Big Data for personalized healthcare

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Siemons, Liseth; Sieverink, Floor; Vollenbroek, Wouter; van de Wijngaert, Lidwien; Braakman-Jansen, Annemarie; van Gemert-Pijnen, Lisette

2016-01-01

Big Data, often defined according to the 5V model (volume, velocity, variety, veracity and value), is seen as the key towards personalized healthcare. However, it also confronts us with new technological and ethical challenges that require more sophisticated data management tools and data analysis

Strategies for healthcare information systems

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Stegwee, R.A.; Spil, Antonius A.M.

2001-01-01

Information technologies of the past two decades have created significant fundamental changes in the delivery of healthcare services by healthcare provider organizations. Many healthcare organizations have been in search of ways and strategies to keep up with continuously emerging information

Perceived barriers to healthcare for persons living in poverty in Quebec, Canada: the EQUIhealThY project.

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Loignon, Christine; Hudon, Catherine; Goulet, Émilie; Boyer, Sophie; De Laat, Marianne; Fournier, Nathalie; Grabovschi, Cristina; Bush, Paula

2015-01-17

Ensuring access to timely and appropriate primary healthcare for deprived patients is an issue facing all countries, even those with universal healthcare systems. There is a paucity of information on how patients living in a context of material and social deprivation perceive barriers in the healthcare system. This study combines the perspectives of persons living in poverty and of healthcare providers to explore barriers to responsive care for underserved persons with a view to developing equity-focused primary care. In this participatory action research we used photovoice, together with a method known as 'merging of knowledge and practice' developed by ATD Fourth World, an international community organization working to eradicate poverty. The study was conducted in two teaching primary care practices in the Canadian province of Quebec. Participants consisted of 15 health professionals and six members of ATD Fourth World; approximately 60 group meetings were held. Data were analyzed through thematic analysis, in part with the involvement of persons living in poverty. Three main barriers to responsive care in a context of poverty were highlighted by all participants: the difficult living conditions of people living in poverty, the poor quality of interactions between providers and underserved patients, and the complexity of healthcare system organization and functioning. Our research revealed that unhealthy living conditions prevent persons living in poverty from accessing quality healthcare and maintaining good health. Also, the complexity of the healthcare system's organization and functioning has a negative impact on the interactions with healthcare providers. Changes in policy and practice are needed to address those barriers and to achieve greater equity and provide more responsive care for persons living in poverty.

Seamless personal health information system in cloud computing.

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Chung, Wan-Young; Fong, Ee May

2014-01-01

Noncontact ECG measurement has gained popularity these days due to its noninvasive and conveniences to be applied on daily life. This approach does not require any direct contact between patient's skin and sensor for physiological signal measurement. The noncontact ECG measurement is integrated with mobile healthcare system for health status monitoring. Mobile phone acts as the personal health information system displaying health status and body mass index (BMI) tracking. Besides that, it plays an important role being the medical guidance providing medical knowledge database including symptom checker and health fitness guidance. At the same time, the system also features some unique medical functions that cater to the living demand of the patients or users, including regular medication reminders, alert alarm, medical guidance, appointment scheduling. Lastly, we demonstrate mobile healthcare system with web application for extended uses, thus health data are clouded into web server system and web database storage. This allows remote health status monitoring easily and so forth it promotes a cost effective personal healthcare system.

Design and implementation of a smart card based healthcare information system.

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Kardas, Geylani; Tunali, E Turhan

2006-01-01

Smart cards are used in information technologies as portable integrated devices with data storage and data processing capabilities. As in other fields, smart card use in health systems became popular due to their increased capacity and performance. Their efficient use with easy and fast data access facilities leads to implementation particularly widespread in security systems. In this paper, a smart card based healthcare information system is developed. The system uses smart card for personal identification and transfer of health data and provides data communication via a distributed protocol which is particularly developed for this study. Two smart card software modules are implemented that run on patient and healthcare professional smart cards, respectively. In addition to personal information, general health information about the patient is also loaded to patient smart card. Health care providers use their own smart cards to be authenticated on the system and to access data on patient cards. Encryption keys and digital signature keys stored on smart cards of the system are used for secure and authenticated data communication between clients and database servers over distributed object protocol. System is developed on Java platform by using object oriented architecture and design patterns.

Dutch virtual integration of healthcare information.

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de Graaf, J C; Vlug, A E; van Boven, G J

2007-01-01

As information technology creates opportunities for cooperation which crosses the boundaries between healthcare institutions, it will become an integral part of the Dutch healthcare system. Along with many involved organizations in healthcare the National IT Institute for Healthcare in the Netherlands (NICTIZ) is working on the realization of a national IT infrastructure for healthcare and a national electronic patient record (EPR). An underlying national architecture is designed to enable the Dutch EPR virtually, not in a national database, nor on a patient's smartcard. The required secure infrastructure provides generic functions for healthcare applications: patient identification, authentication and authorization of healthcare professionals. The first national applications in the EPR program using a national index of where patient data is stored, are the electronic medication record and the electronic record for after hours GP services. The rollout of the electronic medication record and electronic record for after hours GP services has been started in 2007. To guarantee progress of electronic data exchange in healthcare in the Netherlands we have primarily opted for two healthcare applications: the electronic medication record and the electronic record for after hours GP services. The use of a national switch-point containing the registry of where to find what information, guarantees that the professional receives the most recent information and omits large databases to contain downloaded data. Proper authorization, authentication as well as tracing by the national switchpoint also ensures a secure environment for the communication of delicate information.

Concepts and trends in healthcare information systems

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Koutsouris, Dionysios-Dimitrios

2014-01-01

​Concepts and Trends in Healthcare Information Systems covers the latest research topics in the field from leading researchers and practitioners. This book offers theory-driven research that explores the role of Information Systems in the delivery of healthcare in its diverse organizational and regulatory settings. In addition to the embedded role of Information Technology (IT) in clinical and diagnostics equipment, Information Systems are uniquely positioned to capture, store, process, and communicate timely information to decision makers for better coordination of healthcare at both the individual and population levels. For example, data mining and decision support capabilities can identify potential adverse events for an individual patient while also contributing to the population's health by providing insights into the causes of disease complications. Information systems have great potential to reduce healthcare costs and improve outcomes. The healthcare delivery systems share similar characteristics w...

Personal health records: retrieving contextual information with Google Custom Search.

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Ahsan, Mahmud; Seldon, H Lee; Sayeed, Shohel

2012-01-01

Ubiquitous personal health records, which can accompany a person everywhere, are a necessary requirement for ubiquitous healthcare. Contextual information related to health events is important for the diagnosis and treatment of disease and for the maintenance of good health, yet it is seldom recorded in a health record. We describe a dual cellphone-and-Web-based personal health record system which can include 'external' contextual information. Much contextual information is available on the Internet and we can use ontologies to help identify relevant sites and information. But a search engine is required to retrieve information from the Web and developing a customized search engine is beyond our scope, so we can use Google Custom Search API Web service to get contextual data. In this paper we describe a framework which combines a health-and-environment 'knowledge base' or ontology with the Google Custom Search API to retrieve relevant contextual information related to entries in a ubiquitous personal health record.

Medical education for equity in health: a participatory action research involving persons living in poverty and healthcare professionals.

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Hudon, Catherine; Loignon, Christine; Grabovschi, Cristina; Bush, Paula; Lambert, Mireille; Goulet, Émilie; Boyer, Sophie; De Laat, Marianne; Fournier, Nathalie

2016-04-12

Improving the knowledge and competencies of healthcare professionals is crucial to better address the specific needs of persons living in poverty and avoid stigmatization. This study aimed to explore the needs and expectations of persons living in poverty and healthcare professionals in terms of medical training regarding poverty and its effects on health and healthcare. We conducted a participatory action research study using photovoice, a method using photography, together with merging of knowledge and practice, an approach promoting dialogue between different sources of knowledge. Nineteen healthcare professionals and persons from an international community organization against poverty participated in the study. The first phase included 60 meetings and group sessions to identify the perceived barriers between persons living in poverty and healthcare teams. In the second phase, sub-committees deployed action plans in academic teaching units to overcome barriers identified in the first phase. Data were analysed through thematic analysis, using NVivo, in collaboration with five non-academic co-researchers. Four themes in regard to medical training were highlighted: improving medical students' and residents' knowledge on poverty and the living conditions of persons living in poverty; improving their understanding of the reality of those people; improving their relational skills pertaining to communication and interaction with persons living in poverty; improving their awareness and capacity for self-reflection. At the end of the second phase, actions were undertaken such as improving knowledge of the living conditions of persons living in poverty by posting social assistance rates, and tailoring interventions to patients' reality by including sociodemographic information in electronic medical records. Our findings also led to a participatory research project aiming to improve the skills and competency of residents and health professionals in regard to the quality of

An ethnographic investigation of healthcare providers' approaches to facilitating person-centredness in group-based diabetes education.

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Stenov, Vibeke; Hempler, Nana Folmann; Reventlow, Susanne; Wind, Gitte

2017-08-22

To investigate approaches among healthcare providers (HCPs) that support or hinder person-centredness in group-based diabetes education programmes targeting persons with type 2 diabetes. Ethnographic fieldwork in a municipal and a hospital setting in Denmark. The two programmes included 21 participants and 10 HCPs and were observed over 5 weeks. Additionally, 10 in-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with patients (n = 7) and HCPs (n = 3). Data were analysed using systematic text condensation. Hindering approaches included a teacher-centred focus on delivering disease-specific information. Communication was dialog based, but HCPs primarily asked closed-ended questions with one correct answer. Additional hindering approaches included ignoring participants with suboptimal health behaviours and a tendency to moralize that resulted in feelings of guilt among participants. Supporting approaches included letting participants set the agenda using broad, open-ended questions. Healthcare providers are often socialized into a biomedical approach and trained to be experts. However, person-centredness involves redefined roles and responsibilities. Applying person-centredness in practice requires continuous training and supervision, but HCPs often have minimum support for developing person-centred communication skills. Techniques based on motivational communication, psychosocial methods and facilitating group processes are effective person-centred approaches in a group context. Teacher-centredness undermined person-centredness because HCPs primarily delivered disease-specific recommendations, leading to biomedical information overload for participants. © 2017 Nordic College of Caring Science.

Perspectives of health and self-care among older persons-To be implemented in an interactive information and communication technology-platform.

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Göransson, Carina; Wengström, Yvonne; Ziegert, Kristina; Langius-Eklöf, Ann; Eriksson, Irene; Kihlgren, Annica; Blomberg, Karin

2017-12-01

To acquire knowledge regarding the contents to be implemented in an interactive information and communication technology-platform perceived to be relevant to health and self-care among older persons based on the literature, healthcare professionals and the older persons themselves. The growing ageing population places demands on the healthcare system to promote healthy ageing and to strengthen the older person's self-care ability. This requires innovative approaches to facilitate communication between the older person and healthcare professionals, and to increase the older person's participation in their care. An information and communication technology-platform could be used for this purpose, but the content needs to be relevant to both the older persons and the healthcare professionals. Descriptive qualitative design. This study was based on three samplings: a scoping review of the literature (n = 20 articles), interviews with healthcare professionals (n = 5) and a secondary analysis of interviews with older persons (n = 8) and nursing assistants (n = 7). The data were analysed using qualitative content analysis. Four areas were identified to be of relevance to older persons' perceived health: frame of mind, having relationships and social activities, physical ability and concerns, and maintaining self-care. Self-care was described in the literature and by the healthcare professionals more than by the older persons. The results show a concordance in the data samplings that give a clear indication of the areas relevant to older persons' health and self-care that can be integrated in an interactive information and communication technology-platform for use in regular daily care assessments. Descriptions of self-care were limited indicating a possible gap in knowledge that requires further research. Areas relevant to older persons' health and self-care could be used for regular assessment to support and promote healthy ageing. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Sharing Elderly Healthcare information on Cloud Computing

OpenAIRE

Lu, Fangjie; Khan, Israr

2012-01-01

Context: Due to rapid increase in the population of elderly people, sharing healthcare information has become an essential requirement for the development of e-health system. By conducting a research in e-health and cloud computing we have explored the advantages and disadvantages of sharing healthcare information for elderly people through cloud computing. Objectives: The main purpose of this research is to investigate the suitability of cloud computing to share healthcare information. The s...

A Standard-Based and Context-Aware Architecture for Personal Healthcare Smart Gateways.

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Santos, Danilo F S; Gorgônio, Kyller C; Perkusich, Angelo; Almeida, Hyggo O

2016-10-01

The rising availability of Personal Health Devices (PHDs) capable of Personal Network Area (PAN) communication and the desire of keeping a high quality of life are the ingredients of the Connected Health vision. In parallel, a growing number of personal and portable devices, like smartphones and tablet computers, are becoming capable of taking the role of health gateway, that is, a data collector for the sensor PHDs. However, as the number of PHDs increase, the number of other peripherals connected in PAN also increases. Therefore, PHDs are now competing for medium access with other devices, decreasing the Quality of Service (QoS) of health applications in the PAN. In this article we present a reference architecture to prioritize PHD connections based on their state and requirements, creating a healthcare Smart Gateway. Healthcare context information is extracted by observing the traffic through the gateway. A standard-based approach was used to identify health traffic based on ISO/IEEE 11073 family of standards. A reference implementation was developed showing the relevance of the problem and how the proposed architecture can assist in the prioritization. The reference Smart Gateway solution was integrated with a Connected Health System for the Internet of Things, validating its use in a real case scenario.

The emergence of personal growth amongst healthcare professionals who care for dying children.

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Beaune, Laura; Muskat, Barbara; Anthony, Samantha J

2018-06-01

ABSTRACTObjective:Compassion fatigue, burnout, and vicarious traumatization are prominent topics in the current literature on the impact of the rewarding but challenging work of healthcare professionals who care for patients with life-limiting illnesses. The positive effects of caregiving constitute a newly emerging outcome that has been relatively unexplored in the pediatric literature, and yet they may play an important role in contributing to the satisfaction and well-being of the healthcare professionals who care for children who have a life-limiting illness. This paper reports the results of a secondary analysis of qualitative interview transcripts that explored the experiences of hospital-based pediatric healthcare providers caring for children with varied life-limiting illnesses. In-depth qualitative interviews were conducted with 25 healthcare professionals (9 social workers, 8 nurses, and 8 physicians). The majority of participants were women (80%), with an age range between 20 and 60 years, and most (84%) had the experience of caring for more than 15 dying children. Thematic analysis was conducted using interpretive description and constant comparison. Every healthcare professional interviewed experienced personal growth as a result of their providing care for dying children. Three dimensions of personal growth were most consistently reported: (1) new or altered life perspectives, (2) enhanced personal resources, and (3) benevolence. A deeper understanding of the phenomenon of personal growth could help healthcare organizations to implement innovative approaches that would counterbalance compassion fatigue, and thereby enhance both healthcare provider well-being and child and family outcomes.

Factors affecting the adoption of healthcare information technology

OpenAIRE

Naenna, Thanakorn; Phichitchaisopa, Nisakorn

2013-01-01

In order to improve the quality and performance of healthcare services, healthcare information technology is among the most important technology in healthcare supply chain management. This study sets out to apply and test the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT), to examine the factors influencing healthcare Information Technology (IT) services. A structured questionnaire was developed and distributed to healthcare representatives in each province surveyed in Thailand...

Factors affecting the adoption of healthcare information technology

OpenAIRE

Phichitchaisopa, Nisakorn; Naenna, Thanakorn

2013-01-01

In order to improve the quality and performance of healthcare services, healthcare information technology is among the most important technology in healthcare supply chain management. This study sets out to apply and test the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT), to examine the factors influencing healthcare Information Technology (IT) services. A structured questionnaire was developed and distributed to healthcare representatives in each province surveyed in Thailand. D...

Organising healthcare services for persons with an intellectual disability.

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Balogh, Robert; McMorris, Carly A; Lunsky, Yona; Ouellette-Kuntz, Helene; Bourne, Laurie; Colantonio, Angela; Gonçalves-Bradley, Daniela C

2016-04-11

When compared to the general population, persons with an intellectual disability have lower life expectancy, higher morbidity, and more difficulty finding and obtaining healthcare. Organisational interventions are used to reconfigure the structure or delivery of healthcare services. This is the first update of the original review. To assess the effects of organisational interventions of healthcare services for the mental and physical health problems of persons with an intellectual disability. For this update we searched CENTRAL, MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL and other databases, from April 2006 to 4 September 2015. We checked reference lists of included studies and consulted experts in the field. Randomised controlled trials of organisational interventions of healthcare services aimed at improving care of mental and physical health problems of adult persons with an intellectual disability. We employed standard methodological procedures as outlined in the Cochrane Handbook of Systematic Reviews of Interventions, in addition to specific guidance from the Cochrane Effective Practice and Organisation of Care (EPOC) Group. We identified one new trial from the updated searches.Seven trials (347 participants) met the selection criteria. The interventions varied but had common components: interventions that increased the intensity and frequency of service delivery (4 trials, 200 participants), community-based specialist behaviour therapy (1 trial, 63 participants), and outreach treatment (1 trial, 50 participants). Another trial compared two active arms (traditional counselling and integrated intervention for bereavement, 34 participants).The included studies investigated interventions dealing with the mental health problems of persons with an intellectual disability; none focused on physical health problems. Four studies assessed the effect of organisational interventions on behavioural problems for persons with an intellectual disability, three assessed care giver burden, and

Requirements for Interoperability in Healthcare Information Systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rita Noumeir

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Interoperability is a requirement for the successful deployment of Electronic Health Records (EHR. EHR improves the quality of healthcare by enabling access to all relevant information at the diagnostic decision moment, regardless of location. It is a system that results from the cooperation of several heterogeneous distributed subsystems that need to successfully exchange information relative to a specific healthcare process. This paper analyzes interoperability impediments in healthcare by first defining them and providing concrete healthcare examples, followed by discussion of how specifications can be defined and how verification can be conducted to eliminate those impediments and ensure interoperability in healthcare. This paper also analyzes how Integrating the Healthcare Enterprise (IHE has been successful in enabling interoperability, and identifies some neglected aspects that need attention.

Why (just) information is not enough: The contributions of information services in the management of healthcare information

Science.gov (United States)

Kostagiolas, P.; Lappa, E.

2015-02-01

Information is at the centre of every hospital activity including clinical decisions and healthcare service delivery systems. Although information is an important hospital asset, several issues related to its management and organization needs to be addressed within the hospitals. The management of healthcare information is a strategic goal related to the reduction of healthcare service provision costs, and to the improvement of quality and safety of healthcare services. By discussing the rather obvious necessity for information organization and management in the healthcare domain, this work aims at the role of healthcare information services, i.e. hospital libraries and patient medical records. Finally, a typology of information services' contributions to hospital environment is presented.

Why (just) information is not enough: The contributions of information services in the management of healthcare information

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Kostagiolas, P., E-mail: pkostagiolas@ionio.gr [Assistant Professor Department of Archives, Library Science and Museology, Ionian University, CORFU 49100 (Greece); Lappa, E., E-mail: evlappa@med.uoa.gr [Director of Medical Library of General Hospital Attikis KAT, Nikis 2 str, 14564 KIFFISIA-ATHENS (Greece)

2015-02-09

Information is at the centre of every hospital activity including clinical decisions and healthcare service delivery systems. Although information is an important hospital asset, several issues related to its management and organization needs to be addressed within the hospitals. The management of healthcare information is a strategic goal related to the reduction of healthcare service provision costs, and to the improvement of quality and safety of healthcare services. By discussing the rather obvious necessity for information organization and management in the healthcare domain, this work aims at the role of healthcare information services, i.e. hospital libraries and patient medical records. Finally, a typology of information services’ contributions to hospital environment is presented.

Why (just) information is not enough: The contributions of information services in the management of healthcare information

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kostagiolas, P.; Lappa, E.

2015-01-01

Information is at the centre of every hospital activity including clinical decisions and healthcare service delivery systems. Although information is an important hospital asset, several issues related to its management and organization needs to be addressed within the hospitals. The management of healthcare information is a strategic goal related to the reduction of healthcare service provision costs, and to the improvement of quality and safety of healthcare services. By discussing the rather obvious necessity for information organization and management in the healthcare domain, this work aims at the role of healthcare information services, i.e. hospital libraries and patient medical records. Finally, a typology of information services’ contributions to hospital environment is presented

Factors affecting the adoption of healthcare information technology.

Science.gov (United States)

Phichitchaisopa, Nisakorn; Naenna, Thanakorn

2013-01-01

In order to improve the quality and performance of healthcare services, healthcare information technology is among the most important technology in healthcare supply chain management. This study sets out to apply and test the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT), to examine the factors influencing healthcare Information Technology (IT) services. A structured questionnaire was developed and distributed to healthcare representatives in each province surveyed in Thailand. Data collected from 400 employees including physicians, nurses, and hospital staff members were tested the model using structural equation modeling technique. The results found that the factors with a significant effect are performance expectancy, effort expectancy and facilitating conditions. They were also found to have a significant impact on behavioral intention to use the acceptance healthcare technology. In addition, in Thai provincial areas, positive significance was found with two factors: social influence on behavioral intention and facilitating conditions to direct using behavior. Based on research findings, in order for healthcare information technology to be widely adopted and used by healthcare staffs in healthcare supply chain management, the healthcare organizational management should improve healthcare staffs' behavioral intention and facilitating conditions.

Factors affecting the adoption of healthcare information technology

Science.gov (United States)

Phichitchaisopa, Nisakorn; Naenna, Thanakorn

2013-01-01

In order to improve the quality and performance of healthcare services, healthcare information technology is among the most important technology in healthcare supply chain management. This study sets out to apply and test the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT), to examine the factors influencing healthcare Information Technology (IT) services. A structured questionnaire was developed and distributed to healthcare representatives in each province surveyed in Thailand. Data collected from 400 employees including physicians, nurses, and hospital staff members were tested the model using structural equation modeling technique. The results found that the factors with a significant effect are performance expectancy, effort expectancy and facilitating conditions. They were also found to have a significant impact on behavioral intention to use the acceptance healthcare technology. In addition, in Thai provincial areas, positive significance was found with two factors: social influence on behavioral intention and facilitating conditions to direct using behavior. Based on research findings, in order for healthcare information technology to be widely adopted and used by healthcare staffs in healthcare supply chain management, the healthcare organizational management should improve healthcare staffs' behavioral intention and facilitating conditions. PMID:26417235

Behavior of Personality Type Toward Stress and Job Performance: A Study of Healthcare Professionals

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yasmin Janjhua

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Background: The present paper has examined the sources of stress among the healthcare professionals and the difference between responses of personality type A and type B healthcare professionals toward stressful situations. Further, the difference in the performance of both the personality types has been studied. The relationship between stress and performance among the healthcare professionals in general and with respect to personality type A and type B healthcare professionals in particular has also been investigated. Methods: A total of 160 healthcare professionals of Post Graduate Institute (PGI, Chandigarh, were subjects of this study. Results: Identification with patients, deterioration and complication in the patient condition, and job criticism emerged to be the sources of stress. Significant difference between personality type A and personality type B professionals′ response pertaining to identification with the patients only has been reported. However, type A individuals showed slightly higher inclination as compared to type B individuals on majority of stressful situations. It was further noted that type A individuals had scored higher on almost all the performance indicators as compared to personality type B individuals. The mean difference between the personality types was found to be significant for two performance dimensions, i.e., relationship with colleagues, and teaching and training. Conclusions: The stressful situation relationship with patients was found to have significantly negative impact on the performance factors such as good clinical care and rapport with patients. Daily work was also found to be negatively related to good medical practice.

Behavior of personality type toward stress and job performance: a study of healthcare professionals.

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Janjhua, Yasmin; Chandrakanta

2012-07-01

The present paper has examined the sources of stress among the healthcare professionals and the difference between responses of personality type A and type B healthcare professionals toward stressful situations. Further, the difference in the performance of both the personality types has been studied. The relationship between stress and performance among the healthcare professionals in general and with respect to personality type A and type B healthcare professionals in particular has also been investigated. A total of 160 healthcare professionals of Post Graduate Institute (PGI), Chandigarh, were subjects of this study. Identification with patients, deterioration and complication in the patient condition, and job criticism emerged to be the sources of stress. Significant difference between personality type A and personality type B professionals' response pertaining to identification with the patients only has been reported. However, type A individuals showed slightly higher inclination as compared to type B individuals on majority of stressful situations. It was further noted that type A individuals had scored higher on almost all the performance indicators as compared to personality type B individuals. The mean difference between the personality types was found to be significant for two performance dimensions, i.e., relationship with colleagues, and teaching and training. The stressful situation relationship with patients was found to have significantly negative impact on the performance factors such as good clinical care and rapport with patients. Daily work was also found to be negatively related to good medical practice.

Attitude of patients, healthcare professionals, and noninjured lay persons towards online video instructions on mild traumatic brain injury: a cross-sectional study.

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Hoek, Amber E; Hamer, Maaike van den; Deelstra, Carianne K; Beeck, Ed F van; Dippel, Diederik W J; Haagsma, Juanita A; Rood, Pleunie P M

2017-12-01

The objective of this study was to determine the attitude of patients, healthcare professionals, and noninjured lay persons towards adding a video with discharge instructions to patient care for patients with mild traumatic brain injury (MTBI). A survey was conducted at the emergency department (ED). Participants consisted of MTBI patients (n = 50), healthcare professionals (n = 50), and noninjured lay persons (n = 50). The participants viewed a video with discharge instructions on MTBI and filled out a questionnaire that measured their attitude towards the use of a video as part of discharge instructions. Nearly all healthcare professionals (94%) and 70% of the noninjured lay persons considered the video to be a valuable addition to oral discharge instructions. For 84% of patients, verbal information from the doctor is of importance. And, 50% of patients would like to receive additional video discharge instructions. The majority of noninjured lay persons and healthcare professionals and half of the MTBI patients consider a video with discharge instructions to be a valuable addition to patient care. Video discharge instructions are a relative low-cost measure that could enhance patient care at the ED, provided that this does not compromise the personal contact between patient and healthcare professional.

Multiple sclerosis patients need and want information on exercise promotion from healthcare providers: a qualitative study.

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Learmonth, Yvonne C; Adamson, Brynn C; Balto, Julia M; Chiu, Chung-Yi; Molina-Guzman, Isabel; Finlayson, Marcia; Riskin, Barry J; Motl, Robert W

2017-08-01

There is growing recognition of the benefits and safety of exercise and its importance in the comprehensive care of persons with multiple sclerosis (MS), yet uptake is low. We explored the needs and wants of patients with MS regarding exercise promotion through healthcare providers. Participants were adults with MS who had mild-or-moderate disability and a range of exercise levels. All participants lived in the Midwest of the United States. Fifty semi-structured interviews were conducted and analysed using thematic analysis. Two themes emerged, namely interactions between patients and healthcare providers and needs and wants of patients. Analysis of participant accounts illustrate that current exercise promotion by healthcare providers does not meet patient needs and wants. The identified needs and wants of persons with MS involved (i) information and knowledge on the benefits of exercise and exercise prescription, (ii) materials to allow home and community exercise and (iii) tools for initiating and maintaining exercise behaviour. Patients with MS frequently interact with healthcare providers and are generally unsatisfied with exercise promotion during interactions. Healthcare providers can address the low uptake of exercise among persons with MS by acting upon the identified unmet needs involving materials, knowledge and behaviour change strategies for exercise. © 2016 The Authors Health Expectations Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Healthcare transition in persons with intellectual disabilities: general issues, the Maastricht model, and Prader-Willi syndrome.

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Schrander-Stumpel, Constance T R M; Sinnema, Margje; van den Hout, Lieke; Maaskant, Marian A; van Schrojenstein Lantman-de Valk, Henny M J; Wagemans, Annemieke; Schrander, Jaap J P; Curfs, Leopold M G

2007-08-15

In current healthcare, transitional healthcare is a very important and timely issue. Thanks to the major advances made in medical care and technology, many children with childhood onset diseases and/or genetic syndromes survive to adulthood. These children are at risk of not being provided with adequate healthcare as they reach adulthood. Healthcare transition is an essential part of healthcare provision, referred to as the shift from one type of healthcare to another. In Maastricht, we developed a transition/out clinic led by a medical doctor specialized in persons with intellectual disability (ID), together with a clinical geneticist. We aim to coordinate healthcare issues based on guidelines if available. Also questions concerning living, daily activities, relations, sexuality, and sterilization can be discussed. The aging process of persons with ID has been a topic of interest in recent years. Little is known about the aging process of people with specific syndromes, except for persons with Down syndrome. We present some data of a recent questionnaire study in persons with Prader-Willi syndrome. In only 50% in persons with a clinical diagnosis genetic test results could be reported. The majority of persons were obese. Diabetes mellitus, hypertension, skin problems, sleep apnea, and hormonal problems like osteoporosis and hypothyroidism were common. Psychiatric problems were frequent, especially in the persons with uniparental disomy. Osteoporosis and sleep apnoea seem to be underestimated. Further longitudinal research is necessary for a better understanding of the aging process in PWS. (c) 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Healthcare information technology infrastructures in Turkey.

Science.gov (United States)

Dogac, A; Yuksel, M; Ertürkmen, G L; Kabak, Y; Namli, T; Yıldız, M H; Ay, Y; Ceyhan, B; Hülür, U; Oztürk, H; Atbakan, E

2014-05-22

The objective of this paper is to describe some of the major healthcare information technology (IT) infrastructures in Turkey, namely, Sağlık-Net (Turkish for "Health-Net"), the Centralized Hospital Appointment System, the Basic Health Statistics Module, the Core Resources Management System, and the e-prescription system of the Social Security Institution. International collaboration projects that are integrated with Sağlık-Net are also briefly summarized. The authors provide a survey of the some of the major healthcare IT infrastructures in Turkey. Sağlık-Net has two main components: the National Health Information System (NHIS) and the Family Medicine Information System (FMIS). The NHIS is a nation-wide infrastructure for sharing patients' Electronic Health Records (EHRs). So far, EHRs of 78.9 million people have been created in the NHIS. Similarly, family medicine is operational in the whole country via FMIS. Centralized Hospital Appointment System enables the citizens to easily make appointments in healthcare providers. Basic Health Statistics Module is used for collecting information about the health status, risks and indicators across the country. Core Resources Management System speeds up the flow of information between the headquarters and Provincial Health Directorates. The e-prescription system is linked with Sağlık-Net and seamlessly integrated with the healthcare provider information systems. Finally, Turkey is involved in several international projects for experience sharing and disseminating national developments. With the introduction of the "Health Transformation Program" in 2003, a number of successful healthcare IT infrastructures have been developed in Turkey. Currently, work is going on to enhance and further improve their functionality.

Indivo: a personally controlled health record for health information exchange and communication

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Crawford William CR

2007-09-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Personally controlled health records (PCHRs, a subset of personal health records (PHRs, enable a patient to assemble, maintain and manage a secure copy of his or her medical data. Indivo (formerly PING is an open source, open standards PCHR with an open application programming interface (API. Results We describe how the PCHR platform can provide standard building blocks for networked PHR applications. Indivo allows the ready integration of diverse sources of medical data under a patient's control through the use of standards-based communication protocols and APIs for connecting PCHRs to existing and future health information systems. Conclusion The strict and transparent personal control model is designed to encourage widespread participation by patients, healthcare providers and institutions, thus creating the ecosystem for development of innovative, consumer-focused healthcare applications.

How do healthcare consumers process and evaluate comparative healthcare information? A qualitative study using cognitive interviews

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Delnoij Diana MJ

2009-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background To date, online public healthcare reports have not been effectively used by consumers. Therefore, we qualitatively examined how healthcare consumers process and evaluate comparative healthcare information on the Internet. Methods Using semi-structured cognitive interviews, interviewees (n = 20 were asked to think aloud and answer questions, as they were prompted with three Dutch web pages providing comparative healthcare information. Results We identified twelve themes from consumers' thoughts and evaluations. These themes were categorized under four important areas of interest: (1 a response to the design; (2 a response to the information content; (3 the use of the information, and (4 the purpose of the information. Conclusion Several barriers to an effective use of comparative healthcare information were identified, such as too much information and the ambiguity of terms presented on websites. Particularly important for future research is the question of how comparative healthcare information can be integrated with alternative information, such as patient reviews on the Internet. Furthermore, the readability of quality of care concepts is an issue that needs further attention, both from websites and communication experts.

Engineering innovation in healthcare: technology, ethics and persons.

Science.gov (United States)

Bowen, W Richard

2011-01-01

Engineering makes profound contributions to our health. Many of these contributions benefit whole populations, such as clean water and sewage treatment, buildings, dependable sources of energy, efficient harvesting and storage of food, and pharmaceutical manufacture. Thus, ethical assessment of these and other engineering activities has often emphasized benefits to communities. This is in contrast to medical ethics, which has tended to emphasize the individual patient affected by a doctor's actions. However technological innovation is leading to an entanglement of the activities, and hence ethical responsibilities, of healthcare professionals and engineering professionals. The article outlines three categories of innovation: assistive technologies, telehealthcare and quasi-autonomous systems. Approaches to engineering ethics are described and applied to these innovations. Such innovations raise a number of ethical opportunities and challenges, especially as the complexity of the technology increases. In particular the design and operation of the technologies require engineers to seek closer involvement with the persons benefiting from their work. Future innovation will require engineers to have a good knowledge of human biology and psychology. More particularly, healthcare engineers will need to prioritize each person's wellbeing, agency, human relationships and ecological self rather than technology, in the same way that doctors prioritize the treatment of persons rather than their diseases.

Problem alcohol use and healthcare utilization among persons with cannabis use disorder in the United States.

Science.gov (United States)

John, William S; Wu, Li-Tzy

2017-09-01

The emergency department (ED) and hospital settings represent crucial opportunities for engaging treatment for cannabis use disorder (CUD). Thus, there is a need to identify factors associated with healthcare utilization among persons with CUD to improve screening and intervention approaches. Problematic alcohol use may be a salient risk factor. Using data from the 2005-2013 National Surveys on Drug Use and Health, we determined factors, including different patterns of alcohol use, associated with past-year ED admission and inpatient hospitalization among persons aged 12 years or older meeting criteria for CUD in the past year (N=16,757). We also determined the prevalence and correlates of problem alcohol use among persons with CUD to further inform its association with healthcare utilization. Among persons with CUD, 40.15% and 10.04% reported past-year ED admission and inpatient hospitalization, respectively. Severe alcohol use disorder (AUD) (≥6 AUD symptoms), female sex, Black race, low income, major depressive episode (MDE), and other substance use disorders were associated with increased odds of healthcare utilization; current (i.e., last month) alcohol use patterns were not. Persons with CUD that were males, ages 18-25 (vs. ages 12-17), Hispanic (vs. White), and with low income, other drug use disorders, or MDE had increased odds of AUD. Findings suggest that screening and intervention efforts for improving treatment initiation or engagement for CUD may target cannabis-using women, blacks, low-income adults or those with severe AUD in the past year, another substance use disorder, or MDE. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

'Wouldn't it be easier if you continued to be a guy?' - a qualitative interview study of transsexual persons' experiences of encounters with healthcare professionals.

Science.gov (United States)

von Vogelsang, Ann-Christin; Milton, Camilla; Ericsson, Ingrid; Strömberg, Lars

2016-12-01

To describe transsexual persons' experiences of encounters with healthcare professionals during the sex reassignment process. Transsexual persons are individuals who use varying means to alter their natal sex via hormones and/or surgery. Transsexual persons may experience stigma, which increases the risk of psychological distress. Mistreatments by healthcare professionals are common. Qualitative studies addressing transsexual persons' experiences of healthcare are scarce. Qualitative descriptive design. A Swedish non-clinical convenience sample was used, consisting of six persons who had been diagnosed as transsexual, gone through sex reassignment surgery or were at the time of the interview awaiting surgery. Semi-structured interviews were undertaken, and data were analysed using manifest qualitative content analysis. Three categories and 15 subcategories were identified. The encounters were perceived as good when healthcare professionals showed respect and preserved the transsexual person's integrity, acted in a professional manner and were responsive and built trust and confidence. However, the participants experienced that healthcare professionals varied in their level of knowledge, exploited their position of power, withheld information, expressed gender stereotypical attitudes and often used the wrong name. They felt vulnerable by having a condescending view of themselves, and they could not choose not to be transsexual. They felt dependent on healthcare professionals, and that the external demands were high. Transsexual persons are in a vulnerable position during the sex reassignment surgery process. The encounters in healthcare could be negatively affected if healthcare professionals show inadequate knowledge, exploit their position of power or express gender stereotypical attitudes. A good encounter is characterised by preserved integrity, respect, responsiveness and trust. Improved education on transgender issues in nursing and medical education is

Constructing RBAC based security model in u-healthcare service platform.

Science.gov (United States)

Shin, Moon Sun; Jeon, Heung Seok; Ju, Yong Wan; Lee, Bum Ju; Jeong, Seon-Phil

2015-01-01

In today's era of aging society, people want to handle personal health care by themselves in everyday life. In particular, the evolution of medical and IT convergence technology and mobile smart devices has made it possible for people to gather information on their health status anytime and anywhere easily using biometric information acquisition devices. Healthcare information systems can contribute to the improvement of the nation's healthcare quality and the reduction of related cost. However, there are no perfect security models or mechanisms for healthcare service applications, and privacy information can therefore be leaked. In this paper, we examine security requirements related to privacy protection in u-healthcare service and propose an extended RBAC based security model. We propose and design u-healthcare service integration platform (u-HCSIP) applying RBAC security model. The proposed u-HCSIP performs four main functions: storing and exchanging personal health records (PHR), recommending meals and exercise, buying/selling private health information or experience, and managing personal health data using smart devices.

Constructing RBAC Based Security Model in u-Healthcare Service Platform

Science.gov (United States)

Shin, Moon Sun; Jeon, Heung Seok; Ju, Yong Wan; Lee, Bum Ju; Jeong, Seon-Phil

2015-01-01

In today's era of aging society, people want to handle personal health care by themselves in everyday life. In particular, the evolution of medical and IT convergence technology and mobile smart devices has made it possible for people to gather information on their health status anytime and anywhere easily using biometric information acquisition devices. Healthcare information systems can contribute to the improvement of the nation's healthcare quality and the reduction of related cost. However, there are no perfect security models or mechanisms for healthcare service applications, and privacy information can therefore be leaked. In this paper, we examine security requirements related to privacy protection in u-healthcare service and propose an extended RBAC based security model. We propose and design u-healthcare service integration platform (u-HCSIP) applying RBAC security model. The proposed u-HCSIP performs four main functions: storing and exchanging personal health records (PHR), recommending meals and exercise, buying/selling private health information or experience, and managing personal health data using smart devices. PMID:25695104

A Case of Engineering Quality for Mobile Healthcare Applications Using Augmented Personal Software Process Improvement

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shahbaz Ahmed Khan Ghayyur

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Mobile healthcare systems are currently considered as key research areas in the domain of software engineering. The adoption of modern technologies, for mobile healthcare systems, is a quick option for industry professionals. Software architecture is a key feature that contributes towards a software product, solution, or services. Software architecture helps in better communication, documentation of design decisions, risks identification, basis for reusability, scalability, scheduling, and reduced maintenance cost and lastly it helps to avoid software failures. Hence, in order to solve the abovementioned issues in mobile healthcare, the software architecture is integrated with personal software process. Personal software process has been applied successfully but it is unable to address the issues related to architectural design and evaluation capabilities. Hence, a new technique architecture augmented personal process is presented in order to enhance the quality of the mobile healthcare systems through the use of architectural design with integration of personal software process. The proposed process was validated by case studies. It was found that the proposed process helped in reducing the overall costs and effort. Moreover, an improved architectural design helped in development of high quality mobile healthcare system.

Modelling vital success factors in adopting personalized medicine system in healthcare technology and management

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Subhas C. Misra

2018-06-01

Full Text Available Biomedical engineering has grown as a vast field of research that includes many areas of engineering and technology also. Personalized Medicine is an emerging approach in today’s medicare system. It bears a very strong potential to consolidate modern e-health systems fundamentally. Scientists have already discovered some of the personalized drugs that can shift the whole medicare system into a new dimension. However, bringing the change in the whole medicare system is not an easy task. There are several factors that can affect the successful adoption of Personalized Medicine systems in the healthcare management sector. This paper aims at identifying the critical factors with the help of an empirical study. A questionnaire was distributed amongst some clinicians, clinical researchers, practitioners in pharmaceutical industries, regulatory board members, and a larger section of patients. The response data collected thereby were analyzed by using appropriate statistical methods. Based on the statistical analysis, an attempt is made to prepare a list of critical success factors in the adoption of personalized medicine in healthcare management. The study indicates that eight of the thirteen hypothesized factors have statistical relationship with “Success”. The important success factors detected are: data management, team work and composition, privacy and confidentiality, mind-set, return on investment, sufficient time, R&D and alignment. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first academic paper in which an attempt has been made to model the vital critical factors for the successful implementation of Personalized Medicine in healthcare management. The study bears the promise of important applications in healthcare engineering and technology. Keywords: Healthcare management, Personalized medicine, E-health, Success factors, Medicare systems, Regression analysis

Access to healthcare for disabled persons. How are blind people reached by HIV services?

Science.gov (United States)

Saulo, Bryson; Walakira, Eddy; Darj, Elisabeth

2012-03-01

Disabled people are overlooked and marginalised globally. There is a lack of information on blind people and HIV-related services and it is unclear how HIV-services target blind people in a sub-Saharan urban setting. To explore how blind people are reached by HIV-services in Kampala, Uganda. A purposeful sample of blind people and seeing healthcare workers were interviewed, and data on their opinions and experiences were collected. The data were analysed by qualitative content analysis, with a focus on manifest content. Three categories emerged from the study, reaching for HIV information and knowledge, lack of services, and experiences of discrimination. General knowledge on HIV prevention/transmission methods was good; however, there was scepticism about condom use. Blind people mainly relied on others for accessing HIV information, and a lack of special services for blind people to be able to test for HIV was expressed. The health service for blind people was considered inadequate, unequal and discriminatory, and harassment by healthcare staff was expressed, but not sexual abuse. Concerns about disclosure of personal medical information were revealed. Access to HIV services and other healthcare related services for blind people is limited and the objectives of the National Strategic Plan for HIV/AIDS 2007-2012 have not been achieved. There is a need for alternative methods for sensitisation and voluntary counselling and testing (VCT) for blind people. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

How do healthcare consumers process and evaluate comparative healthcare information? A qualitative study using cognitive interviews.

OpenAIRE

Damman, O.C.; Hendriks, M.; Rademakers, J.; Delnoij, D.; Groenewegen, P.

2009-01-01

Abstract Background To date, online public healthcare reports have not been effectively used by consumers. Therefore, we qualitatively examined how healthcare consumers process and evaluate comparative healthcare information on the Internet. Methods Using semi-structured cognitive interviews, interviewees (n = 20) were asked to think aloud and answer questions, as they were prompted with three Dutch web pages providing comparative healthcare information. Results We identified twelve themes fr...

Healthcare system information at language schools for newly arrived immigrants

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Tynell, Lena Lyngholt; Wimmelmann, Camilla Lawaetz; Jervelund, Signe Smith

2017-01-01

a language school in Copenhagen in 2012 received either a course or written information on the Danish healthcare system and subsequently evaluated this quantitatively. Results: The evaluation revealed a positive appraisal of the course/information provided. Conclusion: In times of austerity, incorporating......Objective: In most European countries, immigrants do not systematically learn about the host countries’ healthcare system when arriving. This study investigated how newly arrived immigrants perceived the information they received about the Danish healthcare system. Method: Immigrants attending...... healthcare information into an already existing language programme may be pertinent for providing immigrants with knowledge on the healthcare system....

