scholarly journals Monitoring and treatment of chronic patients through uHealth: Keys to sustainability (efficiency) and quality of care

2018 ◽  
Vol 16 (45) ◽  
pp. 55-64
Author(s):  
Javier Cabo-Salvador ◽  
José Manuel Velarde ◽  
Verónica Cabo Muíños ◽  
Carlos De Castro Lozano ◽  
Javier Ramos López
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Health Spending ◽  
Health Resources ◽  
Information And Communications Technologies ◽  
Chronic Patients ◽  
Proposed Model ◽  
Number Of Patients ◽  
Communications Technologies ◽  
Financial Issues

This paper proposes an integrated model of social-health resources management. The authors present the actual challenges for health care, in an environment characterized by longer life expectancy and an increase in the number of patients with chronic pathologies, in a scenario of both, economic and financial crises. Their presentation includes management and financial issues, and the technological trends –such as the development of personalized and regenerative medicine– which will lead to an increase in health spending. The task of facing these challenges, they explain, cannot be postponed, the goals should be to improve: the efficiency in the use of health resources, the quality of health care and the level of patient satisfaction. Finally, they present some concepts about the application of information and communications technologies in health, show its relationship with the chronic patient care and present both, the current management models for this type of patient and the new proposed model.

scholarly journals Home Mechanical Ventilation: A Patient’s Perspective Survey Study

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (8) ◽  
pp. 4048
Author(s):  
Magdalena Kwiatosz-Muc ◽  
Bożena Kopacz
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Mechanical Ventilation ◽  
Alternative Methods ◽  
Survey Study ◽  
Home Mechanical Ventilation ◽  
Patient’S Satisfaction ◽  
Satisfaction Index ◽  
Number Of Patients ◽  
The Difference

Background: An increasing number of patients included in home mechanical ventilation (HMV) care has been under observation for many years. The study aimed to assess the patients opinion concerning the expected and perceived quality of care in an HMV system and a patient’s satisfaction with care. Methods: In 2017, patients treated with HMV were surveyed in Poland with the modified SERVQUAL questionnaire. Results: One hundred correctly completed surveys were analyzed. Patient Satisfaction Index was high. In every examined area, the expectations were statistically significant larger than the perception of the services. The biggest gap was in the tangibility dimension and the smallest gap was in the empathy dimension. Perceived respect and understanding for a patient’s needs are close to the expectations. Conclusions: The level of satisfaction with health care among patients treated with HMV in majority of investigated components is high. Moreover, the difference between perceived and expected quality of health care in the HMV system was relatively small in the opinion of the patients themselves. Further investigations with alternative methods are needed.

Patient Response Toward a Change in the System of Health Care Delivery

PEDIATRICS ◽  
1973 ◽  
Vol 52 (2) ◽  
pp. 289-293
Author(s):  
Kathleen J. Motil ◽  
W. John Siar
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Health Care Delivery ◽  
Care Delivery ◽  
Poor Quality ◽  
Emergency Rooms ◽  
Patient Response ◽  
Number Of Patients ◽  
Comprehensive Health ◽  
Crisis Care

With the emphasis being placed on comprehensive health care, outpatient clinics in major city hospitals have found it necessary to reevaluate their methods of health care delivery. An increasing number of patients who fail to schedule or keep medical appointments appear for crisis care, resulting in a higher cost of hospital operation due to unnecessary utilization of emergency rooms and the wasting of time of clerical and professional personnel, as well as poor quality of health care due to See the Table in PDF File sporadic clinic attendance. When comparing behavior patterns and attitudes of clinic patients under different methods of health care delivery, patient preferences become apparent.

scholarly journals Data Discovery Systems for Not-for-Profit Organizations

2021 ◽  
pp. 536-548
Author(s):  
Joanna Palonka
Keyword(s):  
Resource Management ◽  
Information And Communications Technologies ◽  
Data Discovery ◽  
For Profit ◽  
Contemporary World ◽  
Not For Profit ◽  
Communications Technologies ◽  
Not For Profit Organizations ◽  
For Profit Organizations

Information and communications technologies (ICTs) change the organization's rules of functioning in the contemporary world. The major challenge facing each organization is the necessity to acquire/develop its ability to create, implement and use innovative ICT methods and techniques in all processes it carries out. The study is aimed at not-for-profit organizations. They are in need of organizational, financial, and technological changes in order to fulfil their mission and build their potential effectively. Under existing circumstances these organizations are forced to efficiently use data in resource management. They have to understand that modern ICTs bring internal benefits and contribute to higher efficiency as well as enhanced quality of the services they provide. Data Discovery Systems (DD) are one of the modern technologies which help in achieving these goals. The aim of this chapter is to present the possibility of using DD systems in effective resource management of not-for-profit organizations based on the case study of a selected organization.

