Interoperability in Healthcare

With the advancement of technology, patient information has been being computerized in order to facilitate the work of healthcare professionals and improve the quality of healthcare delivery. However, there are many heterogeneous information systems that need to communicate, sharing information and making it available when and where it is needed. To respond to this requirement the Agency for Integration, Diffusion, and Archiving of medical information (AIDA) was created, a multi-agent and service-based platform that ensures interoperability among healthcare information systems. In order to improve the performance of the platform, beyond the SWOT analysis performed, a system to prevent failures that may occur in the platform database and also in machines where the agents are executed was created. The system has been implemented in the Centro Hospitalar do Porto (one of the major Portuguese hospitals), and it is now possible to define critical workload periods of AIDA, improving high availability and load balancing. This is explored in this chapter.

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An Ontology Driven Multi-Agent Approach to Integrated e-Health Systems

International Journal of E-Health and Medical Communications ◽

10.4018/jehmc.2010010103 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 1 (1) ◽

pp. 28-40 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Weir Ying ◽

Jaminda S. Wimalasiri ◽

Pradeep Ray ◽

Subhagata Chattopadhyay ◽

Concepción S. Wilson

Keyword(s):

Health Systems ◽

Patient Information ◽

Quality Of Healthcare ◽

Multi Agent Systems ◽

Agent Systems ◽

Current Health ◽

Ontology Structure ◽

Multi Agent

One aim of an integrated e-Health system is to improve the quality of healthcare by providing transparent access to patient information. The current health information management environment has numerous systems with varying techniques for representing and managing patient data. The increasing mobility of patients results in patient information being spread across these systems. Presented in this paper is a conceptual architecture for the interoperability of e-Health systems. This architecture uses multiple cooperating software agents that actively access, recognize, and associate the information in distributed, heterogeneous e-health systems. Using a layered ontology structure we show how ontology based multi-agent systems can be used to resolve discrepancies in terminology and/or structure. This involves a case study in a distributed Electronic Health Record (EHR) environment.

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An Ontology Driven Multi-Agent Approach to Integrated e-Health Systems

Emerging Communication Technologies for E-Health and Medicine ◽

10.4018/978-1-4666-0909-9.ch002 ◽

2012 ◽

pp. 18-30 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Weir Ying ◽

Jaminda S. Wimalasiri ◽

Pradeep Ray ◽

Subhagata Chattopadhyay ◽

Concepción S. Wilson

Keyword(s):

Information Management ◽

Health Systems ◽

Patient Information ◽

Quality Of Healthcare ◽

Multi Agent Systems ◽

Current Health ◽

Ontology Structure ◽

Multi Agent

One aim of an integrated e-Health system is to improve the quality of healthcare by providing transparent access to patient information. The current health information management environment has numerous systems with varying techniques for representing and managing patient data. The increasing mobility of patients results in patient information being spread across these systems. Presented in this paper is a conceptual architecture for the interoperability of e-Health systems. This architecture uses multiple cooperating software agents that actively access, recognize, and associate the information in distributed, heterogeneous e-health systems. Using a layered ontology structure we show how ontology based multi-agent systems can be used to resolve discrepancies in terminology and/or structure. This involves a case study in a distributed Electronic Health Record (EHR) environment.

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

Medical Principles and Practice ◽

10.1159/000512233 ◽

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.

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IMPROVING THE SERVICE QUALITY OF HEALTHCARE IN GHANA: The Role of Locum Nursing

Australian Journal of Business and Management Research ◽

10.52283/nswrca.ajbmr.20130312a01 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 03 (12) ◽

pp. 01-14

Author(s):

Keelson, Solomon A. ◽

Ann Dodor

Keyword(s):

Service Quality ◽

Healthcare Delivery ◽

Sampling Technique ◽

Research Problem ◽

Quality Of Healthcare ◽

Public Hospitals ◽

Nurse Shortage ◽

Quality Healthcare ◽

Hospital Administrators

The study was purposed to consider how encouraging use of locum nursing could aid in managing nurse shortage in the country and consequently improve the service quality of healthcare in Ghana. To be able to address the research problem and achieve the objectives, thirty public hospitals and thirty private hospitals were selected from the three major cities in Ghana to provide data for the study. Also, 250 locum nurses were sampled for information. Nursing Supervisors or Hospital Administrators from the selected hospitals were use as informant for the study. The paper adopted a survey approach, where incidental sampling technique was used to select the hospitals, and the snowball together with incidental sampling methods were used for selecting locum nurses for the study. Mean and standard deviation were the data analysis method used. The findings confirmed that locum practice in Ghana is relatively low. Similarly, the paper also suggested that locum contribute to addressing the issue of nurse shortage in Ghana. At the same time locum nursing was found to contribute to quality healthcare delivery in the country. Appropriate policy directions were recommended.