Infrastructuring Multicultural Healthcare Information Systems

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dreessen, Katrien; Huybrechts, Liesbeth; Grönvall, Erik

2017-01-01

This paper stresses the need for more research in the field of Participatory Design (PD) and in particular into how to design Health Information Technology (HIT) together with care providers and -receivers in multicultural settings. We contribute to this research by describing a case study...... of this study, we point to the need and the ways of taking spatio-historical aspects of a specific healthcare situation into account in the PD of HIT to support multicultural perspectives on healthcare....

Commercial Smartphone-Based Devices and Smart Applications for Personalized Healthcare Monitoring and Management.

Science.gov (United States)

Vashist, Sandeep Kumar; Schneider, E Marion; Luong, John H T

2014-08-18

Smartphone-based devices and applications (SBDAs) with cost effectiveness and remote sensing are the most promising and effective means of delivering mobile healthcare (mHealthcare). Several SBDAs have been commercialized for the personalized monitoring and/or management of basic physiological parameters, such as blood pressure, weight, body analysis, pulse rate, electrocardiograph, blood glucose, blood glucose saturation, sleeping and physical activity. With advances in Bluetooth technology, software, cloud computing and remote sensing, SBDAs provide real-time on-site analysis and telemedicine opportunities in remote areas. This scenario is of utmost importance for developing countries, where the number of smartphone users is about 70% of 6.8 billion cell phone subscribers worldwide with limited access to basic healthcare service. The technology platform facilitates patient-doctor communication and the patients to effectively manage and keep track of their medical conditions. Besides tremendous healthcare cost savings, SBDAs are very critical for the monitoring and effective management of emerging epidemics and food contamination outbreaks. The next decade will witness pioneering advances and increasing applications of SBDAs in this exponentially growing field of mHealthcare. This article provides a critical review of commercial SBDAs that are being widely used for personalized healthcare monitoring and management.

Specific factors influencing information system/information and communication technology sourcing strategies in healthcare facilities.

Science.gov (United States)

Potančok, Martin; Voříšek, Jiří

2016-09-01

Healthcare facilities use a number of information system/information and communication technologies. Each healthcare facility faces a need to choose sourcing strategies most suitable to ensure provision of information system/information and communication technology services, processes and resources. Currently, it is possible to observe an expansion of sourcing possibilities in healthcare informatics, which creates new requirements for sourcing strategies. Thus, the aim of this article is to identify factors influencing information system/information and communication technology sourcing strategies in healthcare facilities. The identification was based on qualitative research, namely, a case study. This study provides a set of internal and external factors with their impact levels. The findings also show that not enough attention is paid to these factors during decision-making. © The Author(s) 2015.

Constructing RBAC Based Security Model in u-Healthcare Service Platform

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Moon Sun Shin

2015-01-01

Full Text Available In today’s era of aging society, people want to handle personal health care by themselves in everyday life. In particular, the evolution of medical and IT convergence technology and mobile smart devices has made it possible for people to gather information on their health status anytime and anywhere easily using biometric information acquisition devices. Healthcare information systems can contribute to the improvement of the nation’s healthcare quality and the reduction of related cost. However, there are no perfect security models or mechanisms for healthcare service applications, and privacy information can therefore be leaked. In this paper, we examine security requirements related to privacy protection in u-healthcare service and propose an extended RBAC based security model. We propose and design u-healthcare service integration platform (u-HCSIP applying RBAC security model. The proposed u-HCSIP performs four main functions: storing and exchanging personal health records (PHR, recommending meals and exercise, buying/selling private health information or experience, and managing personal health data using smart devices.

Personal anticipated information need

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

H. Bruce

2005-01-01

Full Text Available Background. The role of personal information collections is a well known feature of personal information management. The World Wide Web has introduced to such collections ideas such as filing Web pages or noting their existence in 'Bookmarks' and 'Favourites'. Argument. It is suggested that personal information collections are created in anticipation of some future need for that information-personal, anticipated information need, which also underlies the design of formal information systems. Elaboration. Examination of the literature of information needs and information seeking behaviour leads to the formulation of five propositions that elaborate the concept of personal, anticipated information need. These propositions draw upon concepts such as uncertainty, predictability, sensitivity and the valuation of information sources. Conclusion. An individual's understanding of personal, anticipated information need and how this understanding guides the acquisition and management of personal information will determine the effectiveness of that collection.

An integrated healthcare enterprise information portal and healthcare information system framework.

Science.gov (United States)

Hsieh, S L; Lai, Feipei; Cheng, P H; Chen, J L; Lee, H H; Tsai, W N; Weng, Y C; Hsieh, S H; Hsu, K P; Ko, L F; Yang, T H; Chen, C H

2006-01-01

The paper presents an integrated, distributed Healthcare Enterprise Information Portal (HEIP) and Hospital Information Systems (HIS) framework over wireless/wired infrastructure at National Taiwan University Hospital (NTUH). A single sign-on solution for the hospital customer relationship management (CRM) in HEIP has been established. The outcomes of the newly developed Outpatient Information Systems (OIS) in HIS are discussed. The future HEIP blueprints with CRM oriented features: e-Learning, Remote Consultation and Diagnosis (RCD), as well as on-Line Vaccination Services are addressed. Finally, the integrated HEIP and HIS architectures based on the middleware technologies are proposed along with the feasible approaches. The preliminary performance of multi-media, time-based data exchanges over the wireless HEIP side is collected to evaluate the efficiency of the architecture.

Commercial Smartphone-Based Devices and Smart Applications for Personalized Healthcare Monitoring and Management

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sandeep Kumar Vashist

2014-08-01

Full Text Available Smartphone-based devices and applications (SBDAs with cost effectiveness and remote sensing are the most promising and effective means of delivering mobile healthcare (mHealthcare. Several SBDAs have been commercialized for the personalized monitoring and/or management of basic physiological parameters, such as blood pressure, weight, body analysis, pulse rate, electrocardiograph, blood glucose, blood glucose saturation, sleeping and physical activity. With advances in Bluetooth technology, software, cloud computing and remote sensing, SBDAs provide real-time on-site analysis and telemedicine opportunities in remote areas. This scenario is of utmost importance for developing countries, where the number of smartphone users is about 70% of 6.8 billion cell phone subscribers worldwide with limited access to basic healthcare service. The technology platform facilitates patient-doctor communication and the patients to effectively manage and keep track of their medical conditions. Besides tremendous healthcare cost savings, SBDAs are very critical for the monitoring and effective management of emerging epidemics and food contamination outbreaks. The next decade will witness pioneering advances and increasing applications of SBDAs in this exponentially growing field of mHealthcare. This article provides a critical review of commercial SBDAs that are being widely used for personalized healthcare monitoring and management.

Expert Search Strategies: The Information Retrieval Practices of Healthcare Information Professionals

OpenAIRE

Russell-Rose, Tony; Chamberlain, Jon

2017-01-01

Background Healthcare information professionals play a key role in closing the knowledge gap between medical research and clinical practice. Their work involves meticulous searching of literature databases using complex search strategies that can consist of hundreds of keywords, operators, and ontology terms. This process is prone to error and can lead to inefficiency and bias if performed incorrectly. Objective The aim of this study was to investigate the search behavior of healthcare inform...

Personal anticipated information need

OpenAIRE

H. Bruce

2005-01-01

Background. The role of personal information collections is a well known feature of personal information management. The World Wide Web has introduced to such collections ideas such as filing Web pages or noting their existence in 'Bookmarks' and 'Favourites'. Argument. It is suggested that personal information collections are created in anticipation of some future need for that information-personal, anticipated information need, which also underlies the design of formal information systems. ...

Personal factors affecting ethical performance in healthcare workers during disasters and mass casualty incidents in Iran: a qualitative study.

Science.gov (United States)

Kiani, Mehrzad; Fadavi, Mohsen; Khankeh, Hamidreza; Borhani, Fariba

2017-09-01

In emergencies and disasters, ethics are affected by both personal and organizational factors. Given the lack of organizational ethical guidelines in the disaster management system in Iran, the present study was conducted to explain the personal factors affecting ethics and ethical behaviors among disaster healthcare workers. The present qualitative inquiry was conducted using conventional content analysis to analyze the data collected from 21 in-depth unstructured interviews with healthcare workers with an experience of attending one or more fields of disaster. According to the data collected, personal factors can be classified into five major categories, including personal characteristics such as age and gender, personal values, threshold of tolerance, personal knowledge and reflective thinking. Without ethical guidelines, healthcare workers are intensely affected by the emotional climate of the event and guided by their beliefs. A combination of personal characteristics, competences and expertise thus form the basis of ethical conduct in disaster healthcare workers.

Using a logical information model-driven design process in healthcare.

Science.gov (United States)

Cheong, Yu Chye; Bird, Linda; Tun, Nwe Ni; Brooks, Colleen

2011-01-01

A hybrid standards-based approach has been adopted in Singapore to develop a Logical Information Model (LIM) for healthcare information exchange. The Singapore LIM uses a combination of international standards, including ISO13606-1 (a reference model for electronic health record communication), ISO21090 (healthcare datatypes), SNOMED CT (healthcare terminology) and HL7 v2 (healthcare messaging). This logic-based design approach also incorporates mechanisms for achieving bi-directional semantic interoperability.

The role of personal resilience and personality traits of healthcare students on their attitudes towards interprofessional collaboration.

Science.gov (United States)

Avrech Bar, Michal; Katz Leurer, Michal; Warshawski, Sigalit; Itzhaki, Michal

2018-02-01

Interprofessional collaboration (IPC) improves communication between healthcare workers and healthcare delivery. Interprofessional education (IPE) is essential in preparing healthcare students for cooperating with other healthcare disciplines in a real work setting. Although higher education settings have a responsibility to provide collaborative healthcare practice to students, IPE has not yet been prompted worldwide as a formal division in health professional education and in Israel IPE among health professions students is scarce. To examine the attitudes of health professions students towards IPC in correlation with their personal resilience and personality traits. A descriptive cross-sectional design was used. Participants were fourth year nursing, occupational therapy (OT), and physical therapy students studying in an academic undergraduate program at a School of Health Professions in a central university in Israel. Attitudes were assessed with a questionnaire consisting of the Interdisciplinary Education Perception Scale, the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale, the Big Five Inventory of personality dimensions, and a question evaluating students' experience with the PBL (Problem-Based Learning) method. Questionnaires were completed by 184 health professions students. Nursing students' perception of actual cooperation with other professions and their perceived competency and autonomy in their profession were slightly lower than those of other students. Among nursing students, positive correlations were found between competency & autonomy and resilience (p<0.01) and between competency & autonomy and agreeableness (p<0.05). Positive correlations were also found between their perception of actual cooperation with other professions and: resilience (p<0.01), agreeableness (p<0.05), conscientiousness (p<0.05), and openness (p<0.05). Only OT students were familiar with and experienced in the PBL method. This experience with PBL was found correlated with more positive

Where the Rubber Hits the Road: What Home Healthcare Professionals Need to Know About Driving Safety for Persons With Dementia.

Science.gov (United States)

Pastor, Diane K; Jones, Andrea; Arms, Tamatha

2017-01-01

Driving cessation for people with dementia is a significant personal safety and public health issue. Home healthcare professionals frequently encounter situations where patients/clients should not continue to drive, and family members are unaware of how to approach the issue. This article will inform readers of the current state of the healthcare driving assessment process, measures and instruments used to assess, and effective strategies and resources when working with families facing the dilemma of how and when to proceed with a driving cessation plan.

Elderly persons' perception and acceptance of using wireless sensor networks to assist healthcare.

Science.gov (United States)

Steele, Robert; Lo, Amanda; Secombe, Chris; Wong, Yuk Kuen

2009-12-01

This is an exploratory study carrying out qualitative research into the perceptions, attitudes and concerns of elderly persons towards wireless sensor network (WSN) technologies in terms of their application to healthcare. This work aims to provide guidance on the dimensions and items that may be included in the development of a more in-depth questionnaire to further validate the importance of the identified factors as well as the relationships between them. This study aims to contribute to opening up a communication channel between users and researchers, informing the research community in relation to applications and functionalities that users deem as either desirable, inadequate or in need of further development. Focus groups were conducted with elderly individuals who were still living independently. To explore elderly persons' perceptions and thoughts on current wireless sensor network (WSN) technologies and designs, discussion points were designed from concepts identified from various user acceptance theories and models. Participants were given an introduction to explain the functionality and capabilities of WSN and motes and were shown a sample mote, the Crossbow Mica2Dot. Participants were then asked to discuss their perceptions and concerns towards the likelihood of using a WSN-based healthcare system in their home. We have identified sixteen concepts in relation to the elderly participants' perception, concerns and attitudes towards WSN systems. Those concepts were further classified into six themes describing the determinants that may affect an elderly person's acceptance of WSNs for assisting healthcare. Some of our exploratory findings in this study indicate for example that independence is highly valued by elderly people and hence any system or technology that can prolong that independence tends to be highly regarded, that privacy of WSN health data might not be as important as typically considered, and there are also indications that cost may be the

Designing behavioral self-regulation application for preventive personal mental healthcare

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mari Hirano

2017-05-01

Full Text Available Most of computerized cognitive behavioral therapy targeted restoration and few have targeted primary prevention. The purpose of this study is to obtain the knowledge for further development on preventive mental healthcare application. We developed a personal mental healthcare application which aimed to give users the chance to manage their mental health by self-monitoring and regulating their behavior. Through the 30-day field trial, the results showed improvement of mood score through conducting of suggested action, and the depressive mood of the participants was significantly decreased after the trial. The possibility of application and further problem was confirmed.

How do healthcare consumers process and evaluate comparative healthcare information? A qualitive study using cognitive interviews

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Damman, O.C.; Hendriks, M.; Rademakers, J.; Delnoij, D.M.J.; Groenewegen, P.P.

2009-01-01

Background: To date, online public healthcare reports have not been effectively used by consumers. Therefore, we qualitatively examined how healthcare consumers process and evaluate comparative healthcare information on the Internet. Methods: Using semi-structured cognitive interviews, interviewees

How do healthcare consumers process and evaluate comparative healthcare information? A qualitative study using cognitive interviews.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Damman, O.C.; Hendriks, M.; Rademakers, J.; Delnoij, D.; Groenewegen, P.

2009-01-01

Background: To date, online public healthcare reports have not been effectively used by consumers. Therefore, we qualitatively examined how healthcare consumers process and evaluate comparative healthcare information on the Internet. Methods: Using semi-structured cognitive interviews, interviewees

Cooperative problem solving with personal mobile information tools in hospitals.

Science.gov (United States)

Buchauer, A; Werner, R; Haux, R

1998-01-01

Health-care professionals have a broad range of needs for information and cooperation while working at different points of care (e.g., outpatient departments, wards, and functional units such as operating theaters). Patient-related data and medical knowledge have to be widely available to support high-quality patient care. Furthermore, due to the increased specialization of health-care professionals, efficient collaboration is required. Personal mobile information tools have a considerable potential to realize almost ubiquitous information and collaborative support. They enable to unite the functionality of conventional tools such as paper forms, dictating machines, and pagers into one tool. Moreover, they can extend the support already provided by clinical workstations. An approach is described for the integration of mobile information tools with heterogeneous hospital information systems. This approach includes identification of functions which should be provided on mobile tools. Major functions are the presentation of medical records and reports, electronic mailing to support interpersonal communication, and the provision of editors for structured clinical documentation. To realize those functions on mobile tools, we propose a document-based client-server architecture that enables mobile information tools to interoperate with existing computer-based application systems. Open application systems and powerful, partially wireless, hospital-wide networks are the prerequisites for the introduction of mobile information tools.

Agent-Oriented Privacy-Based Information Brokering Architecture for Healthcare Environments

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Abdulmutalib Masaud-Wahaishi

2009-01-01

Full Text Available Healthcare industry is facing a major reform at all levels—locally, regionally, nationally, and internationally. Healthcare services and systems become very complex and comprise of a vast number of components (software systems, doctors, patients, etc. that are characterized by shared, distributed and heterogeneous information sources with varieties of clinical and other settings. The challenge now faced with decision making, and management of care is to operate effectively in order to meet the information needs of healthcare personnel. Currently, researchers, developers, and systems engineers are working toward achieving better efficiency and quality of service in various sectors of healthcare, such as hospital management, patient care, and treatment. This paper presents a novel information brokering architecture that supports privacy-based information gathering in healthcare. Architecturally, the brokering is viewed as a layer of services where a brokering service is modeled as an agent with a specific architecture and interaction protocol that are appropriate to serve various requests. Within the context of brokering, we model privacy in terms of the entities ability to hide or reveal information related to its identities, requests, and/or capabilities. A prototype of the proposed architecture has been implemented to support information-gathering capabilities in healthcare environments using FIPA-complaint platform JADE.

Agent-oriented privacy-based information brokering architecture for healthcare environments.

Science.gov (United States)

Masaud-Wahaishi, Abdulmutalib; Ghenniwa, Hamada

2009-01-01

Healthcare industry is facing a major reform at all levels-locally, regionally, nationally, and internationally. Healthcare services and systems become very complex and comprise of a vast number of components (software systems, doctors, patients, etc.) that are characterized by shared, distributed and heterogeneous information sources with varieties of clinical and other settings. The challenge now faced with decision making, and management of care is to operate effectively in order to meet the information needs of healthcare personnel. Currently, researchers, developers, and systems engineers are working toward achieving better efficiency and quality of service in various sectors of healthcare, such as hospital management, patient care, and treatment. This paper presents a novel information brokering architecture that supports privacy-based information gathering in healthcare. Architecturally, the brokering is viewed as a layer of services where a brokering service is modeled as an agent with a specific architecture and interaction protocol that are appropriate to serve various requests. Within the context of brokering, we model privacy in terms of the entities ability to hide or reveal information related to its identities, requests, and/or capabilities. A prototype of the proposed architecture has been implemented to support information-gathering capabilities in healthcare environments using FIPA-complaint platform JADE.

Leveraging Health Information Technology to Improve Quality in Federal Healthcare.

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Weigel, Fred K; Switaj, Timothy L; Hamilton, Jessica

2015-01-01

Healthcare delivery in America is extremely complex because it is comprised of a fragmented and nonsystematic mix of stakeholders, components, and processes. Within the US healthcare structure, the federal healthcare system is poised to lead American medicine in leveraging health information technology to improve the quality of healthcare. We posit that through developing, adopting, and refining health information technology, the federal healthcare system has the potential to transform federal healthcare quality by managing the complexities associated with healthcare delivery. Although federal mandates have spurred the widespread use of electronic health records, other beneficial technologies have yet to be adopted in federal healthcare settings. The use of health information technology is fundamental in providing the highest quality, safest healthcare possible. In addition, health information technology is valuable in achieving the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality's implementation goals. We conducted a comprehensive literature search using the Google Scholar, PubMed, and Cochrane databases to identify an initial list of articles. Through a thorough review of the titles and abstracts, we identified 42 articles as having relevance to health information technology and quality. Through our exclusion criteria of currency of the article, citation frequency, applicability to the federal health system, and quality of research supporting conclusions, we refined the list to 11 references from which we performed our analysis. The literature shows that the use of computerized physician order entry has significantly increased accurate medication dosage and decreased medication errors. The use of clinical decision support systems have significantly increased physician adherence to guidelines, although there is little evidence that indicates any significant correlation to patient outcomes. Research shows that interoperability and usability are continuing challenges for

Impact of Healthcare Information Technology on Nursing Practice.

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Piscotty, Ronald J; Kalisch, Beatrice; Gracey-Thomas, Angel

2015-07-01

To report additional mediation findings from a descriptive cross sectional study to examine if nurses' perceptions of the impact of healthcare information technology on their practice mediates the relationship between electronic nursing care reminder use and missed nursing care. The study used a descriptive design. The sample (N = 165) was composed of registered nurses working on acute care hospital units. The sample was obtained from a large teaching hospital in Southeast Michigan in the fall of 2012. All eligible nursing units (n = 19) were included. The MISSCARE Survey, Nursing Care Reminders Usage Survey, and the Impact of Healthcare Information Technology Scale were used to collect data to test for mediation. Mediation was tested using the method described by Baron and Kenny. Multiple regression equations were used to analyze the data to determine if mediation occurred between the variables. Missed nursing care, the outcome variable, was regressed on the predictor variable, reminder usage, and the mediator variable impact of technology on nursing practice. The impact of healthcare information technology (IHIT) on nursing practice negatively affected missed nursing care (t = -4.12, p information technology mediates the relationship between nursing care reminder use and missed nursing care. The findings are beneficial to the advancement of healthcare technology in that designers of healthcare information technology systems need to keep in mind that perceptions regarding impacts of the technology will influence usage. Many times, information technology systems are not designed to match the workflow of nurses. Systems built with redundant or impertinent reminders may be ignored. System designers must study which reminders nurses find most useful and which reminders result in the best quality outcomes. © 2015 Sigma Theta Tau International.

Personal healthcare budgets: What can England learn from the Netherlands?

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Ginneken, E. van; Groenewegen, P.P.; McKee, M.

2012-01-01

The English Department of Health wants to give patients more control over the care they receive. One way they propose to do this is through personal healthcare budgets for people eligible for NHS continuing care. The health secretary, Andrew Lansley, says the “budgets will give them more control

Personal health records: Consumer attitudes toward privacy and security of their personal health information.

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Lafky, Deborah Beranek; Horan, Thomas A

2011-03-01

Personal health record (PHR) systems are a subject of intense interest in the move to improve healthcare accessibility and quality. Although a number of vendors continue to put forward PHR systems, user-centered design research has lagged, and it has not been clear what features are important to prospective PHR users. Here, we report on a user-centered design study that combines qualitative and quantitative approaches to investigate several dimensions relevant to PHR design, and to look at the effect of health status on user needs. The results indicate that health status, especially disability and chronic illness, is relevant to PHR design. Further, the results provide empirical evidence about the role of privacy and security in users' attitudes toward PHR use. The exact nature of these attitudes differs from widely held perceptions about consumer values in healthcare information management. © The Author(s) 2011.

The moderation effect of personality on healthcare utilization in Chinese people living with HIV

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Yu, N.X.; Mols, F.; Stewart, S.M.; Zhang, J.X.

2017-01-01

There is evidence that Type D personality can predict impaired quality of life and health status in various chronic conditions. The evidence is conflicting as to whether Type D is associated with increased healthcare services, and no study has reported on the healthcare utilization of people living

Information security requirements in patient-centred healthcare support systems.

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Alsalamah, Shada; Gray, W Alex; Hilton, Jeremy; Alsalamah, Hessah

2013-01-01

Enabling Patient-Centred (PC) care in modern healthcare requires the flow of medical information with the patient between different healthcare providers as they follow the patient's treatment plan. However, PC care threatens the stability of the balance of information security in the support systems since legacy systems fall short of attaining a security balance when sharing their information due to compromises made between its availability, integrity, and confidentiality. Results show that the main reason for this is that information security implementation in discrete legacy systems focused mainly on information confidentiality and integrity leaving availability a challenge in collaboration. Through an empirical study using domain analysis, observations, and interviews, this paper identifies a need for six information security requirements in legacy systems to cope with this situation in order to attain the security balance in systems supporting PC care implementation in modern healthcare.

Expert Search Strategies: The Information Retrieval Practices of Healthcare Information Professionals.

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Russell-Rose, Tony; Chamberlain, Jon

2017-10-02

Healthcare information professionals play a key role in closing the knowledge gap between medical research and clinical practice. Their work involves meticulous searching of literature databases using complex search strategies that can consist of hundreds of keywords, operators, and ontology terms. This process is prone to error and can lead to inefficiency and bias if performed incorrectly. The aim of this study was to investigate the search behavior of healthcare information professionals, uncovering their needs, goals, and requirements for information retrieval systems. A survey was distributed to healthcare information professionals via professional association email discussion lists. It investigated the search tasks they undertake, their techniques for search strategy formulation, their approaches to evaluating search results, and their preferred functionality for searching library-style databases. The popular literature search system PubMed was then evaluated to determine the extent to which their needs were met. The 107 respondents indicated that their information retrieval process relied on the use of complex, repeatable, and transparent search strategies. On average it took 60 minutes to formulate a search strategy, with a search task taking 4 hours and consisting of 15 strategy lines. Respondents reviewed a median of 175 results per search task, far more than they would ideally like (100). The most desired features of a search system were merging search queries and combining search results. Healthcare information professionals routinely address some of the most challenging information retrieval problems of any profession. However, their needs are not fully supported by current literature search systems and there is demand for improved functionality, in particular regarding the development and management of search strategies. ©Tony Russell-Rose, Jon Chamberlain. Originally published in JMIR Medical Informatics (http://medinform.jmir.org), 02.10.2017.

Design principles for achieving integrated healthcare information systems.

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Jensen, Tina Blegind

2013-03-01

Achieving integrated healthcare information systems has become a common goal for many countries in their pursuit of obtaining coordinated and comprehensive healthcare services. This article focuses on how a small local project termed 'Standardized pull of patient data' expanded and is now used on a large scale providing a majority of hospitals, general practitioners and citizens across Denmark with the possibility of accessing healthcare data from different electronic patient record systems and other systems. I build on design theory for information infrastructures, as presented by Hanseth and Lyytinen, to examine the design principles that facilitated this smallscale project to expand and become widespread. As a result of my findings, I outline three lessons learned that emphasize: (i) principles of flexibility, (ii) expansion from the installed base through modular strategies and (iii) identification of key healthcare actors to provide them with immediate benefits.

Current patient and healthcare worker attitudes to eHealth and the personally controlled electronic health record in major hospitals.

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Armani, R; Mitchell, L E; Allen-Graham, J; Heriot, N R; Kotsimbos, T; Wilson, J W

2016-06-01

The current health system in Australia is comprised of both electronic- and paper-based medical records. The Federal Government has approved funding for the development of an individual health identifier and a universally adopted online health repository. To determine attitudes and beliefs of patients and healthcare workers regarding the use of stored medical information and the personally controlled electronic health record (PCEHR) in selected major hospitals in Victoria. Qualitative survey of patients and healthcare workers (n = 600 each group) conducted during 2014 across five major hospitals in Melbourne to measure the awareness, attitudes and barriers to electronic health and the PCEHR. Of the patients, 93.3% support the concept of a shared electronic healthcare record, 33.7% were aware of the PCEHR and only 11% had registered. The majority of healthcare workers believed that the presence of a shared health record would result in an increased appropriateness of care and patient safety by reducing adverse drug events and improving the timeliness of care provided. However, only 46% of healthcare workers were aware of the PCEHR. This study provides a baseline evaluation of perceptions surrounding eHealth and PCHER in acute health services in five metropolitan centres. While there appears to be a readiness for adoption of these strategies for healthcare documentation, patients require motivation to register for the PCEHR, and healthcare workers require more information on the potential benefits to them to achieve more timely and efficient care. © 2016 Royal Australasian College of Physicians.

Activity System Theory Approach to Healthcare Information System

OpenAIRE

Bai, Guohua

2004-01-01

Healthcare information system is a very complex system and has to be approached from systematic perspectives. This paper presents an Activity System Theory (ATS) approach by integrating system thinking and social psychology. First part of the paper, the activity system theory is presented, especially a recursive model of human activity system is introduced. A project ‘Integrated Mobile Information System for Diabetic Healthcare (IMIS)’ is then used to demonstrate a practical application of th...

A Theoretical Approach to Information Needs Across Different Healthcare Stakeholders

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Raitoharju, Reetta; Aarnio, Eeva

Increased access to medical information can lead to information overload among both the employees in the healthcare sector as well as among healthcare consumers. Moreover, medical information can be hard to understand for consumers who have no prerequisites for interpreting and understanding it. Information systems (e.g. electronic patient records) are normally designed to meet the demands of one professional group, for instance those of physicians. Therefore, the same information in the same form is presented to all the users of the systems regardless of the actual need or prerequisites. The purpose of this article is to illustrate the differences in information needs across different stakeholders in healthcare. A literature review was conducted to collect examples of these different information needs. Based on the findings the role of more user specific information systems is discussed.

Home Healthcare Workers: How to Prevent Latex Allergies

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... can help prevent allergic reactions for both home healthcare workers and their clients. LATEX EXPOSURE REACTIONS Three ... being used). • Inform your employer and your personal healthcare professionals that you have latex allergy. • Wear a ...

Personal, Anticipated Information Need

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Bruce, Harry

2005-01-01

Background: The role of personal information collections is a well known feature of personal information management. The World Wide Web has introduced to such collections ideas such as filing Web pages or noting their existence in "Bookmarks" and "Favourites". Argument: It is suggested that personal information collections are…

Infrastructure for Personalized Medicine at Partners HealthCare

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Scott T. Weiss

2016-02-01

Full Text Available Partners HealthCare Personalized Medicine (PPM is a center within the Partners HealthCare system (founded by Massachusetts General Hospital and Brigham and Women’s Hospital whose mission is to utilize genetics and genomics to improve the care of patients in a cost effective manner. PPM consists of five interconnected components: (1 Laboratory for Molecular Medicine (LMM, a CLIA laboratory performing genetic testing for patients world-wide; (2 Translational Genomics Core (TGC, a core laboratory providing genomic platforms for Partners investigators; (3 Partners Biobank, a biobank of samples (DNA, plasma and serum for 50,000 Consented Partners patients; (4 Biobank Portal, an IT infrastructure and viewer to bring together genotypes, samples, phenotypes (validated diagnoses, radiology, and clinical chemistry from the electronic medical record to Partners investigators. These components are united by (5 a common IT system that brings researchers, clinicians, and patients together for optimal research and patient care.

Communication in Healthcare: Opportunities for information technology and concerns for patient safety

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H. Pirnejad (Habibollah)

2008-01-01

textabstractUnderstanding healthcare workflow is fundamental for design and implementation of information systems. Communication and information exchange between healthcare professionals plays a pivotal role in developing smooth workflow within and between healthcare organizations. The study in this

Method for selecting e-health standards to support interoperability of healthcare information systems

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Adebesin, F

2014-05-01

Full Text Available There is growing concern over the fragmentation and inability of healthcare information systems (e-health systems) to exchange pertinent healthcare information that can empower healthcare professionals to make informed decisions regarding the care...

Healthcare information on YouTube: A systematic review.

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Madathil, Kapil Chalil; Rivera-Rodriguez, A Joy; Greenstein, Joel S; Gramopadhye, Anand K

2015-09-01

This article reviews the peer-reviewed literature addressing the healthcare information available on YouTube. Inclusion and exclusion criteria were determined, and the online databases PubMed and Web of Knowledge were searched using the search phrases: (1) YouTube* AND Health* and (2) YouTube* AND Healthcare*. In all, 18 articles were reviewed, with the results suggesting that (1) YouTube is increasingly being used as a platform for disseminating health information; (2) content and frame analysis were the primary techniques employed by researchers to analyze the characteristics of this information; (3) YouTube contains misleading information, primarily anecdotal, that contradicts the reference standards and the probability of a lay user finding such content is relatively high; (4) the retrieval of relevant videos is dependent on the search term used; and (5) videos from government organizations and professional associations contained trustworthy and high-quality information. YouTube is used as a medium for promoting unscientific therapies and drugs that are yet to be approved by the appropriate agencies and has the potential to change the beliefs of patients concerning controversial topics such as vaccinations. This review recognizes the need to design interventions to enable consumers to critically assimilate the information posted on YouTube with more authoritative information sources to make effective healthcare decisions. © The Author(s) 2014.

Why bother about health? A study on the factors that influence health information seeking behaviour among Malaysian healthcare consumers.

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Jaafar, Noor Ismawati; Ainin, Sulaiman; Yeong, Mun Wai

2017-08-01

The general improvement of socio-economic conditions has resulted in people becoming more educated to make better-informed decisions in health related matters. Individual's perspective on health increases with better understanding of ways to improve lifestyle for better health and living. With the increase in lifestyle related diseases that lead to health problems, there is an increase in the availability of healthcare information. Thus, it is important to identify the factors that influence information seeking behaviour in the area of healthcare and lifestyle. This exploratory study examines the relationship between the factors that affect online health information-seeking behaviour among healthcare product in the capital city of Malaysia. Survey questionnaire was used to collect empirical data. A survey was conducted among 300 healthcare consumers in three main cities in Malaysia where questionnaires were personally distributed through snowball sampling. A total of 271 questionnaire forms were used in the analysis. Health Behaviour of the consumers influences Health Information Seeking Behaviour. And this relationship is strongly affected by Gender whereby the affect is strongly among females compared to males. The findings indicate that Health Behaviour influences Health Information Seeking Behaviour. Marketers can find out which target segment of population to target when devising information channels for consumers, especially through the Internet. However, message that promotes positive health behaviour to a target audience who already has positive Health Behaviour increase the motivation to Health Information Seeking Behaviour. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Strategic information technology alliances for effective health-care supply chain management.

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Shih, Stephen C; Rivers, Patrick A; Hsu, H Y Sonya

2009-08-01

To gain and sustain competitive advantage, health-care providers have to continuously review and renovate their operational and information technology (IT) strategies through collaborative and cooperative endeavour with their supply chain channel members. This paper explores new ways of enhancing a health-care organization's responsiveness to changes and increasing its competitiveness through implementing strategic information technology alliances among channel members in a health-care supply chain network. An overview of issues and problems (e.g. bullwhip effect, negative externalities and free-riding phenomenon in multichannel supply chains) presented in the health-care supply chains is first delineated. This paper further goes over the issues of health-care supply chain coordination and integration for strategic IT alliances, followed by the discussion of the spillover effect of IT investments. A number of viable IT practices (such as information sharing and Internet-enabled supply chain portal) for effective health-care supply chain collaboration and coordination are then examined in this research. Finally, the paper discusses how strategic IT alliances can help improve the effectiveness of health-care supply chain management.

Living conditions, ability to seek medical treatment, and awareness of health conditions and healthcare options among homeless persons in Tokyo, Japan.

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Ohtsu, Tadahiro; Toda, Ryouhei; Shiraishi, Tomonobu; Toyoda, Hirokuni; Toyozawa, Hideyasu; Kamioka, Yasuaki; Ochiai, Hirotaka; Shimada, Naoki; Shirasawa, Takako; Hoshino, Hiromi; Kokaze, Akatsuki

2011-12-01

Empirical data indicative of the health conditions and medical needs of homeless persons are scarce in Japan. In this study, with the aim of contributing to the formulation of future healthcare strategies for the homeless, we conducted a self-administered questionnaire survey and interviews at a park in Shinjuku Ward, Tokyo, to clarify the living conditions of homeless persons and their health conditions and awareness about the availability of medical treatment. Responses from 55 homeless men were recorded (response rate: 36.7%). With the exception of one person, none of them possessed a health insurance certificate. Half of the respondents reported having a current income source, although their modal monthly income was 30,000 yen($1 was approximately 90 yen). The number of individuals who responded "yes" to the questions regarding "Consulting a doctor on the basis of someone's recommendation" and "Being aware of the location of the nearest hospital or clinic" was significantly higher among those who had someone to consult when they were ill than among those who did not (the odds ratios [95% confidence intervals] were 15.00 [3.05-93.57] and 11.45 [1.42-510.68], respectively). This showed that whether or not a homeless person had a person to consult might influence his healthcare-seeking behavior. When queried about the entity they consulted (multiple responses acceptable), respondents mentioned "life support organizations" (61.1%) and "public offices" (33.3%). Overall, 94.5% of the respondents were aware of swine flu (novel influenza A (H1N1)). Their main sources of information were newspapers and magazines. On the basis of these findings, with regard to the aim of formulating healthcare strategies for homeless persons, while life support organizations and public offices play significant roles as conduits to medical institutions, print media should be considered useful for communicating messages to homeless persons.

Implementing healthcare information security: standards can help.

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Orel, Andrej; Bernik, Igor

2013-01-01

Using widely spread common approaches to systems security in health dedicated controlled environments, a level of awareness, confidence and acceptance of relevant standardisation is evaluated. Patients' information is sensitive, so putting appropriate organisational techniques as well as modern technology in place to secure health information is of paramount importance. Mobile devices are becoming the top priorities in advanced information security planning with healthcare environments being no exception. There are less and less application areas in healthcare without having a need for a mobile functionality which represents an even greater information security challenge. This is also true in emergency treatments, rehabilitation and homecare just to mention a few areas outside hospital controlled environments. Unfortunately quite often traditional unsecured communications principles are still in routine use for communicating sensitive health related information. The security awareness level with users, patients and care professionals is not high enough so potential threats and risks may not be addressed and the respective information security management is therefore weak. Standards like ISO/IEC 27000 ISMS family, the ISO/IEC 27799 information security guidelines in health are often not well known, but together with legislation principles such as HIPAA, they can help.

Building personal and professional resources of resilience and agility in the healthcare workplace.

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Pipe, Teresa Britt; Buchda, Vicki L; Launder, Susan; Hudak, Barb; Hulvey, Lynne; Karns, Katherine E; Pendergast, Debra

2012-02-01

This article describes the rationale, implementation and results of a pilot study evaluating the personal and organizational impact of an educational intervention on the stress of health team members. The compelling imperative for the project was to find a positive and effective way to address the documented stress levels of healthcare workers. Pilot study of oncology staff (n=29) and healthcare leaders (n=15) exploring the impact of a positive coping approach on Personal and Organizational Quality Assessment-Revised (POQA-R) scores at baseline and 7 months using paired t-tests. Personal and organizational indicators of stress decreased in the expected directions in both groups over the time intervals. The majority of POQA-R categories were statistically significantly improved in the oncology staff, and many of the categories were statistically significantly improved in the leadership group. The findings from this project demonstrate that stress and its symptoms are problematic issues for hospital and ambulatory clinic staff as evidenced by baseline measures of distress. Further, a workplace intervention was feasible and effective in promoting positive strategies for coping and enhancing well-being, personally and organizationally. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Healthcare workers' behaviors and personal determinants associated with providing adequate sexual and reproductive healthcare services in sub-Saharan Africa: a systematic review.

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Jonas, Kim; Crutzen, Rik; van den Borne, Bart; Reddy, Priscilla

2017-03-13

Healthcare workers may affect the utilization of sexual and reproductive healthcare (SRH) services, and quality of care thereof, for example by their behaviours or attitudes they hold. This can become a hindrance to accessing and utilizing SRH services, particularly by young people, and thus a better understanding of these behaviours and associated factors is needed to improve access to and utilization of SRH services. A systematic review of literature was conducted to identify studies focusing on healthcare workers' behaviors and personal determinants associated with providing adequate SRH services in sub-Saharan Africa (January 1990 - October 2015). Five databases were searched until 30th October 2015, using a search strategy that was adapted based on the technical requirements of each specific database. Articles were independently screened for eligibility by two researchers. Of the 125-screened full-text articles, 35 studies met all the inclusion criteria. Negative behaviours and attitudes of healthcare workers, as well as other personal determinants, such as poor knowledge and skills of SRH services, and related factors, like availability of essential drugs and equipment are associated with provision of inadequate SRH services. Some healthcare workers still have negative attitudes towards young people using contraceptives and are more likely to limit access to and utilization of SRH by adolescents especially. Knowledge of and implementation of specific SRH components are below optimum levels according to the WHO recommended guidelines. Healthcare workers' negative behaviours and attitudes are unlikely to encourage women in general to access and utilize SRH services, but more specifically young women. Knowledge of SRH services, including basic emergency obstetric care (EmOC) is insufficient among healthcare workers in SSA. A protocol for this systematic review was registered with PROSPERO and the registration number is: CRD42015017509 .

Integrating hospital information systems in healthcare institutions: a mediation architecture.

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El Azami, Ikram; Cherkaoui Malki, Mohammed Ouçamah; Tahon, Christian

2012-10-01

Many studies have examined the integration of information systems into healthcare institutions, leading to several standards in the healthcare domain (CORBAmed: Common Object Request Broker Architecture in Medicine; HL7: Health Level Seven International; DICOM: Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine; and IHE: Integrating the Healthcare Enterprise). Due to the existence of a wide diversity of heterogeneous systems, three essential factors are necessary to fully integrate a system: data, functions and workflow. However, most of the previous studies have dealt with only one or two of these factors and this makes the system integration unsatisfactory. In this paper, we propose a flexible, scalable architecture for Hospital Information Systems (HIS). Our main purpose is to provide a practical solution to insure HIS interoperability so that healthcare institutions can communicate without being obliged to change their local information systems and without altering the tasks of the healthcare professionals. Our architecture is a mediation architecture with 3 levels: 1) a database level, 2) a middleware level and 3) a user interface level. The mediation is based on two central components: the Mediator and the Adapter. Using the XML format allows us to establish a structured, secured exchange of healthcare data. The notion of medical ontology is introduced to solve semantic conflicts and to unify the language used for the exchange. Our mediation architecture provides an effective, promising model that promotes the integration of hospital information systems that are autonomous, heterogeneous, semantically interoperable and platform-independent.

Towards a framework for personalized healthcare: lessons learned from the field of rare diseases.

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Tambuyzer, Erik

2010-09-01

A large percentage of medicines do not work for the patient populations they are intended to treat. Increased knowledge regarding genomics and the underlying biological mechanism of diseases should help us be able to stratify patients into groups of likely responders and nonresponders, and to identify those patients for whom a treatment might do more harm than good. This article sets out different policy perspectives for the healthcare systems, and draws in on 25 years of particular experience from the rare disease and orphan drug field, to illuminate the pathway forward in relation to key implementation aspects of personalized healthcare. In principle, we submit that targeting medicines to preidentified groups for whom we can predict a beneficial outcome is a good thing for everyone - first of all for the patients, but also for all the other stakeholders, including payers, treating physicians and industry - because it has the potential to create sustainable and functioning healthcare systems directed to better health and prevention of disease. Personalized healthcare over time could also lead to shorter drug-development times because of lower rates of failure in late-stage drug development. Using orphan medicines to treat well-diagnosed patients suffering from a life-threatening or seriously debilitating rare disease, is an attempt to work according to these principles. As there is much that needs to be done to turn the promise into reality, we need to identify the barriers and challenges to transform the potential opportunities into real-life benefits, and what needs to be done in order to overcome them. Learning from the field of rare diseases and orphan drugs may provide, perhaps unexpectedly, some of the answers to public policy questions related to future (personalized) healthcare, but of course not all aspects, are common between the two fields.

Healthcare Services Managers: What Information do They Need and Use?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andrew Booth

2008-09-01

Full Text Available Objectives – The purpose of this research project was to gain insight into the information behaviour of healthcare services managers as they use information while engaged in decision-making unrelated to individual patient care. Methods – This small-scale, exploratory, multiple case study used the critical incident technique in nineteen semi-structured interviews. Responses were analyzed using ‘Framework,’ a matrix-based content analysis system. Results – This paper presents findings related to the internal information that healthcare services managers need and use. Their decisions are influenced by a wide variety of factors. They must often make decisions without all of the information they would prefer to have. Internal information and practical experience set the context for new research-based information, so they are generally considered first.Conclusions – Healthcare services managers support decisions with both facts and value-based information. These results may inform both delivery of health library services delivery and strategic health information management planning. They may also support librarians who extend their skills beyond managing library collections and teaching published information retrieval skills, to managing internal and external information, teaching information literacy, and supporting information sharing.