Using ICT to Foster Human Rights Defense Processes for Mexican Immigrants

2012 ◽  
pp. 1563-1581
Author(s):  
Maria Alejandra Rocha Silva ◽  
Juan Contreras-Castillo ◽  
Ricardo Acosta-Díaz
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Mexican Immigrants ◽  
The United States ◽  
Adaptation Process ◽  
Information And Communications Technologies ◽  
Illegal Aliens ◽  
Communications Technologies ◽  
American Society ◽  
Race And Religion

Frequently, Mexicans who cannot find solutions for their financial problems migrate to the United States hoping to improve their quality of life. However, they usually face abuses, mostly because they are illegal aliens, but also because they arrive to a society which is not their own. These migrants are mainly excluded from American society not only because of their race and religion, but also because they do not speak English in most cases, do not have studies higher than primary school, and are not proficient in using information and communications technologies (ICT). With this panorama in mind, the Colimenses sin Fronteras Web Portal becomes a tool to support and help them overcome the adaptation process, which might help reduce the discrimination that many of them face upon arriving to the receiving country. It also provides migrants with information about the abuses they might suffer and how to file a legal complaint.

An Overview of Telemedicine Technologies for Healthcare Applications

2018 ◽  
pp. 732-759 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. S. Pandian
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
Physiological Monitoring ◽  
Improve Quality ◽  
Healthcare Applications ◽  
Allied Health Professionals ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Communications Technologies ◽  
The Face

Medical care generally relies on the face-to-face encounter between patients and doctors. In places where face-to-face encounters are not possible, telemedicine technologies are relied upon to link patients to specialist doctors for consultation and to obtain opinion. The telemedicine technologies provide improved health care to the underprivileged in inaccessible areas at reduced cost. Telemedicine also improve quality of health care and more importantly reduce the isolation of specialists, nurses and allied health professionals. This review papers discusses the telemedicine technologies and its history, the communications technologies that are being used. The paper also covers the advantages and benefits of telemedicine. Also the recent advances that are going on in telemedicine in the areas of m-health, Wearable Physiological Monitoring System (WPMS), Wireless Body Area Networks (WBAN). Finally, the paper concludes with some of the drawbacks or issues of telemedicine technologies.

E-Government and the Digital Divide

2011 ◽  
pp. 1718-1725
Author(s):  
Tan Yigitcanlar ◽  
Scott Baum
Keyword(s):  
Digital Divide ◽  
World Wide ◽  
Technological Development ◽  
Public Institutions ◽  
Information And Communications Technologies ◽  
Private Organizations ◽  
Communications Technologies ◽  
Rapid Pace ◽  
Access Services

Many governments world wide are attempting to increase accountability, transparency, and the quality of services by adopting information and communications technologies (ICTs) to modernize and change the way their administrations work. Meanwhile e-government is becoming a significant decision-making and service tool at local, regional and national government levels. The vast majority of users of these government online services see significant benefits from being able to access services online. The rapid pace of technological development has created increasingly more powerful ICTs that are capable of radically transforming public institutions and private organizations alike. These technologies have proven to be extraordinarily useful instruments in enabling governments to enhance the quality, speed of delivery and reliability of services to citizens and to business (VanderMeer & VanWinden, 2003). However, just because the technology is available does not mean it is accessible to all. The term digital divide has been used since the 1990s to describe patterns of unequal access to ICTs—primarily computers and the Internet—based on income, ethnicity, geography, age, and other factors. Over time it has evolved to more broadly define disparities in technology usage, resulting from a lack of access, skills, or interest in using technology. This article provides an overview of recent literature on e-government and the digital divide, and includes a discussion on the potential of e-government in addressing the digital divide.

scholarly journals CURING HEMOGLOBINOPATHIES: CHALLENGES AND ADVANCES OF CONVENTIONAL AND NEW GENE THERAPY APPROACHES.

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. e2019067 ◽  
Author(s):  
Irene Motta ◽  
Valentina Ghiaccio ◽  
Andrea Cosentino ◽  
Laura Breda
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Gene Therapy ◽  
Bone Marrow ◽  
Iron Chelation ◽  
Beta Thalassemia ◽  
Allogenic Bone ◽  
Number Of Patients ◽  
Monogenic Diseases

