Development, Integration, and Deployment of Mobile Information Services in Healthcare

2012 ◽  
pp. 242-261
Author(s):  
Jelena Mirkovic ◽  
Haakon Bryhni
Keyword(s):  
Healthcare Delivery ◽  
Quality Of Healthcare ◽  
Healthcare Services ◽  
Research Field ◽  
Security And Privacy ◽  
Healthcare Sector ◽  
Mobile Healthcare ◽  
Mobile Access ◽  
User Friendly ◽  
Mobile Information Services

The use of mobile and wireless technologies has great potential to improve the efficiency and quality of healthcare delivery. The main goal of this chapter is to describe the current state of the art in the research field of development and integration of mobile services in the healthcare sector by addressing the two main challenges: usability and security. The authors investigate the main requirements and approaches for developing highly usable, user-friendly, and well-accepted mobile healthcare services. In addition, they identify various ways of addressing security and privacy issues in mobile healthcare services and discuss the advantages and shortcomings of each approach. Finally, the chapter presents the CONNECT (Care Online: Novel Networks to Enhance Communication and Treatment) project and describes how security and usability issues can be addressed during the development of mobile access to a multi-modal Internet-based patient support system.

scholarly journals Association of patients’ perception of quality of healthcare received and colorectal cancer screening uptake: An analysis of two national surveys in the United States

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karan Chawla ◽  
Angesom Kibreab ◽  
Victor & Scott ◽  
Edward L. Lee ◽  
Farshad Aduli ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Colorectal Cancer ◽  
United States ◽  
Healthcare Delivery ◽  
Quality Of Healthcare ◽  
Healthcare Services ◽  
The United States ◽  
Crc Screening ◽  
Fair Poor ◽  
National Trends

Objective: It is unknown whether patients’ ratings of the quality of healthcare services they receive truly correlate with the quality of care from their providers. Understanding this association can potentiate improvement in healthcare delivery. We evaluated the association between patients’ ratings of the quality of healthcare services received and uptake of colorectal cancer (CRC) screening. Subject and Methods: We used two iterations of the Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS) of adults in the United States. HINTS 2007 (4,007 respondents; weighted population=75,397,128) evaluated whether respondents were up-to-date with CRC screening while HINTS 4 cycle 3 (1,562 respondents; weighted population=76,628,000) evaluated whether participants had ever received CRC screening in the past. All included respondents from both surveys were at least 50 years of age, had no history of CRC, and had rated the quality of healthcare services that they had received at their healthcare provider’s office in the previous 12 months. Results: HINTS 2007 data showed that respondents who rated their healthcare as good, or fair/poor were significantly less likely to be up to date with CRC screening compared to those who rated their healthcare as excellent. We found comparable results from analysis of HINTS 4 cycle 3 data with poorer uptake of CRC screening as the healthcare quality ratings of respondents’ reduced. Conclusion: Our study suggested that patients who reported receiving lower quality of healthcare services were less likely to have undergone and be compliant with CRC screening recommendations. It is important to pay close attention to patient feedback surveys in order to improve healthcare delivery.

scholarly journals Robotics and AI for Teleoperation, Tele-Assessment, and Tele-Training for Surgery in the Era of COVID-19: Existing Challenges, and Future Vision

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Navid Feizi ◽  
Mahdi Tavakoli ◽  
Rajni V. Patel ◽  
S. Farokh Atashzar
Keyword(s):  
Surgical Procedures ◽  
Disease Transmission ◽  
Healthcare Delivery ◽  
Quality Of Healthcare ◽  
Healthcare Services ◽  
Daily Basis ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Risk Of Infection ◽  
Post Surgery ◽  
Operative Assessment

The unprecedented shock caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has severely influenced the delivery of regular healthcare services. Most non-urgent medical activities, including elective surgeries, have been paused to mitigate the risk of infection and to dedicate medical resources to managing the pandemic. In this regard, not only surgeries are substantially influenced, but also pre- and post-operative assessment of patients and training for surgical procedures have been significantly impacted due to the pandemic. Many countries are planning a phased reopening, which includes the resumption of some surgical procedures. However, it is not clear how the reopening safe-practice guidelines will impact the quality of healthcare delivery. This perspective article evaluates the use of robotics and AI in 1) robotics-assisted surgery, 2) tele-examination of patients for pre- and post-surgery, and 3) tele-training for surgical procedures. Surgeons interact with a large number of staff and patients on a daily basis. Thus, the risk of infection transmission between them raises concerns. In addition, pre- and post-operative assessment also raises concerns about increasing the risk of disease transmission, in particular, since many patients may have other underlying conditions, which can increase their chances of mortality due to the virus. The pandemic has also limited the time and access that trainee surgeons have for training in the OR and/or in the presence of an expert. In this article, we describe existing challenges and possible solutions and suggest future research directions that may be relevant for robotics and AI in addressing the three tasks mentioned above.