Healthcare managers in negative media focus: a qualitative study of personification processes and their personal consequences.

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Wramsten Wilmar, Maria; Ahlborg, Gunnar; Jacobsson, Christian; Dellve, Lotta

2014-01-07

Over the last decade healthcare management and managers have increasingly been in focus in public debate. The purpose of the present study was to gain a deeper understanding of how prolonged, unfavorable media focus can influence both the individual as a person and his or her managerial practice in the healthcare organization. In-depth interviews (n = 49) with 24 managers and their superiors, or subordinate human resources/information professionals, and partners were analyzed using a grounded theory approach. The conceptual model explains how perceived uncertainties related to the managerial role influence personification and its negative consequences. The role ambiguities comprised challenges regarding the separation of individual identity from the professional function, the interaction with intra-organizational support and political play, and the understanding and acceptance of roles in society. A higher degree of uncertainty in role ambiguity increased both personification and the personal reaction to intense media pressure. Three types of reactions were related to the feeling of being infringed: avoidance and narrow-mindedness; being hard on self, on subordinates, and/or family members; and resignation and dejection. The results are discussed so as to elucidate the importance of support from others within the organization when under media scrutiny. The degree of personification seems to determine the personal consequences as well as the consequences for their managerial practice. Organizational support for managers appearing in the media would probably be beneficial for both the manager and the organization.

Assuring measurement quality in person-centred healthcare

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Pendrill, L. R.

2018-03-01

Is it realistic to aspire to the same kind of quality-assurance of measurement in person-centred care, currently being implemented in healthcare globally, as is established in the physical sciences and engineering? Ensuring metrological comparability (‘traceability’) and reliably declaring measurement uncertainty when assessing patient ability or increased social capital are however challenging for subjective measurements often characterised by large dispersion. Drawing simple analogies between ‘instruments’ in the social sciences—questionnaires, ability tests, etc—and engineering instruments such as thermometers does not go far enough. A possible way forward, apparently equally applicable to both physical and social measurement, seems to be to model inferences in terms of performance metrics of a measurement system. Person-centred care needs person-centred measurement and a full picture of the measurement process when man acts as a measurement instrument is given in the present paper. This complements previous work by presenting the process, step by step, from the observed indication (e.g. probability of success, P success, of achieving a task), through restitution with Rasch measurement theory, to the measurand (e.g. task difficulty). Rasch invariant measure theory can yield quantities—‘latent’ (or ‘explanatory’) variables such as task challenge or person ability—with characteristics akin to those of physical quantities. Metrological references for comparability via traceability and reliable estimates of uncertainty and decision risks are then in reach even for perceptive measurements (and other qualitative properties). As a case study, the person-centred measurement of cognitive ability is examined, as part of the EU project EMPIR 15HLT04 NeuroMet, for Alzheimer’s, where better analysis of correlations with brain atrophy is enabled thanks to the Rasch metrological approach.

A path analysis study of retention of healthcare professionals in urban India using health information technology.

Science.gov (United States)

Bhattacharya, Indrajit; Ramachandran, Anandhi

2015-07-31

Healthcare information technology (HIT) applications are being ubiquitously adopted globally and have been indicated to have effects on certain dimensions of recruitment and retention of healthcare professionals. Retention of healthcare professionals is affected by their job satisfaction (JS), commitment to the organization and intention to stay (ITS) that are interlinked with each other and influenced by many factors related to job, personal, organization, etc. The objectives of the current study were to determine if HIT was one among the factors and, if so, propose a probable retention model that incorporates implementation and use of HIT as a strategy. This was a cross-sectional survey study covering 20 hospitals from urban areas of India. The sample (n = 586) consisted of doctors, nurses, paramedics and hospital administrators. Data was collected through a structured questionnaire. Factors affecting job satisfaction were determined. Technology acceptance by the healthcare professionals was also determined. Interactions between the factors were predicted using a path analysis model. The overall satisfaction rate of the respondents was 51 %. Based on factor analysis method, 10 factors were identified for JS and 9 factors for ITS. Availability and use of information technology was one factor that affected JS. The need for implementing technology influenced ITS through work environment and career growth. Also, the study indicated that nearly 70 % of the respondents had awareness of HIT, but only 40 % used them. The importance of providing training for HIT applications was stressed by many respondents. The results are in agreement with literature studies exploring job satisfaction and retention among healthcare professionals. Our study documented a relatively medium level of job satisfaction among the healthcare professionals in the urban area. Information technology was found to be one among the factors that can plausibly influence their job satisfaction and

Software engineering principles applied to large healthcare information systems--a case report.

Science.gov (United States)

Nardon, Fabiane Bizinella; de A Moura, Lincoln

2007-01-01

São Paulo is the largest city in Brazil and one of the largest cities in the world. In 2004, São Paulo City Department of Health decided to implement a Healthcare Information System to support managing healthcare services and provide an ambulatory health record. The resulting information system is one of the largest public healthcare information systems ever built, with more than 2 million lines of code. Although statistics shows that most software projects fail, and the risks for the São Paulo initiative were enormous, the information system was completed on-time and on-budget. In this paper, we discuss the software engineering principles adopted that allowed to accomplish that project's goals, hoping that sharing the experience of this project will help other healthcare information systems initiatives to succeed.

Control and prevention of healthcare-associated tuberculosis: the role of respiratory isolation and personal respiratory protection.

Science.gov (United States)

Humphreys, H

2007-05-01

Although the prevalence of tuberculosis continues to decline in most developed countries, the risk of healthcare-associated tuberculosis, remains for patients or healthcare staff. Outbreaks of healthcare-associated tuberculosis are usually associated with delays in diagnosis and treatment, or the care of patients in sub-optimal facilities. The control and prevention of tuberculosis in hospitals is best achieved by three approaches, namely administrative (early investigation diagnosis, etc.), engineering (physical facilities e.g. ventilated isolation rooms) and personal respiratory protection (face sealing masks which are filtered). Recent guidelines on the prevention of tuberculosis in healthcare facilities from Europe and the USA have many common themes. In the UK, however, negative pressure isolation rooms are recommended only for patients with suspected multi-drug resistant TB and personal respiratory protection, i.e. filtered masks, are not considered necessary unless multi-drug resistant TB is suspected, or where aerosol-generating procedures are likely. In the US, the standard of care for patients with infectious tuberculosis is a negative pressure ventilated room and the use of personal respiratory protection for all healthcare workers entering the room of a patient with suspected or confirmed tuberculosis. The absence of clinical trials in this area precludes dogmatic recommendations. Nonetheless, observational studies and mathematical modelling suggest that all measures are required for effective prevention. Even when policies and facilities are optimal, there is a need to regularly review and audit these as sometimes compliance is less than optimal. The differences in recommendations may reflect the variations in epidemiology and the greater use of BCG vaccination in the UK compared with the United States. There is a strong argument for advising ventilated facilities and personal respiratory protection for the care of all patients with tuberculosis, as

Fostering the development of effective person-centered healthcare communication skills: an interprofessional shared learning model.

Science.gov (United States)

Cavanaugh, James T; Konrad, Shelley Cohen

2012-01-01

To describe the implementation of an interprofessional shared learning model designed to promote the development of person-centered healthcare communication skills. Master of social work (MSW) and doctor of physical therapy (DPT) degree students. The model used evidence-based principles of effective healthcare communication and shared learning methods; it was aligned with student learning outcomes contained in MSW and DPT curricula. Students engaged in 3 learning sessions over 2 days. Sessions involved interactive reflective learning, simulated role-modeling with peer assessment, and context-specific practice of communication skills. The perspective of patients/clients was included in each learning activity. Activities were evaluated through narrative feedback. Students valued opportunities to learn directly from each other and from healthcare consumers. Important insights and directions for future interprofessional learning experiences were gleaned from model implementation. The interprofessional shared learning model shows promise as an effective method for developing person-centered communication skills.

Managing parental groups: personal impact of a group leadership course for child healthcare nurses.

OpenAIRE

Lefevre, Åsa; Lundqvist, Pia; Drevenhorn, Eva; Hallström, Inger

2017-01-01

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: To investigate the experience and personal impact of a group leadership course for child healthcare nurses.BACKGROUND: During their child's first year, all parents in Sweden are invited to participate in parental groups within the child health service; however, only 49% choose to participate. Despite extensive experience, child healthcare nurses find managing parental groups challenging and express a need for training in group dynamics and group leadership.DESIGN: The stu...

Cybersecurity Challenges and Compliance Issues within the U.S. Healthcare Sector

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Derek Mohammed

2015-02-01

Full Text Available Increasingly there are security breaches in U.S. Healthcare organizations that result in billions of dollars of damage to the healthcare system and a high personal cost to individuals whose identifiable and private information is unprotected. The Privacy Act of 1974, Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA, and Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH are three prominent Acts by the federal government that regulate and protect the confidentiality of personal information in the Healthcare system against breaches. This is a case study examining three organizations in the Healthcare Sector using document analysis to ascertain the problems that resulted in information breaches and the consequences of such breaches. It indicates the failures that occur with the inadequate compliance to the above federal Acts and provides recommendations to control future breaches from occurring. The organizations examined are:  The Veterans Administration which lacked basic security controls, the Utah Department of Technology Service that failed to control their personally identifiable information, and private healthcare organizations which revealed shortcomings in HIPAA compliance after data breach disclosures or random audits. Each case results from a lack of proper protection on systems and equipment containing sensitive data. The study recommendations include the need for organizations to lead by example as well as the establishment of tighter regulations and enforcement measures relating to civil fines, and audits to review organizational compliance with federal laws.

The construction of a public key infrastructure for healthcare information networks in Japan.

Science.gov (United States)

Sakamoto, N

2001-01-01

The digital signature is a key technology in the forthcoming Internet society for electronic healthcare as well as for electronic commerce. Efficient exchanges of authorized information with a digital signature in healthcare information networks require a construction of a public key infrastructure (PKI). In order to introduce a PKI to healthcare information networks in Japan, we proposed a development of a user authentication system based on a PKI for user management, user authentication and privilege management of healthcare information systems. In this paper, we describe the design of the user authentication system and its implementation. The user authentication system provides a certification authority service and a privilege management service while it is comprised of a user authentication client and user authentication serves. It is designed on a basis of an X.509 PKI and is implemented with using OpenSSL and OpenLDAP. It was incorporated into the financial information management system for the national university hospitals and has been successfully working for about one year. The hospitals plan to use it as a user authentication method for their whole healthcare information systems. One implementation of the system is free to the national university hospitals with permission of the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. Another implementation is open to the other healthcare institutes by support of the Medical Information System Development Center (MEDIS-DC). We are moving forward to a nation-wide construction of a PKI for healthcare information networks based on it.

Healthcare professionals' perspectives on environmental sustainability.

Science.gov (United States)

Dunphy, Jillian L

2014-06-01

Human health is dependent upon environmental sustainability. Many have argued that environmental sustainability advocacy and environmentally responsible healthcare practice are imperative healthcare actions. What are the key obstacles to healthcare professionals supporting environmental sustainability? How may these obstacles be overcome? Data-driven thematic qualitative analysis of semi-structured interviews identified common and pertinent themes, and differences between specific healthcare disciplines. A total of 64 healthcare professionals and academics from all states and territories of Australia, and multiple healthcare disciplines were recruited. Institutional ethics approval was obtained for data collection. Participants gave informed consent. All data were de-identified to protect participant anonymity. Qualitative analysis indicated that Australian healthcare professionals often take more action in their personal than professional lives to protect the environment, particularly those with strong professional identities. The healthcare sector's focus on economic rationalism was a substantial barrier to environmentally responsible behaviour. Professionals also feared conflict and professional ostracism, and often did not feel qualified to take action. This led to healthcare professionals making inconsistent moral judgements, and feeling silenced and powerless. Constraints on non-clinical employees within and beyond the sector exacerbated these difficulties. The findings are consistent with the literature reporting that organisational constraints, and strong social identification, can inhibit actions that align with personal values. This disparity can cause moral distress and residue, leading to feelings of powerlessness, resulting in less ethical behaviour. The data highlight a disparity between personal and professional actions to address environmental sustainability. Given the constraints Australian healthcare professionals encounter, they are unlikely to

An Architecture for Health Information Exchange in Pervasive Healthcare Environment

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Cardoso de Moraes, J.L.; Lopes de Souza, Wanderley; Ferreira Pires, Luis; Francisco do Prado, Antonio; Hammoudi, S.; Cordeiro, J.; Maciaszek, L.A.; Filipe, J.

2014-01-01

This paper presents an architecture for health information exchange in pervasive healthcare environments meant to be generally applicable to different applications in the healthcare domain. Our architecture has been designed for message exchange by integrating ubiquitous computing technologies,

Beyond the numbers : A user-centered design approach for personal reflective healthcare technologies

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Jimenez Garcia, J.C.

2014-01-01

The current healthcare paradigm shifts towards considering the patients’ home as the primary self-care environment. Health care is changing from being solely delivered by professionals in hospitals, to considering daily-life experiences and patients’ personal contexts. In order to meet this

An ethnographic investigation of healthcare providers' approaches to facilitating person-centredness in group-based diabetes education

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Stenov, Vibeke; Hempler, Nana Folmann; Reventlow, Susanne

2017-01-01

AIM: To investigate approaches among healthcare providers (HCPs) that support or hinder person-centredness in group-based diabetes education programmes targeting persons with type 2 diabetes. METHODS: Ethnographic fieldwork in a municipal and a hospital setting in Denmark. The two programmes....... Applying person-centredness in practice requires continuous training and supervision, but HCPs often have minimum support for developing person-centred communication skills. Techniques based on motivational communication, psychosocial methods and facilitating group processes are effective person...

How users adopt healthcare information: An empirical study of an online Q&A community.

Science.gov (United States)

Jin, Jiahua; Yan, Xiangbin; Li, Yijun; Li, Yumei

2016-02-01

The emergence of social media technology has led to the creation of many online healthcare communities, where patients can easily share and look for healthcare-related information from peers who have experienced a similar problem. However, with increased user-generated content, there is a need to constantly analyse which content should be trusted as one sifts through enormous amounts of healthcare information. This study aims to explore patients' healthcare information seeking behavior in online communities. Based on dual-process theory and the knowledge adoption model, we proposed a healthcare information adoption model for online communities. This model highlights that information quality, emotional support, and source credibility are antecedent variables of adoption likelihood of healthcare information, and competition among repliers and involvement of recipients moderate the relationship between the antecedent variables and adoption likelihood. Empirical data were collected from the healthcare module of China's biggest Q&A community-Baidu Knows. Text mining techniques were adopted to calculate the information quality and emotional support contained in each reply text. A binary logistics regression model and hierarchical regression approach were employed to test the proposed conceptual model. Information quality, emotional support, and source credibility have significant and positive impact on healthcare information adoption likelihood, and among these factors, information quality has the biggest impact on a patient's adoption decision. In addition, competition among repliers and involvement of recipients were tested as moderating effects between these antecedent factors and the adoption likelihood. Results indicate competition among repliers positively moderates the relationship between source credibility and adoption likelihood, and recipients' involvement positively moderates the relationship between information quality, source credibility, and adoption

Relation of people-centered public health and person-centered healthcare management: a case study to reduce burn-out.

Science.gov (United States)

Stoyanov, Drozdstoj S; Cloninger, C Robert

2012-01-01

Healthcare management is one practical tool for mediation and implementation of public health into clinical healthcare outcomes and is taken in our case study as an exemplar arena to demonstrate the vital importance of the person-centered approach. Healthcare personnel are frequently at risk for the 'burn-out' syndrome. However, modern measures of burn-out recognize burn-out only at a late stage when it is fully developed. There are no available methods to assess the risk for vulnerability to burnout in healthcare systems. Our aim was therefore to design a complex person-centered model for detection of high risk for burn-out at an early stage, that has been termed 'flame-out'. We accept the observation that decreased personal performance is one crucial expression of burn-out. Low personal performance and negative emotions are strongly related to low self-directedness as measured by the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI). At the same time, burn-out is characterized by decreased interest and positive emotions from work. Decreased positive emotion is directly related to low self-transcendence as measured by the TCI. Burn-out is also frequently associated with feelings of social alienation or inadequacy of support, which is in turn related to low TCI Cooperativeness. However, high Persistence and Harm Avoidance are predisposing traits for burn-out in healthcare professionals who are often overly perfectionistic and compulsive, predisposing them to anxiety, depression, suicide and burn-out. Hence, people at risk for future burn-out are often highly conscientious over-achievers with intense mixtures of positive and negative emotions. The high demand for perfection comes from both intrinsic characteristics and from features of the social milieu in their psychological climate. Letting go of the unfulfillable desire to be perfect by increasing self-transcendence allows acceptance of the imperfection of the human condition, thereby preventing burn-out and other

A scalable healthcare information system based on a service-oriented architecture.

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Tzu-Hsiang; Sun, Yeali S; Lai, Feipei

2011-06-01

Many existing healthcare information systems are composed of a number of heterogeneous systems and face the important issue of system scalability. This paper first describes the comprehensive healthcare information systems used in National Taiwan University Hospital (NTUH) and then presents a service-oriented architecture (SOA)-based healthcare information system (HIS) based on the service standard HL7. The proposed architecture focuses on system scalability, in terms of both hardware and software. Moreover, we describe how scalability is implemented in rightsizing, service groups, databases, and hardware scalability. Although SOA-based systems sometimes display poor performance, through a performance evaluation of our HIS based on SOA, the average response time for outpatient, inpatient, and emergency HL7Central systems are 0.035, 0.04, and 0.036 s, respectively. The outpatient, inpatient, and emergency WebUI average response times are 0.79, 1.25, and 0.82 s. The scalability of the rightsizing project and our evaluation results show that the SOA HIS we propose provides evidence that SOA can provide system scalability and sustainability in a highly demanding healthcare information system.

Translating Personality Psychology to Help Personalize Preventive Medicine for Young-Adult Patients

Science.gov (United States)

Israel, Salomon; Moffitt, Terrie E.; Belsky, Daniel W.; Hancox, Robert J.; Poulton, Richie; Roberts, Brent; Thomson, W. Murray; Caspi, Avshalom

2014-01-01

The rising number of newly insured young adults brought on by healthcare reform will soon increase demands on primary-care physicians. Physicians will face more young-adult patients which presents an opportunity for more prevention-oriented care. In the current study, we evaluated whether brief observer reports of young adults’ personality traits could predict which individuals would be at greater risk for poor health as they entered midlife. Following the Dunedin Study cohort of 1,000 individuals, we show that very brief measures of young adults’ personalities predicted their midlife physical health across multiple domains (metabolic abnormalities, cardiorespiratory fitness, pulmonary function, periodontal disease, and systemic inflammation). Individuals scoring low on the traits of Conscientiousness and Openness-to-Experience went on to develop poorer health even after accounting for preexisting differences in education, socioeconomic status, smoking, obesity, self-reported health, medical conditions, and family medical history. Moreover, personality ratings from peer informants who knew participants well, and from a nurse and receptionist who had just met participants for the first time, predicted health decline from young adulthood to midlife despite striking differences in level of acquaintance. Personality effect sizes were on par with other well-established health-risk factors such as socioeconomic status, smoking, and self-reported health. We discuss the potential utility of personality measurement to function as an inexpensive and accessible tool for healthcare professionals to personalize preventive medicine. Adding personality information to existing healthcare electronic infrastructures could also advance personality theory by generating opportunities to examine how personality processes influence doctor-patient communication, health service use, and patient outcomes. PMID:24588093

Electronic information sources access and use for healthcare ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Background: Access to and use of electronic information sources for clinical decision is the key to the attainment of health related sustainable goals. Therefore, this study was to assess Electronic Information Sources (EIS) access and use for healthcare service among hospitals of Western Oromia, Ethiopia, 2013. Materials ...

Consumer Opinions of Health Information Exchange, e-Prescribing, and Personal Health Records.

Science.gov (United States)

Cochran, Gary L; Lander, Lina; Morien, Marsha; Lomelin, Daniel E; Brittin, Jeri; Reker, Celeste; Klepser, Donald G

2015-01-01

Consumer satisfaction is a crucial component of health information technology (HIT) utilization, as high satisfaction is expected to increase HIT utilization among providers and to allow consumers to become full participants in their own healthcare management. The primary objective of this pilot study was to identify consumer perspectives on health information technologies including health information exchange (HIE), e-prescribing (e-Rx), and personal health records (PHRs). Eight focus groups were conducted in seven towns and cities across Nebraska in 2013. Each group consisted of 10-12 participants. Discussions were organized topically in the following categories: HIE, e-Rx, and PHR. The qualitative analysis consisted of immersion and crystallization to develop a coding scheme that included both preconceived and emergent themes. Common themes across focus groups were identified and compiled for each discussion category. The study had 67 participants, of which 18 (27 percent) were male. Focus group findings revealed both perceived barriers and benefits to the adoption of HIT. Common HIT concerns expressed across focus groups included privacy and security of medical information, decreases in quality of care, inconsistent provider participation, and the potential cost of implementation. Positive expectations regarding HIT included better accuracy and completeness of information, and improved communication and coordination between healthcare providers. Improvements in patient care were expected as a result of easy physician access to consolidated information across providers as well as the speed of sharing and availability of information in an emergency. In addition, participants were optimistic about patient empowerment and convenient access to and control of personal health data. Consumer concerns focused on privacy and security of the health information, as well as the cost of implementing the technologies and the possibility of an unintended negative impact on the

Healthcare information technology and medical-surgical nurses: the emergence of a new care partnership.

Science.gov (United States)

Moore, An'Nita; Fisher, Kathleen

2012-03-01

Healthcare information technology in US hospitals and ambulatory care centers continues to expand, and nurses are expected to effectively and efficiently utilize this technology. Researchers suggest that clinical information systems have expanded the realm of nursing to integrate technology as an element as important in nursing practice as the patient or population being served. This study sought to explore how medical surgical nurses make use of healthcare information technology in their current clinical practice and to examine the influence of healthcare information technology on nurses' clinical decision making. A total of eight medical surgical nurses participated in the study, four novice and four experienced. A conventional content analysis was utilized that allowed for a thematic interpretation of participant data. Five themes emerged: (1) healthcare information technology as a care coordination partner, (2) healthcare information technology as a change agent in the care delivery environment, (3) healthcare information technology-unable to meet all the needs, of all the people, all the time, (4) curiosity about healthcare information technology-what other bells and whistles exist, and (5) Big Brother is watching. The results of this study indicate that a new care partnership has emerged as the provision of nursing care is no longer supplied by a single practitioner but rather by a paired team, consisting of nurses and technology, working collaboratively in an interdependent relationship to achieve established goals.

Transfer of information from personal health records: a survey of veterans using My HealtheVet.

Science.gov (United States)

Turvey, Carolyn L; Zulman, Donna M; Nazi, Kim M; Wakefield, Bonnie J; Woods, Susan S; Hogan, Timothy P; Weaver, Frances M; McInnes, Keith

2012-03-01

Personal health records provide patients with ownership of their health information and allow them to share information with multiple healthcare providers. However, the usefulness of these records relies on patients understanding and using their records appropriately. My HealtheVet is a Web-based patient portal containing a personal health record administered by the Veterans Health Administration. The goal of this study was to explore veterans' interest and use of My HealtheVet to transfer and share information as well as to identify opportunities to increase veteran use of the My HealtheVet functions. Two waves of data were collected in 2010 through an American Customer Satisfaction Index Web-based survey. A random sample of veterans using My HealtheVet was invited to participate in the survey conducted on the My HealtheVet portal through a Web-based pop-up browser window. Wave One results (n=25,898) found that 41% of veterans reported printing information, 21% reported saving information electronically, and only 4% ever sent information from My HealtheVet to another person. In Wave Two (n=18,471), 30% reported self-entering medication information, with 18% sharing this information with their Veterans Affairs (VA) provider and 9.6% sharing with their non-VA provider. Although veterans are transferring important medical information from their personal health records, increased education and awareness are needed to increase use. Personal health records have the potential to improve continuity of care. However, more research is needed on both the barriers to adoption as well as the actual impact on patient health outcomes and well-being.

College Students’ Information Needs and Information Seeking Behaviors regarding Personal Information

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yu-Wen Liu

2017-12-01

Full Text Available This study analyzed college students’ reactions toward the issues of personal information. Students’ needs and seeking behaviors for personal information were assessed. Relevant literature was reviewed for framing the research questions and designing the questionnaire items for survey. Survey subjects were students from an university at northern Taiwan. A set of questionnaire items were used to collect research data. Statistical analysis from 252 valid data reveals some items were highly rated: Students reflected highly for their need of knowledge under the security threat of personal information (M = 4.29. They reacted strongly on acquiring knowledge and resources through the Internet (M = 4.24. They preferred the use of resources clear and easy to be understood (M = 4.04. However, most students had low level faith toward either government or non-governmental organizations in securing their personal information (M < 3.0 for most items. More effort among education and government should be emphasized in the future to improve personal use and reduce uncertainty in the use of personal information.

How Can Information and Communication Technology Improve Healthcare Inequalities and Healthcare Inequity? The Concept of Context Driven Care.

Science.gov (United States)

Yee, Kwang Chien; Bettiol, Silvana; Nash, Rosie; Macintyrne, Kate; Wong, Ming Chao; Nøhr, Christian

2018-01-01

Advances in medicine have improved health and healthcare for many around the world. The challenge is achieving the best outcomes of health via healthcare delivery to every individual. Healthcare inequalities exist within a country and between countries. Health information technology (HIT) has provided a mean to deliver equal access to healthcare services regardless of social context and physical location. In order to achieve better health outcomes for every individual, socio-cultural factors, such as literacy and social context need to consider. This paper argues that HIT while improves healthcare inequalities by providing access, might worsen healthcare inequity. In order to improve healthcare inequity using HIT, this paper argues that we need to consider patients and context, and hence the concept of context driven care. To improve healthcare inequity, we need to conceptually consider the patient's view and methodologically consider design methods that achieve participatory outcomes.

E-health and healthcare enterprise information system leveraging service-oriented architecture.

Science.gov (United States)

Hsieh, Sung-Huai; Hsieh, Sheau-Ling; Cheng, Po-Hsun; Lai, Feipei

2012-04-01

To present the successful experiences of an integrated, collaborative, distributed, large-scale enterprise healthcare information system over a wired and wireless infrastructure in National Taiwan University Hospital (NTUH). In order to smoothly and sequentially transfer from the complex relations among the old (legacy) systems to the new-generation enterprise healthcare information system, we adopted the multitier framework based on service-oriented architecture to integrate the heterogeneous systems as well as to interoperate among many other components and multiple databases. We also present mechanisms of a logical layer reusability approach and data (message) exchange flow via Health Level 7 (HL7) middleware, DICOM standard, and the Integrating the Healthcare Enterprise workflow. The architecture and protocols of the NTUH enterprise healthcare information system, especially in the Inpatient Information System (IIS), are discussed in detail. The NTUH Inpatient Healthcare Information System is designed and deployed on service-oriented architecture middleware frameworks. The mechanisms of integration as well as interoperability among the components and the multiple databases apply the HL7 standards for data exchanges, which are embedded in XML formats, and Microsoft .NET Web services to integrate heterogeneous platforms. The preliminary performance of the current operation IIS is evaluated and analyzed to verify the efficiency and effectiveness of the designed architecture; it shows reliability and robustness in the highly demanding traffic environment of NTUH. The newly developed NTUH IIS provides an open and flexible environment not only to share medical information easily among other branch hospitals, but also to reduce the cost of maintenance. The HL7 message standard is widely adopted to cover all data exchanges in the system. All services are independent modules that enable the system to be deployed and configured to the highest degree of flexibility

Quality Registries in Sweden, Healthcare Improvements and Elderly Persons with Cognitive Impairments.

Science.gov (United States)

Mattsson, Titti

2016-12-01

Policy-makers, the medical industry and researchers are demonstrating a keen interest in the potential of large registries of patient data, both nationally and internationally. The registries offer promising ways to measure and develop operational quality within health and medical care services. As a result of certain favourable patient data regulations and government funding, the development of quality registries is advanced in Sweden. The combination of increasing demand for more cost-efficient healthcare that can accommodate the demographic development of a rapidly ageing population, and the emergence of eHealth with an increasing digitalisation of patient data, calls attention to quality registries as a possible way for healthcare improvements. However, even if the use of registries has many advantages, there are some drawbacks from a patient privacy point of view. This article aims to analyse this growing interdependence of quality registries for the healthcare sector. It discusses some lessons from the Swedish case, with particular focus on the collection of data from elderly persons with cognitive impairments.

Ensuring the security and privacy of information in mobile health-care communication systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ademola P. Abidoye

2011-09-01

Full Text Available The sensitivity of health-care information and its accessibility via the Internet and mobile technology systems is a cause for concern in these modern times. The privacy, integrity and confidentiality of a patient’s data are key factors to be considered in the transmission of medical information for use by authorised health-care personnel. Mobile communication has enabled medical consultancy, treatment, drug administration and the provision of laboratory results to take place outside the hospital. With the implementation of electronic patient records and the Internet and Intranets, medical information sharing amongst relevant health-care providers was made possible. But the vital issue in this method of information sharing is security: the patient’s privacy, as well as the confidentiality and integrity of the health-care information system, should not be compromised. We examine various ways of ensuring the security and privacy of a patient’s electronic medical information in order to ensure the integrity and confidentiality of the information.

Personal Information as Communicative Acts

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mai, Jens-Erik

2016-01-01

The paper extends previous accounts of informational privacy as a contextual notion. Where previous accounts have focused on interpretations of the privacy context itself as being contextual and open for negotiation and interpretation, this paper extends those analyses and shows that personal...... information itself is in fact best understood as contextual and situational—and as such open for interpretation. The paper reviews the notion of information as it has been applied in informational privacy and philosophy of information, and suggests that personal information ought to be regarded...... as communicative acts. The paper suggests a reconceptualization of informational privacy from having its focus on controlling, limiting, and restricting access to material carriers of information to a focus on a regulation of the use, analysis, and interpretation of personal information....

The value of information for decision-making in the healthcare environment.

Science.gov (United States)

Shabtai, Itamar; Leshno, Moshe; Blondheim, Orna; Kornbluth, Jonathan

2007-01-01

With their ever-growing importance and usability, the healthcare sector has been investing heavily in medical information systems in recent years, as part of the effort to improve medical decision-making and increase its efficiency through improved medical processes, reduced costs, integration of patients' data, etc. In light of these developments, this research aims to evaluate the contribution of information technology (IT) to improving the medical decision-making processes at the point of care of internal medicine and surgical departments and to evaluate the degree to which IT investments are worthwhile. This has been done by assessing the value of information to decision-makers (physicians) at the point of care by investigating whether the information systems improved the medical outcomes. The research included three steps (after a pilot study)--the assessment of the subjective value of information, the assessment of the realistic value of information, and the assessment of the normative value of information, the results of each step being used as the starting assumptions for the following steps. Following a discussion and integration of the results from the various steps, the results of the three assessment stages were summarized in a cost-effectiveness analysis and an overall return on investment (ROI) analysis. In addition, we tried to suggest IT strategies for decision-makers in the healthcare sector on the advisability of implementing such systems as well as the implications for managing them. This research is uniquely pioneering in the manner in which it combines an assessment of the three kinds of measures of value of information in the healthcare environment. Our aim in performing it was to contribute to researchers (by providing additional insight into the fields of decision theory, value of information and medical informatics, amongst others), practitioners (by promoting efficiency in the design of new medical IS and improving existing IS), physicians

Electronic Personal Health Record Use Among Nurses in the Nursing Informatics Community.

Science.gov (United States)

Gartrell, Kyungsook; Trinkoff, Alison M; Storr, Carla L; Wilson, Marisa L

2015-07-01

An electronic personal health record is a patient-centric tool that enables patients to securely access, manage, and share their health information with healthcare providers. It is presumed the nursing informatics community would be early adopters of electronic personal health record, yet no studies have been identified that examine the personal adoption of electronic personal health record's for their own healthcare. For this study, we sampled nurse members of the American Medical Informatics Association and the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society with 183 responding. Multiple logistic regression analysis was used to identify those factors associated with electronic personal health record use. Overall, 72% were electronic personal health record users. Users tended to be older (aged >50 years), be more highly educated (72% master's or doctoral degrees), and hold positions as clinical informatics specialists or chief nursing informatics officers. Those whose healthcare providers used electronic health records were significantly more likely to use electronic personal health records (odds ratio, 5.99; 95% confidence interval, 1.40-25.61). Electronic personal health record users were significantly less concerned about privacy of health information online than nonusers (odds ratio, 0.32; 95% confidence interval, 0.14-0.70) adjusted for ethnicity, race, and practice region. Informatics nurses, with their patient-centered view of technology, are in prime position to influence development of electronic personal health records. Our findings can inform policy efforts to encourage informatics and other professional nursing groups to become leaders and users of electronic personal health record; such use could help them endorse and engage patients to use electronic personal health records. Having champions with expertise in and enthusiasm for the new technology can promote the adoptionof electronic personal health records among healthcare providers as well as

Constructing RBAC Based Security Model in u-Healthcare Service Platform

OpenAIRE

Shin, Moon Sun; Jeon, Heung Seok; Ju, Yong Wan; Lee, Bum Ju; Jeong, Seon-Phil

2015-01-01

In today’s era of aging society, people want to handle personal health care by themselves in everyday life. In particular, the evolution of medical and IT convergence technology and mobile smart devices has made it possible for people to gather information on their health status anytime and anywhere easily using biometric information acquisition devices. Healthcare information systems can contribute to the improvement of the nation’s healthcare quality and the reduction of related cost. Howev...

Implementing standards for the interoperability among healthcare providers in the public regionalized Healthcare Information System of the Lombardy Region.

Science.gov (United States)

Barbarito, Fulvio; Pinciroli, Francesco; Mason, John; Marceglia, Sara; Mazzola, Luca; Bonacina, Stefano

2012-08-01

Information technologies (ITs) have now entered the everyday workflow in a variety of healthcare providers with a certain degree of independence. This independence may be the cause of difficulty in interoperability between information systems and it can be overcome through the implementation and adoption of standards. Here we present the case of the Lombardy Region, in Italy, that has been able, in the last 10 years, to set up the Regional Social and Healthcare Information System, connecting all the healthcare providers within the region, and providing full access to clinical and health-related documents independently from the healthcare organization that generated the document itself. This goal, in a region with almost 10 millions citizens, was achieved through a twofold approach: first, the political and operative push towards the adoption of the Health Level 7 (HL7) standard within single hospitals and, second, providing a technological infrastructure for data sharing based on interoperability specifications recognized at the regional level for messages transmitted from healthcare providers to the central domain. The adoption of such regional interoperability specifications enabled the communication among heterogeneous systems placed in different hospitals in Lombardy. Integrating the Healthcare Enterprise (IHE) integration profiles which refer to HL7 standards are adopted within hospitals for message exchange and for the definition of integration scenarios. The IHE patient administration management (PAM) profile with its different workflows is adopted for patient management, whereas the Scheduled Workflow (SWF), the Laboratory Testing Workflow (LTW), and the Ambulatory Testing Workflow (ATW) are adopted for order management. At present, the system manages 4,700,000 pharmacological e-prescriptions, and 1,700,000 e-prescriptions for laboratory exams per month. It produces, monthly, 490,000 laboratory medical reports, 180,000 radiology medical reports, 180

Infrastructuring Multicultural Healthcare Information Systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Dreessen, Katrien; Huybrechts, Liesbeth; Grönvall, Erik; Hendriks, Niels

2017-01-01

This paper stresses the need for more research in the field of Participatory Design (PD) and in particular into how to design Health Information Technology (HIT) together with care providers and -receivers in multicultural settings. We contribute to this research by describing a case study, the 'Health-Cultures' project, in which we designed HIT for the context of home care of older people with a migration background. The Health-Cultures project is located in the city of Genk, Belgium, which is known for its multicultural population, formed by three historical migration waves of people coming to work in the nowadays closed coal mines. Via a PD approach, we studied existing means of dialogue and designed HIT that both care receivers and care providers in Genk can use in their daily exchanges between cultures in home care contexts. In discussing relevant literature as well as the results of this study, we point to the need and the ways of taking spatio-historical aspects of a specific healthcare situation into account in the PD of HIT to support multicultural perspectives on healthcare.

Information Expensiveness Perceived by Vietnamese Patients with Respect to Healthcare Provider's Choice.

Science.gov (United States)

Quan-Hoang, Vuong

2016-10-01

Patients have to acquire information to support their decision on choosing a suitable healthcare provider. But in developing countries like Vietnam, accessibility issues remain an obstacle, thus adversely affect both quality and costliness of healthcare information. Vietnamese use both sources from health professionals and friends/relatives, especially when quality of the Internet-based cheaper sources appear to be still questionable. The search of information from both professionals and friends/relatives incurs some cost, which can be viewed as low or high depending low or high accessibility to the sources. These views potentially affect their choices. To investigate the effects that medical/health services information on perceived expensiveness of patients' labor costs. Two related objectives are a) establishing empirical relations between accessibility to sources and expensiveness; and, b) probabilistic trends of probabilities for perceived expensiveness. There is evidence for established relations among the variables "Convexp" and "Convrel" (all p's perceived expensiveness. a) Probabilistic trends show Vietnamese patients have propensity to value healthcare information highly and do not see it as "expensive"; b) The majority of Vietnamese households still take non-professional advices at their own risks; c) There is more for the public healthcare information system to do to reduce costliness and risk of information. The Internet-based health service users communities cannot replace this system.

Self-informant Agreement for Personality and Evaluative Person Descriptors: Comparing Methods for Creating Informant Measures.

Science.gov (United States)

Simms, Leonard J; Zelazny, Kerry; Yam, Wern How; Gros, Daniel F

2010-05-01

Little attention typically is paid to the way self-report measures are translated for use in self-informant agreement studies. We studied two possible methods for creating informant measures: (a) the traditional method in which self-report items were translated from the first- to the third-person and (b) an alternative meta-perceptual method in which informants were directed to rate their perception of the targets' self-perception. We hypothesized that the latter method would yield stronger self-informant agreement for evaluative personality dimensions measured by indirect item markers. We studied these methods in a sample of 303 undergraduate friendship dyads. Results revealed mean-level differences between methods, similar self-informant agreement across methods, stronger agreement for Big Five dimensions than for evaluative dimensions, and incremental validity for meta-perceptual informant rating methods. Limited power reduced the interpretability of several sparse acquaintanceship effects. We conclude that traditional informant methods are appropriate for most personality traits, but meta-perceptual methods may be more appropriate when personality questionnaire items reflect indirect indicators of the trait being measured, which is particularly likely for evaluative traits.

Tuberculosis Infection Control in Health-Care Facilities: Environmental Control and Personal Protection.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Ji Yeon

2016-10-01

Transmission of tuberculosis (TB) is a recognized risk to patients and healthcare workers in healthcare settings. The literature review suggests that implementation of combination control measures reduces the risk of TB transmission. Guidelines suggest a three-level hierarchy of controls including administrative, environmental, and respiratory protection. Among environmental controls, installation of ventilation systems is a priority because ventilation reduces the number of infectious particles in the air. Natural ventilation is cost-effective but depends on climatic conditions. Supplemented intervention such as air-cleaning methods including high efficiency particulate air filtration and ultraviolet germicidal irradiation should be considered in areas where adequate ventilation is difficult to achieve. Personal protective equipment including particulate respirators provides additional benefit when administrative and environmental controls cannot assure protection.

An Inter-Personal Information Sharing Model Based on Personalized Recommendations

Science.gov (United States)

Kamei, Koji; Funakoshi, Kaname; Akahani, Jun-Ichi; Satoh, Tetsuji

In this paper, we propose an inter-personal information sharing model among individuals based on personalized recommendations. In the proposed model, we define an information resource as shared between people when both of them consider it important --- not merely when they both possess it. In other words, the model defines the importance of information resources based on personalized recommendations from identifiable acquaintances. The proposed method is based on a collaborative filtering system that focuses on evaluations from identifiable acquaintances. It utilizes both user evaluations for documents and their contents. In other words, each user profile is represented as a matrix of credibility to the other users' evaluations on each domain of interests. We extended the content-based collaborative filtering method to distinguish other users to whom the documents should be recommended. We also applied a concept-based vector space model to represent the domain of interests instead of the previous method which represented them by a term-based vector space model. We introduce a personalized concept-base compiled from each user's information repository to improve the information retrieval in the user's environment. Furthermore, the concept-spaces change from user to user since they reflect the personalities of the users. Because of different concept-spaces, the similarity between a document and a user's interest varies for each user. As a result, a user receives recommendations from other users who have different view points, achieving inter-personal information sharing based on personalized recommendations. This paper also describes an experimental simulation of our information sharing model. In our laboratory, five participants accumulated a personal repository of e-mails and web pages from which they built their own concept-base. Then we estimated the user profiles according to personalized concept-bases and sets of documents which others evaluated. We simulated

ICT use for information management in healthcare system for chronic disease patient

Science.gov (United States)

Wawrzyniak, Zbigniew M.; Lisiecka-Biełanowicz, Mira

2013-10-01

Modern healthcare systems are designed to fulfill needs of the patient, his system environment and other determinants of the treatment with proper support of technical aids. A whole system of care is compatible to the technical solutions and organizational framework based on legal rules. The purpose of this study is to present how can we use Information and Communication Technology (ICT) systemic tools in a new model of patient-oriented care, improving the effectiveness of healthcare for patients with chronic diseases. The study material is the long-term process of healthcare for patients with chronic illness. Basing on the knowledge of the whole circumstances of patient's ecosystem and his needs allow us to build a new ICT model of long term care. The method used is construction, modeling and constant improvement the efficient ICT layer for the patient-centered healthcare model. We present a new constructive approach to systemic process how to use ICT for information management in healthcare system for chronic disease patient. The use of ICT tools in the model for chronic disease can improve all aspects of data management and communication, and the effectiveness of long-term complex healthcare. In conclusion: ICT based model of healthcare can be constructed basing on the interactions of ecosystem's functional parts through information feedback and the provision of services and models as well as the knowledge of the patient itself. Systematic approach to the model of long term healthcare assisted functionally by ICT tools and data management methods will increase the effectiveness of patient care and organizational efficiency.

Protocole of a controlled before-after evaluation of a national health information technology-based program to improve healthcare coordination and access to information.