Inherited hemoglobin disorders, including beta-thalassemia (BT) and sickle-cell disease (SCD) are the most common monogenic diseases worldwide, with a global carrier frequency of over 5%. With migration they are becoming more common worldwide, making their management and care an increasing concern for health care systems. BT is characterized by an imbalance in the α/β-globin chain ratio, ineffective erythropoiesis, chronic hemolytic anemia, and compensatory haemopoietic expansion. Globally, there are over 25,000 births each year with transfusion-dependent thalassemia (TDT). The current available treatment for TDT is lifelong transfusions and iron chelation therapy or allogenic bone marrow as curative option. SCD affects 300 million people worldwide  and severely impacts the quality of life of patients, who experience unpredictable, recurrent acute and chronic severe pain, stroke, infections, pulmonary disease, kidney disease, retinopathy, and other complications. While survival has been dramatically extended, quality of life is markedly reduced by disease- and treatment-associated morbidity. The development of safe, tissue specific and efficient vectors, and efficient gene editing technologies have led to the development of several gene therapy trials for BT and SCD. Yet, the complexity of the approach presents its hurdles. Fundamental factors at play include the requirement for myeloablation on a patient with a benign disease, the age of the patient and consequent bone marrow microenvironment. A successful path from proof-of-concept studies to commercialization must render gene therapy a sustainable and accessible approach for a large number of patients. Furthermore, the cost of these therapies is a considerable challenge for the health care system. While new promising therapeutic options are emerging and many others are on the pipeline5, gene therapy can potentially cure patients. We herein provide an overview of the most recent potentially curative therapies for hemoglobinopathies and a summary of the challenges that these approaches entail.

Telemedicine in Practice

2011 ◽  
pp. 223-241
Author(s):  
Jose Aurelio Medina-Garrido ◽  
María José Crisóstomo-Acevedo
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Corporate Entrepreneurship ◽  
Technological Knowledge ◽  
Health Care Sector ◽  
Information And Communications Technologies ◽  
Communications Technologies ◽  
Business Opportunities ◽  
Telecommunications Services ◽  
Activity Information

The case of Comitas Comunicaciones is a clear example of corporate entrepreneurship in the telecommunications sector. This firm was founded to offer telecommunications services in general and telecommunications services applied to telemedicine in particular. Comitas exploits business opportunities in the health care sector that no other firm is currently focusing on adequately. As the case develops, the technical and market difficulties that the firm has faced will become apparent. The role of the incubator firm is particularly important in this case, since it has provided Comitas with resources, capabilities, and technological knowledge that are complementary in the firm’s new activity: information and communications technologies services (ICT) to support telemedicine.

Economics and Mental Health: an International Perspective

2011 ◽  
pp. 231-256
Author(s):  
Richard G. Frank
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Health Policy ◽  
Mental Disorders ◽  
Mental Health Policy ◽  
Institutional Care ◽  
Health Spending ◽  
Health Resources ◽  
Mental Illnesses ◽  
Health Care Rationing

This article notes that problems of incomplete information are particularly salient in the context of mental health. It considers how different nations address economics and mental health in the formulation of mental health policy. It focuses on three key economic phenomena that are central to understanding the allocation of resources to the treatment of mental disorders. These are externalities, methods for efficient rationing of health resources, and incentives for allocating funds across different types of mental health services. This article provides some background on mental disorders and organization of mental health care in different OECD countries. It considers determination of mental health spending as part of health care rationing schemes in various nations. It discusses the role of government and how each country aligns its financing arrangements with stated policy goals of reducing reliance on institutional care for people with mental illnesses. Finally, it offers some concluding observations on mental health policy.

Health Investment Priorities in India: A New Methodology-based Analysis of State Budgets

2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 375-388
Author(s):  
Indrani Gupta ◽  
Samik Chowdhury ◽  
Avantika Ranjan
Keyword(s):  
Primary Care ◽  
Government Spending ◽  
Tertiary Care ◽  
Health Spending ◽  
Health Resources ◽  
Measurement Issues ◽  
National Budget ◽  
State Budgets ◽  
Area Of Concern

Classification and measurement issues—especially definitions and estimates of primary, secondary and tertiary care—are the major impediments to an informed discussion around type and quality of health spending in India. One area of concern worldwide has been the level of investment in primary care. This article reviews different definitions of primary, secondary and tertiary care, and applies a new methodology on sub-national budget data for classifying and estimating these aggregates. Government spending on health by five states of India is grouped into primary, secondary, tertiary, medical education, social security for health and administration applying the new methodology. The Detailed Demand for Grants of each state for 2014–2015, 2015–2016 and 2016–2017 was used for classifying budget items. Each line item is assigned to one of the six types of spending, with additional algorithms and assumptions, wherever a straightforward classification was not possible. The results indicate a lack of uniformity in spending across these six aggregates. However, states are spending a significant part of their health resources on primary care. The results and the methodology can pave the way for a much needed discussion around standardisation of definitions and formats for data collection on budget aggregates to track types of health spending.

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