scholarly journals The Challenges of the IS/IT Projects in the Healthcare Sector

2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 67-81 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jorge Gomes ◽  
Mário Romão
Keyword(s):  
User Satisfaction ◽  
Health Sector ◽  
Quality Of Healthcare ◽  
Healthcare Services ◽  
Operational Efficiency ◽  
Integrated System ◽  
Superior Performance ◽  
Healthcare Sector ◽  
Emergent Technologies

Essentially, the purpose of investment in information systems and information technology (IS/IT) is to improve the operational efficiency of the organizations, reducing costs and improving levels of quality. Thus, many traditional appraisal techniques are used to evaluate tangible benefits, which are based on direct project costs. Since the 1980s, IS/IT has positioned itself as a strategic tool that through flexibility and innovative ways can produce superior performance. The health sector has sought to improve its effectiveness and efficiency by adopting IS/IT solutions to increase the quality of services, namely patient safety, organizational efficiency, and end-user satisfaction. Hospitals are complex organizations, and this complexity magnifies the opportunity for inevitable human errors. A poorly integrated system can decrease operational efficiency and reduce the quality of healthcare services. The issue remains controversial, as evidenced by several articles. The authors noticed that emergent technologies may offer opportunities to those who can exploit them effectively.

scholarly journals FINANCING AND EFFECTIVENESS OF GEORGIAN HEALTHCARE SYSTEM

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Davit Meparishvili ◽  
◽  
Manana Maridashvili ◽  
Ekaterine Sanikidze ◽  
◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Healthcare System ◽  
Health Care System ◽  
Access To Health Care ◽  
Quality Of Healthcare ◽  
Healthcare Services ◽  
The State ◽  
Healthcare Sector ◽  
Important Field ◽  
Care System

Assessing the effectiveness of the Georgian healthcare system in the modern period and conditions, takes into account the results achieved, as well as the main problems that hinder the effective functioning of this important field; At the same time, it is important to develop the main directions of their solution, where we consider the improvement of the state policy-making process during the implementation of reforms in the healthcare sector, which should take into account the state of health of the population, quality of healthcare services, results, health care; furthermore disease prevention, equality, financial provision, access to health care, efficiency, rational allocation of health care system resources and other key features of the health care system.

scholarly journals Investigating Perceptions of Patients on Healthcare Pricing Within The Private Healthcare Sector In Sri Lanka

2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 235-242
Author(s):  
Kanchana Sajeeva Narangoda ◽  
Estie Kruger ◽  
Marc Tennant
Keyword(s):  
Sri Lanka ◽  
Private Sector ◽  
Healthcare Delivery ◽  
Target Population ◽  
Healthcare Services ◽  
Healthcare Sector ◽  
Sufficient Evidence ◽  
Healthcare Delivery System ◽  
Private Hospitals ◽  
Private Healthcare

Demand for private sector healthcare services in Sri Lanka is on the rise. This is very evident from the increase in the number of registered private healthcare institutions from 1990 to 2017. [1,2] With the increasing utilization of private sector healthcare services, various qualitative factors,  and service-related issues associated with the healthcare delivery system have become common debates. A major concern, patients have expressed, is about the fees charged by doctors and hospitals. Principle aim of this study was to investigate the perceptions of patients on healthcare pricing within the private healthcare sector in Sri Lanka. The target population of the study was defined as Sri Lankans who have been inpatients in private hospitals within the past year. The focus districts were Colombo, Kandy, and Galle. These 3 districts represented nearly 60% of the total private sector bed capacity. From each district, three main private hospitals were selected. Over 700 patients were invited to participate, 246 surveys were completed, and 215 were retained as 31 had excessive missing and/or unclear data. In all 3 districts the majority of patients were either dissatisfied with or remained neutral (69%) on the hospital fees,(66%) on doctor’s fees,(74%) on the overall price they ended up paying,(76%)  on whether they think the healthcare services they received are value for money. This study did not investigate the reasons or the factors that may affect the satisfaction or dissatisfaction of patients towards the fees they paid Multiple factors can affect patient’s perception on the fees they paid. With negative perception on the above it can be concluded that there is sufficient evidence to challenge private sector healthcare satisfaction level vs price/fees equilibrium in Sri Lanka.

scholarly journals Patient satisfaction survey: A gateway to quality improvement in primary healthcare in the IAF