Science.gov (United States)

Saillour-Glénisson, Florence; Duhamel, Sylvie; Fourneyron, Emmanuelle; Huiart, Laetitia; Joseph, Jean Philippe; Langlois, Emmanuel; Pincemail, Stephane; Ramel, Viviane; Renaud, Thomas; Roberts, Tamara; Sibé, Matthieu; Thiessard, Frantz; Wittwer, Jerome; Salmi, Louis Rachid

2017-04-21

Improvement of coordination of all health and social care actors in the patient pathways is an important issue in many countries. Health Information (HI) technology has been considered as a potentially effective answer to this issue. The French Health Ministry first funded the development of five TSN ("Territoire de Soins Numérique"/Digital health territories) projects, aiming at improving healthcare coordination and access to information for healthcare providers, patients and the population, and at improving healthcare professionals work organization. The French Health Ministry then launched a call for grant to fund one research project consisting in evaluating the TSN projects implementation and impact and in developing a model for HI technology evaluation. EvaTSN is mainly based on a controlled before-after study design. Data collection covers three periods: before TSN program implementation, during early TSN program implementation and at late TSN program implementation, in the five TSN projects' territories and in five comparison territories. Three populations will be considered: "TSN-targeted people" (healthcare system users and people having characteristics targeted by the TSN projects), "TSN patient users" (people included in TSN experimentations or using particular services) and "TSN professional users" (healthcare professionals involved in TSN projects). Several samples will be made in each population depending on the objective, axis and stage of the study. Four types of data sources are considered: 1) extractions from the French National Heath Insurance Database (SNIIRAM) and the French Autonomy Personalized Allowance database, 2) Ad hoc surveys collecting information on knowledge of TSN projects, TSN program use, ease of use, satisfaction and understanding, TSN pathway experience and appropriateness of hospital admissions, 3) qualitative analyses using semi-directive interviews and focus groups and document analyses and 4) extractions of TSN

Utilizing Health Information Technology to Support Universal Healthcare Delivery: Experience of a National Healthcare System.

Science.gov (United States)

Syed-Abdul, Shabbir; Hsu, Min-Huei; Iqbal, Usman; Scholl, Jeremiah; Huang, Chih-Wei; Nguyen, Phung Anh; Lee, Peisan; García-Romero, Maria Teresa; Li, Yu-Chuan Jack; Jian, Wen-Shan

2015-09-01

Recent discussions have focused on using health information technology (HIT) to support goals related to universal healthcare delivery. These discussions have generally not reflected on the experience of countries with a large amount of experience using HIT to support universal healthcare on a national level. HIT was compared globally by using data from the Ministry of the Interior, Republic of China (Taiwan). Taiwan has been providing universal healthcare since 1995 and began to strategically implement HIT on a national level at that time. Today the national-level HIT system is more extensive in Taiwan than in many other countries and is used to aid administration, clinical care, and public health. The experience of Taiwan thus can provide an illustration of how HIT can be used to support universal healthcare delivery. In this article we present an overview of some key historical developments and successes in the adoption of HIT in Taiwan over a 17-year period, as well as some more recent developments. We use this experience to offer some strategic perspectives on how it can aid in the adoption of large-scale HIT systems and on how HIT can be used to support universal healthcare delivery.

Information resources assessment of a healthcare integrated delivery system.

Science.gov (United States)

Gadd, C. S.; Friedman, C. P.; Douglas, G.; Miller, D. J.

1999-01-01

While clinical healthcare systems may have lagged behind computer applications in other fields in the shift from mainframes to client-server architectures, the rapid deployment of newer applications is closing that gap. Organizations considering the transition to client-server must identify and position themselves to provide the resources necessary to implement and support the infrastructure requirements of client-server architectures and to manage the accelerated complexity at the desktop, including hardware and software deployment, training, and maintenance needs. This paper describes an information resources assessment of the recently aligned Pennsylvania regional Veterans Administration Stars and Stripes Health Network (VISN4), in anticipation of the shift from a predominantly mainframe to a client-server information systems architecture in its well-established VistA clinical information system. The multimethod assessment study is described here to demonstrate this approach and its value to regional healthcare networks undergoing organizational integration and/or significant information technology transformations. PMID:10566414

Information resources assessment of a healthcare integrated delivery system.

Science.gov (United States)

Gadd, C S; Friedman, C P; Douglas, G; Miller, D J

1999-01-01

While clinical healthcare systems may have lagged behind computer applications in other fields in the shift from mainframes to client-server architectures, the rapid deployment of newer applications is closing that gap. Organizations considering the transition to client-server must identify and position themselves to provide the resources necessary to implement and support the infrastructure requirements of client-server architectures and to manage the accelerated complexity at the desktop, including hardware and software deployment, training, and maintenance needs. This paper describes an information resources assessment of the recently aligned Pennsylvania regional Veterans Administration Stars and Stripes Health Network (VISN4), in anticipation of the shift from a predominantly mainframe to a client-server information systems architecture in its well-established VistA clinical information system. The multimethod assessment study is described here to demonstrate this approach and its value to regional healthcare networks undergoing organizational integration and/or significant information technology transformations.

Asan medical information system for healthcare quality improvement.

Science.gov (United States)

Ryu, Hyeon Jeong; Kim, Woo Sung; Lee, Jae Ho; Min, Sung Woo; Kim, Sun Ja; Lee, Yong Su; Lee, Young Ha; Nam, Sang Woo; Eo, Gi Seung; Seo, Sook Gyoung; Nam, Mi Hyun

2010-09-01

This purpose of this paper is to introduce the status of the Asan Medical Center (AMC) medical information system with respect to healthcare quality improvement. Asan Medical Information System (AMIS) is projected to become a completely electronic and digital information hospital. AMIS has played a role in improving the health care quality based on the following measures: safety, effectiveness, patient-centeredness, timeliness, efficiency, privacy, and security. AMIS CONSISTED OF SEVERAL DISTINCTIVE SYSTEMS: order communication system, electronic medical record, picture archiving communication system, clinical research information system, data warehouse, enterprise resource planning, IT service management system, and disaster recovery system. The most distinctive features of AMIS were the high alert-medication recognition & management system, the integrated and severity stratified alert system, the integrated patient monitoring system, the perioperative diabetic care monitoring and support system, and the clinical indicator management system. AMIS provides IT services for AMC, 7 affiliated hospitals and over 5,000 partners clinics, and was developed to improve healthcare services. The current challenge of AMIS is standard and interoperability. A global health IT strategy is needed to get through the current challenges and to provide new services as needed.

Personalized biomedical devices & systems for healthcare applications

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, I.-Ming; Phee, Soo Jay; Luo, Zhiqiang; Lim, Chee Kian

2011-03-01

With the advancement in micro- and nanotechnology, electromechanical components and systems are getting smaller and smaller and gradually can be applied to the human as portable, mobile and even wearable devices. Healthcare industry have started to benefit from this technology trend by providing more and more miniature biomedical devices for personalized medical treatments in order to obtain better and more accurate outcome. This article introduces some recent development in non-intrusive and intrusive biomedical devices resulted from the advancement of niche miniature sensors and actuators, namely, wearable biomedical sensors, wearable haptic devices, and ingestible medical capsules. The development of these devices requires carful integration of knowledge and people from many different disciplines like medicine, electronics, mechanics, and design. Furthermore, designing affordable devices and systems to benefit all mankind is a great challenge ahead. The multi-disciplinary nature of the R&D effort in this area provides a new perspective for the future mechanical engineers.

Scalable Architecture for Personalized Healthcare Service Recommendation using Big Data Lake

OpenAIRE

Rangarajan, Sarathkumar; Liu, Huai; Wang, Hua; Wang, Chuan-Long

2018-01-01

The personalized health care service utilizes the relational patient data and big data analytics to tailor the medication recommendations. However, most of the health care data are in unstructured form and it consumes a lot of time and effort to pull them into relational form. This study proposes a novel data lake architecture to reduce the data ingestion time and improve the precision of healthcare analytics. It also removes the data silos and enhances the analytics by allowing the connectiv...

Personal dosimetry and information platforms

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sanchez Hidalgo, M.; Galan Montenegro, P.; Bodineau Gil, C.; Hernandez Rodriguez, R.; Jimenez Nartin, A.; Cano Sanchez, J. J.

2011-01-01

One question often raised by the hospital personnel dosimetry is the high incidence in the no monthly turnover of dosimeters, which is currently a high number of administrative dose assignments. The high number of workers with personal dosimetry and in many cases, the dispersion of workplaces makes it impossible to personalized management. To make a more direct and personal, and transmit information quickly and with guaranteed reception, has developed and implemented a system of personalized dosimetric information through messaging Short Message Service (SMS) and access to the history of dosimetric dosimetric and management through web space Service Hospital Radio physics.

45 CFR 61.14 - Confidentiality of Healthcare Integrity and Protection Data Bank information.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 45 Public Welfare 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Confidentiality of Healthcare Integrity and Protection Data Bank information. 61.14 Section 61.14 Public Welfare DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES GENERAL ADMINISTRATION HEALTHCARE INTEGRITY AND PROTECTION DATA BANK FOR FINAL ADVERSE INFORMATION ON...

A Community-Based IoT Personalized Wireless Healthcare Solution Trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Catherwood, Philip A; Steele, David; Little, Mike; Mccomb, Stephen; Mclaughlin, James

2018-01-01

This paper presents an advanced Internet of Things point-of-care bio-fluid analyzer; a LoRa/Bluetooth-enabled electronic reader for biomedical strip-based diagnostics system for personalized monitoring. We undertake test simulations (technology trial without patient subjects) to demonstrate potential of long-range analysis, using a disposable test 'key' and companion Android app to form a diagnostic platform suitable for remote point-of-care screening for urinary tract infection (UTI). The 868 MHz LoRaWAN-enabled personalized monitor demonstrated sound potential with UTI test results being correctly diagnosed and transmitted to a remote secure cloud server in every case. Tests ranged over distances of 1.1-6.0 Km with radio path losses from 119-141 dB. All tests conducted were correctly and robustly received at the base station and relayed to the secure server for inspection. The UTI test strips were visually inspected for correct diagnosis based on color change and verified as 100% accurate. Results from testing across a number of regions indicate that such an Internet of Things medical solution is a robust and simple way to deliver next generation community-based smart diagnostics and disease management to best benefit patients and clinical staff alike. This significant step can be applied to any type of home or region, particularly those lacking suitable mobile signals, broadband connections, or even landlines. It brings subscription-free long-range bio-telemetry to healthcare providers and offers savings on regular clinician home visits or frequent clinic visits by the chronically ill. This paper highlights practical hurdles in establishing an Internet of Medical Things network, assisting informed deployment of similar future systems.

The Personal Information Security Assistant

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kegel, Roeland Hendrik,Pieter

The human element is often found to be the weakest link in the information security chain. The Personal Information Security Assistant project aims to address this by improving the privacy and security awareness of end-users and by aligning the user's personal IT environment to the user's security

Mobile Device Security: Perspectives of Future Healthcare Workers.

Science.gov (United States)

Hewitt, Barbara; Dolezel, Diane; McLeod, Alexander

2017-01-01

Healthcare data breaches on mobile devices continue to increase, yet the healthcare industry has not adopted mobile device security standards. This increase is disturbing because individuals are often accessing patients' protected health information on personal mobile devices, which could lead to a data breach. This deficiency led the researchers to explore the perceptions of future healthcare workers regarding mobile device security. To determine healthcare students' perspectives on mobile device security, the investigators designed and distributed a survey based on the Technology Threat Avoidance Theory. Three hundred thirty-five students participated in the survey. The data were analyzed to determine participants' perceptions about security threats, effectiveness and costs of safeguards, self-efficacy, susceptibility, severity, and their motivation and actions to secure their mobile devices. Awareness of interventions to protect mobile devices was also examined. Results indicate that while future healthcare professionals perceive the severity of threats to their mobile data, they do not feel personally susceptible. Additionally, participants were knowledgeable about security safeguards, but their knowledge of costs and problems related to the adoption of these measures was mixed. These findings indicate that increasing security awareness of healthcare professionals should be a priority.

Managing parental groups: personal impact of a group leadership course for child healthcare nurses.

Science.gov (United States)

Lefèvre, Åsa; Lundqvist, Pia; Drevenhorn, Eva; Hallström, Inger

2017-02-01

To investigate the experience and personal impact of a group leadership course for child healthcare nurses. During their child's first year, all parents in Sweden are invited to participate in parental groups within the child health service; however, only 49% choose to participate. Despite extensive experience, child healthcare nurses find managing parental groups challenging and express a need for training in group dynamics and group leadership. The study was designed as a controlled study with a pretest/post-test design where the participants form their own control group. A group leadership course was given to 56 child healthcare nurses and evaluated in a pre- and postintervention questionnaire, a course evaluation and an interview with the course leaders. The child healthcare nurses felt their group leadership skills were strengthened and the majority (96%) felt that the course had changed their way of leading parental groups. They felt that the group leader role had been clarified and that they had obtained several new tools to use in their groups. Clarifying the role of group leader and adding knowledge about group leadership and dynamics seems to have increased the self-confidence for child healthcare nurses in group leadership. Improved confidence in group management might motivate the child healthcare nurses to further develop parental groups to attract the parents who currently choose not to participate. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Handbook of medical and healthcare technologies

CERN Document Server

Furht, Borko

2013-01-01

This book equips readers to understand a complex range of healthcare products that are used to diagnose, monitor, and treat diseases or medical conditions affecting humans. The first part of the book presents medical technologies such as medical information retrieval, tissue engineering techniques, 3D medical imaging, nanotechnology innovations in medicine, medical wireless sensor networks, and knowledge mining techniques in medicine. The second half of the book focuses on healthcare technologies including prediction hospital readmission risk, modeling e-health framework, personal Web in healt

Health Information Technology in Healthcare Quality and Patient Safety: Literature Review.

Science.gov (United States)

Feldman, Sue S; Buchalter, Scott; Hayes, Leslie W

2018-06-04

The area of healthcare quality and patient safety is starting to use health information technology to prevent reportable events, identify them before they become issues, and act on events that are thought to be unavoidable. As healthcare organizations begin to explore the use of health information technology in this realm, it is often unclear where fiscal and human efforts should be focused. The purpose of this study was to provide a foundation for understanding where to focus health information technology fiscal and human resources as well as expectations for the use of health information technology in healthcare quality and patient safety. A literature review was conducted to identify peer-reviewed publications reporting on the actual use of health information technology in healthcare quality and patient safety. Inductive thematic analysis with open coding was used to categorize a total of 41 studies. Three pre-set categories were used: prevention, identification, and action. Three additional categories were formed through coding: challenges, outcomes, and location. This study identifies five main categories across seven study settings. A majority of the studies used health IT for identification and prevention of healthcare quality and patient safety issues. In this realm, alerts, clinical decision support, and customized health IT solutions were most often implemented. Implementation, interface design, and culture were most often noted as challenges. This study provides valuable information as organizations determine where they stand to get the most "bang for their buck" relative to health IT for quality and patient safety. Knowing what implementations are being effectivity used by other organizations helps with fiscal and human resource planning as well as managing expectations relative to cost, scope, and outcomes. The findings from this scan of the literature suggest that having organizational champion leaders that can shepherd implementation, impact culture

Informing cancer patient based on his type of personality: the suspicious (paranoid) patient.

Science.gov (United States)

Kallergis, G

2013-01-01

Imparting bad news had always been an unpleasant task for the physician, as shown from ancient years to our days. In the healthcare sector and as far as the cancer patient is concerned, the imparting of bad news is performed by the patient's doctor within a therapeutic relationship of course. The fundamental question is how a therapist could tailor the information to any patient and if "Is it possible to determine who should be told what, when and how ?". The aim of this paper was to describe the suspicious character or type of personality thoroughly so that any physician can make a diagnosis and tailor the information strategy to the patient's needs. As method of research was used the qualitative method through groups with doctors and nurses, while research within groups lasted for 5 years. The degree of informing of the suspicious personality in the range "minimal - small - medium - large - very large" is : the degree of denial varies between large and very large. The degree of informing varies between medium and small and sometimes minimal. Informing the Family: The hardest family to deal with. Pay attention to litigious mania. Avoid confrontation or be drawn into agreeing with the family views.

Information Security in Distributed Healthcare : Exploring the Needs for Achieving Patient Safety and Patient Privacy

OpenAIRE

Åhlfeldt, Rose-Mharie

2008-01-01

In healthcare, patient information is a critical factor. The right information at the right time is a necessity in order to provide the best possible care for a patient. Patient information must also be protected from unauthorized access in order to protect patient privacy. It is furthermore common for patients to visit more than one healthcare provider, which implies a need for cross border healthcare and continuity in the patient process. This thesis is focused on information security in he...

[Information, knowledge and healthcare practice: professionals participation as the key element of the gear].

Science.gov (United States)

Adam, Paula; Permanyer-Miralda, Gaietà; Solà-Morales, Oriol; Canela-Soler, Jaume

2010-02-01

This article analyzes the role of ICT within the complicated gear between information, knowledge and healthcare practices, which particular focus on two specific cases: the digitalization process of the healthcare system and the application of knowledge into the healthcare practices. In both cases, international and local experiences suggest, and sometimes demonstrate the importance of the participation, capacity-building and empowerment of healthcare practitioners for the generation, transfer and use of information and knowledge empowered by the digital tools which should bring into the system better performance, more efficacy, efficiency, equity, equality, security, quality. 2010 Elsevier España S.L. All rights reserved.

WISH: a Wireless Mobile Multimedia Information System in Healthcare using RFID.

Science.gov (United States)

Yu, Weider D; Ray, Pradeep; Motoc, Tiberiu

2008-05-01

It is important to improve the efficiency of healthcare-related operations and the associated costs. Healthcare organizations are constantly under increased pressure to streamline operations and provide enhanced services to their patients. Wireless mobile computing technology has the potential to provide the desired benefits and would be a critical part of today's healthcare information system. In this paper, a system is presented to better facilitate the functions of physicians and medical staff in healthcare by using modern wireless mobile technology, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tools, and multimedia streaming. The paper includes a case study of the development of such a system in the context of healthcare in the United States. The results of the study show how wireless mobile multimedia systems can be developed for the improvement of the quality and efficiency in healthcare for other nations as well. Our testing data show a time reduction of more than 50% in the daily activities of hospital staff.

[Awareness survey of Healthcare Number System pros and cons according to medical doctors in Japan].

Science.gov (United States)

Takahashi, Yoshimitsu; Uryuhara, Yoko; Inoue, Machiko; Okamoto, Shigeru; Kashihara, Hidenori; Kito, Kumiko; Shinohara, Keiko; Mandai, Marie; Morioka, Miho; Tanaka, Shiro; Kawakami, Koji; Nakayama, Takeo

2015-01-01

After bills to launch the Social Security and Tax Number System were enacted in 2013, health and political officials have considered the Healthcare Number System (the System). However, little is known about doctors' awareness and concerns about the System. This study aimed to measure how many doctors disagree with the System, examine the doctors' characteristics, and analyze the benefits and harms of the System that they identified. A cross-sectional survey was conducted of doctors via the Internet. The participants were selected from a convenience sample of a panel of doctors based on stratified sampling including four groups: working at a hospital and content analysis. There were 562 respondents (68%). By group, 16/143 (11%), 25/138 (18%), 31/132 (23%), and 43/149 (29%) doctors, respectively, thought that the System was unnecessary. The variables that correlated with the main outcome were age (per 5 years; odds ratio [95% confidence interval], 1.14 [1.01-1.29]) and type of medical facility (working at a clinic; 1.99 [1.30-3.08]). The doctors identified that unifying information could decrease administrative duties, facilitate inter-facility collaboration, and prevent inappropriate medical consultations. This could result in decreased healthcare costs and personalized healthcare. However, the doctors also identified that integrating information and dealing with big data could increase information leakage and information management, cause over-monitoring of doctors, and enable the inappropriate use of integrated information. This could result in deteriorating healthcare. Since some information should not be integrated, the System raises ethical considerations about privacy. Among the doctors surveyed here, 10-30% thought the System was unnecessary. These respondents tended to be older and work at a clinic. The System could decrease the cost of healthcare and enable personalized healthcare but could also increase information leakage and information management, cause

Fuzzy Privacy Decision for Context-Aware Access Personal Information

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

ZHANG Qingsheng; QI Yong; ZHAO Jizhong; HOU Di; NIU Yujie

2007-01-01

A context-aware privacy protection framework was designed for context-aware services and privacy control methods about access personal information in pervasive environment. In the process of user's privacy decision, it can produce fuzzy privacy decision as the change of personal information sensitivity and personal information receiver trust. The uncertain privacy decision model was proposed about personal information disclosure based on the change of personal information receiver trust and personal information sensitivity. A fuzzy privacy decision information system was designed according to this model. Personal privacy control policies can be extracted from this information system by using rough set theory. It also solves the problem about learning privacy control policies of personal information disclosure.

Healthcare.gov shares personal data with third parties

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Robbins RA

2015-01-01

Full Text Available No abstract available. Article truncated after 150 words. According to the Associated Press, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid's (CMS website, HealthCare.gov, has been sending consumers’ personal data to private companies that specialize in advertising and analyzing Internet data for performance and marketing (1. What information is being disclosed was not immediately clear, but it could include age, income, ZIP code, and smoking status. It could also include a computer’s Internet address, which can identify a person’s name or address when combined with other information collected by sophisticated online marketing or advertising firms. “We deploy tools on the window shopping application that collect basic information to optimize and assess system performance,” said CMS’s Aaron Albright in a statement. “We believe that the use of these tools are common and represent best practices for a typical e-commerce site.” There is no evidence that personal information has been misused. But connections to dozens of third-party tech firms were documented by ...

eConsent management and enforcement in personal telehealth

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Asim, M.; Koster, R.P.; Petkovic, M.; Rosner, M.; Reimer, H.; Pohlmann, N.; Schneider, W.

2013-01-01

Advances in information and communication technologies are expected to bring large benefits in the healthcare domain. Personal telehealth is one such example that has the potential to address some of the important challenges currently faced by healthcare such as improvement in the quality of

Pros and cons of healthcare information technology implementation: the pros win.

Science.gov (United States)

Maffei, Roxana

2006-01-01

Countless studies and investigations have been performed siding either for or against the implementation of technology in the healthcare setting. This article presents both sides of this debate, with an obvious conclusion that the pros of this debate win. The practice of information technology in the medical domain lags behind its knowledge and discovery by at least 7 years. The key to closing this gap is to show, through various studies, how information technology systems provide decision support to users at the point in time when decisions are needed. What the reader will obtain from this article is that the pros for information technology implementation in healthcare settings weigh much more and have a greater effect than the cons.

45 CFR 61.12 - Requesting information from the Healthcare Integrity and Protection Data Bank.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 45 Public Welfare 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Requesting information from the Healthcare Integrity and Protection Data Bank. 61.12 Section 61.12 Public Welfare DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES GENERAL ADMINISTRATION HEALTHCARE INTEGRITY AND PROTECTION DATA BANK FOR FINAL ADVERSE INFORMATION...

Accounting Information Systems in Healthcare: A Review of the Literature.

Science.gov (United States)

Hammour, Hadal; Househ, Mowafa; Razzak, Hira Abdul

2017-01-01

As information technology progresses in Saudi Arabia, the manual accounting systems have become graduallyinadequate for decision needs. Subsequently, private and public healthcare divisions in Saudi Arabia perceive Computerized accounting information system (CAIS) as a vehicle to safeguard efficient and effective flow of information during the analysis, processes, and recording of financial data. Efficient and effective flow of information improvesthe decision making of staff, thereby improving the capability of health care sectors to reduce cost of the medical services.In this paper, we define computerized accounting systems from the point of view of health informatics. Also, the challenges and benefits of supporting CAIS applications in hospitals of Saudi Arabia. With these elements, we conclude that CAIS in Saudi Arabia can serve as a valuable tool for evaluating and controlling the cost of medical services in healthcare sectors. Supplementary education on the significance of having systems of computerized accounting within hospitals for nurses, doctors, and accountants with other health care staff is warranted in future.

Learning from research on the information behaviour of healthcare professionals: a review of the literature 2004-2008 with a focus on emotion.

Science.gov (United States)

Fourie, Ina

2009-09-01

A review, focusing on emotion, was conducted of reported studies on the information behaviour of healthcare professionals (2004-2008). Findings were intended to offer guidelines on information services and information literacy training, to note gaps in research and to raise research interest. Databases were searched for literature published from January 2004 to December 2008 and indexed on eric, Library and Information Science Abstracts, medline, PsycINFO, Social Services Abstracts, Sociological Abstracts, Health Source: Nursing/Academic Edition; Library, Information Science & Technology Abstracts; Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection; Social Work Abstracts; SocINDEX with Full Text; SPORTDiscus; cinhal; and the ISI Web of Knowledge databases. Key journals were manually scanned and citations followed. Literature was included if reporting on issues concerning emotion. Emotion in information behaviour in healthcare contexts is scantily addressed. This review, however, offers some insight into the difficulty in identifying and expressing information needs; sense making and the need to fill knowledge gaps; uncertainty; personality and coping skills; motivation to seeking information; emotional experiences during information seeking; self-confidence and attitude; emotional factors in the selection of information channels; and seeking information for psychological or emotional reasons. Suggestions following findings, address information literacy programs, information services and research gaps.

[A guide to good practice for information security in the handling of personal health data by health personnel in ambulatory care facilities].

Science.gov (United States)

Sánchez-Henarejos, Ana; Fernández-Alemán, José Luis; Toval, Ambrosio; Hernández-Hernández, Isabel; Sánchez-García, Ana Belén; Carrillo de Gea, Juan Manuel

2014-04-01

The appearance of electronic health records has led to the need to strengthen the security of personal health data in order to ensure privacy. Despite the large number of technical security measures and recommendations that exist to protect the security of health data, there is an increase in violations of the privacy of patients' personal data in healthcare organizations, which is in many cases caused by the mistakes or oversights of healthcare professionals. In this paper, we present a guide to good practice for information security in the handling of personal health data by health personnel, drawn from recommendations, regulations and national and international standards. The material presented in this paper can be used in the security audit of health professionals, or as a part of continuing education programs in ambulatory care facilities. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier España, S.L. All rights reserved.

Designing smart analytical data services for a personal health framework.

Science.gov (United States)

Koumakis, Lefteris; Kondylakis, Haridimos; Chatzimina, Maria; Iatraki, Galatia; Argyropaidas, Panagiotis; Kazantzaki, Eleni; Tsiknakis, Manolis; Kiefer, Stephan; Marias, Kostas

2016-01-01

Information in the healthcare domain and in particular personal health record information is heterogeneous by nature. Clinical, lifestyle, environmental data and personal preferences are stored and managed within such platforms. As a result, significant information from such diverse data is difficult to be delivered, especially to non-IT users like patients, physicians or managers. Another issue related to the management and analysis is the volume, which increases more and more making the need for efficient data visualization and analysis methods mandatory. The objective of this work is to present the architectural design for seamless integration and intelligent analysis of distributed and heterogeneous clinical information in the PHR context, as a result of a requirements elicitation process in iManageCancer project. This systemic approach aims to assist health-care professionals to orient themselves in the disperse information space and enhance their decision-making capabilities, to encourage patients to have an active role by managing their health information and interacting with health-care professionals.

Personalized medicine in dentistry

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pushpa S Pudakalkatti

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Personalized medicine is a branch of medicine that proposes customization of healthcare in which decisions and treatment are tailored according to individual patient needs. The field of personalized medicine relies on genetic information, proteomic information and clinical patient characteristics to individualize treatment. With advances in genetics, proteomics, pharmacogenetics and knowledgeable patient population, the opportunity exists to deliver never before levels of personalized care. Although general dentists may consider personalized medicine a concept for the future, the reality is that its direct application to everyday dentistry is closer than one might think. Use of personalized medicine in dentistry, especially in periodontology is progressing rapidly, and dentist should consider this approach while treating patients. Google and PubMed search was done to select articles for present review. Total 17 articles were used to compile information.

Healthcare model with use of information and communication technology for patients with chronic disease.

Science.gov (United States)

Lisiecka-Biełanowicz, Mira; Wawrzyniak, Zbigniew

2016-07-15

The healthcare system is positioned in the patient's environment and works with other determinants of the treatment. Patient care requires a whole system compatible to the needs of organizational and technical solutions. The purpose of this study is to present a new model of patient-oriented care, in which the use of information and communication technology (ICT) can improve the effectiveness of healthcare for patients with chronic diseases. The study material is the process of healthcare for chronically ill patients. Knowledge of the circumstances surrounding ecosystem and of the patients' needs, taking into account the fundamental healthcare goals allows us to build a new models of care, starting with the economic assumptions. The method used is modeling the construction of efficient healthcare system with the patient-centered model using ICT tools. We present a new systemic concept of building patient's environment in which he is the central figure of the healthcare organization - so called patient centered system. The use of ICT in the model of chronic patient's healthcare can improve the effectiveness of this kind of care. The concept is a vision to making wide platform of information management in chronic disease in a real environment ecosystem of patient using ICT tools. On the basis of a systematic approach to the model of chronic disease, and the knowledge of the patient itself, a model of the ecosystem impacts and interactions through information feedback and the provision of services can be constructed. ICT assisted techniques will increase the effectiveness of patient care, in which nowadays information exchange plays a key role.

Healthcare Data Gateways: Found Healthcare Intelligence on Blockchain with Novel Privacy Risk Control.

Science.gov (United States)

Yue, Xiao; Wang, Huiju; Jin, Dawei; Li, Mingqiang; Jiang, Wei

2016-10-01

Healthcare data are a valuable source of healthcare intelligence. Sharing of healthcare data is one essential step to make healthcare system smarter and improve the quality of healthcare service. Healthcare data, one personal asset of patient, should be owned and controlled by patient, instead of being scattered in different healthcare systems, which prevents data sharing and puts patient privacy at risks. Blockchain is demonstrated in the financial field that trusted, auditable computing is possible using a decentralized network of peers accompanied by a public ledger. In this paper, we proposed an App (called Healthcare Data Gateway (HGD)) architecture based on blockchain to enable patient to own, control and share their own data easily and securely without violating privacy, which provides a new potential way to improve the intelligence of healthcare systems while keeping patient data private. Our proposed purpose-centric access model ensures patient own and control their healthcare data; simple unified Indicator-Centric Schema (ICS) makes it possible to organize all kinds of personal healthcare data practically and easily. We also point out that MPC (Secure Multi-Party Computing) is one promising solution to enable untrusted third-party to conduct computation over patient data without violating privacy.

Healthcare delivery systems: designing quality into health information systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Joyce, Phil; Green, Rosamund; Winch, Graham

2007-01-01

To ensure that quality is 'engineered in' a holistic, integrated and quality approach is required, and Total Quality Management (TQM) principles are the obvious foundations for this. This paper describes a novel approach to viewing the operations of a healthcare provider where electronic means could be used to distribute information (including electronic fund settlements), building around the Full Service Provider core. Specifically, an approach called the "triple pair flow" model is used to provide a view of healthcare delivery that is integrated, yet detailed, and that combines the strategic enterprise view with a business process view.

Personal Information Management (PIM): an Introduction

OpenAIRE

Rasoul Zavaraqi; Michael Safaie

2012-01-01

The aim of this paper was to present detailed texts about necessities of personal information management (PIM) and has been written by literature survey. Historical investigation of this new born research area showed PIM is an extension to primary personal information management in offices and other bureaucratic centers. PIM is the result of new ICT developments and its followings as information overload and pollution, which is combination of information retrieval, database management systems...

The potential of a self-assessment tool to identify healthcare professionals' strengths and areas in need of professional development to aid effective facilitation of group-based, person-centered diabetes education

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Stenov, Vibeke; Wind, Gitte; Skinner, Timothy

2017-01-01

engagement. The aim of this study was to explore the potential of a self-assessment tool to identify healthcare professionals’ strengths and areas in need of professional development to aid effective facilitation of group-based, person-centered diabetes education. Methods: The study entails of two components......: 1) Field observations of five different educational settings including 49 persons with diabetes and 13 healthcare professionals, followed by interviews with 5 healthcare professionals and 28 persons with type 2 diabetes. 2) One professional development workshop involving 14 healthcare professionals...

Web-based integrated public healthcare information system of Korea: development and performance.

Science.gov (United States)

Ryu, Seewon; Park, Minsu; Lee, Jaegook; Kim, Sung-Soo; Han, Bum Soo; Mo, Kyoung Chun; Lee, Hyung Seok

2013-12-01

The Web-based integrated public healthcare information system (PHIS) of Korea was planned and developed from 2005 to 2010, and it is being used in 3,501 regional health organizations. This paper introduces and discusses development and performance of the system. We reviewed and examined documents about the development process and performance of the newly integrated PHIS. The resources we analyzed the national plan for public healthcare, information strategy for PHIS, usage and performance reports of the system. The integrated PHIS included 19 functional business areas, 47 detailed health programs, and 48 inter-organizational tasks. The new PHIS improved the efficiency and effectiveness of the business process and inter-organizational business, and enhanced user satisfaction. Economic benefits were obtained from five categories: labor, health education and monitoring, clinical information management, administration and civil service, and system maintenance. The system was certified by a patent from the Korean Intellectual Property Office and accredited as an ISO 9001. It was also reviewed and received preliminary comments about its originality, advancement, and business applicability from the Patent Cooperation Treaty. It has been found to enhance the quality of policy decision-making about regional healthcare at the self-governing local government level. PHIS, a Web-based integrated system, has contributed to the improvement of regional healthcare services of Korea. However, when it comes to an appropriate evolution, the needs and changing environments of community-level healthcare service and IT infrastructure should be analyzed properly in advance.

The application of the unified modeling language in object-oriented analysis of healthcare information systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Aggarwal, Vinod

2002-10-01

This paper concerns itself with the beneficial effects of the Unified Modeling Language (UML), a nonproprietary object modeling standard, in specifying, visualizing, constructing, documenting, and communicating the model of a healthcare information system from the user's perspective. The author outlines the process of object-oriented analysis (OOA) using the UML and illustrates this with healthcare examples to demonstrate the practicality of application of the UML by healthcare personnel to real-world information system problems. The UML will accelerate advanced uses of object-orientation such as reuse technology, resulting in significantly higher software productivity. The UML is also applicable in the context of a component paradigm that promises to enhance the capabilities of healthcare information systems and simplify their management and maintenance.

A Method of Signal Scrambling to Secure Data Storage for Healthcare Applications.

Science.gov (United States)

Bao, Shu-Di; Chen, Meng; Yang, Guang-Zhong

2017-11-01

A body sensor network that consists of wearable and/or implantable biosensors has been an important front-end for collecting personal health records. It is expected that the full integration of outside-hospital personal health information and hospital electronic health records will further promote preventative health services as well as global health. However, the integration and sharing of health information is bound to bring with it security and privacy issues. With extensive development of healthcare applications, security and privacy issues are becoming increasingly important. This paper addresses the potential security risks of healthcare data in Internet-based applications and proposes a method of signal scrambling as an add-on security mechanism in the application layer for a variety of healthcare information, where a piece of tiny data is used to scramble healthcare records. The former is kept locally and the latter, along with security protection, is sent for cloud storage. The tiny data can be derived from a random number generator or even a piece of healthcare data, which makes the method more flexible. The computational complexity and security performance in terms of theoretical and experimental analysis has been investigated to demonstrate the efficiency and effectiveness of the proposed method. The proposed method is applicable to all kinds of data that require extra security protection within complex networks.

Information literacy and personal knowledge management

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Schreiber, Trine; Harbo, Karen

2004-01-01

The aim of the paper is to discuss a new subject called personal knowledge management and to compare it with the better-known concept information literacy. Firstly, the paper describes and discusses the course called personal knowledge management. People from three institutions, the Library...... the participants partly how to manage information in such a way that it supports a learning process, and partly how to negotiate with the colleagues about the information needs, locate the information, and mediate it in such a way that the colleagues will use it. At the end of the course the participants construct...... a ´knowledge map´, which constitutes the mediation of the information to the workplace. The course has got a very positively reception. Secondly, the paper compares the course of personal knowledge management with the concept of information literacy. There exist a number of different definitions of the last...

How secure is your information system? An investigation into actual healthcare worker password practices.

Science.gov (United States)

Cazier, Joseph A; Medlin, B Dawn

2006-09-27

For most healthcare information systems, passwords are the first line of defense in keeping patient and administrative records private and secure. However, this defense is only as strong as the passwords employees chose to use. A weak or easily guessed password is like an open door to the medical records room, allowing unauthorized access to sensitive information. In this paper, we present the results of a study of actual healthcare workers' password practices. In general, the vast majority of these passwords have significant security problems on several dimensions. Implications for healthcare professionals are discussed.

Healthcare Access and Quality Index based on mortality from causes amenable to personal health care in 195 countries and territories, 1990–2015

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

2017-01-01

Background National levels of personal health-care access and quality can be approximated by measuring mortality rates from causes that should not be fatal in the presence of effective medical care (ie, amenable mortality). Previous analyses of mortality amenable to health care only focused on high......-income countries and faced several methodological challenges. In the present analysis, we use the highly standardised cause of death and risk factor estimates generated through the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) to improve and expand the quantification of personal health-care...... the extensive data standardisation processes and redistribution algorithms developed for GBD. To isolate the effects of personal health-care access and quality, we risk-standardised cause-specific mortality rates for each geography-year by removing the joint effects of local environmental and behavioural risks...

Conference Scene: Personalized Medicine comes to Harvard.

Science.gov (United States)

Greenberg, Tarryn

2012-01-01

The Seventh Annual Harvard Personalized Medicine Conference was held at The Joseph B Martin Conference Center at the Harvard Medical School in Boston, MA, USA on the 9-10 November 2011. The 2-day conference program was designed to highlight the impact that personalized medicine is currently making clinically as it enters the healthcare delivery system. Going forward, policies, plans and actions of stakeholders including those from government, academia and the private sector need to be informed and guided by recent experience - all of which the conference program set out to explore. The conference attracted over 600 national and international thought leaders all involved in personalized healthcare.

The potential of a self-assessment tool to identify healthcare professionals' strengths and areas in need of professional development to aid effective facilitation of group-based, person-centered diabetes education.

Science.gov (United States)

Stenov, Vibeke; Wind, Gitte; Skinner, Timothy; Reventlow, Susanne; Hempler, Nana Folmann

2017-09-18

Healthcare professionals' person-centered communication skills are pivotal for successful group-based diabetes education. However, healthcare professionals are often insufficiently equipped to facilitate person-centeredness and many have never received post-graduate training. Currently, assessing professionals' skills in conducting group-based, person-centered diabetes education primarily focus on experts measuring and coding skills on various scales. However, learner-centered approaches such as adequate self-reflective tools have been shown to emphasize professional autonomy and promote engagement. The aim of this study was to explore the potential of a self-assessment tool to identify healthcare professionals' strengths and areas in need of professional development to aid effective facilitation of group-based, person-centered diabetes education. The study entails of two components: 1) Field observations of five different educational settings including 49 persons with diabetes and 13 healthcare professionals, followed by interviews with 5 healthcare professionals and 28 persons with type 2 diabetes. 2) One professional development workshop involving 14 healthcare professionals. Healthcare professionals were asked to assess their person-centered communication skills using a self-assessment tool based on challenges and skills related to four educator roles: Embracer, Facilitator, Translator, and Initiator. Data were analyzed by hermeneutic analysis. Theories derived from theoretical model 'The Health Education Juggler' and techniques from 'Motivational Interviewing in Groups' were used as a framework to analyze data. Subsequently, the analysis from the field notes and interview transcript were compared with healthcare professionals' self-assessments of strengths and areas in need to effectively facilitate group-based, person-centered diabetes education. Healthcare professionals self-assessed the Translator and the Embracer to be the two most skilled roles whereas

Consumer response to a report card comparing healthcare systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Braun, Barbara L; Kind, Elizabeth A; Fowles, Jinnet B; Suarez, Walter G

2002-06-01

Report cards to date have focused on quality of care in health plans rather than within healthcare delivery systems. The purpose of this study was to evaluate consumer response to the first healthcare system-level report card. Qualitative assessment of consumer response. We conducted 5 focus groups of community members to evaluate consumer response to the report card; 2 included community club members, 3 included community-dwelling retired persons. Discussions were audiotaped and transcribed; comments were categorized by topic area from the script, and common themes identified. Focus group participants, in general, were unaware of the current emphasis on medical quality improvement initiatives. However, they believed that the opinion that the descriptive clinic information and patient survey data contained in the report card would be most useful mainly for choosing a healthcare system if they were dissatisfied with current medical care, if their healthcare options changed, or if they were in poor health. Personal experience was considered a more trustworthy measure of healthcare quality than were patient survey results. Trustworthiness was perceived to be higher if the report card sponsor was not affiliated with the healthcare systems being evaluated. Participants also believed care system administrators should use the data to enact positive clinic-level and physician-level changes. Healthcare consumers appreciated the attention to patient experiences and supported healthcare quality improvement initiatives. Report cards were considered important for choosing a healthcare system in certain circumstances and for guiding quality improvement efforts at all levels.

The Design and Analysis of a Secure Personal Healthcare System Based on Certificates

OpenAIRE

Jungho Kang; Hague Chung; Jeongkyu Lee; Jong Hyuk Park

2016-01-01

Due to the development of information technology (IT), it has been applied to various fields such as the smart home, medicine, healthcare, and the smart car. For these fields, IT has been providing continuous prevention and management, including health conditions beyond the mere prevention of disease, improving the quality of life. e-Healthcare is a health management and medical service to provide prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and the follow-up management of diseases at any time and place...

The role of privacy protection in healthcare information systems adoption.

Science.gov (United States)

Hsu, Chien-Lung; Lee, Ming-Ren; Su, Chien-Hui

2013-10-01

Privacy protection is an important issue and challenge in healthcare information systems (HISs). Recently, some privacy-enhanced HISs are proposed. Users' privacy perception, intention, and attitude might affect the adoption of such systems. This paper aims to propose a privacy-enhanced HIS framework and investigate the role of privacy protection in HISs adoption. In the proposed framework, privacy protection, access control, and secure transmission modules are designed to enhance the privacy protection of a HIS. An experimental privacy-enhanced HIS is also implemented. Furthermore, we proposed a research model extending the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology by considering perceived security and information security literacy and then investigate user adoption of a privacy-enhanced HIS. The experimental results and analyses showed that user adoption of a privacy-enhanced HIS is directly affected by social influence, performance expectancy, facilitating conditions, and perceived security. Perceived security has a mediating effect between information security literacy and user adoption. This study proposes several implications for research and practice to improve designing, development, and promotion of a good healthcare information system with privacy protection.

Controlled Sharing of Personal Information in Android

OpenAIRE

Bø, Solvår; Pedersen, Stian; Nyre, Åsmund Ahlmann; Bernsmed, Karin

2011-01-01

Smartphones with third-party applications have become very popular. Recently, they have received attention for quietly monitoring and transferring personal information without the users’ knowledge. The objective of this work is to help users to protect their privacy by increasing their consciousness on how personal information is collected and distributed. We propose a design that provides a higher degree of control by allowing users to set preferences that determine what personal information...

Exploring technology impacts of Healthcare 2.0 initiatives.

Science.gov (United States)

Randeree, Ebrahim

2009-04-01

As Internet access proliferates and technology becomes more accessible, the number of people online has been increasing. Web 2.0 and the social computing phenomena (such as Facebook, Friendster, Flickr, YouTube, Blogger, and MySpace) are creating a new reality on the Web: Users are changing from consumers of Web-available information and resources to generators of information and content. Moving beyond telehealth and Web sites, the push toward Personal Health Records has emerged as a new option for patients to take control of their medical data and to become active participants in the push toward widespread digitized healthcare. There is minimal research on the impact of Web 2.0 in healthcare. This paper reviews the changing patient-physician relationship in the Healthcare 2.0 environment, explores the technological challenges, and highlights areas for research.

Ensuring the security and privacy of information in mobile health-care communication systems

OpenAIRE

Adesina, Ademola O.; Agbele, Kehinde K.; Februarie, Ronald; Abidoye, Ademola P.; Nyongesa, Henry O.