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Do electronic patient information systems improve efficiency and quality of care? An evaluation of utilisation of the Discovery HealthID application

South African Medical Journal ◽

10.7196/samj.2020.v110i3.14111 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 110 (3) ◽

pp. 210

Author(s):

S J Reid ◽

C Naidu ◽

G Kantor ◽

C J Seebregts

Keyword(s):

Quality Of Care ◽

Information Systems ◽

Patient Information ◽

Improve Efficiency

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Impact of Health Information Technologies on the Quality of Healthcare Deliveries

International Journal of Applied Research on Public Health Management ◽

10.4018/ijarphm.2021010103 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 6 (1) ◽

pp. 30-44

Author(s):

Patricia Whitley ◽

Hossain Shahriar ◽

Sweta Sneha

Keyword(s):

Patient Care ◽

Health Information ◽

Medical Errors ◽

Information Technologies ◽

Healthcare Delivery ◽

Well Being ◽

Quality Of Healthcare ◽

Quality Healthcare ◽

The Impact

Through a literary review of recent research, this paper examines the mixed impact of health information technology (HIT) on patient care, medical errors, and the quality of healthcare delivery in selected hospital settings such as emergency departments. Specific technologies examined include the electronic health record (EHR), medical devices, artificial intelligence, and robotics. The paper identifies that some healthcare technologies are increasingly valuable in reducing medical errors, improving healthcare quality, and in producing better patient-centered outcomes. It also determines that technologies have complicated the delivery of quality patient care, increased the incidences of clinician burnout, and made receiving quality healthcare in America's hospital systems possibly less sure. The paper concludes with some suggestions for improving HIT's implementations and confirms the need for further evaluation of the impact of HIT in increasing patient safety and clinician well-being.

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An Android-Enabled PHR-based System for the Provision of Homecare Services

International Journal on Measurement Technologies and Instrumentation Engineering ◽

10.4018/ijmtie.2013040101 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 3 (2) ◽

pp. 1-18 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Vassiliki Koufi ◽

Flora Malamateniou ◽

George Vassilacopoulos

Keyword(s):

Healthcare Professionals ◽

Point Of Care ◽

Treatment Plan ◽

Personal Health Record ◽

Healthcare Delivery ◽

Quality Of Healthcare ◽

Appropriate Treatment ◽

Treatment Plans ◽

The Continuum

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 are intended to reach patients outside of care settings and influence their behaviors thus allowing for more effective homecare services. To this end, these systems need 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 on top of PHR systems can allow them to function as a platform for both patients and healthcare professionals to exchange information and interact with the health system. This paper presents a prototype PHR-based system that aims at supporting chronic disease management at any point of care or decision making through familiar environments such as Google’s Android. 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 step-to-step guidance to their treatment plans.

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Leveraging massive open online courses to expand quality of healthcare education to health practitioners in Rwanda

BMJ Open Quality ◽

10.1136/bmjoq-2018-000532 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 8 (4) ◽

pp. e000532 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Kirstin Woody Scott ◽

Theophile Dushime ◽

Vincent Rusanganwa ◽

Liana Woskie ◽

Clint Attebery ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Patient Safety ◽

Global Health ◽

Healthcare Professionals ◽

Healthcare Delivery ◽

Quality Of Healthcare ◽

Lessons Learned ◽

Online Course ◽

Massive Open Online ◽

District Hospitals

Improving the quality of healthcare delivery is increasingly a global health priority. However, quality improvement training opportunities that provide theoretical foundations and basic skills for patient safety and other quality initiatives have been limited or historically out of reach, especially in low-and-middle income countries (LMICs). To address this gap, the Harvard Initiative on Global Health Quality (HIGHQ) created and launched a massive open online course (MOOC) in 2014 focused on patient safety and quality of care using the edX platform. More than 30 000 students from across 195 countries registered for the online course. This paper summarises an innovative educational partnership between the course team and one of these countries, Rwanda, to develop a blended-learning model to bolster participation in this new course among Rwandan healthcare professionals. Although a small country, Rwanda was among the top performing countries for attracting course registrants and was the leading country for the proportion of enrollees who ultimately completed the course. Further, half (21 of 42) of Rwanda’s district hospitals opted to appoint a PH555x course facilitator at their site to help lead regular meetings and discussions about the course content at their facility. The majority of Rwandan enrollees were health professionals (63%) and 81% reported that PH555x was their first experience taking an online course. Among those participating in the ‘flipped’ component at hospital sites, 94% reported that the course helped them to think of specific ways to improve healthcare quality at their facility. In this paper, we describe this innovative public–private educational model, challenges to implementation and lessons learned that may be helpful for future MOOC developers who wish to augment learning opportunities among healthcare professionals in LMICs.

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