2021 ◽  
Vol 65 ◽  
pp. 105-108
Author(s):  
VV Joshi ◽  
R Dev ◽  
NK Tripathy
Keyword(s):  
Patient Satisfaction ◽  
Primary Healthcare ◽  
Short Form ◽  
Tertiary Care ◽  
Healthcare Delivery ◽  
Armed Forces ◽  
Quality Of Healthcare ◽  
Healthcare Services ◽  
Important Indicator ◽  
Tertiary Healthcare

Patient satisfaction is an important indicator to assess and improve quality of healthcare services. In Armed Forces Medical Services, studies on patient satisfaction are scant and mainly hospital based. Hence, a study was conducted with an objective to assess patient satisfaction in seven Primary Healthcare Delivery Centers (PHDCs) in one of the operational commands in the Indian Air Force (IAF). Patient Satisfaction Questionnaire Short Form 18 (PSQ-18), a simple tool, was used for the survey. The study was unique in the sense that few centers in the survey were remotely located from tertiary care hospitals and the Medical Officers in these PHDCs were relatively inexperienced. The analysis of the survey clearly brought out distinct differences in certain dimensions of patient satisfaction across the PHDCs. In addition, utility of the Hindi translated version of PSQ-18 was ascertained. Based on the results of the study, few important conclusions were drawn; (a) patient satisfaction could be assessed using simple questionnaire such as PSQ-18, (b) the Hindi translated version of PSQ-18 can also be used as a useful tool depending on the participants’ preference, and (c) the observed dimensions affecting patient satisfaction could be addressed through specific interventions. Similar survey is recommended to be conducted across primary, secondary, and tertiary healthcare establishments in the IAF.

Cost Effective Design of an RFID Based Healthcare Service System

2015 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 51-65 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kinza Sarwar ◽  
Munam Ali Shah
Keyword(s):  
Radio Frequency Identification ◽  
Healthcare Service ◽  
Service System ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Healthcare Services ◽  
Security And Privacy ◽  
Healthcare Sector ◽  
Human Errors ◽  
Bar Code ◽  
The Cost

Healthcare industry confronts many challenges in a pursuit to give safe, cost-effective and highly-valued healthcare services; Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) is considered as one of the rising mechanism which helps in addressing the challenges, currently faced by Mobile Healthcare Service System (MHS). This article focuses on the contribution of cost-effective RFID deployments in healthcare sector that broadly categorize tracking of items, patients and items associated to patient; providing solutions for improving the auditability and accountability, reducing human errors, eliminating the risks of misidentification, identifying treatment errors and keeping the inventory updated. It explores certain parameters that can play an important role for the cost effective deployment of an RFID system such as security and privacy concerns, social and ethical aspects. Moreover, the article analyses the main challenges faced and investigates how security threats and vulnerabilities are a red flag to RFID technology. Furthermore, different solutions are highlighted that can streamline the operation and can optimize the workflow services in healthcare system. RFID represents next-generation enhancement over bar-code technology. Based on performance evaluation and comparison, differences between the two technologies are identified. This article also provides an overview that how RFID is a key enabler to build-up the healthcare service system and an efficacious affirm in optimizing and transforming healthcare practices.

A Highly-Interactive and User-Friendly PHR Application for the Provision of Homecare Services

2011 ◽  
pp. 197-217 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vasso Koufi ◽  
Flora Malamateniou ◽  
George Vassilacopoulos
Keyword(s):  
Healthcare Professionals ◽  
Service Oriented Architecture ◽  
Treatment Plan ◽  
Personal Health Record ◽  
Healthcare Delivery ◽  
Quality Of Healthcare ◽  
Technological Infrastructure ◽  
Service Oriented ◽  
User Friendly

Homecare is an important component of the continuum of care as it provides the potential to improve quality of life and quality of healthcare delivery while containing costs. Personal Health Record (PHR) systems constitute a technological infrastructure that can support greater flexibility for healthcare professionals and patients, thus allowing for more effective homecare services. In particular, PHRs are intended to reach patients outside of care settings, influence their behaviors and satisfy their demand for greater information and access. Moreover, PHRs can facilitate access to comprehensive real-time patient data for healthcare professionals thus enabling them to identify problems quickly (e.g. prior to scheduled appointments) and steer patients to appropriate facilities when needed. To this ends, PHR technology needs to evolve well beyond providing a consolidated patient record, in ways that make it more widely applicable and valuable to health systems. The development of applications and tools on top of PHR systems can allow the PHR to function as a platform for both patients and healthcare professionals to exchange information and interact with the health system (e.g., scheduling appointments electronically). This chapter presents a prototype PHR-based system that aims at supporting chronic disease management. In particular, it assists healthcare professionals in assessing an individual’s condition and in forming the appropriate treatment plan for him/her while it provides individuals with a user-friendly application for step-to-step guidance to their treatment plans. The system has been developed on the grounds of a service-oriented architecture where healthcare process automation is realized by means of dynamic, patient-related workflows.