2011-01-01

The sensitivity of health-care information and its accessibility via the Internet and mobile technology systems is a cause for concern in these modern times. The privacy, integrity and confidentiality of a patient’s data are key factors to be considered in the transmission of medical information for use by authorised health-care personnel. Mobile communication has enabled medical consultancy, treatment, drug administration and the provision of laboratory results to take place outside the hosp...

The Internet as a source of health information: experiences of cancer survivors and caregivers with healthcare providers.

Science.gov (United States)

Dolce, Maria C

2011-05-01

To describe the experiences of cancer survivors and caregivers with healthcare providers in the context of the Internet as a source of health information. Qualitative description. Online cancer communities hosted by the Association of Cancer Online Resources. Purposive sample of 488 cancer survivors, with varying cancer types and survivorship stages, and caregivers. Secondary data analysis using Krippendorff's thematic clustering technique of qualitative content analysis. Survivorship, healthcare relationships, and the Internet. Disenchantment with healthcare relationships was associated with failed expectations related to evidence-based practice, clinical expertise, informational support, and therapeutic interpersonal communication. Survivors and caregivers exercised power in healthcare relationships through collaboration, direct confrontation, becoming expert, and endorsement to influence and control care decisions. Disenchantment propelled cancer survivors and caregivers to search the Internet for health information and resources. Conversely, Internet information-seeking precipitated the experience of disenchantment. Through online health information and resources, concealed failures in healthcare relationships were revealed and cancer survivors and caregivers were empowered to influence and control care decisions. The findings highlight failures in cancer survivorship care and underscore the importance of novel interdisciplinary programs and models of care that support evidence-informed decision making, self-management, and improved quality of life. Healthcare professionals need to receive education on survivors' use of the Internet as a source of health information and its impact on healthcare relationships. Future research should include studies examining the relationship between disenchantment and survivorship outcomes.

Research into person-centred healthcare technology: a plea for considering humanization dimensions.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Jacobs, G.; Zijpp, T. van der; Lieshout, F. van; Dulmen, S. van

2017-01-01

Changes in demographics, financial and time constraints and the on‐going shift towards greater responsibility for health and illness for the patient, have increased the speed of development of innovative, information and communications technology‐guided solutions and tools within healthcare

Personalized Mobile Information Retrieval System

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Okkyung Choi

2012-04-01

Full Text Available Building a global Network Relations with the internet has made huge changes in personal information system and even comments left on a webpage of SNS(Social Network Services are appreciated as important elements that would provide valuable information for someone. Social Network is a relation between individuals or groups, represented in a graph model, which converts the concept of psychological and social relations into a logical structure by using node and link. But, most of the current personalized systems on the basis of Social Network are built and constructed mainly in the PC environment, and the systems are neither designed nor implemented in mobile environment. Hence, the objective of this study is to propose methods of providing Personalized Mobile Information Retrieval System using NFC (Near Field Communication Smartphone, which will be then used for Smartphone users. Besides, this study aims to verify its efficiency through a comparative analysis of existing studies.

Collection, Use, Disclosure and Protection of Personal Information ...

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

whoskin

addresses, personal and/or work email addresses, personal and/or work or cell telephone numbers); and. • language testing and language assessment results. How Do We Use Your Personal Information? We use the personal information you provide exclusively for the purposes of processing, screening, assessing ...

Healthcare for persons with intellectual disability in the community

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

David Alan Ervin

2014-07-01

Full Text Available Introduction While there has been impressive progress in creating and improving community healthcare delivery systems that support people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD, there is much more that can and should be done. Method This paper offers a review of healthcare delivery concepts on which new models are being developed, while also establishing an historical context. We review the need for creating fully integrated models of healthcare, and at the same time offer practical considerations that range from specific healthcare delivery system components to the need to expand our approach to training healthcare providers. The models and delivery systems, and the areas of needed focus in their development are reviewed to set a starting point for more and greater work going forward. Conclusions Today, we celebrate longer lifespans of people with IDD, increased attention to the benefits of healthcare that is responsive to their needs, and the development of important healthcare delivery systems that are customized to their needs. We also know that the growing body of research on health status offers incentive to continue developing healthcare structures for people with IDD by training healthcare providers about the needs of people with IDD, by establishing systems of care that integrate acute healthcare with long term services and support, by developing IDD medicine as a specialty, and by building health promotion and wellness resources to provide people with IDD a set of preventative health supports.

An Intelligent Virtual Human System For Providing Healthcare Information And Support

Science.gov (United States)

2011-01-01

healthcare system, and also to other SMs and Veterans by way of a variety of social networking tools (e.g., 2nd Life, Facebook, etc.). The user can progress... CyberPsychology and Behavior 8, 3 (2005), 187-211. [2] T. Parsons & A.A. Rizzo, Affective Outcomes of Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy for Anxiety...VH System for Providing Healthcare Information and Support508 [4] G. Riva, Virtual Reality in Psychotherapy: Review, CyberPsychology and Behavior 8

PERSONALIZED MEDICINE AS AN UPDATED MODEL OF NATIONAL HEALTH-CARE SYSTEM.PART 1. STRATEGIC ASPECTS OF INFRASTRUCTURE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. V. Suchkov

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The article considers the key problems of the transition of the national health-care system to a new platform of personalized medicine and, in particular, pediatrics. The first part, published in this issue, analyzes the most important of the necessary aspects of the infrastructure of the new model. Evidence is given of the extreme urgency of introducing a new model of predictive, preventive and personalized medicine (PPPM. The result of implementation should be breakthrough success in solving many epidemiological, diagnostic, curative, preventive, social and economic problems. It is emphasized that neonatology and pediatrics are the most important link in this paradigm. When considering the potential architectonics of the model, important characteristics of its main segments are revealed. Diagnostic principles (genotyping, targeting, and dynamic screening of biomarkers and arsenal (genomics, proteomics, metabolomics, mathematical modeling tools, etc. of personalized medicine are presented. Attention is focused on the need to create information (global, regional and target-specific banks that are necessary for monitoring individual health. The need to create a new social decision-making mechanism for selecting a preventive protocol that minimizes the risks of the disease or prevents its development is discussed. Four categories of basic programs of medical and social support of persons from the risk category are considered. The necessary conditions for translating these programs into practice are presented. The main tasks and problems of developing the principles for the preparation of preventive-prophylactic and protocols of medical rehabilitation for personalized medicine were discussed. 

A Lexical-Ontological Resource for Consumer Healthcare

Science.gov (United States)

Cardillo, Elena; Serafini, Luciano; Tamilin, Andrei

In Consumer Healthcare Informatics it is still difficult for laypeople to find, understand and act on health information, due to the persistent communication gap between specialized medical terminology and that used by healthcare consumers. Furthermore, existing clinically-oriented terminologies cannot provide sufficient support when integrated into consumer-oriented applications, so there is a need to create consumer-friendly terminologies reflecting the different ways healthcare consumers express and think about health topics. Following this direction, this work suggests a way to support the design of an ontology-based system that mitigates this gap, using knowledge engineering and semantic web technologies. The system is based on the development of a consumer-oriented medical terminology that will be integrated with other medical domain ontologies and terminologies into a medical ontology repository. This will support consumer-oriented healthcare systems, such as Personal Health Records, by providing many knowledge services to help users in accessing and managing their healthcare data.

Learning teams and networks: using information technology as a means of managing work process development in healthcare organizations.

Science.gov (United States)

Korhonen, Vesa; Paavilainen, Eija

2002-01-01

This article focuses on the introduction of team learning and shared knowledge creation using computer-based learning environments and teams as networks in the development of healthcare organizations. Using computer technology, care units can be considered learning teams and the hospital a network of those learning teams. Team learning requires that the healthcare workers' intellectual capital and personal competence be viewed as an important resource in developing the quality of action of the entire healthcare organization.

Informed consent to healthcare interventions in people with learning disabilities--an integrative review.

Science.gov (United States)

Goldsmith, Lesley; Skirton, Heather; Webb, Christine

2008-12-01

This paper is a report of an integrative review of informed consent to healthcare interventions in people with learning disabilities. Consent to treatment lies at the heart of the relationship between patient and healthcare professional. In order for people with learning disabilities to have equity of access to health care, they need to be able to give informed consent to health interventions--or be assessed as incompetent to give consent. The British Nursing Index (BNI), CINAHL, MEDLINE, Social Care Online, ERIC and ASSIA and PsycINFO databases were searched using the search terms: Consent or informed choice or capacity or consent to treat* or consent to examin* AND Learning disab* or intellectual* disab* or mental* retard* or learning difficult* or mental* handicap*. The search was limited to papers published in English from January 1990 to March 2007. An integrative review was conducted and the data analysed thematically. Twenty-two studies were reviewed. The main themes identified were: life experience, interaction between healthcare professionals and participants, ability to consent, and psychometric variables. A consensus seemed to emerge that capacity to consent is greater in people with higher cognitive ability and verbal skills, but that the attitudes and behaviour of healthcare professionals was also a crucial factor. The findings support use of the functional approach to assessing mental capacity for the purpose of obtaining informed consent. Future research into informed consent in people with learning disabilities is needed using real life situations rather than hypothetical vignettes.

Develop security architecture for both in-house healthcare information systems and electronic patient record

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Jianguo; Chen, Xiaomeng; Zhuang, Jun; Jiang, Jianrong; Zhang, Xiaoyan; Wu, Dongqing; Huang, H. K.

2003-05-01

In this paper, we presented a new security approach to provide security measures and features in both healthcare information systems (PACS, RIS/HIS), and electronic patient record (EPR). We introduced two security components, certificate authoring (CA) system and patient record digital signature management (DSPR) system, as well as electronic envelope technology, into the current hospital healthcare information infrastructure to provide security measures and functions such as confidential or privacy, authenticity, integrity, reliability, non-repudiation, and authentication for in-house healthcare information systems daily operating, and EPR exchanging among the hospitals or healthcare administration levels, and the DSPR component manages the all the digital signatures of patient medical records signed through using an-symmetry key encryption technologies. The electronic envelopes used for EPR exchanging are created based on the information of signers, digital signatures, and identifications of patient records stored in CAS and DSMS, as well as the destinations and the remote users. The CAS and DSMS were developed and integrated into a RIS-integrated PACS, and the integration of these new security components is seamless and painless. The electronic envelopes designed for EPR were used successfully in multimedia data transmission.

Case Study: Employee Use of Information and Communication Technologies in a Healthcare Organization

Science.gov (United States)

Aponte, Jorge I.

2011-01-01

This qualitative case study explored the employee use of information and communication technologies (ICT) in a southern Puerto Rico healthcare organization. Thirty-two employees of a southern Puerto Rico healthcare organization provided their perspectives regarding their use of ICT in the workplace. The findings distinguished how employees use ICT…

The use of biometrics in the Personal Health Record (PHR).

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Bonney, Wilfred

2011-01-01

The emergence of the Personal Health Record (PHR) has made individual health information more readily accessible to a wide range of users including patients, consumers, practitioners, and healthcare providers. However, increased accessibility of PHR threatens the confidentiality, privacy, and security of personalized health information. Therefore, a need for robust and reliable forms of authentication is of prime concern. The concept of biometric authentication is now highly visible to healthcare providers as a technology to prevent unauthorized access to individual health information. Implementing biometric authentication mechanisms to protect PHR facilitates access control and secure exchange of health information. In this paper, a literature review is used to explore the key benefits, technical barriers, challenges, and ethical implications for using biometric authentication in PHR.

From fear to flow personality and information interaction

CERN Document Server

Heinstrom, Jannica

2010-01-01

From Fear to Flow explores how personality traits may influence attitude, behaviour and reaction to information. Consideration is made for individual differences in information behaviour and reasons behind individual search differences. The book reviews personality and information behaviour and discusses how personality may influence the attitude towards information. Reaction to information is examined in contexts such as everyday life, decision-making, work, studies and human-computer interaction.Introduces a little researched area which is current and needed in our Informatio

Trust-based information system architecture for personal wellness.

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Ruotsalainen, Pekka; Nykänen, Pirkko; Seppälä, Antto; Blobel, Bernd

2014-01-01

Modern eHealth, ubiquitous health and personal wellness systems take place in an unsecure and ubiquitous information space where no predefined trust occurs. This paper presents novel information model and an architecture for trust based privacy management of personal health and wellness information in ubiquitous environment. The architecture enables a person to calculate a dynamic and context-aware trust value for each service provider, and using it to design personal privacy policies for trustworthy use of health and wellness services. For trust calculation a novel set of measurable context-aware and health information-sensitive attributes is developed. The architecture enables a person to manage his or her privacy in ubiquitous environment by formulating context-aware and service provider specific policies. Focus groups and information modelling was used for developing a wellness information model. System analysis method based on sequential steps that enable to combine results of analysis of privacy and trust concerns and the selection of trust and privacy services was used for development of the information system architecture. Its services (e.g. trust calculation, decision support, policy management and policy binding services) and developed attributes enable a person to define situation-aware policies that regulate the way his or her wellness and health information is processed.

Investments in information systems and technology in the healthcare: Project management mediation

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Jorge Gomes

2017-03-01

Full Text Available Healthcare organisations must improve their business practices and internal procedures in order to answer the increasing demand of health professionals and the general public for more and better information. Hospitals invest massively in information systems and technology (IS/IT in the hope that these investments will improve healthcare and meet patients’ demands. The main objective of our research is to study how organisational maturity, enhanced by investments in IS/IT, project management and best practices, leads to successful projects in public healthcare organisations. The rational of our model is that organisational maturity has a positive effect on IS/IT project success, and that this success is also positively enhanced by the use of project management practices. We emphasise that this combination of approaches can increase the effectiveness of projects. Furthermore, it can also improve the confidence that the results of investments will meet stakeholders’ expectations.

Freeform electronics for advanced healthcare

KAUST Repository

Hussain, Muhammad Mustafa

2017-02-16

Freeform (physically flexible, stretchable and reconfigurable) electronics can be critical enabler for advanced personalized healthcare. With increased global population and extended average lifetime of mankind, it is more important than ever to integrate advanced electronics into our daily life for advanced personalized healthcare. In this paper, we discuss some critical criteria to design such electronics with enabling applications.

Freeform electronics for advanced healthcare

KAUST Repository

Hussain, Muhammad Mustafa; Hussain, Aftab M.; Nassar, Joanna M.; Kutbee, Arwa T.; Gumus, Abdurrahman; Hanna, Amir

2017-01-01

Freeform (physically flexible, stretchable and reconfigurable) electronics can be critical enabler for advanced personalized healthcare. With increased global population and extended average lifetime of mankind, it is more important than ever to integrate advanced electronics into our daily life for advanced personalized healthcare. In this paper, we discuss some critical criteria to design such electronics with enabling applications.

Social Media Usage for Patients and Healthcare Consumers: A Literature Review

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Ariana-Anamaria Cordoş

2017-04-01

Full Text Available The evolution of Internet from static Web “publishing” to the highly participative, and data-driven, innovations of Web 2.0 has been influencing how people search for health-related information. This review included studies indexed in the PubMed electronic database that focused on social media analysis, examining relationships between participants (patients and healthcare consumers through social media usage. The obtained results showed that previous research regarding social media’s impact on patients and healthcare consumers aimed at a combination of platforms, but there is a penury of information about niche topics or its usage for retrieving medical information. Nevertheless, social media proved to be to be a promising tool in research mainly for recruitment purposes. The review has outlined that eHealth literacy is an attribute for populations that are female and relatively young and educated. Blogs share personal experiences, YouTube contains unregulated, high- and low-quality information that can mislead individuals, Facebook contains more marketing than health-related information, while Wikipedia is recommended for providing high-quality information. Despite healthcare practitioners’ and healthcare public institutions’ reluctance about the use of social media, this review demonstrates the usefulness of social media for patients and healthcare consumers in retrieving health-related information based on content availability and usage implications, and highlights gaps in knowledge that further research needs to fill.

Challenges and Opportunities with Empowering Baby Boomers for Personal Health Information Management Using Consumer Health Information Technologies: an Ecological Perspective.

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LeRouge, Cynthia M; Tao, Donghua; Ohs, Jennifer; Lach, Helen W; Jupka, Keri; Wray, Ricardo

2014-01-01

"Baby Boomers" (adults born between the years of 1946 and 1964) make up the largest segment of the population in many countries, including the United States (about 78 million Americans) [1]. As Baby Boomers reach retirement age and beyond, many will have increasing medical needs and thus demand more health care resources that will challenge the healthcare system. Baby Boomers will likely accelerate the movement toward patient self-management and prevention efforts. Consumer Health Information Technologies (CHIT) hold promise for empowering health consumers to take an active role in health maintenance and disease management, and thus, have the potential to address Baby Boomers' health needs. Such innovations require changes in health care practice and processes that take into account Baby Boomers' personal health needs, preferences, health culture, and abilities to use these technologies. Without foundational knowledge of barriers and opportunities, Baby Boomers may not realize the potential of these innovations for improving self-management of health and health outcomes. However, research to date has not adequately explored the degree to which Baby Boomers are ready to embrace consumer health information technology and how their unique subcultures affect adoption and diffusion. This position paper describes an ecological conceptual framework for understanding and studying CHIT aimed at satisfying the personal health needs of Baby Boomers. We explore existing literature to provide a detailed depiction of our proposed conceptual framework, which focuses characteristics influencing Baby Boomers and their Personal Health Information Management (PHIM) and potential information problems. Using our ecological framework as a backdrop, we provide insight and implications for future research based on literature and underlying theories represented in our model.

Data Hemorrhages in the Health-Care Sector

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Johnson, M. Eric

Confidential data hemorrhaging from health-care providers pose financial risks to firms and medical risks to patients. We examine the consequences of data hemorrhages including privacy violations, medical fraud, financial identity theft, and medical identity theft. We also examine the types and sources of data hemorrhages, focusing on inadvertent disclosures. Through an analysis of leaked files, we examine data hemorrhages stemming from inadvertent disclosures on internet-based file sharing networks. We characterize the security risk for a group of health-care organizations using a direct analysis of leaked files. These files contained highly sensitive medical and personal information that could be maliciously exploited by criminals seeking to commit medical and financial identity theft. We also present evidence of the threat by examining user-issued searches. Our analysis demonstrates both the substantial threat and vulnerability for the health-care sector and the unique complexity exhibited by the US health-care system.

HL7 and DICOM based integration of radiology departments with healthcare enterprise information systems.

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Blazona, Bojan; Koncar, Miroslav

2007-12-01

Integration based on open standards, in order to achieve communication and information interoperability, is one of the key aspects of modern health care information systems. However, this requirement represents one of the major challenges for the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) solutions, as systems today use diverse technologies, proprietary protocols and communication standards which are often not interoperable. One of the main producers of clinical information in healthcare settings represent Radiology Information Systems (RIS) that communicate using widely adopted DICOM (Digital Imaging and COmmunications in Medicine) standard, but in very few cases can efficiently integrate information of interest with other systems. In this context we identified HL7 standard as the world's leading medical ICT standard that is envisioned to provide the umbrella for medical data semantic interoperability, which amongst other things represents the cornerstone for the Croatia's National Integrated Healthcare Information System (IHCIS). The aim was to explore the ability to integrate and exchange RIS originated data with Hospital Information Systems based on HL7's CDA (Clinical Document Architecture) standard. We explored the ability of HL7 CDA specifications and methodology to address the need of RIS integration HL7 based healthcare information systems. We introduced the use of WADO service interconnection to IHCIS and finally CDA rendering in widely used Internet explorers. The outcome of our pilot work proves our original assumption of HL7 standard being able to adopt radiology data into the integrated healthcare systems. Uniform DICOM to CDA translation scripts and business processes within IHCIS is desired and cost effective regarding to use of supporting IHCIS services aligned to SOA.

78 FR 4983 - Proposed Information Collection; Women Veterans Healthcare Barriers Survey Activity: Comment Request

Science.gov (United States)

2013-01-23

... Veterans Healthcare Barriers Survey Activity: Comment Request AGENCY: Veterans Health Administration... Healthcare Barriers Survey'' in any correspondence. During the comment period, comments may be viewed online... of automated collection techniques or the use of other forms of information technology. Title: Women...

'Balancing risk' after fall-induced hip fracture: the older person's need for information.

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McMillan, Laura; Booth, Joanne; Currie, Kay; Howe, Tracey

2014-12-01

Hip fracture is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in older people. Healthcare professionals have a role to identify and respond to challenges and concerns that older people face as they strive to manage risk of future falls and rebuild confidence and independence after discharge. This study aimed to explore the postdischarge concerns of older people after fall-induced hip fracture. Glaser's approach to the grounded theory method guided qualitative interviews conducted with 19 older people in their own homes up to 3 months post discharge, in two health authority areas. A theory of 'taking control' was generated. 'Balancing risk' emerged as a key strategy that older people employed to help them to take control after discharge home. Older people attempted to control or 'balance' their risk of future falls and dependence by implementing two further strategies: 'protective guarding' and 'following orders'. The instinctive strategy of protective guarding and the learned strategy of following orders were implemented simultaneously and were characterised by older people aiming to pace their progress and balance risk safely and appropriately. To apply these strategies, older people required information from healthcare professionals. In circumstances where older people did not receive or did not understand the information provided, they were left 'grasping to understand' and were more likely to miscalculate risk. This leads to damaged confidence and in some cases further falls. The concept of balancing risk aims to help healthcare professionals understand the older person's perspective of hip fracture and to recognise the efforts that people make to guard against further injury and dependence in the early postdischarge period. © 2013 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Are Norms of Disclosure of Online and Offline Personal Information Associated with the Disclosure of Personal Information Online?

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Mesch, Gustavo S.; Beker, Guy

2010-01-01

This study investigated whether norms of self-disclosure of one's online and offline identity are linked to online disclosure of personal and intimate information. We expected online disclosure of personal and intimate information to be associated with norms of online disclosure. Secondary analysis of the 2006 Pew and American Life Survey of…

Spirituality and healthcare: Towards holistic people-centred healthcare in South Africa

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Andre de la Porte

2016-07-01

Full Text Available Healthcare in South Africa is in a crisis. Problems with infrastructure, management, human resources and the supply of essential medicines are at a critical level. This is compounded by a high burden of disease and disparity in levels of service delivery, particularly between public and private healthcare. The government has put ambitious plans in place, which are part of the National Development Plan to ward 2030. In the midst of this we find the individual person and their family and community staggering under the suffering caused by disease, poverty, crime and violence. There is a more than 70% chance that this person and their family and community are trying to make sense of this within a spiritual framework and that they belong to a faith-based community. This article explores the valuable contribution of spirituality, spiritual and pastoral work, the faith-based community (FBC and faith-based organisations (FBOs to holistic people-centred healthcare in South Africa. Keywords: Healthcare; Spirituality; Clinical Spiritual Counselling

Alert Workplace From Healthcare Workers' Perspective: Behavioral and Environmental Strategies to Improve Vigilance and Alertness in Healthcare Settings.

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Sagah Zadeh, Rana; Shepley, Mardelle; Sadatsafavi, Hessam; Owora, Arthur Hamie; Krieger, Ana C

2018-04-01

This study aims to identify the behavioral and environmental strategies that healthcare workers view as helpful for managing sleepiness, improving alertness, and therefore optimizing workplace safety. Reduced alertness is a common issue in healthcare work environments and is associated with impaired cognitive performance and decision-making ability as well as increased errors and injuries. We surveyed 136 healthcare professionals at a primary care clinic, an acute care hospital, and a mental health clinic. Nonstructured, semistructured, and structured questionnaires were used to elicit relevant information which was analyzed using qualitative content analysis and logistic regression models, respectively. In order by frequency of endorsement: dietary intervention; physical mobility; cognitive, sensory, or social stimulation; personal lifestyle strategies; and rest/nap opportunities were reported as behavioral strategies used to address workplace alertness. Compared to other environmental features, daylight and thermal comfort were perceived to be more important to addressing workplace alertness ( p based guidelines is needed to address sleepiness and alertness to improve workplace safety in healthcare facilities.

[Development method of healthcare information system integration based on business collaboration model].

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Shasha; Nie, Hongchao; Lu, Xudong; Duan, Huilong

2015-02-01

Integration of heterogeneous systems is the key to hospital information construction due to complexity of the healthcare environment. Currently, during the process of healthcare information system integration, people participating in integration project usually communicate by free-format document, which impairs the efficiency and adaptability of integration. A method utilizing business process model and notation (BPMN) to model integration requirement and automatically transforming it to executable integration configuration was proposed in this paper. Based on the method, a tool was developed to model integration requirement and transform it to integration configuration. In addition, an integration case in radiology scenario was used to verify the method.

Personality traits and group-based information behaviour

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hyldegård, Jette

2009-01-01

followed during a project assignment. The long version of the commonly-used NEO-PI-R test instrument was employed to describe and compare each group member's personality traits at a more detailed level. Data were also collected through a process survey, a diary and an interview. Analysis. The calculation....... Information behaviour associated with personality traits was identified, but the presence of personality effects tended to vary with the perceived presence of the social context. Conclusions. Some matches were identified between group members' personality traits and their actual information behaviour...... but there were also deviations, which were found that seemed to be related to the group-work context. The importance of studying personality traits in context has further been confirmed....

The use of social media in healthcare: organizational, clinical, and patient perspectives.

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Househ, Mowafa

2013-01-01

The purpose of this review paper is to explore the impacts of social media on healthcare organizations, clinicians, and patients. This study found that healthcare organizations, clinicians and patients can benefit from the use of social media. For healthcare organizations, social media can be used primarily for community engagement activities such as fundraising, customer service and support, the provision of news and information, patient education, and advertising new services. The study also found that the most widely used social media venues for physicians were online communities where physicians can read news articles, listen to experts, research new medical developments, network, and communicate with colleagues regarding patient issues. Patients can benefit from the use of social media through education, obtaining information, networking, performing research, receiving support, goal setting, and tracking personal progress. Future research should further examine other financial, technological, informational, ethical, legal, and privacy issues surrounding the use of social media in healthcare.

Personal Information Management (PIM: an Introduction

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Rasoul Zavaraqi

2012-10-01

Full Text Available The aim of this paper was to present detailed texts about necessities of personal information management (PIM and has been written by literature survey. Historical investigation of this new born research area showed PIM is an extension to primary personal information management in offices and other bureaucratic centers. PIM is the result of new ICT developments and its followings as information overload and pollution, which is combination of information retrieval, database management systems (DBMS, information science, human-computer interaction, cognitive psychology, and artificial intelligence. The research area tries to address to old challenges by new mechanisms. The paper introduced the new born research area and discussed about its appearance, definitions, history, benefits, performance and researches which has been done about it.

Managing healthcare information using short message service (SMS) in wireless broadband networks

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Documet, Jorge; Tsao, Sinchai; Documet, Luis; Liu, Brent J.; Zhou, Zheng; Joseph, Anika O.

2007-03-01

Due to the ubiquity of cell phones, SMS (Short Message Service) has become an ideal means to wirelessly manage a Healthcare environment and in particular PACS (Picture Archival and Communications System) data. SMS is a flexible and mobile method for real-time access and control of Healthcare information systems such as HIS (Hospital Information System) or PACS. Unlike conventional wireless access methods, SMS' mobility is not limited by the presence of a WiFi network or any other localized signal. It provides a simple, reliable yet flexible method to communicate with an information system. In addition, SMS services are widely available for low costs from cellular phone service providers and allows for more mobility than other services such as wireless internet. This paper aims to describe a use case of SMS as a means of remotely communicating with a PACS server. Remote access to a PACS server and its Query-Retrieve services allows for a more convenient, flexible and streamlined radiology workflow. Wireless access methods such as SMS will increase dedicated PACS workstation availability for more specialized DICOM (Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine) workflow management. This implementation will address potential security, performance and cost issues of applying SMS as part of a healthcare information management system. This is in an effort to design a wireless communication system with optimal mobility and flexibility at minimum material and time costs.

Federated health information architecture: Enabling healthcare providers and policymakers to use data for decision-making.

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Kumar, Manish; Mostafa, Javed; Ramaswamy, Rohit

2018-05-01

Health information systems (HIS) in India, as in most other developing countries, support public health management but fail to enable healthcare providers to use data for delivering quality services. Such a failure is surprising, given that the population healthcare data that the system collects are aggregated from patient records. An important reason for this failure is that the health information architecture (HIA) of the HIS is designed primarily to serve the information needs of policymakers and program managers. India has recognised the architectural gaps in its HIS and proposes to develop an integrated HIA. An enabling HIA that attempts to balance the autonomy of local systems with the requirements of a centralised monitoring agency could meet the diverse information needs of various stakeholders. Given the lack of in-country knowledge and experience in designing such an HIA, this case study was undertaken to analyse HIS in the Bihar state of India and to understand whether it would enable healthcare providers, program managers and policymakers to use data for decision-making. Based on a literature review and data collected from interviews with key informants, this article proposes a federated HIA, which has the potential to improve HIS efficiency; provide flexibility for local innovation; cater to the diverse information needs of healthcare providers, program managers and policymakers; and encourage data-based decision-making.

The Types of Trust Involved in American Muslim Healthcare Decisions: An Exploratory Qualitative Study.

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Padela, Aasim I; Pruitt, Liese; Mallick, Saleha

2017-08-01

Trust in physicians and the healthcare system underlies some disparities noted among minority populations, yet a descriptive typology of different types of trust informing healthcare decisions among minority populations is limited. Using data from 13 focus groups with 102 American Muslims, we identified the types and influence of trust in healthcare decision-making. Participants conveyed four types of trust implicating their health-seeking behaviors-(I) trust in allopathic medicine, (II) trust in God, (III) trust in personal relationships, and (IV) trust in self. Healthcare disparity research can benefit from assessing how these types of trust are associated with health outcomes among minority populations so as to inform intervention programs that seek to enhance trust as a means to improve community health.

Book review. Design for Care: Innovating Healthcare Experience

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Manuela Aguirre Ulloa

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Adapted from a review on the same book published by The Design Observer Group on April 4th, 2014. You can access the original publication online at http://designobserver.com/feature/design-for-care/38382/ Peter Jones´ recently published book represents a timely and comprehensive view of the value design brings to healthcare innovation. The book uses an empathic user story that conveys emotions and life to a structure that embraces the different meanings of Design for Care: Spanning from caring at the personal level to large-scale caring systems. The author has a main objective for each of its three main target audiences: Designers, companies and healthcare teams. Firstly, it allows designers to understand healthcare in a holistic and patient-centered way, breaking down specialized silos. Secondly, it shows how to design better care experiences across care continuums. Consequently, for companies serving the healthcare sector, the book presents how to humanize information technology (IT and services and meet the needs of health seekers. Finally, the book aims to inform healthcare teams (clinical practitioners and administrators the value design brings in research, co-creation and implementation of user and organizational experiences. It also proposes that healthcare teams learn and adopt design and systems thinking techniques so their innovation processes can be more participatory, holistic and user-centered.

Ethical Issues Surrounding Personalized Medicine: A Literature Review.

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Salari, Pooneh; Larijani, Bagher

2017-03-01

More than a decade ago, personalized medicine was presented in modern medicine. Personalized medicine means that the right drug should be prescribed for the right patient based on genetic data. No doubt is developing medical sciences, and its shift into personalized medicine complicates ethical challenges more than before. In this review, we categorized all probable ethical considerations of personalized medicine in research and development and service provision. Based on our review, extensive changes in healthcare system including ethical changes are needed to overcome the ethical obstacles including knowledge gap and informed consent, privacy and confidentiality and availability of healthcare services. Furthermore social benefit versus science development and individual benefit should be balanced. Therefore guidelines and regulations should be compiled to represent the ethical framework; also ethical decision making should be day-to-day and individualized.

The Challenges and Issues Regarding E-Health and Health Information Technology Trends in the Healthcare Sector

Science.gov (United States)

Esmaeilzadeh, Pouyan; Sambasivan, Murali; Kumar, Naresh

Like other industries, the utilization of the internet and Information Technology (IT) has increased in the health sector. Different applications attributed to the internet and IT in healthcare practice. It includes a range of services that intersect the edge of medicine, computer and information science. The presence of the internet helps healthcare practice with the use of electronic processes and communication. Also, health IT (HIT) deals with the devices, clinical guidelines and methods required to improve the management of information in healthcare. Although the internet and HIT has been considered as an influential means to enhance health care delivery, it is completely naive to imagine all new tools and mechanisms supported by the internet and HIT systems are simply adopted and used by all organizational members. As healthcare professionals play an important role in the healthcare sector, there is no doubt that mechanism of newly introduced HIT and new application of the internet in medical practice should be coupled with healthcare professionals' acceptance. Therefore, with great resistance by healthcare professionals new mechanism and tools supported by IT and the internet cannot be used properly and subsequently may not improve the quality of medical care services. However, factors affecting the healthcare professionals' adoption behavior concerning new e-health and HIT mechanism are still not conclusively identified. This research (as a theoretical study) tries to propose the source of resistance in order to handle the challenges over new e-technology in the health industry. This study uses the involved concepts and develops a conceptual framework to improve overall acceptance of e-health and HIT by healthcare professionals.

Protecting Personal Information in the Era of Identity Theft: Just how Safe is Our Personal Information from Identity Thieves?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fawzia Cassim

2015-07-01

Full Text Available Identity theft has become one of the fastest growing white collar crimes in the world. It occurs when an individual's personal information such as inter alia his or her name, date of birth or credit card details is used by another individual to commit identity fraud. Identity theft can be committed via physical means or online. The increased use of the Internet for business and financial transactions, social networking and the storage of personal information has facilitated the work of identity thieves. Identity theft has an impact on the personal finances and emotional well-being of victims, and on the financial institutions and economies of countries. It presents challenges for law enforcement agencies and governments worldwide. This article examines how identity thieves use the personal information of individuals to commit identity fraud and theft, and looks at legislative solutions introduced in South Africa, the United States of America, the United Kingdom and India to combat identity theft crimes. The article examines measures introduced by the respective governments in these countries to counteract such crimes. Finally, the article will propose a way forward to counteract such crimes in the future. The study reveals that identity theft is a growing and evolving problem that requires a multi-faceted and multi-disciplinary approach by law enforcement agencies, businesses, individuals and collaboration between countries. It is advocated that businesses and institutions should take measures to protect personal information better and that individuals should be educated about their rights, and be vigilant and protect their personal information offline and in cyberspace.

Pharmacogenomics and Nanotechnology Toward Advancing Personalized Medicine

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Vizirianakis, Ioannis S.; Amanatiadou, Elsa P.

The target of personalized medicine to achieve major benefits for all patients in terms of diagnosis and drug delivery can be facilitated by creating a sincere multidisciplinary information-based infrastructure in health care. To this end, nanotechnology, pharmacogenomics, and informatics can advance the utility of personalized medicine, enable clinical translation of genomic knowledge, empower healthcare environment, and finally improve clinical outcomes.

Social Influence on Information Technology Adoption and Sustained Use in Healthcare: A Hierarchical Bayesian Learning Method Analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Hao, Haijing

2013-01-01

Information technology adoption and diffusion is currently a significant challenge in the healthcare delivery setting. This thesis includes three papers that explore social influence on information technology adoption and sustained use in the healthcare delivery environment using conventional regression models and novel hierarchical Bayesian…

The Impact of Environmental Design on Doffing Personal Protective Equipment in a Healthcare Environment: A Formative Human Factors Trial.

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Herlihey, Tracey A; Gelmi, Stefano; Cafazzo, Joseph A; Hall, Trevor N T

2017-06-01

OBJECTIVE To explore the impact of environmental design on doffing personal protective equipment in a simulated healthcare environment. METHODS A mixed-methods approach was used that included human-factors usability testing and qualitative questionnaire responses. A patient room and connecting anteroom were constructed for testing purposes. This experimental doffing area was designed to overcome the environmental failures identified in a previous study and was not constructed based on any generalizable hospital standard. RESULTS In total, 72 healthcare workers from Ontario, Canada, took part in the study and tested the simulated doffing area. The following environmental design changes were tested and were deemed effective: increasing prominence of color-coded zones; securing disinfectant wipes and hand sanitizer; outlining disposal bins locations; providing mirrors to detect possible contamination; providing hand rails to assist with doffing; and restricting the space to doff. Further experimentation and iterative design are required with regard to several important features: positioning the disposal bins for safety, decreasing the risk of contamination and user accessibility; optimal positioning of mirrors for safety; communication within the team; and positioning the secondary team member for optimal awareness. Additional design suggestions also emerged during this study, and they require future investigation. CONCLUSIONS This study highlights the importance of the environment on doffing personal protective equipment in a healthcare setting. Iterative testing and modification of the design of the environment (doffing area) are important to enhancing healthcare worker safety. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2017;38:712-717.

Perfect match? Generation Y as change agents for information communication technology implementation in healthcare.

Science.gov (United States)

Yee, Kwang Chien; Miils, Erin; Airey, Caroline

2008-01-01

The current healthcare delivery model will not meet future healthcare demands. The only sustainable healthcare future is one that best leverages advances in technology to improve productivity and efficiency. Information communication technology (ICT) has, therefore, been touted as the panacea of future healthcare challenges. Many ICT projects in healthcare, however, fail to deliver on their promises to transform the healthcare system. From a technologist's perspective, this is often due to the lack of socio-technical consideration. From a socio-cultural perspective, however, there is often strong inertia to change. While the utilisation of user-centred design principles will generate a new wave of enthusiasm among technologists, this has to be matched with socio-cultural changes within the healthcare system. Generation Y healthcare workers might be the socio-cultural factor required, in combination with new technology, to transform the healthcare system. Generation Y has generated significant technology-driven changes in many other industries. The socio-cultural understanding of generation Y healthcare workers is essential to guide the design and implementation of ICT solutions for a sustainable healthcare future. This paper presents the initial analysis of our qualitative study which aims to generate in-depth conceptual insights of generation Y healthcare workers and their view of ICT in healthcare. Our results show that generation Y healthcare workers might assist future ICT implementation in healthcare. This paper, however, argues that significant changes to the current healthcare organisation will be required in order to unleash the full potential of generation Y workers and ICT implementation. Finally, this paper presents some strategies to empower generation Y workers as change agents for a sustainable future healthcare system.

A novel paradigm for telemedicine using the personal bio-monitor.

Science.gov (United States)

Bhatikar, Sanjay R; Mahajan, Roop L; DeGroff, Curt

2002-01-01

The foray of solid-state technology in the medical field has yielded an arsenal of sophisticated healthcare tools. Personal, portable computing power coupled with the information superhighway open up the possibility of sophisticated healthcare management that will impact the medical field just as much. The full synergistic potential of three interwoven technologies: (1) compact electronics, (2) World Wide Web, and (3) Artificial Intelligence is yet to be realized. The system presented in this paper integrates these technologies synergistically, providing a new paradigm for healthcare. Our idea is to deploy internet-enabled, intelligent, handheld personal computers for medical diagnosis. The salient features of the 'Personal Bio-Monitor' we envisage are: (1) Utilization of the peripheral signals of the body which may be acquired non-invasively and with ease, for diagnosis of medical conditions; (2) An Artificial Neural Network (ANN) based approach for diagnosis; (3) Configuration of the diagnostic device as a handheld for personal use; (4) Internet connectivity, following the emerging bluetooth protocol, for prompt conveyance of information to a patient's health care provider via the World Wide Web. The proposal is substantiated with an intelligent handheld device developed by the investigators for pediatric cardiac auscultation. This device performed accurate diagnoses of cardiac abnormalities in pediatrics using an artificial neural network to process heart sounds acquired by a low-frequency microphone and transmitted its diagnosis to a desktop PC via infrared. The idea of the personal biomonitor presented here has the potential to streamline healthcare by optimizing two valuable resources: physicians' time and sophisticated equipment time. We show that the elements of such a system are in place, with our prototype. Our novel contribution is the synergistic integration of compact electronics' technology, artificial neural network methodology and the wireless web

Exploring Japanese nurses' perceptions of the relevance and use of assertive communication in healthcare: A qualitative study informed by the Theory of Planned Behaviour.

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Omura, Mieko; Stone, Teresa E; Maguire, Jane; Levett-Jones, Tracy

2018-08-01

The hierarchical nature of healthcare environments presents a key risk factor for effective interprofessional communication. Power differentials evident in traditional healthcare cultures can make it difficult for healthcare professionals to raise concerns and be assertive when they have concerns about patient safety. This issue is of particular concern in Japan where inherent cultural and social norms discourage assertive communication. The aim of this study was to (a) explore nurses' perceptions of the relevance and use of assertive communication in Japanese healthcare environments; and (b) identify the factors that facilitate or impede assertive communication by Japanese nurses. A belief elicitation qualitative study informed by the Theory of Planned Behaviour was conducted and reported according to the COnsolidated criteria for REporting Qualitative research. Twenty-three practicing Japanese registered nurses were recruited by snowball sampling from October 2016 to January 2017. Individual face-to-face semi-structured interviews were conducted and transcribed in Japanese and then translated into English. Two researchers independently conducted a directed content analysis informed by the Theory of Planned Behaviour. Participants' responses were labelled in order of frequency for behavioural beliefs about the consequences of assertive communication, sources of social pressure, and factors that facilitate or impede assertive communication in Japanese healthcare environments. Although person-centred care and patient advocacy were core values for many of the participants, strict hierarchies, age-based seniority, and concerns about offending a colleague or causing team disharmony impeded their use of assertive communication. Novice nurses were particularly reluctant to speak up because of their perception of having limited knowledge and experience. This study identified Japanese nurses' behavioural, normative, and control beliefs in relation to assertive

Particle swarm optimization using multi-information characteristics of all personal-best information.

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Huang, Song; Tian, Na; Wang, Yan; Ji, Zhicheng

2016-01-01

Convergence stagnation is the chief difficulty to solve hard optimization problems for most particle swarm optimization variants. To address this issue, a novel particle swarm optimization using multi-information characteristics of all personal-best information is developed in our research. In the modified algorithm, two positions are defined by personal-best positions and an improved cognition term with three positions of all personal-best information is used in velocity update equation to enhance the search capability. This strategy could make particles fly to a better direction by discovering useful information from all the personal-best positions. The validity of the proposed algorithm is assessed on twenty benchmark problems including unimodal, multimodal, rotated and shifted functions, and the results are compared with that obtained by some published variants of particle swarm optimization in the literature. Computational results demonstrate that the proposed algorithm finds several global optimum and high-quality solutions in most case with a fast convergence speed.

The Economic Value of Personal Information and Policy Implication

OpenAIRE

Kim, Jiin; Nam, Changi; Kim, Seongcheol

2015-01-01

Personal information is essential in an information-oriented society for societal development and as a valuable business resource. However, because of poor management and a lack of proper protection, leakage of personal information can take place over time, and the standard for compensation is not well established. In order to establish appropriate policies for its protection, we need to know the economic value of personal information. Using conjoint analysis, we analyze the potential value o...

Activity-Oriented Design of Health Pal: A Smart Phone for Elders' Healthcare Support

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Fan Shih-Chen

2008-01-01

Full Text Available Wireless telephones and personal digital assistants are emerging, as the information hubs connect their human users with assorted electronic devices and the World Wide Web. As such, they quickly become the de facto basis for personalized information services. The Kannon project team at the National Chiao Tung University (NCTU in Taiwan is developing a ubiquitous service infrastructure for elders' healthcare support. Among their deliverables, there is a PDA Phone, christened Health Pal, which can communicate with Bluetooth/ZigBee devices, uni¬ver¬sal plug-and-play (UPnP e-home service platforms, and online healthcare providers to offer 24/7 healthcare services to elderly people. This paper presents the early results of this effort including the functional and operational concepts of Health Pal as well as the activity-oriented approach of its design. Preliminary results of its usefulness and usability evaluations are reported. A comparison of this platform against several similar prototypes was also included to illustrate the advantage of applying activity-oriented design approach to human-computer interactions.

