lean Principles for Healthcare presents a conceptual framework, management principles, and practical tools for professionals tasked with designing and implementing modern, streamlined healthcare systems or overhauling faulty ones. Focusing on core components such as knowledge management, e-health, patient-centeredness, and collaborative care, chapters illustrate lean concepts in action across specialties (as diverse as nursing, urology, and emergency care) and around the globe. Extended case examples show health systems responding to consumer needs and provider realities with equal efficiency and effectiveness, and improved quality and patient outcomes. Further, contributors tackle the gamut of technological, medical, cultural, and business issues, among them: Initiatives of service-oriented architecture towards performance improvementAdapted lean thinking for emergency departmentsLean thinking in dementia care through smart assistive technologySupporting preventive healthcare with persuasive servicesValue stream mapping for lean healthcareA technology mediated solution to reduce healthcare disparitiesGeared toward both how lean ideas can be carried out and how they are being used successfully in the real world, LeanPrinciples for Healthcare  not only brings expert knowledge to healthcare managers and health services researchers but to all who have an interest in superior healthcare delivery.

This unifying volume offers a clear theoretical framework for the research shaping the emerging direction of informatics in health care. Contributors ground the reader in the basics of informatics methodology and design, including creating salient research questions, and explore the human dimensions of informatics in studies detailing how patients perceive, respond to, and use health data. Real-world examples bridge the theoretical and the practical as knowledge management-based solutions are applied to pervasive issues in information technologies and service delivery. Together, these articles illustrate the scope of health possibilities for informatics, from patient care management to hospital administration, from improving patient satisfaction to expanding the parameters of practice. Highlights of the coverage:·         Design science research opportunities in health care·         IS/IT governance in health care: an integrative model·         Persuasive technologies and behavior modification through technology: design of a mobile application for behavior change·         The development of a hospital secure messaging and communication platform: a conceptualization                                                                                                                                                        ·         The development of intelligent patient-centric systems for health care·         An investigation on integrating Eastern and Western medicine with informaticsInterest in Theories to Inform Superior Health Informatics Research and Practice cuts across academia and the healthcare industry. Its audience includes healthcare professionals, physicians and other clinicians, practicing informaticians,  hospital administrators, IT departments, managers, and management consultants, as well as scholars, researchers, and students in health informatics and public health.

This in-depth book addresses a key void in the literature surrounding the Internet of Things (IoT) and health. By systematically evaluating the benefits of mobile, wireless, and sensor-based IoT technologies when used in health and wellness contexts, the book sheds light on the next frontier for healthcare delivery. These technologies generate data with significant potential to enable superior care delivery, self-empowerment, and wellness management. Collecting valuable insights and recommendations in one accessible volume, chapter authors identify key areas in health and wellness where IoT can be used, highlighting the benefits, barriers, and facilitators of these technologies as well as suggesting areas for improvement in current policy and regulations.Four overarching themes provide a suitable setting to examine the critical insights presented in the 31 chapters:Mobile- and sensor-based solutionsOpportunities to incorporate critical aspectsof analytics to provide superior insights and thus support better decision-makingCritical issues around aspects of IoT in healthcare contextsApplications of portals in healthcare contextsA comprehensive overview that introduces the critical issues regarding the role of IoT technologies for health, Delivering Superior Health and Wellness Management with IoT and Analytics paves the way for scholars, practitioners, students, and other stakeholders to understand how to substantially improve health and wellness management on a global scale.

This in-depth book addresses a key void in the literature surrounding the Internet of Things (IoT) and health. By systematically evaluating the benefits of mobile, wireless, and sensor-based IoT technologies when used in health and wellness contexts, the book sheds light on the next frontier for healthcare delivery. These technologies generate data with significant potential to enable superior care delivery, self-empowerment, and wellness management. Collecting valuable insights and recommendations in one accessible volume, chapter authors identify key areas in health and wellness where IoT can be used, highlighting the benefits, barriers, and facilitators of these technologies as well as suggesting areas for improvement in current policy and regulations.Four overarching themes provide a suitable setting to examine the critical insights presented in the 31 chapters:Mobile- and sensor-based solutionsOpportunities to incorporate critical aspectsof analytics to provide superior insights and thus support better decision-makingCritical issues around aspects of IoT in healthcare contextsApplications of portals in healthcare contextsA comprehensive overview that introduces the critical issues regarding the role of IoT technologies for health, Delivering Superior Health and Wellness Management with IoT and Analytics paves the way for scholars, practitioners, students, and other stakeholders to understand how to substantially improve health and wellness management on a global scale.

Digital disruption in healthcare is generating new technologies, applications, and large data sets, and these are all precipitating significant changes in healthcare processes.

Digital disruption in healthcare is generating new technologies, applications, and large data sets, and these are all precipitating significant changes in healthcare processes.

This innovative reference examines how consumer health informatics (CHI) can transform healthcare systems stressed by staffing shortages and budget constraints and challenged by patients taking a more active role in their care. It situates CHI as vital to upgrading healthcare service delivery, detailing the relationship between health information technologies and quality healthcare, and outlining what stakeholders need to learn for health IT systems to function effectively. Wide-ranging content identifies critical issues and answers key questions at the consumer, practitioner, administration, and staff levels, using examples from diverse conditions, countries, technologies, and specialties. In this framework, the benefits of CHI are seen across service domains, from individual patients and consumers to healthcare systems and global health entities.Included in the coverage: Use of video technology in an aged care environmentA context-awareremote health monitoring service for improved patient careAccessibility issues in interoperable sharing of electronic health records: physician’s perspective Managing gestational diabetes with mobile web-based reporting of glucose readingsAn organizing vision perspective for developing and adopting e-health solutionsAn ontology of consumer health informatics Contemporary Consumer Health Informatics combines blueprint and idea book for public health and health informatics students, healthcare professionals, physicians, medical administrators, managers, and IT practitioners.

This unifying volume offers a clear theoretical framework for the research shaping the emerging direction of informatics in health care. Contributors ground the reader in the basics of informatics methodology and design, including creating salient research questions, and explore the human dimensions of informatics in studies detailing how patients perceive, respond to, and use health data. Real-world examples bridge the theoretical and the practical as knowledge management-based solutions are applied to pervasive issues in information technologies and service delivery. Together, these articles illustrate the scope of health possibilities for informatics, from patient care management to hospital administration, from improving patient satisfaction to expanding the parameters of practice. Highlights of the coverage:·         Design science research opportunities in health care·         IS/IT governance in health care: an integrative model·         Persuasive technologies and behavior modification through technology: design of a mobile application for behavior change·         The development of a hospital secure messaging and communication platform: a conceptualization                                                                                                                                                        ·         The development of intelligent patient-centric systems for health care·         An investigation on integrating Eastern and Western medicine with informaticsInterest in Theories to Inform Superior Health Informatics Research and Practice cuts across academia and the healthcare industry. Its audience includes healthcare professionals, physicians and other clinicians, practicing informaticians,  hospital administrators, IT departments, managers, and management consultants, as well as scholars, researchers, and students in health informatics and public health.