scholarly journals Integration of social media with healthcare big data for improved service delivery

2018 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sibulela Mgudlwa ◽  
Tiko Iyamu
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Big Data ◽  
Service Delivery ◽  
Healthcare Delivery ◽  
Healthcare Services ◽  
Security And Privacy ◽  
Related Services ◽  
Health Related ◽  
Factors Of Influence ◽  
Use Of Social Media

Background: In the last decade, social media users across the world have crossed 1 billion, making it one of the fastest growing sources of big data. Also, people needing healthcare continue to increase in every society. Through accessibility, communication and interaction between health practitioners and patients, this type of ever-growing, social media subscriber–based platform can be of significant use in improving healthcare delivery to society. However, users encounter serious challenges in their attempts to make use of social media and big data for health-related services. The challenges are primarily caused by factors such as integration, complexity, security and privacy. The challenges are mainly owing to the sensitive nature of the healthcare environment, as a result of personalisation and privacy of information. Objectives: The objectives of the study were to examine and gain a better understanding of the complexities that are associated with the use of social media and healthcare big data, through influencing factors, and to develop a framework that can be used to improve health-related services to the patients. Methods: The interpretivist approach was employed, within which qualitative data were collected. This included documents and existing literature in the areas of social media and healthcare big data. To have a good spread of both previous and current state of events within the phenomena being studied, literature published between 2006 and 2016 were gathered. The data were interpretively analysed. Results: Based on the analysis of the data, factors of influence were found, which were used to develop a model. The model illustrates how the factors of influence can enable and at the same time constrain the use of social media for healthcare services. The factors were interpreted from which a framework was developed. The framework is intended to guide integration of social media with healthcare big data through which service delivery to patients can be improved. Conclusion: This study can be used to guide integration of social media with healthcare big data by health facilities in the communities. The study contributes to healthcare workers’ awareness on how social media can possibly be used to improve the services that they provide to the needy. Also, the study will benefit information systems and technologies and academic domains, particularly from the health services’ perspective.

scholarly journals Når trenger jeg å tilkalle tolk? Forskning om tolking i helsetjenesten

2015 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gry Sagli
Keyword(s):  
Healthcare Worker ◽  
Health Personnel ◽  
Language Barriers ◽  
Quality Of Healthcare ◽  
Healthcare Services ◽  
Research Strategy ◽  
Research Literature ◽  
Healthcare Sector ◽  
Healthcare Personnel ◽  
Patient Centered

This article is about interpreting in the healthcare sector in Norway. Effective communication between patients and health personnel is vital for the provision of high-quality, patient- centered healthcare services. As Norway, like many other countries, becomes increasingly multi-ethnic and multi-lingual, language barriers and cultural misunderstandings present a significant long-term challenge in healthcare. It is now well established that the use of qualified interpreters significantly improves the quality of healthcare. Accordingly it is crucial that a qualified interpreter be available when necessary. Legal rules and guidelines state that health personnel are responsible for assessing whether the services of an interpreter are necessary. These documents offer few clues, however, about which criteria a healthcare worker should apply when deciding whether to book an interpreter, and in practice healthcare workers find it difficult to assess when an interpreter’s presence will be necessary. The main aim of this article is to explore what the research literature has to say about this question. What are the main issues that research has focused on? Does research offer any answers as to exactly when an interpreter needs to be called? Research concerning the use of interpreters in healthcare in Norway is still very limited. Nonetheless, in the past few years some studies and reports have been published. The main issues that have been discussed are: the interpreter’s roles and responsibilities, under-use of qualified interpreters in healthcare; and strategies employed by health personnel in order to cope with language barriers when not using an interpreter. Only some very general conclusions can be drawn from these studies. Little attention has been given to the question of how to decide when a qualified interpreter is required. Two important issues have scarcely been addressed in the context of healthcare in Norway: the level of the patient’s proficiency in Norwegian; and the extent of the language gap between the patient and the healthcare worker. Lack of knowledge on this topic is significant, as obviously the language gap is the principal cause of the need for language assistance in the first instance. Another consideration is the importance of the conversation: depending upon the seriousness of the situation, a healthcare worker must exercise judgment in deciding the extent to which accurate communication needs to be ensured. This question, at least in the context of healthcare personnel and their patients, should be addressed to groups other than researchers on interpreting; the question illustrates the need for an inter-disciplinary research strategy in order adequately to address issues related to interpreting in healthcare.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document