Activity-Oriented Design of Health Pal: A Smart Phone for Elders' Healthcare Support

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shih-Chen Fan

2008-02-01

Full Text Available Wireless telephones and personal digital assistants are emerging, as the information hubs connect their human users with assorted electronic devices and the World Wide Web. As such, they quickly become the de facto basis for personalized information services. The Kannon project team at the National Chiao Tung University (NCTU in Taiwan is developing a ubiquitous service infrastructure for elders' healthcare support. Among their deliverables, there is a PDA Phone, christened Health Pal, which can communicate with Bluetooth/ZigBee devices, uni¬ver¬sal plug-and-play (UPnP e-home service platforms, and online healthcare providers to offer 24/7 healthcare services to elderly people. This paper presents the early results of this effort including the functional and operational concepts of Health Pal as well as the activity-oriented approach of its design. Preliminary results of its usefulness and usability evaluations are reported. A comparison of this platform against several similar prototypes was also included to illustrate the advantage of applying activity-oriented design approach to human-computer interactions.

Work engagement and occupational stress in nurses and other healthcare workers: the role of organisational and personal factors.

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Fiabane, Elena; Giorgi, Ines; Sguazzin, Cinzia; Argentero, Piergiorgio

2013-09-01

The aims of this study were to: (1) identify the role of organisational and personal factors in predicting work engagement in healthcare workers and (2) compare work engagement and occupational stress perceptions of healthcare professional categories. Healthcare professionals, with particular regard to nurses, are exposed to several job stressors that can adversely affect both their mental and physical health and also decrease work engagement. Work engagement can be considered as the positive opposite of burnout, and it is characterised by energy, involvement and professional efficacy. A cross-sectional survey research was conducted with self-report questionnaires. The Maslach Burnout Inventory-General Survey, the Areas of Worklife Scale and four scales from the Occupational Stress Indicator were administered to a sample of 198 hospital staff (registered nurses, nurse aides, physicians and physiotherapists), of which 110 participated in the study. The most significant predictors of energy were workload, mental health and job satisfaction; the best predictors of involvement were community, workload, mental health and job satisfaction; professional efficacy was best predicted by values and job satisfaction. In relation to the second aim, physiotherapists had the highest levels of occupational stress and disengagement from their work, while nurse aides were the most work-engaged and job-satisfied professional category, with positive perceptions of the work environment. Both organisational and personal factors were found to be significantly associated with work engagement. In this study, physiotherapists were the category with the highest risk of work-related psychological problems, whereas nurse aides had the lowest risk. Interventions aimed at improving clinical practice and psychological health of nurses and hospital staff should focus on workload, workers' personal expectations and job satisfaction. © 2013 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Uncovering Hospitalists' Information Needs from Outside Healthcare Facilities in the Context of Health Information Exchange Using Association Rule Learning.

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Martinez, D A; Mora, E; Gemmani, M; Zayas-Castro, J

2015-01-01

Important barriers to health information exchange (HIE) adoption are clinical workflow disruptions and troubles with the system interface. Prior research suggests that HIE interfaces providing faster access to useful information may stimulate use and reduce barriers for adoption; however, little is known about informational needs of hospitalists. To study the association between patient health problems and the type of information requested from outside healthcare providers by hospitalists of a tertiary care hospital. We searched operational data associated with fax-based exchange of patient information (previous HIE implementation) between hospitalists of an internal medicine department in a large urban tertiary care hospital in Florida, and any other affiliated and unaffiliated healthcare provider. All hospitalizations from October 2011 to March 2014 were included in the search. Strong association rules between health problems and types of information requested during each hospitalization were discovered using Apriori algorithm, which were then validated by a team of hospitalists of the same department. Only 13.7% (2 089 out of 15 230) of the hospitalizations generated at least one request of patient information to other providers. The transactional data showed 20 strong association rules between specific health problems and types of information exist. Among the 20 rules, for example, abdominal pain, chest pain, and anaemia patients are highly likely to have medical records and outside imaging results requested. Other health conditions, prone to have records requested, were lower urinary tract infection and back pain patients. The presented list of strong co-occurrence of health problems and types of information requested by hospitalists from outside healthcare providers not only informs the implementation and design of HIE, but also helps to target future research on the impact of having access to outside information for specific patient cohorts. Our data

Telemental health: responding to mandates for reform in primary healthcare.

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Myers, Kathleen M; Lieberman, Daniel

2013-06-01

Telemental health (TMH) has established a niche as a feasible, acceptable, and effective service model to improve the mental healthcare and outcomes for individuals who cannot access traditional mental health services. The Accountability Care Act has mandated reforms in the structure, functioning, and financing of primary care that provide an opportunity for TMH to move into the mainstream healthcare system. By partnering with the Integrated Behavioral Healthcare Model, TMH offers a spectrum of tools to unite primary care physicians and mental health specialist in a mind-body view of patients' healthcare needs and to activate patients in their own care. TMH tools include video-teleconferencing to telecommute mental health specialists to the primary care setting to collaborate with a team in caring for patients' mental healthcare needs and to provide direct services to patients who are not progressing optimally with this collaborative model. Asynchronous tools include online therapies that offer an efficient first step to treatment for selected disorders such as depression and anxiety. Patients activate themselves in their care through portals that provide access to their healthcare information and Web sites that offer on-demand information and communication with a healthcare team. These synchronous and asynchronous TMH tools may move the site of mental healthcare from the clinic to the home. The evolving role of social media in facilitating communication among patients or with their healthcare team deserves further consideration as a tool to activate patients and provide more personalized care.

The Technology-Enabled Patient Advocate: A Valuable Emerging Healthcare Partner.

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Kent, Susan M; Yellowlees, Peter

2015-12-01

The U.S. healthcare system is changing and is becoming more patient-centered and technology-supported, with greater emphasis on population health outcomes and team-based care. The roles of healthcare providers are changing, and new healthcare roles are developing such as that of the patient advocate. This article reviews the history of this type of role, the changes that have taken place over time, the technological innovations in service delivery that further enable the role, and how the role could increasingly be developed in the future. Logical future extensions of the current typical patient advocate are the appearance of a virtual or avatar-driven care navigator, using telemedicine and related information technologies, as healthcare provision moves increasingly in a hybrid direction, with care being given both in-person and online.

Augmented Personalized Health: How Smart Data with IoTs and AI is about to Change Healthcare.

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Sheth, Amit; Jaimini, Utkarshani; Thirunarayan, Krishnaprasad; Banerjee, Tanvi

2017-09-01

Healthcare as we know it is in the process of going through a massive change - from episodic to continuous, from disease focused to wellness and quality of life focused, from clinic centric to anywhere a patient is, from clinician controlled to patient empowered, and from being driven by limited data to 360-degree, multimodal personal-public-population physical-cyber-social big data driven. While ability to create and capture data is already here, the upcoming innovations will be in converting this big data into smart data through contextual and personalized processing such that patients and clinicians can make better decisions and take timely actions for augmented personalized health. This paper outlines current opportunities and challenges, with a focus on key AI approaches to make this a reality. The broader vision is exemplified using three ongoing applications (asthma in children, bariatric surgery, and pain management) as part of the Kno.e.sis kHealth personalized digital health initiative.

Framework model and principles for trusted information sharing in pervasive health.

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Ruotsalainen, Pekka; Blobel, Bernd; Nykänen, Pirkko; Seppälä, Antto; Sorvari, Hannu

2011-01-01

Trustfulness (i.e. health and wellness information is processed ethically, and privacy is guaranteed) is one of the cornerstones for future Personal Health Systems, ubiquitous healthcare and pervasive health. Trust in today's healthcare is organizational, static and predefined. Pervasive health takes place in an open and untrusted information space where person's lifelong health and wellness information together with contextual data are dynamically collected and used by many stakeholders. This generates new threats that do not exist in today's eHealth systems. Our analysis shows that the way security and trust are implemented in today's healthcare cannot guarantee information autonomy and trustfulness in pervasive health. Based on a framework model of pervasive health and risks analysis of ubiquitous information space, we have formulated principles which enable trusted information sharing in pervasive health. Principles imply that the data subject should have the right to dynamically verify trust and to control the use of her health information, as well as the right to set situation based context-aware personal policies. Data collectors and processors have responsibilities including transparency of information processing, and openness of interests, policies and environmental features. Our principles create a base for successful management of privacy and information autonomy in pervasive health. They also imply that it is necessary to create new data models for personal health information and new architectures which support situation depending trust and privacy management.

Ethical Issues Surrounding Personalized Medicine: A Literature Review

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Pooneh Salari

2017-03-01

Full Text Available More than a decade ago, personalized medicine was presented in modern medicine. Personalized medicine means that the right drug should be prescribed for the right patient based on genetic data. No doubt is developing medical sciences, and its shift into personalized medicine complicates ethical challenges more than before. In this review, we categorized all probable ethical considerations of personalized medicine in research and development and service provision. Based on our review, extensive changes in healthcare system including ethical changes are needed to overcome the ethical obstacles including knowledge gap and informed consent, privacy and confidentiality and availability of healthcare services. Furthermore social benefit versus science development and individual benefit should be balanced. Therefore guidelines and regulations should be compiled to represent the ethical framework; also ethical decision making should be day-to-day and individualized.

Improving the delivery of care and reducing healthcare costs with the digitization of information.

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Noffsinger, R; Chin, S

2000-01-01

In the coming years, the digitization of information and the Internet will be extremely powerful in reducing healthcare costs while assisting providers in the delivery of care. One example of healthcare inefficiency that can be managed through information digitization is the process of prescription writing. Due to the handwritten and verbal communication surrounding prescription writing, as well as the multiple tiers of authorizations, the prescription drug process causes extensive financial waste as well as medical errors, lost time, and even fatal accidents. Electronic prescription management systems are being designed to address these inefficiencies. By utilizing new electronic prescription systems, physicians not only prescribe more accurately, but also improve formulary compliance thereby reducing pharmacy utilization. These systems expand patient care by presenting proactive alternatives at the point of prescription while reducing costs and providing additional benefits for consumers and healthcare providers.

Ethical and Legal Considerations of Healthcare Informatics

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Maria ALUAŞ

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Internet, cloud computing, social networks and mobile technology, all facilitate information transfer. Healthcare professionals, physicians and patients can use informatic devices in order to simplify their access to medical information, to streamline testing, and to understand clinical results. The use of computers and software facilitate doctor-patient interactions by optimizing communication and information flow. However, digital interfaces also increase the risks that information specialists use information without fully complying with ethical principles and laws in force. Our premise is that these information specialists should: 1 be informed of the rights, duties, and responsibilities linked to their profession and laws in force; 2 have guidelines and ethical tutoring on what they need to do in order to avoid or prevent conflict or misconduct; 3 have renewed specific training on how to interpret and translate legal frameworks into internal rules and standards of good practice. The purpose of this paper was: 1 to familiarize professionals who work in healthcare informatics with the ethical and legal issues related to their work; 2 to provide information about codes of ethics and legal regulations concerning this specific area; 3 to summarize some risks linked to wrong or inadequate use of patient information, such as medical, genetic, or personal data.

Content Sharing Based on Personal Information in Virtually Secured Space

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Sohn, Hosik; Ro, Yong Man; Plataniotis, Kostantinos N.

User generated contents (UGC) are shared in an open space like social media where users can upload and consume contents freely. Since the access of contents is not restricted, the contents could be delivered to unwanted users or misused sometimes. In this paper, we propose a method for sharing UGCs securely based on the personal information of users. With the proposed method, virtual secure space is created for contents delivery. The virtual secure space allows UGC creator to deliver contents to users who have similar personal information and they can consume the contents without any leakage of personal information. In order to verify the usefulness of the proposed method, the experiment was performed where the content was encrypted with personal information of creator, and users with similar personal information have decrypted and consumed the contents. The results showed that UGCs were securely shared among users who have similar personal information.

Integrating Fingerprint Verification into the Smart Card-Based Healthcare Information System

OpenAIRE

Jin-Won Park; Sung Bum Pan; Yongwha Chung; Daesung Moon

2009-01-01

As VLSI technology has been improved, a smart card employing 32-bit processors has been released, and more personal information such as medical, financial data can be stored in the card. Thus, it becomes important to protect personal information stored in the card. Verification of the card holder's identity using a fingerprint has advantages over the present practices of Personal Identification Numbers (PINs) and passwords. However, the computational workload of fingerprint verification i...

Institutionalization of evidence-informed practices in healthcare settings.

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Novotná, Gabriela; Dobbins, Maureen; Henderson, Joanna

2012-11-21

The effective and timely integration of the best available research evidence into healthcare practice has considerable potential to improve the quality of provided care. Knowledge translation (KT) approaches aim to develop, implement, and evaluate strategies to address the research-practice gap. However, most KT research has been directed toward implementation strategies that apply cognitive, behavioral, and, to a lesser extent, organizational theories. In this paper, we discuss the potential of institutional theory to inform KT-related research. Despite significant research, there is still much to learn about how to achieve KT within healthcare systems and practices. Institutional theory, focusing on the processes by which new ideas and concepts become accepted within their institutional environments, holds promise for advancing KT efforts and research. To propose new directions for future KT research, we present some of the main concepts of institutional theory and discuss their application to KT research by outlining how institutionalization of new practices can lead to their ongoing use in organizations. In addition, we discuss the circumstances under which institutionalized practices dissipate and give way to new insights and ideas that can lead to new, more effective practices. KT research informed by institutional theory can provide important insights into how knowledge becomes implemented, routinized, and accepted as institutionalized practices. Future KT research should employ both quantitative and qualitative research designs to examine the specifics of sustainability, institutionalization, and deinstitutionalization of practices to enhance our understanding of these complex constructs.

Improving water, sanitation and hygiene in health-care facilities, Liberia.

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Abrampah, Nana Mensah; Montgomery, Maggie; Baller, April; Ndivo, Francis; Gasasira, Alex; Cooper, Catherine; Frescas, Ruben; Gordon, Bruce; Syed, Shamsuzzoha Babar

2017-07-01

The lack of proper water and sanitation infrastructures and poor hygiene practices in health-care facilities reduces facilities' preparedness and response to disease outbreaks and decreases the communities' trust in the health services provided. To improve water and sanitation infrastructures and hygiene practices, the Liberian health ministry held multistakeholder meetings to develop a national water, sanitation and hygiene and environmental health package. A national train-the-trainer course was held for county environmental health technicians, which included infection prevention and control focal persons; the focal persons acted as change agents. In Liberia, only 45% of 701 surveyed health-care facilities had an improved water source in 2015, and only 27% of these health-care facilities had proper disposal for infectious waste. Local ownership, through engagement of local health workers, was introduced to ensure development and refinement of the package. In-county collaborations between health-care facilities, along with multisectoral collaboration, informed national level direction, which led to increased focus on water and sanitation infrastructures and uptake of hygiene practices to improve the overall quality of service delivery. National level leadership was important to identify a vision and create an enabling environment for changing the perception of water, sanitation and hygiene in health-care provision. The involvement of health workers was central to address basic infrastructure and hygiene practices in health-care facilities and they also worked as stimulators for sustainable change. Further, developing a long-term implementation plan for national level initiatives is important to ensure sustainability.

32 CFR 327.6 - Collecting personal information

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... personal data, a Privacy Act Statement will be added. ...) PRIVACY PROGRAM DEFENSE COMMISSARY AGENCY PRIVACY ACT PROGRAM § 327.6 Collecting personal information (a... third party sources for security or employment suitability determinations; (2) Seeking third party...

Application of ubiquitous computing in personal health monitoring systems.

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Kunze, C; Grossmann, U; Stork, W; Müller-Glaser, K D

2002-01-01

A possibility to significantly reduce the costs of public health systems is to increasingly use information technology. The Laboratory for Information Processing Technology (ITIV) at the University of Karlsruhe is developing a personal health monitoring system, which should improve health care and at the same time reduce costs by combining micro-technological smart sensors with personalized, mobile computing systems. In this paper we present how ubiquitous computing theory can be applied in the health-care domain.

[Management of Personal Information in Clinical Laboratory Medicine:--Chairmen's Introductory Remarks].

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Yoshida, Hiroshi; Shimetani, Naoto

2014-11-01

The Japanese Society of Laboratory Medicine has been running its own Medical Safety Committee, and holding a symposium on medical safety during the annual meeting. The medical world is filled with a considerable amount of personal information, including genetic information, the ultimate personal information. We, as medical staff, have to manage such personal information not only in times of peace but also during disasters or emergency situations. In Japan, the Act on the Protection of Personal Information is currently being implemented, but a number of problems remain. Human beings have entered the information technology era, including electrical medical record systems, which is useful for research and education besides medical practice. This is why personal information must be more effectively protected from leakage, misconception, and abuse. We should create a sound system to manage personal information, with the spirit of protecting patient information that originated from the Oath of Hippocrates.

Ethical Considerations Regarding Classroom Use of Personal Genomic Information

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Lisa S. Parker

2014-10-01

Full Text Available Rapidly decreasing costs of genetic technologies—especially next-generation sequencing—and intensifying need for a clinical workforce trained in genomic medicine have increased interest in having students use personal genomic information to motivate and enhance genomics education. Numerous ethical issues attend classroom/pedagogical use of students’ personal genomic information, including their informed decision to participate, pressures to participate, privacy concerns, and psychosocial sequelae of learning genomic information. This paper addresses these issues, advocates explicit discussion of these issues to cultivate students’ ethical reasoning skills, suggests ways to mitigate potential harms, and recommends collection of ethically relevant data regarding pedagogical use of personal genomic information.

Scaling of an information system in a public healthcare market--infrastructuring from the vendor's perspective.

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Johannessen, Liv Karen; Obstfelder, Aud; Lotherington, Ann Therese

2013-05-01

The purpose of this paper is to explore the making and scaling of information infrastructures, as well as how the conditions for scaling a component may change for the vendor. The first research question is how the making and scaling of a healthcare information infrastructure can be done and by whom. The second question is what scope for manoeuvre there might be for vendors aiming to expand their market. This case study is based on an interpretive approach, whereby data is gathered through participant observation and semi-structured interviews. A case study of the making and scaling of an electronic system for general practitioners ordering laboratory services from hospitals is described as comprising two distinct phases. The first may be characterized as an evolving phase, when development, integration and implementation were achieved in small steps, and the vendor, together with end users, had considerable freedom to create the solution according to the users' needs. The second phase was characterized by a large-scale procurement process over which regional healthcare authorities exercised much more control and the needs of groups other than the end users influenced the design. The making and scaling of healthcare information infrastructures is not simply a process of evolution, in which the end users use and change the technology. It also consists of large steps, during which different actors, including vendors and healthcare authorities, may make substantial contributions. This process requires work, negotiation and strategies. The conditions for the vendor may change dramatically, from considerable freedom and close relationships with users and customers in the small-scale development, to losing control of the product and being required to engage in more formal relations with customers in the wider public healthcare market. Onerous procurement processes may be one of the reasons why large-scale implementation of information projects in healthcare is difficult

IoT-Based Information System for Healthcare Application: Design Methodology Approach

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Damian Dziak

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Over the last few decades, life expectancy has increased significantly. However, elderly people who live on their own often need assistance due to mobility difficulties, symptoms of dementia or other health problems. In such cases, an autonomous supporting system may be helpful. This paper proposes the Internet of Things (IoT-based information system for indoor and outdoor use. Since the conducted survey of related works indicated a lack of methodological approaches to the design process, therefore a Design Methodology (DM, which approaches the design target from the perspective of the stakeholders, contracting authorities and potential users, is introduced. The implemented solution applies the three-axial accelerometer and magnetometer, Pedestrian Dead Reckoning (PDR, thresholding and the decision trees algorithm. Such an architecture enables the localization of a monitored person within four room-zones with accuracy; furthermore, it identifies falls and the activities of lying, standing, sitting and walking. Based on the identified activities, the system classifies current activities as normal, suspicious or dangerous, which is used to notify the healthcare staff about possible problems. The real-life scenarios validated the high robustness of the proposed solution. Moreover, the test results satisfied both stakeholders and future users and ensured further cooperation with the project.

Factors Influencing Healthcare Service Quality

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Ali Mohammad Mosadeghrad

2014-07-01

Full Text Available Background The main purpose of this study was to identify factors that influence healthcare quality in the Iranian context. Methods Exploratory in-depth individual and focus group interviews were conducted with 222 healthcare stakeholders including healthcare providers, managers, policy-makers, and payers to identify factors affecting the quality of healthcare services provided in Iranian healthcare organisations. Results Quality in healthcare is a production of cooperation between the patient and the healthcare provider in a supportive environment. Personal factors of the provider and the patient, and factors pertaining to the healthcare organisation, healthcare system, and the broader environment affect healthcare service quality. Healthcare quality can be improved by supportive visionary leadership, proper planning, education and training, availability of resources, effective management of resources, employees and processes, and collaboration and cooperation among providers. Conclusion This article contributes to healthcare theory and practice by developing a conceptual framework that provides policy-makers and managers a practical understanding of factors that affect healthcare service quality.

The Quality of Clinical Information in Adverse Drug Reaction Reports by Patients and Healthcare Professionals: A Retrospective Comparative Analysis.

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Rolfes, Leàn; van Hunsel, Florence; van der Linden, Laura; Taxis, Katja; van Puijenbroek, Eugène

2017-07-01

Clinical information is needed to assess the causal relationship between a drug and an adverse drug reaction (ADR) in a reliable way. Little is known about the level of relevant clinical information about the ADRs reported by patients. The aim was to determine to what extent patients report relevant clinical information about an ADR compared with their healthcare professional. A retrospective analysis of all ADR reports on the same case, i.e., cases with a report from both the patient and the patient's healthcare professional, selected from the database of the Dutch Pharmacovigilance Center Lareb, was conducted. The extent to which relevant clinical information was reported was assessed by trained pharmacovigilance assessors, using a structured tool. The following four domains were assessed: ADR, chronology, suspected drug, and patient characteristics. For each domain, the proportion of reported information in relation to information deemed relevant was calculated. An average score of all relevant domains was determined and categorized as poorly (≤45%), moderately (from 46 to 74%) or well (≥75%) reported. Data were analyzed using a paired sample t test and Wilcoxon signed rank test. A total of 197 cases were included. In 107 cases (54.3%), patients and healthcare professionals reported a similar level of clinical information. Statistical analysis demonstrated no overall differences between the groups (p = 0.126). In a unique study of cases of ADRs reported by patients and healthcare professionals, we found that patients report clinical information at a similar level as their healthcare professional. For an optimal pharmacovigilance, both healthcare professionals and patient should be encouraged to report.

Health care as perceived by persons with inflammatory bowel disease - a focus group study.

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Lesnovska, Katarina Pihl; Hollman Frisman, Gunilla; Hjortswang, Henrik; Hjelm, Katarina; Börjeson, Sussanne

2017-11-01

The aim of this study was to explore the perceptions of health care among persons living with inflammatory bowel disease. The quality of care plays an important role in the life of persons with a chronic disease. To define what persons with inflammatory bowel disease perceive as high-quality care, greater focus must be placed on the individual's own perspective of living with the condition. A qualitative exploratory study was conducted based on focus groups. Five focus groups were conducted with adult persons living with inflammatory bowel disease, 14 men and 12 women aged 19-76 years. The interviews were performed between January-June 2014. The perceptions of health care from the perspective of persons living with inflammatory bowel disease were summarised in two categories: 'professional attitudes of healthcare staff' and 'structure of the healthcare organisation'. Persons with inflammatory bowel disease want to be encountered with respect, experience trust and obtain information at the right time. They also expect shared decision-making, communication and to encounter competent healthcare professionals. Furthermore, the expectations on and perceptions of the structure of the healthcare organisation comprise access to care, accommodation, continuity of care, as well as the pros and cons of specialised care. The findings show the importance of establishing a respectful and trusting relationship, facilitating healthcare staff and persons with inflammatory bowel disease to work as a team in fulfilling individual care needs - but there is room for improvement in terms of quality of care. A person-centred approach, which places the individual and her/his family at the centre, considering them experts on their own health and enabling them to collaborate with healthcare staff, seems important to reach a high-quality healthcare organisation for patients with Inflammatory bowel disease. © 2017 The Authors. Journal of Clinical Nursing Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Using gamification to drive patient’s personal data validation in a Personal Health Record

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Guido Giunti

2015-10-01

Full Text Available Gamification is a term used to describe using game elements in non-game environments to enhance user experience. It has been incorporated with commercial success into several platforms (Linkedin, Badgeville, Facebook this has made some researchers theorize that it could also be used in education as a tool to increase student engagement and to drive desirable learning behaviors on them. While in the past years some game elements have been incorporated to healthcare there is still little evidence on how effective they are. Game elements provide engagement consistent with various theories of motivation, positive psychology (e.g., flow, and also provide instant feedback. Feedback is more effective when it provides sufficient and specific information for goal achievement and is presented relatively close in time to the event being evaluated. Feedback can reference individual progress, can make social comparisons, or can refer to task criteria. Electronic personal health record systems (PHRs support patient centered healthcare by making medical records and other relevant information accessible to patients, thus assisting patients in health self-management. A particularly difficult data set that is often difficult to capture are those regarding social and cultural background information. This data set is not only useful to help better healthcare system management, it is also relevant as it is used for epidemiological and preventive purposes. We used gamified mechanics that involve instant feedback to test if they would increase patient’s personal data validation and completion in our PHR as well as overall PHR use. On our presentation we will describe our results and the story behind them.

The invisible hands made visible: recognizing the value of informal care in healthcare decision-making.

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van Exel, Job; Bobinac, Ana; Koopmanschap, Marc; Brouwer, Werner

2008-12-01

The healthcare sector depends heavily on the informal care provided by families and friends of those who are ill. Informal caregivers may experience significant burden as well as health and well-being effects. Resource allocation decisions, in particular from a societal perspective, should account explicitly for these effects in the social environment of patients. This is not only important to make a complete welfare economic assessment of treatments, but also to ensure the lasting involvement of informal caregivers in the care-giving process. Measurement and valuation techniques for the costs and effects of informal care have been developed and their use is becoming more common. Decision-makers in healthcare - and eventually families and patients - would be helped by more uniformity in methods.

An Ethnographically Informed Participatory Design of Primary Healthcare Information Technology in a Developing Country Setting.

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Shidende, Nima Herman; Igira, Faraja Teddy; Mörtberg, Christina Margaret

2017-01-01

Ethnography, with its emphasis on understanding activities where they occur, and its use of qualitative data gathering techniques rich in description, has a long tradition in Participatory Design (PD). Yet there are limited methodological insights in its application in developing countries. This paper proposes an ethnographically informed PD approach, which can be applied when designing Primary Healthcare Information Technology (PHIT). We use findings from a larger multidisciplinary project, Health Information Systems Project (HISP) to elaborate how ethnography can be used to facilitate participation of health practitioners in developing countries settings as well as indicating the importance of ethnographic approach to participatory Health Information Technology (HIT) designers. Furthermore, the paper discusses the pros and cons of using an ethnographic approach in designing HIT.

Greater healthcare utilization and costs among Black persons compared to White persons with aphasia in the North Carolina stroke belt.

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Ellis, Charles; Hardy, Rose Y; Lindrooth, Richard C

2017-05-15

To examine racial differences in healthcare utilization and costs for persons with aphasia (PWA) being treated in acute care hospitals in North Carolina (NC). NC Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project State Inpatient Database (HCUP-SID) data from 2011-2012 were analyzed to examine healthcare utilization and costs of care for stroke patients with aphasia. Analyses emphasized length of stay, charges and cost of general hospital services. Generalized linear models (GLM) were constructed to determine the impact of demographic characteristics, stroke/illness severity, and observed hospital characteristics on utilization and costs. Hospital fixed effects were included to yield within-hospital estimates of disparities. GLM models demonstrated that Blacks with aphasia experienced 1.9days longer lengths of stay compared to Whites with aphasia after controlling for demographic characteristics, 1.4days controlling for stroke/illness severity, 1.2days controlling for observed hospital characteristics, and ~1 extra day controlling for unobserved hospital characteristics. Similarly, Blacks accrued ~$2047 greater total costs compared to Whites after controlling for demographic characteristics, $1659 controlling for stroke/illness severity, $1338 controlling for observed hospital characteristics, and ~$1311 greater total costs after controlling for unobserved hospital characteristics. In the acute hospital setting, Blacks with aphasia utilize greater hospital services during longer hospitalizations and at substantially higher costs in the state of NC. A substantial portion of the adjusted difference was related to the hospital treating the patient. However, even after controlling for the hospital, the differences remained clinically and statistically significant. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Educating patients about warfarin therapy using information technology: A survey on healthcare professionals’ perspectives

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mullan J

2012-06-01

Full Text Available Objective: To explore healthcare professionals’ views about the benefits and challenges of using information technology (IT resources for educating patients about their warfarin therapy.Methods: A cross-sectional survey of both community and hospital-based healthcare professionals (e.g., doctors, pharmacists and nurses involved using a purpose-designed questionnaire. The questionnaires were distributed using a multi-modal approach to maximise response rates.Results: Of the total 300 questionnaires distributed, 109 completed surveys were received (43.3% response rate. Over half (53.2% of the healthcare participants were aged between 40-59 years, the majority (59.5% of whom were female. Fifty nine (54.1% participants reported having had no access to warfarin-specific IT-based patient education resources, and a further 19 (38.0% of the participants who had IT-access reported that they never used such resources. According to the healthcare participants, the main challenges associated with educating their patients about warfarin therapy included: patient-related factors, such as older age, language barriers, cognitive impairments and/or ethnic backgrounds or healthcare professional factors, such as time constraints. The healthcare professionals reported that there were several aspects about warfarin therapy which they found difficult to educate their patients about which is why they identified computers and interactive touch screen kiosks as preferred IT devices to deliver warfarin education resources in general practices, hospital-based clinics and community pharmacies. At the same time, the healthcare professionals also identified a number of facilitators (e.g., to reinforce warfarin education, to offer reliable and easily comprehensible information and barriers (e.g., time and costs of using IT resources, difficulty in operating the resources that could impact on the effective implementation of these devices in educating patients about their

Personal information search on mobile devices

OpenAIRE

Akbas, Mehmet.

2007-01-01

Today's mobile devices, especially mobile phones, are comparable in computing capability and storage to the desktop computers of a few years ago. The volume and diversity of the information kept on mobile devices has continually increased and users have taken advantage of this. Since information is being stored on multiple devices, searching for and retrieving the desired information has become an important function. This thesis focuses on search with regard to Personal Information Manag...

Informal care, employment and quality of life: Barriers and facilitators to combining informal care and work participation for healthcare professionals.

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Heitink, Eveline; Heerkens, Yvonne; Engels, Josephine

2017-01-01

In The Netherlands, one out of six Dutch employees has informal care tasks; in the hospital and healthcare sector, this ratio is one out of four workers. Informal carers experience problems with the combination of work and informal care. In particular, they have problems with the burden of responsibility, a lack of independence and their health. These problems can reveal themselves in a variety of mental and physical symptoms that can result in absenteeism, reduction or loss of (work) participation, reduction of income, and even social isolation. The aim of the study was to describe the factors that informal carers who are employed in healthcare organizations identify as affecting their quality of life, labour participation and health. We conducted an exploratory study in 2013-2014 that included desk research and a qualitative study. Sixteen semi-structured interviews were conducted with healthcare employees who combine work and informal care. Data were analyzed with Atlas-TI. We identified five themes: 1. Fear and responsibility; 2. Sense that one's own needs are not being met; 3. Work as an escape from home; 4. Health: a lack of balance; and 5. The role of colleagues and managers: giving support and understanding. Respondents combine work and informal care because they have no other solution. The top three reasons for working are: income, escape from home and satisfaction. The biggest problems informal carers experience are a lack of time and energy. They are all tired and are often or always exhausted at the end of the day. They give up activities for themselves, their social networks become smaller and they have less interest in social activities. Their managers are usually aware of the situation, but informal care is not a topic of informal conversation or in performance appraisals. Respondents solve their problems with colleagues and expect little from the organization.

Big data, big knowledge: big data for personalized healthcare.

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Viceconti, Marco; Hunter, Peter; Hose, Rod

2015-07-01

The idea that the purely phenomenological knowledge that we can extract by analyzing large amounts of data can be useful in healthcare seems to contradict the desire of VPH researchers to build detailed mechanistic models for individual patients. But in practice no model is ever entirely phenomenological or entirely mechanistic. We propose in this position paper that big data analytics can be successfully combined with VPH technologies to produce robust and effective in silico medicine solutions. In order to do this, big data technologies must be further developed to cope with some specific requirements that emerge from this application. Such requirements are: working with sensitive data; analytics of complex and heterogeneous data spaces, including nontextual information; distributed data management under security and performance constraints; specialized analytics to integrate bioinformatics and systems biology information with clinical observations at tissue, organ and organisms scales; and specialized analytics to define the "physiological envelope" during the daily life of each patient. These domain-specific requirements suggest a need for targeted funding, in which big data technologies for in silico medicine becomes the research priority.

Authorization & security aspects in the middleware-based healthcare information system.

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Andany, J; Bjorkendal, C; Ferrara, F M; Scherrer, J R; Spahni, S

1999-01-01

The integration and evolution of existing systems represents one of the most urgent priorities of health care information systems in order to allow the whole organisation to meet the increasing clinical organisational and managerial needs. The CEN ENV 12967-1 'Healthcare Information Systems Architecture'(HISA) standard defines an architectural approach based on a middleware of business-specific common services, enabling all parts of the local and geographical system to operate on the common information heritage of the organisation and on exploiting a set of common business-oriented functionality. After an overview on the key aspects of HISA, this paper discusses the positioning of the authorization and security aspects in the overall architecture. A global security framework is finally proposed.

Information workers and their personal information management: a literature review

NARCIS (Netherlands)

A.A.J. (Jos) van Helvoort

2011-01-01

The research described in this paper provides insights into tools and methods which are used by professional information workers to keep and to manage their personal information. A literature study was carried out on 23 scholar papers and articles, retrieved from the ACM Digital Library and Library

Adaptive Visualization for Focused Personalized Information Retrieval

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Ahn, Jae-wook

2010-01-01

The new trend on the Web has totally changed today's information access environment. The traditional information overload problem has evolved into the qualitative level beyond the quantitative growth. The mode of producing and consuming information is changing and we need a new paradigm for accessing information. Personalized search is one of…

Impact of telephone nursing education program for equity in healthcare

OpenAIRE

H?glund, Anna T.; Carlsson, Marianne; Holmstr?m, Inger K.; Kaminsky, Elenor

2016-01-01

Background The Swedish Healthcare Act prescribes that healthcare should be provided according to needs and with respect for each person?s human dignity. The goal is equity in health for the whole population. In spite of this, studies have revealed that Swedish healthcare is not always provided equally. This has also been observed in telephone nursing. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to investigate if and how an educational intervention can improve awareness of equity in healthcare...

The role of information technology as a complementary resource in healthcare integrated delivery systems.

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Thrasher, Evelyn H; Revels, Mark A

2012-01-01

As in many industries, it is recognized that there is a need to increase the use of information technology (IT) in the healthcare industry. However, until now, this has not occurred. In fact, some say that IT in healthcare has consistently fallen far short of expectations. The purpose of this study was to illuminate the need for a more holistic view of healthcare network integration and demonstrate that simply applying the latest technology to the network is not adequate for improving overall effectiveness. The study results showed that the more holistic view has to include management commitment, of complementarity between IT integration and organizational integration, and continued investments.

Designing the future of healthcare.

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Fidsa, Gianfranco Zaccai

2009-01-01

This paper describes the application of a holistic design process to a variety of problems plaguing current healthcare systems. A design process for addressing complex, multifaceted problems is contrasted with the piecemeal application of technological solutions to specific medical or administrative problems. The goal of this design process is the ideal customer experience, specifically the ideal experience for patients, healthcare providers, and caregivers within a healthcare system. Holistic design is shown to be less expensive and wasteful in the long run because it avoids solving one problem within a complex system at the cost of creating other problems within that system. The article applies this approach to the maintenance of good health throughout life; to the creation of an ideal experience when a person does need medical care; to the maintenance of personal independence as one ages; and to the enjoyment of a comfortable and dignified death. Virginia Mason Medical Center is discussed as an example of a healthcare institution attempting to create ideal patient and caregiver experiences, in this case by applying the principles of the Toyota Production System ("lean manufacturing") to healthcare. The article concludes that healthcare is inherently dedicated to an ideal, that science and technology have brought it closer to that ideal, and that design can bring it closer still.

Readiness of healthcare providers for eHealth: the case from primary healthcare centers in Lebanon.

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Saleh, Shadi; Khodor, Rawya; Alameddine, Mohamad; Baroud, Maysa

2016-11-10

eHealth can positively impact the efficiency and quality of healthcare services. Its potential benefits extend to the patient, healthcare provider, and organization. Primary healthcare (PHC) settings may particularly benefit from eHealth. In these settings, healthcare provider readiness is key to successful eHealth implementation. Accordingly, it is necessary to explore the potential readiness of providers to use eHealth tools. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to assess the readiness of healthcare providers working in PHC centers in Lebanon to use eHealth tools. A self-administered questionnaire was used to assess participants' socio-demographics, computer use, literacy, and access, and participants' readiness for eHealth implementation (appropriateness, management support, change efficacy, personal beneficence). The study included primary healthcare providers (physicians, nurses, other providers) working in 22 PHC centers distributed across Lebanon. Descriptive and bivariate analyses (ANOVA, independent t-test, Kruskal Wallis, Tamhane's T2) were used to compare participant characteristics to the level of readiness for the implementation of eHealth. Of the 541 questionnaires, 213 were completed (response rate: 39.4 %). The majority of participants were physicians (46.9 %), and nurses (26.8 %). Most physicians (54.0 %), nurses (61.4 %), and other providers (50.9 %) felt comfortable using computers, and had access to computers at their PHC center (physicians: 77.0 %, nurses: 87.7 %, others: 92.5 %). Frequency of computer use varied. The study found a significant difference for personal beneficence, management support, and change efficacy among different healthcare providers, and relative to participants' level of comfort using computers. There was a significant difference by level of comfort using computers and appropriateness. A significant difference was also found between those with access to computers in relation to personal beneficence and

Determinants of Consumer eHealth Information Seeking Behavior.

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Sandefer, Ryan H; Westra, Bonnie L; Khairat, Saif S; Pieczkiewicz, David S; Speedie, Stuart M

2015-01-01

Patients are increasingly using the Internet and other technologies to engage in their own healthcare, but little research has focused on the determinants of consumer eHealth behaviors related to Internet use. This study uses data from 115,089 respondents to four years of the National Health Interview Series to identify the associations between one consumer eHealth behavior (information seeking) and demographics, health measures, and Personal Health Information Management (PHIM) (messaging, scheduling, refills, and chat). Individuals who use PHIM are 7.5 times more likely to search the internet for health related information. Just as health has social determinants, the results of this study indicate there are potential social determinants of consumer eHealth behaviors including personal demographics, health status, and healthcare access.

Healthcare professionals' organisational barriers to health information technologies-a literature review.

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Lluch, Maria

2011-12-01

This literature review identifies and categorises, from an organisational management perspective, barriers to the use of HIT or ICT for health. Based on the review, it offers policy interventions. This systematic literature review was carried out during December 2009 and January 2010. Additional on-going reviews of updates through automated system alerts took place up until this paper was submitted. A total of thirty-one sources were searched including nine software platforms/databases, fifteen specialised websites/targeted databases, Google Scholar, ISI Science Citation Index and five journals hand-searched. The study covers seventy-nine articles on organisational barriers to ICT adoption by healthcare professionals. These are categorised under five main headings - (I) Structure of healthcare organisations; (II) Tasks; (III) People policies; (IV) Incentives; and (V) Information and decision processes. A total of ten subcategories are also identified. By adopting an organisational management approach, some recommendations to remove organisational management barriers are made. Despite their apparent promise, health information technologies (HIT) have proved difficult to implement. This systematic review reveals the implementation barriers associated to organisational management and their interrelations. Several important future directions in the field are also suggested: (1) there is a need for further research providing evidence of HIT cost-effectiveness as well as the development of optimal HIT applications; (2) more information is needed regarding organisational change, incentives, liability issues, end-users HIT competences and skills, structure and work process issues involved in realising the benefits from HIT. Future policy interventions should consider the five dimensions identified when addressing the impact of HIT in healthcare organisational systems, and how the impact of an intervention aimed at a particular dimension would interrelate with others. 2011

The Effects of Public Concern for Information Privacy on the Adoption of Health Information Exchanges (HIEs) by Healthcare Entities.

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Esmaeilzadeh, Pouyan

2018-05-08

The implementation of Health Information Exchanges (HIEs) by healthcare organizations may not achieve the desired outcomes as consumers may request that their health information remains unshared because of information privacy concerns. Drawing on the insights of concern for information privacy (CFIP) literature, this work extends the application of CFIP to the HIE domain. This study attempts to develop and test a model centered on the four dimensions of CFIP construct (collection, errors, unauthorized access, and secondary use) and their antecedents to predict consumers' opt-in behavioral intention toward HIE in the presence of the perceived health status' effects. We conducted an online survey in the United States using 826 samples. The results demonstrate that the perceived health information sensitivity and computer anxiety meaningfully contribute to information privacy concerns and CFIP construct significantly impedes consumers' opt-in decision to HIEs. Interestingly, contrary to our expectation, perceived poor health status considerably attenuates the negative effects exerted by CFIP on opt-in intention. The model proposed by this study can be used as a useful conceptual tool by both further studies and practitioners to examine the complex nature of patients' reactions to information privacy threats associated with the use of HIE technology in the healthcare industry.

An integrated healthcare system for personalized chronic disease care in home-hospital environments.

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Jeong, Sangjin; Youn, Chan-Hyun; Shim, Eun Bo; Kim, Moonjung; Cho, Young Min; Peng, Limei

2012-07-01

Facing the increasing demands and challenges in the area of chronic disease care, various studies on the healthcare system which can, whenever and wherever, extract and process patient data have been conducted. Chronic diseases are the long-term diseases and require the processes of the real-time monitoring, multidimensional quantitative analysis, and the classification of patients' diagnostic information. A healthcare system for chronic diseases is characterized as an at-hospital and at-home service according to a targeted environment. Both services basically aim to provide patients with accurate diagnoses of disease by monitoring a variety of physical states with a number of monitoring methods, but there are differences between home and hospital environments, and the different characteristics should be considered in order to provide more accurate diagnoses for patients, especially, patients having chronic diseases. In this paper, we propose a patient status classification method for effectively identifying and classifying chronic diseases and show the validity of the proposed method. Furthermore, we present a new healthcare system architecture that integrates the at-home and at-hospital environment and discuss the applicability of the architecture using practical target services.

National health information infrastructure model: a milestone for health information management education realignment.

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Meidani, Zahra; Sadoughi, Farhnaz; Ahmadi, Maryam; Maleki, Mohammad Reza; Zohoor, Alireza; Saddik, Basema

2012-01-01

Challenges and drawbacks of the health information management (HIM) curriculum at the Master's degree were examined, including lack of well-established computing sciences and inadequacy to give rise to specific competencies. Information management was condensed to the hospital setting to intensify the indispensability of a well-organized educational campaign. The healthcare information dimensions of a national health information infrastructure (NHII) model present novel requirements for HIM education. Articles related to challenges and barriers to adoption of the personal health record (PHR), the core component of personal health dimension of an NHII, were searched through sources including Science Direct, ProQuest, and PubMed. Through a literature review, concerns about the PHR that are associated with HIM functions and responsibilities were extracted. In the community/public health dimension of the NHII the main components have been specified, and the targeted information was gathered through literature review, e-mail, and navigation of international and national organizations. Again, topics related to HIM were evoked. Using an information system (decision support system, artificial neural network, etc.) to support PHR media and content, patient education, patient-HIM communication skills, consumer health information, conducting a surveillance system in other areas of healthcare such as a risk factor surveillance system, occupational health, using an information system to analyze aggregated data including a geographic information system, data mining, online analytical processing, public health vocabulary and classification system, and emerging automated coding systems pose major knowledge gaps in HIM education. Combining all required skills and expertise to handle personal and public dimensions of healthcare information in a single curriculum is simply impractical. Role expansion and role extension for HIM professionals should be defined based on the essence of

Video Analysis and Remote Digital Ethnography: Approaches to understanding user perspectives and processes involving healthcare information technology.

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Kushniruk, Andre W; Borycki, Elizabeth M

2015-01-01

Innovations in healthcare information systems promise to revolutionize and streamline healthcare processes worldwide. However, the complexity of these systems and the need to better understand issues related to human-computer interaction have slowed progress in this area. In this chapter the authors describe their work in using methods adapted from usability engineering, video ethnography and analysis of digital log files for improving our understanding of complex real-world healthcare interactions between humans and technology. The approaches taken are cost-effective and practical and can provide detailed ethnographic data on issues health professionals and consumers encounter while using systems as well as potential safety problems. The work is important in that it can be used in techno-anthropology to characterize complex user interactions with technologies and also to provide feedback into redesign and optimization of improved healthcare information systems.

Patient guardians as an instrument for person centered care.

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Basu, Lopa; Frescas, Ruben; Kiwelu, Humphrey

2014-05-08

Person-centered care involves keeping the person at the center of the care planning and decision-making process. While the theory behind person-centered care is commonly shared, its application in healthcare settings is more challenging. In a number of African countries, a lesson emerges involving the application of person-centered care through the use of patient guardians. Patient guardians, often family or close friends, act as an extension of the patient's hospital care team. Medical teams engage with these self-designated individuals who invest their time and efforts in the care of the patient. More importantly, the guardian continues this role and relationship when the patient is released from the hospital to return home. Healthcare workers view patient guardians as a valuable resource. In a structured manner, guardians become stewards of information regarding topics such as hand hygiene and infection control. The knowledge gained can help the recovering patient upon discharge and potentially spread the information to others in the community. Further study of this model may show clear applicability to help improve health literacy in underserved settings in both low-income and high-income countries.

Privacy and medical information on the Internet.

Science.gov (United States)

Nelson, Steven B

2006-02-01

Health-care consumers are beginning to realize the presence and value of health-care information available on the Internet, but they need to be aware of risks that may be involved. In addition to delivering information, some Web sites collect information. Though not all of the information might be classified as protected health information, consumers need to realize what is collected and how it might be used. Consumers should know a Web site\\'s privacy policy before divulging any personal information. Health-care providers have a responsibility to know what information they are collecting and why. Web servers may collect large amounts of visitor information by default, and they should be modified to limit data collection to only what is necessary. Providers need to be cognizant of the many regulations concerning collection and disclosure of information obtained from consumers. Providers should also provide an easily understood privacy policy for users.

Gharibi_FaceCard for Contacts and Easy Personal - Information Exchange

OpenAIRE

Gharibi, Wajeb; Gharibi, Gharib

2014-01-01

In this paper, we discuss a new contact way for exchanging personal information using mobile phones. The idea of this invention depends on allocating a special code called Gharibi Code (GC) for each personal mobile and creating a personal information file called Gharibi Face Card (GFC), which has all specified personal data of the mobile phone user. When you request someone's GC code, the other party's phone will send you the GFC of that person. We think that this approach will facilitate the...

Maintenance of influenza virus infectivity on the surfaces of personal protective equipment and clothing used in healthcare settings.

Science.gov (United States)

Sakaguchi, Hiroko; Wada, Koji; Kajioka, Jitsuo; Watanabe, Mayumi; Nakano, Ryuichi; Hirose, Tatsuko; Ohta, Hiroshi; Aizawa, Yoshiharu

2010-11-01

The maintenance of infectivity of influenza viruses on the surfaces of personal protective equipment and clothing is an important factor in terms of controlling viral cross-infection in the environment and preventing contact infection. The aim of this study was to determine if laboratory-grown influenza A (H1N1) virus maintained infectivity on the surfaces of personal protective equipment and clothing used in healthcare settings. Influenza A virus (0.5 mL) was deposited on the surface of a rubber glove, an N95 particulate respirator, a surgical mask made of non-woven fabric, a gown made of Dupont Tyvek, a coated wooden desk, and stainless steel. Each sample was left for 1, 8, and 24 h, and hemagglutination (HA) and 50% tissue culture infective dose (TCID(50))/mL were measured. The HA titer of this influenza A virus did not decrease in any of the materials tested even after 24 h. The infectivity of influenza A virus measured by TCID(50) was maintained for 8 h on the surface of all materials, with the exception of the rubber glove for which virus infectivity was maintained for 24 h. Our results indicate that the replacement/renewal of personal protective equipment and clothing by healthcare professionals in cases of exposure to secretions and droplets containing viruses spread by patients is an appropriate procedure to prevent cross-infection.

Continuum Thinking and the Contexts of Personal Information Management

Science.gov (United States)

Huvila, Isto; Eriksen, Jon; Häusner, Eva-Maria; Jansson, Ina-Maria

2014-01-01

Introduction: Recent personal information management literature has underlined the significance of the contextuality of personal information and its use. The present article discusses the applicability of the records continuum model and its generalisation, continuum thinking, as a theoretical framework for explicating the overlap and evolution of…

Impact of IPDE-SQ personality disorders on the healthcare and societal costs of fibromyalgia patients: a cross-sectional study.

Science.gov (United States)

Gumà-Uriel, Laura; Peñarrubia-María, M Teresa; Cerdà-Lafont, Marta; Cunillera-Puertolas, Oriol; Almeda-Ortega, Jesús; Fernández-Vergel, Rita; García-Campayo, Javier; Luciano, Juan V

2016-06-01

Data is lacking on comorbid personality disorders (PD) and fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) in terms of prevalence, and associated healthcare and societal costs. The main aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of PD in FMS patients and to analyse whether the presence of comorbid PD is related to worse functional impairment and greater healthcare (medical visits, drug consumption, and medical tests) and societal costs. A cross-sectional study was performed using the baseline data of 216 FMS patients participating in a randomized, controlled trial carried out in three primary health care centres situated in the region of Barcelona, Spain. Measurement instruments included the International Personality Disorder Examination - Screening Questionnaire (IPDE-SQ), the Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQ), the Client Service Receipt Inventory (CSRI), and a socio-demographic questionnaire. Most patients (65 %) had a potential PD according to the IPDE-SQ. The most prevalent PD were the avoidant (41.4 %), obsessive-compulsive (33.1 %), and borderline (27 %). We found statistically significant differences in functional impairment (FIQ scores) between FMS patients with potential PD vs non-PD (59.2 vs 51.1; p FIQ total scores and the presence of potential PD were related to more healthcare costs (primary and specialised care visits). As expected, PD are frequent comorbid conditions in patients with FMS. Our results suggest that the screening of comorbid PD in patients with FMS might be recommendable in order to detect potential frequent attenders to primary and specialised care.

A protocol for a pragmatic randomized controlled trial using the Health Teams Advancing Patient Experience: Strengthening Quality (Health TAPESTRY) platform approach to promote person-focused primary healthcare for older adults.

Science.gov (United States)

Dolovich, Lisa; Oliver, Doug; Lamarche, Larkin; Agarwal, Gina; Carr, Tracey; Chan, David; Cleghorn, Laura; Griffith, Lauren; Javadi, Dena; Kastner, Monika; Longaphy, Jennifer; Mangin, Dee; Papaioannou, Alexandra; Ploeg, Jenny; Raina, Parminder; Richardson, Julie; Risdon, Cathy; Santaguida, P Lina; Straus, Sharon; Thabane, Lehana; Valaitis, Ruta; Price, David

2016-04-05

Healthcare systems are not well designed to help people maintain or improve their health. They are generally not person-focused or well-coordinated. The objective of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of the Health Teams Advancing Patient Experience: Strengthening Quality (Health TAPESTRY) approach in older adults. The overarching hypothesis is that using the Health TAPESTRY approach to achieve better integration of the health and social care systems into a person's life that centers on meeting a person's health goals and needs will result in optimal aging. This is a 12-month delayed intervention pragmatic randomized controlled trial. The study will be performed in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada in the two-site McMaster Family Health Team. Participants will include 316 patients who are 70 years of age or older. Participants will be randomized to the Health TAPESTRY approach or control group. The Health TAPESTRY approach includes intentional, proactive conversations about a person's life and health goals and health risks and then initiation of congruent tailored interventions that support achievement of those goals and addressing of risks through (1) trained volunteers visiting clients in their homes to serve as a link between the primary care team and the client; (2) the use of novel technology including a personal health record from the home to link directly with the primary healthcare team; and (3) improved processes for connections, system navigation, and care delivery among interprofessional primary care teams, community service providers, and informal caregivers. The primary outcome will be the goal attainment scaling score. Secondary outcomes include self-efficacy for managing chronic disease, quality of life, the participant perspective on their own aging, social support, access to health services, comprehensiveness of care, patient empowerment, patient-centeredness, caregiver strain, satisfaction with care, healthcare resource utilization, and cost

The letter of recommendation effect in informant ratings of personality.

Science.gov (United States)

Leising, Daniel; Erbs, Julia; Fritz, Ulrike

2010-04-01

In most studies using informant reports of personality, the informants are recruited by the targets. Such informants may tend to like the targets and thus portray them in specific ways (e.g., too positively). Study 1 (N = 403) demonstrated the necessity to distinguish between "liking" and "knowing" in studying the relationships between informants and targets. Informants who liked their targets better described them more positively (i.e., as being more extraverted, agreeable, open, conscientious, and less neurotic). The association between personality ratings and liking was moderated by item evaluativeness. Liked targets were also described as being more similar to each other (range restriction), which would lower correlations of informant ratings of personality with external variables. Study 2 (N = 90) used a within-subjects design to disentangle actual personality differences between targets (substance) from the informants' specific views on the targets (style). Ninety informants were asked to nominate targets they did not like. These targets then nominated informants of their own choice. Target-nominated informants liked the targets very much and described the targets' personalities very positively and in ways that were highly redundant with the average target's self-rating. There was evidence that lower liking may be associated with better accuracy. Higher subjective levels of knowing were not associated with better interrater agreement but with a greater willingness to describe targets negatively. Implications for the field of recruiting are discussed. Where possible, the choice of informants and referees should be made independent of the targets' preferences.

Service Robotics in Healthcare: A Perspective for Information Systems Researchers?

OpenAIRE

Garmann-Johnsen, Niels Frederik; Mettler, Tobias; Sprenger, Michaela

2014-01-01

Recent advances in electronics and telecommunication have paved the way for service robots to enter the clinical world. While service robotics has long been a core research theme in computer science and other engineering-related fields, it has attracted little interest of Information Systems (IS) researchers so far. We argue that service robotics represents an interesting area of investigation, especially for healthcare, since current research lacks a thorough examination of socio-technical p...

Pervasive healthcare in the home Supporting patient motivation and engagement

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

2010-01-01

Currently, care and rehabilitation practices move, to a greater extent, out of hospitals and into private homes. This accelerating trend challenges healthcare systems and their patients. Heterogeneous settings such as private homes together with the diverse nature of the inhabitants and their con......Currently, care and rehabilitation practices move, to a greater extent, out of hospitals and into private homes. This accelerating trend challenges healthcare systems and their patients. Heterogeneous settings such as private homes together with the diverse nature of the inhabitants...... and their conditions create both technical and usability constraints and possibilities that can inform development of home-based care and rehabilitation applications. This workshop likes to investigate and discuss challenges, requirements and possibilities related to home-based healthcare applications, seen from...... environments such as private homes? Or, how can User Driven Innovation (UDI) and Participatory Design (PD) be used to create systems that are aesthetically and functionally accepted by persons subject to homebased healthcare and rehabilitation?...

Promoting exercise behaviour in a secure mental health setting: Healthcare assistant perspectives.

Science.gov (United States)

Kinnafick, Florence-Emilie; Papathomas, Anthony; Regoczi, Dora

2018-05-30

Individuals with severe mental illness engage in significantly less amounts of physical activity than the general population. A secure mental health setting can exacerbate barriers to exercise, and facilitate physical inactivity and sedentary behaviour. Healthcare assistants are intimately involved in the daily lives of patients and, therefore, should be considered integral to exercise promotion in secure mental health settings. Our aim was to explore healthcare assistants' perceptions of exercise and their attitudes to exercise promotion for adult patients in a secure mental health hospital. Qualitative semi-structured interviews were conducted with 11 healthcare assistants from a large UK-based secure mental health hospital. Topics included healthcare assistants' personal experiences of exercise within a secure facility, their perceptions of exercise as an effective treatment tool for mental health, and their perceived roles and responsibilities for exercise promotion. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data. Three main themes were identified: (i) exercise is multi-beneficial to patients, (ii) perceived barriers to effective exercise promotion, and (iii) strategies for effectives exercise promotion. Healthcare assistants considered exercise to hold patient benefits. However, core organizational and individual barriers limited healthcare assistants' exercise promotion efforts. An informal approach to exercise promotion was deemed most effective to some, whereas others committed to more formal strategies including compulsory sessions. With education and organizational support, we propose healthcare assistants are well placed to identify individual needs for exercise promotion. Their consultation could lead to more efficacious, person-sensitive interventions. © 2018 Australian College of Mental Health Nurses Inc.

The Influence of Organizational Subculture on Information Technology Project Success in the Healthcare Sector: A Qualitative, Multi-Case Study

Science.gov (United States)

Mallet, Richard Kofi

2014-01-01

Healthcare providers face high demands for technology based healthcare services due to global population increases and adapting information technology (IT) to achieve quality patient care. IT has become center stage in the operations and management of healthcare organizations. IT requirements emerge from the visions, values, and beliefs of…

Implications of the Protection of Personal Information (POPI)

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The main purpose of the POPI act is to protect the processing of personal information ... a smartphone, iPad or personal computer), digital storage devices. (iCloud, Dropbox ... (vi) Reasonable security regarding the safeguarding, integrity and.

National healthcare information system in Croatian primary care: the foundation for improvement of quality and efficiency in patient care

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Darko Gvozdanovi_

2007-09-01

Full Text Available In order to improve the quality of patient care, while at the same time keeping up with the pace of increased needs of the population for healthcare services that directly impacts on the cost of care delivery processes, the Republic of Croatia, under the leadership of the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, has formed a strategy and campaign for national public healthcare system reform. The strategy is very comprehensive and addresses all niches of care delivery processes; it is founded on the enterprise information systems that will aim to support end-to-end business processes in the healthcare domain. Two major requirements are in focus: (1 to provide efficient healthcare-related data management in support of decision-making processes; (2 to support a continuous process of healthcare resource spending optimisation. The first project is the Integrated Healthcare Information System (IHCIS on the primary care level; this encompasses the integration of all primary point-of-care facilities and subjects with the Croatian Institute for Health Insurance and Croatian National Institute of Public Health. In years to come, IHCIS will serve as the main integration platform for connecting all other stakeholders and levels of health care (that is, hospitals, pharmacies, laboratories into a single enterprise healthcare network. This article gives an overview of Croatian public healthcare system strategy aims and goals, and focuses on properties and characteristics of the primary care project implementation that started in 2003; it achieved a major milestone in early 2007 - the official grand opening of the project with 350 GPs already fully connected to the integrated healthcare information infrastructure based on the IHCIS solution.

Smart Homes for Elderly Healthcare-Recent Advances and Research Challenges.

Science.gov (United States)

Majumder, Sumit; Aghayi, Emad; Noferesti, Moein; Memarzadeh-Tehran, Hamidreza; Mondal, Tapas; Pang, Zhibo; Deen, M Jamal

2017-10-31

Advancements in medical science and technology, medicine and public health coupled with increased consciousness about nutrition and environmental and personal hygiene have paved the way for the dramatic increase in life expectancy globally in the past several decades. However, increased life expectancy has given rise to an increasing aging population, thus jeopardizing the socio-economic structure of many countries in terms of costs associated with elderly healthcare and wellbeing. In order to cope with the growing need for elderly healthcare services, it is essential to develop affordable, unobtrusive and easy-to-use healthcare solutions. Smart homes, which incorporate environmental and wearable medical sensors, actuators, and modern communication and information technologies, can enable continuous and remote monitoring of elderly health and wellbeing at a low cost. Smart homes may allow the elderly to stay in their comfortable home environments instead of expensive and limited healthcare facilities. Healthcare personnel can also keep track of the overall health condition of the elderly in real-time and provide feedback and support from distant facilities. In this paper, we have presented a comprehensive review on the state-of-the-art research and development in smart home based remote healthcare technologies.

Healthcare and healthcare systems: inspiring progress and future prospects.

Science.gov (United States)

Durrani, Hammad

2016-01-01

Healthcare systems globally have experienced intensive changes, reforms, developments, and improvement over the past 30 years. Multiple actors (governmental and non-governmental) and countries have played their part in the reformation of the global healthcare system. New opportunities are presenting themselves while multiple challenges still remain especially in developing countries. Better way to proceed would be to learn from historical patterns while we plan for the future in a technology-driven society with dynamic demographic, epidemiological and economic uncertainties. A structured review of both peer-reviewed and gray literature on the topic was carried out. On the whole, people are healthier, doing better financially and live longer today than 30 years ago. The number of under-5 mortality worldwide has declined from 12.7 million in 1990 to 6.3 million in 2013. Infant and maternal mortality rates have also been reduced. However, both rates are still considered high in Africa and some Asian countries. The world's population nearly doubled in these 30 years, from 4.8 billion in 1985 to 7.2 billion in 2015. The majority of the increasing population was coming from the least developed countries, i.e., 3.66 to 5.33 billion. The world will be short of 12.9 million health-care workers by 2035; today, that figure stands at 7.2 million. Health care expenditures among countries also show sharp differences. In high income countries, per person health expenditure is over USD 3,000 on average, while in poor countries, it is as low as USD 12, WHO estimate of minimum spending per person per year needed to provide basic, life-saving services is USD 44. The challenges faced by the global health system over the past 30 years have been increased in population and urbanization, behavioral changes, rise in chronic diseases, traumatic injuries, infectious diseases, specific regional conflicts and healthcare delivery security. Over the next 30 years, most of the world population

A dialogue-based web application enhances personalized access to healthcare professionals – an intervention study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bjoernes Charlotte D

2012-09-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background In today’s short stay hospital settings the contact time for patients is reduced. However, it seems to be more important for the patients that the healthcare professionals are easy to get in contact with during the whole course of treatment, and to have the opportunity to exchange information, as a basis for obtaining individualized information and support. Therefore, the aim was to explore the ability of a dialogue-based application to contribute to accessibility of the healthcare professionals and exchangeability of information. Method An application for online written and asynchronous contacts was developed, implemented in clinical practice, and evaluated. The qualitative effect of the online contact was explored using a Web-based survey comprised of open-ended questions. Results Patients valued the online contacts and experienced feelings of partnership in dialogue, in a flexible and calm environment, which supported their ability to be active partners and feelings of freedom and security. Conclusion The online asynchronous written environment can contribute to accessibility and exchangeability, and add new possibilities for dialogues from which the patients can benefit. The individualized information obtained via online contact empowers the patients. The Internet-based contacts are a way to differentiate and expand the possibilities for contacts outside the few scheduled face-to-face hospital contacts.

Concern about security and privacy, and perceived control over collection and use of health information are related to withholding of health information from healthcare providers.

Science.gov (United States)

Agaku, Israel T; Adisa, Akinyele O; Ayo-Yusuf, Olalekan A; Connolly, Gregory N

2014-01-01

This study assessed the perceptions and behaviors of US adults about the security of their protected health information (PHI). The first cycle of the fourth wave of the Health Information National Trends Survey was analyzed to assess respondents' concerns about PHI breaches. Multivariate logistic regression was used to assess the effect of such concerns on disclosure of sensitive medical information to a healthcare professional (pdata breach when their PHI was being transferred between healthcare professionals by fax (67.0%; 95% CI 64.2% to 69.8%) or electronically (64.5%; 95% CI 61.7% to 67.3%). About 12.3% (95% CI 10.8% to 13.8%) of respondents had ever withheld information from a healthcare provider because of security concerns. The likelihood of information withholding was higher among respondents who perceived they had very little say about how their medical records were used (adjusted OR=1.42; 95% CI 1.03 to 1.96). This study underscores the need for enhanced measures to secure patients' PHI to avoid undermining their trust.

Cloud Computing Application of Personal Information's Security in Network Sales-channels

OpenAIRE

Sun Qiong; Min Liu; Shiming Pang

2013-01-01

With the promotion of Internet sales, the security of personal information to network users have become increasingly demanding. The existing network of sales channels has personal information security risks, vulnerable to hacker attacking. Taking full advantage of cloud security management strategy, cloud computing security management model is introduced to the network sale of personal information security applications, which is to solve the problem of information leakage. Then we proposed me...

Healthcare System Information at Language Schools for Newly Arrived Immigrants: A Pertinent Setting in Times of Austerity

Science.gov (United States)

Tynell, Lena Lyngholt; Wimmelmann, Camilla Lawaetz; Jervelund, Signe Smith

2017-01-01

Objective: In most European countries, immigrants do not systematically learn about the host countries' healthcare system when arriving. This study investigated how newly arrived immigrants perceived the information they received about the Danish healthcare system. Methods: Immigrants attending a language school in Copenhagen in 2012 received…

45 CFR 61.15 - How to dispute the accuracy of Healthcare Integrity and Protection Data Bank information.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 45 Public Welfare 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false How to dispute the accuracy of Healthcare Integrity and Protection Data Bank information. 61.15 Section 61.15 Public Welfare DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES GENERAL ADMINISTRATION HEALTHCARE INTEGRITY AND PROTECTION DATA BANK FOR FINAL ADVERSE...

Depiction of Trends in Administrative Healthcare Data from Hospital Information System.

Science.gov (United States)

Kalankesh, Leila R; Pourasghar, Faramarz; Jafarabadi, Mohammad Asghari; Khanehdan, Negar

2015-06-01

administrative healthcare data are among main components of hospital information system. Such data can be analyzed and deployed for a variety of purposes. The principal aim of this research was to depict trends of administrative healthcare data from HIS in a general hospital from March 2011 to March 2014. data set used for this research was extracted from the SQL database of the hospital information system in Razi general hospital located in Marand. The data were saved as CSV (Comma Separated Values) in order to facilitate data cleaning and analysis. The variables of data set included patient's age, gender, final diagnosis, final diagnosis code based on ICD-10 classification system, date of hospitalization, date of discharge, LOS(Length of Stay), ward, and survival status of the patient. Data were analyzed and visualized after applying appropriate cleansing and preparing techniques. morbidity showed a constant trend over three years. Pregnancy, childbirth and the puerperium were the leading category of final diagnosis (about 32.8 %). The diseases of the circulatory system were the second class accounting for 13 percent of the hospitalization cases. The diseases of the digestive system had the third rank (10%). Patients aged between 14 and 44 constituted a higher proportion of total cases. Diseases of the circulatory system was the most common class of diseases among elderly patients (age≥65). The highest rate of mortality was observed among patients with final diagnosis of the circulatory system diseases followed by those with diseases of the respiratory system, and neoplasms. Mortality rate for the ICU and the CCU patients were 62% and 33% respectively. The longest average of LOS (7.3 days) was observed among patients hospitalized in the ICU while patients in the Obstetrics and Gynecology ward had the shortest average of LOS (2.4 days). Multiple regression analysis revealed that LOS was correlated with variables of surgery, gender, and type of payment, ward, the

Leveraging the Experiences of Informal Caregivers to Create Future Healthcare Workforce Options.

Science.gov (United States)

Phillips, Sara S; Ragas, Daiva M; Hajjar, Nadia; Tom, Laura S; Dong, XinQi; Simon, Melissa A

2016-01-01

The objective of this study was gather pilot data from informal caregivers regarding the potential for a training program to assist current or past caregivers in reentering the job market, and thus offering a pathway to economic resilience. In an effort that could foster a sustainable and competent caregiving market to help meet the needs of an aging America, whether training informal caregivers might help them transition into a paid caregiving or other health service role was explored. Caregivers (N=55) of a chronically or terminally ill family member or friend in a suburban county near Chicago were interviewed. The interview guide addressed household economic effect of illness, emotional burden, and training program interest. Fifty-six percent of caregivers were interested in training to work outside the home, caring for people in other households, 84% indicated a desire to learn more about health care, and 68% reported a desire to explore job possibilities in health care. Eighty-two percent were experienced in working with an individual aged 50 and older. Informal caregivers' interest in a training program to bolster their qualifications for a role in the healthcare workforce, including the option of a formal caregiver position, supports the demand for such a program. Considering the need for healthcare workers to serve the growing elderly population and the desire of informal caregivers to find gainful employment, these informal caregivers could provide the impetus to invest in informal caregiver training. © 2016, Copyright the Authors Journal compilation © 2016, The American Geriatrics Society.

Process-driven selection of information systems for healthcare

Science.gov (United States)

Mills, Stephen F.; Yeh, Raymond T.; Giroir, Brett P.; Tanik, Murat M.

1995-05-01

Integration of networking and data management technologies such as PACS, RIS and HIS into a healthcare enterprise in a clinically acceptable manner is a difficult problem. Data within such a facility are generally managed via a combination of manual hardcopy systems and proprietary, special-purpose data processing systems. Process modeling techniques have been successfully applied to engineering and manufacturing enterprises, but have not generally been applied to service-based enterprises such as healthcare facilities. The use of process modeling techniques can provide guidance for the placement, configuration and usage of PACS and other informatics technologies within the healthcare enterprise, and thus improve the quality of healthcare. Initial process modeling activities conducted within the Pediatric ICU at Children's Medical Center in Dallas, Texas are described. The ongoing development of a full enterprise- level model for the Pediatric ICU is also described.

Determining Mobbing Perceptions and Job Satisfaction among Healthcare Professionals

OpenAIRE

KILIÇ, Nurhayat; TEL, Havva

2017-01-01

Aim: This study has been carried out as defi nitive to determine job satisfaction and mobbing perception of health care workers.Method: Three hundred and ninety healthcare professionals were enrolled in the study. Study data were collected with a personal information form, mobbing perceptional scale, and the Minnesota Job Satisfaction Scale. In the analysis of the data, percentage distribution, the Mann-Whitney U, Kruskal Wallis Variance Analysis and Pearson’s correlation analysis tests were ...

Supporting nurses' transition to rural healthcare environments through mentorship.

Science.gov (United States)

Rohatinsky, Noelle K; Jahner, Sharleen

2016-01-01

The global shortage of rural healthcare professionals threatens the access these communities have to adequate healthcare resources. Barriers to recruitment and retention of nurses in rural facilities include limited resources, professional development opportunities, and interpersonal ties to the area. Mentorship programs have been used to successfully recruit and retain rural nurses. This study aimed to explore (i) employee perceptions of mentorship in rural healthcare organizations, (ii) the processes involved in creating mentoring relationships in rural healthcare organizations, and (iii) the organizational features supporting and inhibiting mentorship in rural healthcare organizations. This study was conducted in one rural health region in Saskatchewan, Canada. Volunteer participants who were employed at one rural healthcare facility were interviewed. A semi-structured interview guide that focused on exploring and gaining an understanding of participants' perceptions of mentorship in rural communities was employed. Data were analyzed using interpretive description methodology, which places high value on participants' subjective perspective and knowledge of their experience. All seven participants were female and employed as registered nurses or licensed practical nurses. Participants recognized that the rural environment offered unique challenges and opportunities for the transition of nurses new to rural healthcare. Participants believed mentorships facilitated this transition and were vital to the personal and professional success of new employees. Specifically, their insights indicated that this transition was influenced by three factors: rural community influences, organizational influences, and mentorship program influences. Facilitators for mentorships hinged on the close working relationships that facilitated the development of trust. Barriers to mentorship included low staff numbers, limited selection of volunteer mentors, and lack of mentorship

The Swedish strategy and method for development of a national healthcare information architecture.

Science.gov (United States)

Rosenälv, Jessica; Lundell, Karl-Henrik

2012-01-01

"We need a precise framework of regulations in order to maintain appropriate and structured health care documentation that ensures that the information maintains a sufficient level of quality to be used in treatment, in research and by the actual patient. The users shall be aided by clearly and uniformly defined terms and concepts, and there should be an information structure that clarifies what to document and how to make the information more useful. Most of all, we need to standardize the information, not just the technical systems." (eHälsa - nytta och näring, Riksdag report 2011/12:RFR5, p. 37). In 2010, the Swedish Government adopted the National e-Health - the national strategy for accessible and secure information in healthcare. The strategy is a revision and extension of the previous strategy from 2006, which was used as input for the most recent efforts to develop a national information structure utilizing business-oriented generic models. A national decision on healthcare informatics standards was made by the Swedish County Councils, which decided to follow and use EN/ISO 13606 as a standard for the development of a universally applicable information structure, including archetypes and templates. The overall aim of the Swedish strategy for development of National Healthcare Information Architecture is to achieve high level semantic interoperability for clinical content and clinical contexts. High level semantic interoperability requires consistently structured clinical data and other types of data with coherent traceability to be mapped to reference clinical models. Archetypes that are formal definitions of the clinical and demographic concepts and some administrative data were developed. Each archetype describes the information structure and content of overarching core clinical concepts. Information that is defined in archetypes should be used for different purposes. Generic clinical process model was made concrete and analyzed. For each decision

Social Medicine: Twitter in Healthcare.

Science.gov (United States)

Pershad, Yash; Hangge, Patrick T; Albadawi, Hassan; Oklu, Rahmi

2018-05-28

Social media enables the public sharing of information. With the recent emphasis on transparency and the open sharing of information between doctors and patients, the intersection of social media and healthcare is of particular interest. Twitter is currently the most popular form of social media used for healthcare communication; here, we examine the use of Twitter in medicine and specifically explore in what capacity using Twitter to share information on treatments and research has the potential to improve care. The sharing of information on Twitter can create a communicative and collaborative atmosphere for patients, physicians, and researchers and even improve quality of care. However, risks involved with using Twitter for healthcare discourse include high rates of misinformation, difficulties in verifying the credibility of sources, overwhelmingly high volumes of information available on Twitter, concerns about professionalism, and the opportunity cost of using physician time. Ultimately, the use of Twitter in healthcare can allow patients, healthcare professionals, and researchers to be more informed, but specific guidelines for appropriate use are necessary.

Transforming Healthcare Delivery: Integrating Dynamic Simulation Modelling and Big Data in Health Economics and Outcomes Research

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Marshall, Deborah A.; Burgos-Liz, Lina; Pasupathy, Kalyan S.; Padula, William V.; IJzerman, Maarten Joost; Wong, Peter K.; Higashi, Mitchell K.; Engbers, Jordan; Wiebe, Samuel; Crown, William; Osgood, Nathaniel D.

2016-01-01

In the era of the Information Age and personalized medicine, healthcare delivery systems need to be efficient and patient-centred. The health system must be responsive to individual patient choices and preferences about their care, while considering the system consequences. While dynamic simulation

Internet of Things and big data technologies for next generation healthcare

CERN Document Server

Dey, Nilanjan; Ashour, Amira

2017-01-01

This comprehensive book focuses on better big-data security for healthcare organizations. Following an extensive introduction to the Internet of Things (IoT) in healthcare including challenging topics and scenarios, it offers an in-depth analysis of medical body area networks with the 5th generation of IoT communication technology along with its nanotechnology. It also describes a novel strategic framework and computationally intelligent model to measure possible security vulnerabilities in the context of e-health. Moreover, the book addresses healthcare systems that handle large volumes of data driven by patients’ records and health/personal information, including big-data-based knowledge management systems to support clinical decisions. Several of the issues faced in storing/processing big data are presented along with the available tools, technologies and algorithms to deal with those problems as well as a case study in healthcare analytics. Addressing trust, privacy, and security issues as well as the I...

The Role of Personality in Musicians' Information Seeking for Creativity

Science.gov (United States)

Kostagiolas, Petros; Lavranos, Charilaos; Martzoukou, Konstantina; Papadatos, Joseph

2017-01-01

Introduction: This paper explores the relationship between musicians' information seeking behaviour and their personality traits within the context of musical creativity. Although previous research has addressed different socio-technological and behavioral aspects of music information seeking, the role of personality characteristics around…

Importance of Personalized Health-Care Models: A Case Study in Activity Recognition.

Science.gov (United States)

Zdravevski, Eftim; Lameski, Petre; Trajkovik, Vladimir; Pombo, Nuno; Garcia, Nuno

2018-01-01

Novel information and communication technologies create possibilities to change the future of health care. Ambient Assisted Living (AAL) is seen as a promising supplement of the current care models. The main goal of AAL solutions is to apply ambient intelligence technologies to enable elderly people to continue to live in their preferred environments. Applying trained models from health data is challenging because the personalized environments could differ significantly than the ones which provided training data. This paper investigates the effects on activity recognition accuracy using single accelerometer of personalized models compared to models built on general population. In addition, we propose a collaborative filtering based approach which provides balance between fully personalized models and generic models. The results show that the accuracy could be improved to 95% with fully personalized models, and up to 91.6% with collaborative filtering based models, which is significantly better than common models that exhibit accuracy of 85.1%. The collaborative filtering approach seems to provide highly personalized models with substantial accuracy, while overcoming the cold start problem that is common for fully personalized models.

A Concept Analysis of Personalized Health Care in Nursing.

Science.gov (United States)

Han, Claire Jungyoun

2016-01-01

The purpose of the study is to identify the concept of personalized health care in nursing and to address future direction in person-centered nursing care. Personalized health care has attracted increased attention in the twenty-first century. As more and more preclinical studies are focusing on cost-effective and patient-centered care, there also has been an identified need for a personalized health care in nursing. Yet the term lacks clear definition and interests among healthcare professionals. Rodgers' strategy for concept analysis was used in this analysis. A literature review for 1960-2014 was conducted for the following keywords: nursing care, personalized, and health care. The analysis demonstrates that personalized health care in nursing is an intangible asset, including explicit attributes (interprofessional collaboration and individualized care approach) and implicit attributes (managing personal vulnerabilities: molecular-based health information and self-health-seeking behaviors). The result of this analysis provides a guide for further conceptual and empirical research and clinical practice in the personalized healthcare era. This concept analysis represents an effort to describe the attributes of a concept regarded as representing an important feature of nursing care and to promote discourse that will enhance maturation of the concept into one that is established with clearly delineated characteristics. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

An Interoperable Security Framework for Connected Healthcare

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Asim, M.; Petkovic, M.; Qu, M.; Wang, C.

2011-01-01

Connected and interoperable healthcare system promises to reduce thecost of the healthcare delivery, increase its efficiency and enableconsumers to better engage with clinicians and manage their care. However at the same time it introduces new risks towards security andprivacy of personal health

Transforming Healthcare Delivery: Integrating Dynamic Simulation Modelling and Big Data in Health Economics and Outcomes Research.

Science.gov (United States)

Marshall, Deborah A; Burgos-Liz, Lina; Pasupathy, Kalyan S; Padula, William V; IJzerman, Maarten J; Wong, Peter K; Higashi, Mitchell K; Engbers, Jordan; Wiebe, Samuel; Crown, William; Osgood, Nathaniel D

2016-02-01

In the era of the Information Age and personalized medicine, healthcare delivery systems need to be efficient and patient-centred. The health system must be responsive to individual patient choices and preferences about their care, while considering the system consequences. While dynamic simulation modelling (DSM) and big data share characteristics, they present distinct and complementary value in healthcare. Big data and DSM are synergistic-big data offer support to enhance the application of dynamic models, but DSM also can greatly enhance the value conferred by big data. Big data can inform patient-centred care with its high velocity, volume, and variety (the three Vs) over traditional data analytics; however, big data are not sufficient to extract meaningful insights to inform approaches to improve healthcare delivery. DSM can serve as a natural bridge between the wealth of evidence offered by big data and informed decision making as a means of faster, deeper, more consistent learning from that evidence. We discuss the synergies between big data and DSM, practical considerations and challenges, and how integrating big data and DSM can be useful to decision makers to address complex, systemic health economics and outcomes questions and to transform healthcare delivery.

Protecting Personal Information on Social Networking Sites

Science.gov (United States)

Gallant, David T.

2011-01-01

Almost everyone uses social networking sites like Facebook, MySpace, and LinkedIn. Since Facebook is the most popular site in the history of the Internet, this article will focus on how one can protect his/her personal information and how that extends to protecting the private information of others.

The reliability and validity of the informant AD8 by comparison with a series of cognitive assessment tools in primary healthcare.

Science.gov (United States)

Shaik, Muhammad Amin; Xu, Xin; Chan, Qun Lin; Hui, Richard Jor Yeong; Chong, Steven Shih Tsze; Chen, Christopher Li-Hsian; Dong, YanHong

2016-03-01

The validity and reliability of the informant AD8 in primary healthcare has not been established. Therefore, the present study examined the validity and reliability of the informant AD8 in government subsidized primary healthcare centers in Singapore. Eligible patients (≥60 years old) were recruited from primary healthcare centers and their informants received the AD8. Patient-informant dyads who agreed for further cognitive assessments received the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR), and a locally validated formal neuropsychological battery at a research center in a tertiary hospital. 1,082 informants completed AD8 assessment at two primary healthcare centers. Of these, 309 patients-informant dyads were further assessed, of whom 243 (78.6%) were CDR = 0; 22 (7.1%) were CDR = 0.5; and 44 (14.2%) were CDR≥1. The mean administration time of the informant AD8 was 2.3 ± 1.0 minutes. The informant AD8 demonstrated good internal consistency (Cronbach's α = 0.85); inter-rater reliability (Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC) = 0.85); and test-retest reliability (weighted κ = 0.80). Concurrent validity, as measured by the correlation between total AD8 scores and CDR global (R = 0.65, p validity, as measured by convergent validity (R ≥ 0.4) between individual items of AD8 with CDR and neuropsychological domains was acceptable. The informant AD8 demonstrated good concurrent and construct validity and is a reliable measure to detect cognitive dysfunction in primary healthcare.

A COMPARISON OF PATIENT AND HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONAL VIEWS WHEN ASSESSING QUALITY OF INFORMATION ON PITUITARY ADENOMA AVAILABLE ON THE INTERNET.

Science.gov (United States)

Druce, Irena; Williams, Chantal; Baggoo, Carolyn; Keely, Erin; Malcolm, Janine

2017-10-01

Patients are increasingly turning to the internet to seek reliable sources of health information and desire guidance in assessing the quality of information as healthcare becomes progressively more complex. Pituitary adenomas are a rare, diverse group of tumors associated with increased mortality and morbidity whose management requires a multidisciplinary approach. As such, patients with this disorder are often searching for additional sources of healthcare information. We undertook a study to assess the quality of information available on the internet for patients with pituitary adenoma. After exclusion, 42 websites were identified based on a search engine query with various search terms. Each website was assessed in triplicate: once by a health professional, once by a simulated patient, and once by a patient who had a pituitary adenoma and underwent medical and surgical treatment. The assessment tools included a content-specific questionnaire, the DISCERN tool, and the Ensuring Quality Information for Patients tool. The readability of the information was assessed with the Flesch-Kincaid grade level. We found that the overall quality of information on pituitary adenoma on the internet was variable and written at a high grade level. Correlation between the different assessors was poor, indicating that there may be differences in how healthcare professionals and patients view healthcare information. Our findings highlight the importance of assessment of the health information by groups of the intended user to ensure the needs of that population are met. Abbreviation: EQIP = Ensuring Quality Information for Patients.

Process-aware information system development for the healthcare domain : consistency, reliability and effectiveness

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Mans, R.S.; Aalst, van der W.M.P.; Russell, N.C.; Bakker, P.J.M.; Moleman, A.J.; Rinderle-Ma, S.; Sadiq, S.; Leymann, F.

2010-01-01

Optimal support for complex healthcare processes cannot be provided by a single out-of-the-box Process-Aware Information System and necessitates the construction of customized applications based on these systems. In order to allow for the seamless integration of the new technology into the existing

The Healthcare Improvement Scotland evidence note rapid review process: providing timely, reliable evidence to inform imperative decisions on healthcare.

Science.gov (United States)

McIntosh, Heather M; Calvert, Julie; Macpherson, Karen J; Thompson, Lorna

2016-06-01

Rapid review has become widely adopted by health technology assessment agencies in response to demand for evidence-based information to support imperative decisions. Concern about the credibility of rapid reviews and the reliability of their findings has prompted a call for wider publication of their methods. In publishing this overview of the accredited rapid review process developed by Healthcare Improvement Scotland, we aim to raise awareness of our methods and advance the discourse on best practice. Healthcare Improvement Scotland produces rapid reviews called evidence notes using a process that has achieved external accreditation through the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. Key components include a structured approach to topic selection, initial scoping, considered stakeholder involvement, streamlined systematic review, internal quality assurance, external peer review and updating. The process was introduced in 2010 and continues to be refined over time in response to user feedback and operational experience. Decision-makers value the responsiveness of the process and perceive it as being a credible source of unbiased evidence-based information supporting advice for NHSScotland. Many agencies undertaking rapid reviews are striving to balance efficiency with methodological rigour. We agree that there is a need for methodological guidance and that it should be informed by better understanding of current approaches and the consequences of different approaches to streamlining systematic review methods. Greater transparency in the reporting of rapid review methods is essential to enable that to happen.

Information access tasks and evaluation for personal lifelogs

OpenAIRE

Jones, Gareth J.F.; Gurrin, Cathal; Kelly, Liadh; Byrne, Daragh; Chen, Yi

2008-01-01

Emerging personal lifelog (PL) collections contain permanent digital records of information associated with individuals’ daily lives. This can include materials such as emails received and sent, web content and other documents with which they have interacted, photographs, videos and music experienced passively or created, logs of phone calls and text messages, and also personal and contextual data such as location (e.g. via GPS sensors), persons and objects present (e.g. via Bluetooth) and ph...

Increasing consumerism in healthcare through intelligent information technology.

Science.gov (United States)

Cohen, Seth B; Grote, Kurt D; Pietraszek, Wayne E; Laflamme, Francois

2010-12-01

In healthcare, consumerism is not a product or program. Instead, it is an orientation to new care delivery models that encourage and enable greater patient responsibility through the intelligent use of information technology. Despite the promise of consumerism, current approaches have not fully realized the potential benefits of improved outcomes and lower cost. We recommend 4 guiding principles to ensure that next-generation innovation yields the returns that providers, patients, and other stakeholders expect: (1) keep the consumer at the center of innovation, (2) keep it simple, (3) link products and services to a broader "ecosystem" of care, and (4) encourage health in addition to treating illness. Now may be a particularly compelling time to invest in a consumerist approach.

An interoperable security framework for connected healthcare

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Asim, M.; Petkovic, M.; Qu, M.; Wang, Changjie

2011-01-01

Connected and interoperable healthcare system promises to reduce the cost of healthcare delivery, increase its efficiency and enable consumers to better engage with clinicians and manage their care. However at the same time it introduces new risks towards security and privacy of personal health

Trust and Privacy in Healthcare

Science.gov (United States)

Singleton, Peter; Kalra, Dipak

This paper considers issues of trust and privacy in healthcare around increased data-sharing through Electronic Health Records (EHRs). It uses a model structured around different aspects of trust in the healthcare organisation’s reasons for greater data-sharing and their ability to execute EHR projects, particularly any associated confidentiality controls. It reflects the individual’s personal circumstances and attitude to use of health records.

Preanalytical errors in primary healthcare: a questionnaire study of information search procedures, test request management and test tube labelling.

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Söderberg, Johan; Brulin, Christine; Grankvist, Kjell; Wallin, Olof

2009-01-01

Most errors in laboratory medicine occur in the preanalytical phase and are the result of human mistakes. This study investigated information search procedures, test request management and test tube labelling in primary healthcare compared to the same procedures amongst clinical laboratory staff. A questionnaire was completed by 317 venous blood sampling staff in 70 primary healthcare centres and in two clinical laboratories (response rate = 94%). Correct procedures were not always followed. Only 60% of the primary healthcare staff reported that they always sought information in the updated, online laboratory manual. Only 12% reported that they always labelled the test tubes prior to drawing blood samples. No major differences between primary healthcare centres and clinical laboratories were found, except for test tube labelling, whereby the laboratory staff reported better practices. Re-education and access to documented routines were not clearly associated with better practices. The preanalytical procedure in the surveyed primary healthcare centres was associated with a risk of errors which could affect patient safety. To improve patient safety in laboratory testing, all healthcare providers should survey their preanalytical procedures and improve the total testing process with a systems perspective.

Older LGBT people's experiences and concerns with healthcare professionals and services in Ireland.

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Sharek, Danika Burke; McCann, Edward; Sheerin, Fintan; Glacken, Michele; Higgins, Agnes

2015-09-01

The specific healthcare needs and concerns for older lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) persons have not been explored to any degree within Ireland. The aim of this paper, which is part of a larger study, is to detail older LGBT persons' usage, experiences and concerns with accessing healthcare services, disclosing their LGBT identity to professionals, preferences for care and their suggestions for improvement in services, including nursing services. A mixed methods research design combining quantitative survey and qualitative interview approaches of equal significance was used. 144 respondents completed an 84-item questionnaire concerning their use of healthcare services, experiences and needs. The qualitative phase involved in-depth interviews where 36 participants' experiences and concerns around health services were explored more in-depth. Quantitative data were analysed using descriptive statistics. Qualitative analysis employed the constant comparative process to generate the leading themes. Only one in three participants believed that healthcare professionals have sufficient knowledge of LGBT issues, and less than half (43%) felt respected as an LGBT person by healthcare professionals. Although 26% had chosen not to reveal their LGBT status for fear of a negative response, many positive encounters of coming out to healthcare professionals were relayed in the interviews. LGBT persons have specific concerns around residential care, particularly in relation to the perception that the Irish healthcare services emanate a heteronormative culture. Irish healthcare services need to reflect on how they currently engage with older LGBT persons at both an organisational and practitioner level. Consideration needs to be given to the specific concerns of ageing LGBT persons, particularly in relation to long-term residential care. Healthcare practitioners need to be knowledgeable of, and sensitive to, LGBT issues. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

A qualitative thematic review: emotional labour in healthcare settings.

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Riley, Ruth; Weiss, Marjorie C

2016-01-01

To identify the range of emotional labour employed by healthcare professionals in a healthcare setting and implications of this for staff and organisations. In a healthcare setting, emotional labour is the act or skill involved in the caring role, in recognizing the emotions of others and in managing our own. A thematic synthesis of qualitative studies which included emotion work theory in their design, employed qualitative methods and were situated in a healthcare setting. The reporting of the review was informed by the ENTREQ framework. 6 databases were searched between 1979-2014. Studies were included if they were qualitative, employed emotion work theory and were written in English. Papers were appraised and themes identified. Thirteen papers were included. The reviewed studies identified four key themes: (1) The professionalization of emotion and gendered aspects of emotional labour; (2) Intrapersonal aspects of emotional labour - how healthcare workers manage their own emotions in the workplace; (3) Collegial and organisational sources of emotional labour; (4) Support and training needs of professionals This review identified gendered, personal, organisational, collegial and socio-cultural sources of and barriers to emotional labour in healthcare settings. The review highlights the importance of ensuring emotional labour is recognized and valued, ensuring support and supervision is in place to enable staff to cope with the varied emotional demands of their work. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Transition from paediatric to adult healthcare for young people with cystic fibrosis: Parents' information needs.

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Coyne, Imelda; Malone, Helen; Chubb, Emma; While, Alison E

2018-01-01

Parents of young people with cystic fibrosis (YPWCF) play an important role during the transition from paediatric to adult health services. There is limited evidence on parental information needs and the extent to which they are met. An online survey was conducted targeting a finite population of 190 parents of YPWCF in Ireland. Fifty-nine parents responded (31% response rate). Parents reported the need for more general preparation and timing of the transfer, more information regarding the differences between adult and child health services and how their child will self-manage his/her illness in the future. Most parents received information on the timing of transfer and new healthcare providers but reported being insufficiently informed about their legal status relating to medical confidentiality for their adult child and community resources available for their child after transition to adult health services. The findings highlight the importance of information and preparation for caregivers as well as young people to promote successful transition to adult healthcare. Providing parents with clear information and anticipatory guidance are simple changes in practice that may lead to improvements in transition experiences.

Reception of nutrition information by adult and older adult users of Primary Healthcare: Occurrence, associated factors, and sources of information

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ivana Loraine LINDEMANN

Full Text Available ABSTRACT Objective: To investigate reception of nutrition information (outcome, associated factors, and types of sources. Methods: This cross-sectional study, conducted in 2013, included 1,246 adult and older adult users of the Primary Healthcare network of Pelotas, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. The sample was characterized by reception of nutrition information, its sources, and demographic, socioeconomic, health, knowledge, and life habit variables. Prevalence ratios and their respective 95% confidence intervals investigated associations between reception of nutrition information and independent variables. Results: More than one-third of the sample (37.6% received nutrition information (95%CI=34.9-40.3. Older adults, individuals with positive self-perceived diet, those who received health information, and those who were physically active were more likely to receive nutrition information, and normal weight individuals were less likely. The outcome differed by income strata, being highest in the highest quintile. There was a linear trend for education level and for following the Ten Steps to Healthy Eating: the outcome was more likely in individuals with at least higher education and those who followed at least four steps. The most cited sources of nutrition information were television shows (56.2%, other (46.2%, physician (41.2%, Internet (25.1%, and family members (20.9%, which did not differ by sex. Conclusion: Primary healthcare users received little nutrition information, and television could be a useful tool for the institutions responsible for the sector to disseminate the official nutritional recommendations.

Web-based Service Portal in Healthcare

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Silhavy, Petr; Silhavy, Radek; Prokopova, Zdenka

Information delivery is one the most important task in healthcare. The growing sector of electronic healthcare has an important impact on the information delivery. There are two basic approaches towards information delivering. The first is web portal and second is touch-screen terminal. The aim of this paper is to investigate the web-based service portal. The most important advantage of web-based portal in the field of healthcare is an independent access for patients. This paper deals with the conditions and frameworks for healthcare portals

From buzzword to business strategy: the case for information and decision support systems in e-healthcare.

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Korukonda, Appa Rao; Korukonda, Saritha

2006-01-01

Although electronic healthcare can boast of a remarkable origin in modern-day e-commerce in the form of Electronic Data Interchange (EDI), its mission-critical nature in information-based strategising is yet to be realised. Restricting the scope of e-healthcare management to product advertisements and website management reflects an unfortunate trend of underutilisation of the scope of electronic decision support systems in pricing and other business strategies. This paper aims to illustrate how this trend can be corrected by transforming e-healthcare into a full-fledged business strategy for strategic positioning and corporate profitability. This argument is illustrated with the aid of a business example related to transfer pricing.

[Healthcare value chain: a model for the Brazilian healthcare system].

Science.gov (United States)

Pedroso, Marcelo Caldeira; Malik, Ana Maria

2012-10-01

This article presents a model of the healthcare value chain which consists of a schematic representation of the Brazilian healthcare system. The proposed model is adapted for the Brazilian reality and has the scope and flexibility for use in academic activities and analysis of the healthcare sector in Brazil. It places emphasis on three components: the main activities of the value chain, grouped in vertical and horizontal links; the mission of each link and the main value chain flows. The proposed model consists of six vertical and three horizontal links, amounting to nine. These are: knowledge development; supply of products and technologies; healthcare services; financial intermediation; healthcare financing; healthcare consumption; regulation; distribution of healthcare products; and complementary and support services. Four flows can be used to analyze the value chain: knowledge and innovation; products and services; financial; and information.

32 CFR 806b.29 - Sending personal information over electronic mail.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... information over electronic mail. (a) Exercise caution before transmitting personal information over e-mail to... 32 National Defense 6 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Sending personal information over electronic mail. 806b.29 Section 806b.29 National Defense Department of Defense (Continued) DEPARTMENT OF THE AIR...

Reference architecture of application services for personal wellbeing information management.

Science.gov (United States)

Tuomainen, Mika; Mykkänen, Juha

2011-01-01

Personal information management has been proposed as an important enabler for individual empowerment concerning citizens' wellbeing and health information. In the MyWellbeing project in Finland, a strictly citizen-driven concept of "Coper" and related architectural and functional guidelines have been specified. We present a reference architecture and a set of identified application services to support personal wellbeing information management. In addition, the related standards and developments are discussed.

Parent's use of the Internet in the search for healthcare information and subsequent impact on the doctor-patient relationship.

Science.gov (United States)

Harvey, S; Memon, A; Khan, R; Yasin, F

2017-11-01

The Internet is an unavoidable source of healthcare information. This information, both reliable and unreliable, has previously been shown to influence carer's decisions. Our aim was to evaluate this information seeking behavior among parents and its subsequent potential impact on the doctor-patient relationship. We undertook a cross-sectional questionnaire-based survey of paediatric outpatients. Enrollment took place over 4 weeks in March 2015. There were no inclusion or exclusion criteria and enrollment was voluntary. In total 100 questionnaires were completed. General Practitioners were the most common source of healthcare information. The Internet ranked third as a reliable source of healthcare information. The Internet was commonly used as an educational resource to learn about causes, treatment, and medications. A significant percentage of our population expressed concern regarding Internet information reliability. A small percentage of parents were concerned that disclosing Internet usage may worsen the relationship with their doctor. Parents showed a willingness to learn about diseases and treatments, and felt that the Internet was a good resource to do so. This study shows that open discussion about Internet usage between parents and doctors is not common and carers feel at risk of judgment should they admit to Internet usage. The Internet should be seen as a positive adjunct to patient education which can improve understanding, thus strengthening the doctor-patient relationship. The Internet will never replace the role of healthcare professionals but must be seen as an integral part of a multi-disciplinary approach.

Measurement of information and communication technology experience and attitudes to e-learning of students in the healthcare professions: integrative review.

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Wilkinson, Ann; While, Alison E; Roberts, Julia

2009-04-01

This paper is a report of a review to describe and discuss the psychometric properties of instruments used in healthcare education settings measuring experience and attitudes of healthcare students regarding their information and communication technology skills and their use of computers and the Internet for education. Healthcare professionals are expected to be computer and information literate at registration. A previous review of evaluative studies of computer-based learning suggests that methods of measuring learners' attitudes to computers and computer aided learning are problematic. A search of eight health and social science databases located 49 papers, the majority published between 1995 and January 2007, focusing on the experience and attitudes of students in the healthcare professions towards computers and e-learning. An integrative approach was adopted, with narrative description of findings. Criteria for inclusion were quantitative studies using survey tools with samples of healthcare students and concerning computer and information literacy skills, access to computers, experience with computers and use of computers and the Internet for education purposes. Since the 1980s a number of instruments have been developed, mostly in the United States of America, to measure attitudes to computers, anxiety about computer use, information and communication technology skills, satisfaction and more recently attitudes to the Internet and computers for education. The psychometric properties are poorly described. Advances in computers and technology mean that many earlier tools are no longer valid. Measures of the experience and attitudes of healthcare students to the increased use of e-learning require development in line with computer and technology advances.

The Imminent Healthcare and Emergency Care Crisis in Japan

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Suzuki, Tetsuji

2008-05-01

Full Text Available Objectives: Japan has a universal healthcare system, and this paper describes the reality of the healthcare services provided, as well as current issues with the system.Methods: Academic, government, and press reports on Japanese healthcare systems and healthcare guidelines were reviewed.Results: The universal healthcare system of Japan is considered internationally to be both low-cost and effective because the Japanese population enjoys good health status with a long life expectancy, while healthcare spending in Japan is below the average given by the Organization for Economic Corporation and Development (OECD. However, in many regions of Japan the existing healthcare resources are seriously inadequate, especially with regard to the number of physicians and other health professionals. Because healthcare is traditionally viewed as “sacred” work in Japan, healthcare professionals are expected to make large personal sacrifices. Also, public attitudes toward medical malpractice have changed in recent decades, and medical professionals are facing legal issues without experienced support of the government or legal professionals. Administrative response to the lack of resources and collaboration among communities are beginning, and more efficient control and management of the healthcare system is under consideration.Conclusion: The Japanese healthcare system needs to adopt an efficient medical control organization to ease the strain on existing healthcare professionals and to increase the number of physicians and other healthcare resources. Rather than continuing to depend on healthcare professionals being able and willing to make personal sacrifices, the government, the public and medical societies must cooperate and support changes in the healthcare system.

Health Literacy and Health-Care Engagement as Predictors of Shared Decision-Making Among Adult Information Seekers in the USA: a Secondary Data Analysis of the Health Information National Trends Survey.

Science.gov (United States)

Wigfall, Lisa T; Tanner, Andrea H

2018-02-01

The objective of this study is to examine the relationship between health literacy, health-care engagement, and shared decision-making (SDM). We analyzed Health Information National Trends Survey 4 (cycle 3) data for 1604 information seekers who had one or more non-emergency room health-care visits in the previous year. SDM was more than two times higher among adults who "always" versus "usually/sometimes/never" take health information to doctor visits (OR = 2.54; 95 % CI 1.19-5.43). There was a twofold increase in SDM among adults who were "completely/very confident" versus "somewhat/a little/not confident" about finding health information (OR = 2.03; 95 % CI 1.37-3.02). Differences in SDM between adults who understood health information and those who had difficulty understanding health information were not statistically significant (OR = 1.39; 95 % CI 0.93-2.07). A Healthy People 2020 goal is to increase SDM. Previous research has suggested that SDM may improve health outcomes across the continuum of care. Only about half of adults report always being involved in health-care decisions. Even more alarming is the fact that SDM has not increased from 2003 to 2013. Our findings suggest that increasing health literacy has the potential to increase health-care engagement and subsequently increase SDM. Effective intervention strategies are needed to improve health literacy and promote health-care engagement.

A web-based information system for a regional public mental healthcare service network in Brazil.

Science.gov (United States)

Yoshiura, Vinicius Tohoru; de Azevedo-Marques, João Mazzoncini; Rzewuska, Magdalena; Vinci, André Luiz Teixeira; Sasso, Ariane Morassi; Miyoshi, Newton Shydeo Brandão; Furegato, Antonia Regina Ferreira; Rijo, Rui Pedro Charters Lopes; Del-Ben, Cristina Marta; Alves, Domingos

2017-01-01

Regional networking between services that provide mental health care in Brazil's decentralized public health system is challenging, partly due to the simultaneous existence of services managed by municipal and state authorities and a lack of efficient and transparent mechanisms for continuous and updated communication between them. Since 2011, the Ribeirao Preto Medical School and the XIII Regional Health Department of the Sao Paulo state, Brazil, have been developing and implementing a web-based information system to facilitate an integrated care throughout a public regional mental health care network. After a profound on-site analysis, the structure of the network was identified and a web-based information system for psychiatric admissions and discharges was developed and implemented using a socio-technical approach. An information technology team liaised with mental health professionals, health-service managers, municipal and state health secretariats and judicial authorities. Primary care, specialized community services, general emergency and psychiatric wards services, that comprise the regional mental healthcare network, were identified and the system flow was delineated. The web-based system overcame the fragmentation of the healthcare system and addressed service specific needs, enabling: detailed patient information sharing; active coordination of the processes of psychiatric admissions and discharges; real-time monitoring; the patients' status reports; the evaluation of the performance of each service and the whole network. During a 2-year period of operation, it registered 137 services, 480 health care professionals and 4271 patients, with a mean number of 2835 accesses per month. To date the system is successfully operating and further expanding. We have successfully developed and implemented an acceptable, useful and transparent web-based information system for a regional mental healthcare service network in a medium-income country with a decentralized

Toward a Nationwide Mobile-Based Public Healthcare Service System with Wireless Sensor Networks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chien-wen Shen

2016-01-01

Full Text Available This paper describes the development of a nationwide public healthcare service system with the integration of cloud technology, wireless sensor networks, and mobile technology to provide citizens with convenient and professional healthcare services. The basic framework of the system includes the architectures for the user end of wireless physiological examinations, for the regional healthcare cloud, and for national public healthcare service system. Citizens with chronic conditions or elderly people who are living alone can use the wireless physiological sensing devices to keep track of their health conditions and get warning if the system detects abnormal signals. Through mobile devices, citizens are able to get real-time health advice, prompt warning, health information, feedback, personalized support, and intervention ubiquitously. With the long-term tracking data for physiological sensing, reliable prediction models for epidemic diseases and chronic diseases can be developed for the government to respond to and control diseases immediately. Besides, such a nationwide approach enables government to have a holistic understanding of the public health information in real time, which is helpful to establish effective policies or strategies to prevent epidemic diseases or chronic diseases.

Personalized medicine. Closing the gap between knowledge and clinical practice.

Science.gov (United States)

Anaya, Juan-Manuel; Duarte-Rey, Carolina; Sarmiento-Monroy, Juan C; Bardey, David; Castiblanco, John; Rojas-Villarraga, Adriana

2016-08-01

Personalized medicine encompasses a broad and evolving field informed by a patient distinctive information and biomarker profile. Although terminology is evolving and some semantic interpretations exist (e.g., personalized, individualized, precision), in a broad sense personalized medicine can be coined as: "To practice medicine as it once used to be in the past using the current biotechnological tools." A humanized approach to personalized medicine would offer the possibility of exploiting systems biology and its concept of P5 medicine, where predictive factors for developing a disease should be examined within populations in order to establish preventive measures on at-risk individuals, for whom healthcare should be personalized and participatory. Herein, the process of personalized medicine is presented together with the options that can be offered in health care systems with limited resources for diseases like rheumatoid arthritis and type 1 diabetes. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Person-centredness in healthcare policy, practice and research.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

McCormack, B.; Dulmen, S. van; Eide, H.; Skovdalh, K.; Eide, T.

2017-01-01

Twentieth century (western) societies are increasingly individualised. This is not only reflected in general politics, opinions and lifestyles but also in healthcare. Partly this is a result of an increased knowledge about the human genome, allowing for more individualised treatment plans

A qualitative study of Australians' opinions about personally controlled electronic health records.

Science.gov (United States)

Lehnbom, Elin C; McLachlan, Andrew; Brien, Jo-Anne E

2012-01-01

A personally controlled electronic health record (PCEHR) system is being implemented in Australia. Every Australian that wants a PCEHR will be able to opt-in from July 2012. To explore the opinions of Australian consumers and healthcare providers about the PCEHR. In this qualitative study, consumers and healthcare providers were interviewed using a semi-structured interview guide. Perceived benefits identified by participants regarding the PCEHR included instant access to clinical information, and safer and more efficient healthcare delivery. The risk of unauthorised access and breaches of privacy were some of the perceived drawbacks. Although consumers seemed unwilling to opt-in to have a PCEHR, the vast majority of healthcare providers were positive towards this development and predicted better and safer healthcare as a result. Consumers and healthcare providers appeared uniformed about the imminent PCEHR. The wide-spread unwillingness among participants to opt-in to have a PCEHR could potentially jeopardise successful implementation and uptake of this system. A well-designed system without security glitches and with individualised information from trusted healthcare providers regarding the benefits of having a PCEHR appears critical in engaging consumer opt-in.

Positive beliefs and privacy concerns shape the future for the Personally Controlled Electronic Health Record.

Science.gov (United States)

Lehnbom, E C; Douglas, H E; Makeham, M A B

2016-01-01

The uptake of the Personally Controlled Electronic Health Record (PCEHR) has been slowly building momentum in Australia. The purpose of the PCEHR is to collect clinically important information from multiple healthcare providers to provide a secure electronic record to patients and their authorised healthcare providers that will ultimately enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of healthcare delivery. Reasons for the slow uptake of the PCEHR and future directions to improve its usefulness is discussed later. © 2016 Royal Australasian College of Physicians.

Bottom-up and middle-out approaches to electronic patient information systems: a focus on healthcare pathways

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ken Eason

2013-12-01

Full Text Available Background A study is reported that examines the use of electronic health record (EHR systems in two UK local health communities.Objective These systems were developed locally and the aim of the study was to explore how well they were supporting the coordination of care along healthcare pathways that cross the organisational boundaries between the agencies delivering health care.Results The paper presents the findings for two healthcare pathways; the Stroke Pathway and a pathway for the care of the frail elderly in their own homes. All the pathways examined involved multiple agencies and many locally tailored EHR systems are in use to aid the coordination of care. However, the ability to share electronic patient information along the pathways was patchy. The development of systems that enabled effective sharing of information was characterised by sociotechnical system development, i.e. associating the technical development with process changes and organisational changes, with local development teams that drew on all the relevant agencies in the local health community and on evolutionary development, as experience grew of the benefits that EHR systems could deliver.Conclusions The study concludes that whilst there may be a role for a national IT strategy, for example, to set standards for systems procurement that facilitate data interchange, most systems development work needs to be done at a ‘middle-out’ level in the local health community, where joint planning between healthcare agencies can occur, and at the local healthcare pathway level where systems can be matched to specific needs for information sharing.

Information Integration Platform for Patient-Centric Healthcare Services: Design, Prototype and Dependability Aspects

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yohanes Baptista Dafferianto Trinugroho

2014-03-01

Full Text Available Technology innovations have pushed today’s healthcare sector to an unprecedented new level. Various portable and wearable medical and fitness devices are being sold in the consumer market to provide the self-empowerment of a healthier lifestyle to society. Many vendors provide additional cloud-based services for devices they manufacture, enabling the users to visualize, store and share the gathered information through the Internet. However, most of these services are integrated with the devices in a closed “silo” manner, where the devices can only be used with the provided services. To tackle this issue, an information integration platform (IIP has been developed to support communications between devices and Internet-based services in an event-driven fashion by adopting service-oriented architecture (SOA principles and a publish/subscribe messaging pattern. It follows the “Internet of Things” (IoT idea of connecting everyday objects to various networks and to enable the dissemination of the gathered information to the global information space through the Internet. A patient-centric healthcare service environment is chosen as the target scenario for the deployment of the platform, as this is a domain where IoT can have a direct positive impact on quality of life enhancement. This paper describes the developed platform, with emphasis on dependability aspects, including availability, scalability and security.

Healthcare technology innovation adoption electronic health records and other emerging health information technology innovations

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Daim, Tugrul U; Basoglu, Nuri; Kök, Orhun M; Hogaboam, Liliya

2016-01-01

This book aims to study the factors affecting the adoption and diffusion of Health Information Technology (HIT) innovation. It analyzes the adoption processes of various tools and applications, particularly Electronic Health Records (EHR), highlighting the impact on various sectors of the healthcare system, such as physicians, administration,  and patient care, while also identifying the various pitfalls and gaps in the literature. With the various challenges currently facing the United States healthcare system, the study, adoption and diffusion of healthcare technology innovation, particularly HIT, is imperative to achieving national goals. This book is organized into three sections. Section one reviews theories and applications for the diffusion of Health Care Technologies. Section two evaluates EHR technology, including the barriers and enables in adoption and alternative technologies. Finally, section three examines the factors impacting the adoption of EHR systems. This book will be a key source for stu...

Improvement attributes in healthcare: implications for integrated care.

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Harnett, Patrick John

2018-04-16

Purpose Healthcare quality improvement is a key concern for policy makers, regulators, carers and service users. Despite a contemporary consensus among policy makers that integrated care represents a means to substantially improve service outcomes, progress has been slow. Difficulties achieving sustained improvement at scale imply that methods employed are not sufficient and that healthcare improvement attributes may be different when compared to prior reference domains. The purpose of this paper is to examine and synthesise key improvement attributes relevant to a complex healthcare change process, specifically integrated care. Design/methodology/approach This study is based on an integrative literature review on systemic improvement in healthcare. Findings A central theme emerging from the literature review indicates that implementing systemic change needs to address the relationship between vision, methods and participant social dynamics. Practical implications Accommodating personal and professional network dynamics is required for systemic improvement, especially among high autonomy individuals. This reinforces the need to recognise the change process as taking place in a complex adaptive system where personal/professional purpose/meaning is central to the process. Originality/value Shared personal/professional narratives are insufficiently recognised as a powerful change force, under-represented in linear and rational empirical improvement approaches.

The Integration of It Governance, Information Security Leadership and Strategic Alignment in Healthcare: A Correlational Study

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Taft, Tiffany H.

2017-01-01

This dissertation is a study of the relationship between Information Technology Governance (ITG), information security leadership, and strategic alignment within a healthcare organization. Strong organizational leadership and adherence to the process are vital to the formulation and management of performance and implementation of key directives.…

Recommended Vaccines for Healthcare Workers

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... Vaccination Resources for Healthcare Professionals Recommended Vaccines for Healthcare Workers Recommend on Facebook Tweet Share Compartir On ... for More Information Resources for Those Vaccinating HCWs Healthcare workers (HCWs) are at risk for exposure to ...

41 CFR 105-64.108 - How does GSA safeguard personal information?

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... personal information? 105-64.108 Section 105-64.108 Public Contracts and Property Management Federal Property Management Regulations System (Continued) GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION Regional Offices-General... GSA safeguard personal information? (a) System managers will establish administrative, technical, and...

The use of stereotypes and individuating information in political person perception.

Science.gov (United States)

Crawford, Jarret T; Jussim, Lee; Madon, Stephanie; Cain, Thomas R; Stevens, Sean T

2011-04-01

This article introduces the political person perception model, which identifies conditions under which perceivers rely on stereotypes (party membership), individuating information (issue position), or both in political person perception. Three studies supported the model's predictions. Study 1 showed that perceivers gave primacy to target information that was narrowly relevant to a judgment, whether that information was stereotypic or individuating. Study 2 found that perceivers relied exclusively on individuating information when it was narrowly relevant to the judgment and relied on both stereotype and individuating information when individuating information was not narrowly relevant to the judgment but did imply a political ideology. Study 3 replicated these findings in a more ecologically valid context and showed that people relied on party information in the absence of narrowly relevant policy positions and when individuating information did not imply a political ideology. Implications for political person perception and theories of stereotyping are discussed.

Do personal stories make patient decision aids more effective? A critical review of theory and evidence

Science.gov (United States)

2013-01-01

Background Patient decision aids support people to make informed decisions between healthcare options. Personal stories provide illustrative examples of others’ experiences and are seen as a useful way to communicate information about health and illness. Evidence indicates that providing information within personal stories affects the judgments and values people have, and the choices they make, differentially from facts presented in non-narrative prose. It is unclear if including narrative communications within patient decision aids enhances their effectiveness to support people to make informed decisions. Methods A survey of primary empirical research employing a systematic review method investigated the effect of patient decision aids with or without a personal story on people’s healthcare judgements and decisions. Searches were carried out between 2005-2012 of electronic databases (Medline, PsycINFO), and reference lists of identified articles, review articles, and key authors. A narrative analysis described and synthesised findings. Results Of 734 citations identified, 11 were included describing 13 studies. All studies found participants’ judgments and/or decisions differed depending on whether or not their decision aid included a patient story. Knowledge was equally facilitated when the decision aids with and without stories had similar information content. Story-enhanced aids may help people recall information over time and/or their motivation to engage with health information. Personal stories affected both “system 1” (e.g., less counterfactual reasoning, more emotional reactions and perceptions) and “system 2” (e.g., more perceived deliberative decision making, more stable evaluations over time) decision-making strategies. Findings exploring associations with narrative communications, decision quality measures, and different levels of literacy and numeracy were mixed. The pattern of findings was similar for both experimental and real

Remote patient monitoring: Information reliability challenges

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Petkovic, M.

2009-01-01

An increasing number of extramural applications in the personal healthcare domain pose new challenges regarding the security of medical data. In this paper, we focus on remote patient monitoring systems and the issues around information reliability. In these systems medical data is not collected by

Impact of telephone nursing education program for equity in healthcare.

Science.gov (United States)

Höglund, Anna T; Carlsson, Marianne; Holmström, Inger K; Kaminsky, Elenor

2016-09-21

The Swedish Healthcare Act prescribes that healthcare should be provided according to needs and with respect for each person's human dignity. The goal is equity in health for the whole population. In spite of this, studies have revealed that Swedish healthcare is not always provided equally. This has also been observed in telephone nursing. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to investigate if and how an educational intervention can improve awareness of equity in healthcare among telephone nurses. The study had a quasi-experimental design, with one intervention group and one control group. A base-line measurement was performed before an educational intervention and a follow-up measurement was made afterwards in both groups, using a study specific questionnaire in which fictive persons of different age, gender and ethnicity were assessed concerning, e.g., power over one's own life, quality of life and experience of discrimination. The educational intervention consisted of a web-based lecture, literature and a seminar, covering aspects of inequality in healthcare related to gender, age and ethnicity, and gender and intersectionality theories as explaining models for these conditions. The results showed few significant differences before and after the intervention in the intervention group. Also in the control group few significant differences were found in the second measurement, although no intervention was performed in that group. The reason might be that the instrument used was not sensitive enough to pick up an expected raised awareness of equity in healthcare, or that solely the act of filling out the questionnaire can create a sort of intervention effect. Fictive persons born in Sweden and of young age were assessed to have a higher Good life-index than the fictive persons born outside Europe and of higher age in all assessments. The results are an imperative that equity in healthcare still needs to be educated and discussed in different healthcare

Stakeholders' Perceptions on Shortage of Healthcare Workers in Primary Healthcare in Botswana: Focus Group Discussions.

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Oathokwa Nkomazana

Full Text Available An adequate health workforce force is central to universal health coverage and positive public health outcomes. However many African countries have critical shortages of healthcare workers, which are worse in primary healthcare. The aim of this study was to explore the perceptions of healthcare workers, policy makers and the community on the shortage of healthcare workers in Botswana.Fifteen focus group discussions were conducted with three groups of policy makers, six groups of healthcare workers and six groups of community members in rural, urban and remote rural health districts of Botswana. All the participants were 18 years and older. Recruitment was purposive and the framework method was used to inductively analyse the data.There was a perceived shortage of healthcare workers in primary healthcare, which was believed to result from an increased need for health services, inequitable distribution of healthcare workers, migration and too few such workers being trained. Migration was mainly the result of unfavourable personal and family factors, weak and ineffective healthcare and human resources management, low salaries and inadequate incentives for rural and remote area service.Botswana has a perceived shortage of healthcare workers, which is worse in primary healthcare and rural areas, as a result of multiple complex factors. To address the scarcity the country should train adequate numbers of healthcare workers and distribute them equitably to sufficiently resourced healthcare facilities. They should be competently managed and adequately remunerated and the living conditions and rural infrastructure should also be improved.

Use of a Nationwide Personally Controlled Electronic Health Record by Healthcare Professionals and Patients: A Case Study with the French DMP.

Science.gov (United States)

Seroussi, Brigitte; Bouaud, Jacques

2017-01-01

If the wide adoption of electronic health records (EHRs) is necessary to address health information sharing and care coordination issues, it is not sufficient. In order to address health information sharing, some countries, among which, France, have implemented a centralized framework with "new" nationwide care records. The French DMP is a centralized, nationally shared, electronic medical record, created according to the opt-in model. More than five years after the launching of the DMP project, DMPs have been created for 1.5% of the target population, which demonstrates the poor adoption of the tool by healthcare professionals. Among the 583,997 existing DMPs in June 2016, 41% were empty, and 24% of non-empty DMPs were actually accessed. If these "active" DMPs were equally accessed by both healthcare professionals and patients, patients accessed DMP documents four times more than healthcare professionals.

Nest prospecting brown-headed cowbirds 'parasitize' social information when the value of personal information is lacking.

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White, David J; Davies, Hayden B; Agyapong, Samuel; Seegmiller, Nora

2017-08-30

Brood parasites face considerable cognitive challenges in locating and selecting host nests for their young. Here, we test whether female brown-headed cowbirds, Molothrus ater , could use information acquired from observing the nest prospecting patterns of conspecifics to influence their own patterns of nest selection. In laboratory-based experiments, we created a disparity in the amount of personal information females had about the quality of nests. Females with less personal information about the quality of two nests spent more time investigating the nest that more knowledgeable females investigated. Furthermore, there was a strong negative relationship between individual's ability to track nest quality using personal information and their tendency to copy others. These two contrasting strategies for selecting nests are equally effective, but lead to different patterns of parasitism. © 2017 The Author(s).

Mobile healthcare information management utilizing Cloud Computing and Android OS.

Science.gov (United States)

Doukas, Charalampos; Pliakas, Thomas; Maglogiannis, Ilias

2010-01-01

Cloud Computing provides functionality for managing information data in a distributed, ubiquitous and pervasive manner supporting several platforms, systems and applications. This work presents the implementation of a mobile system that enables electronic healthcare data storage, update and retrieval using Cloud Computing. The mobile application is developed using Google's Android operating system and provides management of patient health records and medical images (supporting DICOM format and JPEG2000 coding). The developed system has been evaluated using the Amazon's S3 cloud service. This article summarizes the implementation details and presents initial results of the system in practice.

How do supply-side factors influence informal payments for healthcare? The case of HIV patients in Cameroon.

Science.gov (United States)

Kankeu, Hyacinthe Tchewonpi; Boyer, Sylvie; Fodjo Toukam, Raoul; Abu-Zaineh, Mohammad

2016-01-01

Direct out-of-pocket payments for healthcare continue to be a major source of health financing in low-income and middle-income countries. Some of these direct payments take the form of informal charges paid by patients to access the needed healthcare services. Remarkably, however, little is known about the extent to which these payments are exercised and their determinants in the context of Sub-Saharan Africa. This study attempts therefore to shed light on the role of supply-side factors in the occurrence of informal payments while accounting for the demand-side factors. The study relies on data taken from a nationally representative survey conducted among people living with HIV/AIDS in Cameroon. A multilevel mixed-effect logistic model is employed to identify the factors associated with the incidence of informal payments. Results reveal that circa 3.05% of the surveyed patients incurred informal payments for the consultations made on the day of the survey. The amount paid informally represents up to four times the official tariff. Factors related to the following: (i) human resource management of the health facilities (e.g., task shifting); (ii) health professionals' perceptions vis-à-vis the remunerations of HIV care provision; and (iii) reception of patients (e.g., waiting time) significantly influence the probability of incurring informal payments. Also of note, the type of healthcare facilities is found to play a role: informal payments appear to be significantly lower in private non-profit facilities compared with those belonging to public sector. Our findings allude to some policy recommendations that can help reduce the incidence of informal payments. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Designing healthcare information technology to catalyse change in clinical care

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

William Lester

2008-05-01

Full Text Available The gap between best practice and actual patient care continues to be a pervasive problem in our healthcare system. Efforts to improve on this knowledge_performance gap have included computerised disease management programs designed to improve guideline adherence. However, current computerised reminder and decision support interventions directed at changing physician behaviour have had only a limited and variable effect on clinical outcomes. Further, immediate pay-for-performance financial pressures on institutions have created an environmentwhere disease management systems are often created under duress, appended to existing clinical systems and poorly integrated into the existing workflow, potentially limiting their realworld effectiveness. The authors present a review of disease management as well as a conceptual framework to guide the development of more effective health information technology (HIT tools for translating clinical information into clinical action.

Enhancing Healthcare Provider Feedback and Personal Health Literacy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kaltoft, Mette Kjer; Nielsen, Jesper Bo; Salkeld, Glenn

2015-01-01

In this protocol for a pilot study we seek to establish the feasibility of using a web-based survey to simultaneously supply healthcare organisations and agencies with feedback on a key aspect of the care experience they provide and increase the generic health decision literacy of the individuals...

Empowering Patients through Healthcare Technology and Information? The Challenge of becoming a Patient 2.0

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Brodersen, Søsser Grith Kragh; Lindegaard, Hanne

2015-01-01

of themselves appeared in newspapers, and self-management and telecare technologies were seen as ways to change elderly patients practices. Transformation of the traditional healthcare system remains on the agenda, and it continues to challenge the traditional view of the patient role (framed in this article...... on numerical representations of illness (i.e., metrics) than on direct observations of patients. Through ethnographic research in the Danish healthcare sector, we show how this new healthcare vision actually manifests in practice by presenting cases of elderly heart and diabetes patients. Technologies aimed......Abstract: In the mid-2000s, the term Patient 2.0 began to be used to denote a new patient role: empowered patients were expected to engage with various types of information and specific technologies in order to manage their own illnesses. Headlines such as Future patients will take care...

A comprehensive theoretical framework for personal information-related behaviors on the internet

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Beldad, Ardion Daroca; de Jong, Menno D.T.; Steehouder, M.F.

2011-01-01

Although there is near consensus on the need for privacy, the reality is that people's attitude toward their personal information privacy is complex. For instance, even when people claim that they value their information privacy, they often trade their personal information for tangible or intangible

Consumer-driven healthcare marketing: using the web to get up close and personal.

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Rooney, Keila

2009-01-01

This essay examines the emergence of consumer-driven healthcare marketing, including its operational definition, how it has been used in the past, and how it has evolved. Specifically, marketing practices in other industries are inspected to understand the factors that have contributed to their successes and to determine the relevance of these efforts to healthcare marketing. The advantages of new, technology-enabled marketing opportunities are considered as well, such as stealth ads, blogs, podcasts, and corporate participation in social networks. The implications of the regulation on healthcare websites, along with the work-around strategies used, are analyzed. Lastly, the essay submits recommendations for the healthcare executive when implementing a consumer-driven healthcare marketing plan.

Commercial versus in-situ usability testing of healthcare information systems: towards "public" usability testing in healthcare organizations.

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Kushniruk, Andre W; Borycki, Elizabeth M; Kannry, Joseph

2013-01-01

The need for improved usability in healthcare IT has been widely recognized. In addition, methods from usability engineering, including usability testing and usability inspection have received greater attention. Many vendors of healthcare software are now employing usability testing methods in the design and development of their products. However, despite this, the usability of healthcare IT is still considered to be problematic and many healthcare organizations that have purchased systems that have been tested at vendor testing sites are still reporting a range of usability and safety issues. In this paper we explore the distinction between commercial usability testing (conducted at centralized vendor usability laboratories and limited beta test sites) and usability testing that is carried out locally within healthcare organizations that have purchased vendor systems and products (i.e. public "in-situ" usability testing). In this paper it will be argued that both types of testing (i.e. commercial vendor-based testing) and in-situ testing are needed to ensure system usability and safety.

Value-Based Pricing and Reimbursement in Personalised Healthcare: Introduction to the Basic Health Economics.

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Garrison, Louis P; Towse, Adrian

2017-09-04

'Value-based' outcomes, pricing, and reimbursement are widely discussed as health sector reforms these days. In this paper, we discuss their meaning and relationship in the context of personalized healthcare, defined as receipt of care conditional on the results of a biomarker-based diagnostic test. We address the question: "What kinds of pricing and reimbursement models should be applied in personalized healthcare?" The simple answer is that competing innovators and technology adopters should have incentives that promote long-term dynamic efficiency. We argue that-to meet this social objective of optimal innovation in personalized healthcare-payers, as agents of their plan participants, should aim to send clear signals to their suppliers about what they value. We begin by revisiting the concept of value from an economic perspective, and argue that a broader concept of value is needed in the context of personalized healthcare. We discuss the market for personalized healthcare and the interplay between price and reimbursement. We close by emphasizing the potential barrier posed by inflexible or cost-based reimbursement systems, especially for biomarker-based predictive tests, and how these personalized technologies have global public goods characteristics that require global value-based differential pricing to achieve dynamic efficiency in terms of the optimal rate of innovation and adoption.

Method of Improving Personal Name Search in Academic Information Service

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Heejun Han

2012-12-01

Full Text Available All academic information on the web or elsewhere has its creator, that is, a subject who has created the information. The subject can be an individual, a group, or an institution, and can be a nation depending on the nature of the relevant information. Most information is composed of a title, an author, and contents. An essay which is under the academic information category has metadata including a title, an author, keyword, abstract, data about publication, place of publication, ISSN, and the like. A patent has metadata including the title, an applicant, an inventor, an attorney, IPC, number of application, and claims of the invention. Most web-based academic information services enable users to search the information by processing the meta-information. An important element is to search information by using the author field which corresponds to a personal name. This study suggests a method of efficient indexing and using the adjacent operation result ranking algorithm to which phrase search-based boosting elements are applied, and thus improving the accuracy of the search results of personal names. It also describes a method for providing the results of searching co-authors and related researchers in searching personal names. This method can be effectively applied to providing accurate and additional search results in the academic information services.

32 CFR 310.13 - Safeguarding personal information.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

.... (a) General responsibilities. DoD Components shall establish appropriate administrative, technical..., the sensitivity of the personal information stored, the storage medium used and, to a degree, the... automated environment (see appendix A). (5) Tailor safeguards specifically to the vulnerabilities of the...

Protection of personal information in South Africa: a framework for biometric data collection security

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Mzila, Phiwa

2016-11-01

Full Text Available personal information. Like many other countries, South Africa, in 2013 officially approved and enacted the Protection of Personal Information Act, which gives guidelines that should be followed when processing personal information. The Act regards biometric...

Information technology for competitive advantage: the case of learning and innovation in behavioural healthcare service.

Science.gov (United States)

Hsieh, Chang-tseh; Lin, Binshan

2011-01-01

The utilisation of IS/IT could offer a substantial competitive advantage to healthcare service providers through the realisation of improved clinical, financial, and administrative outcomes. In this study, 42 journal articles were reviewed and summarised with respect to identified benefits and challenges of the development and implementation of electronic medical records, tele-health, and electronic appointment reminders. Results of this study help pave the knowledge foundation for management of the behavioural healthcare to learn how to apply state-of-the-art information technology to offer higher quality, clinically proven effective services at lower costs than those of their competitors.

Design Quality in the Context of Healthcare Environments: A Scoping Review.

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Anåker, Anna; Heylighen, Ann; Nordin, Susanna; Elf, Marie

2017-07-01

We explored the concept of design quality in relation to healthcare environments. In addition, we present a taxonomy that illustrates the wide range of terms used in connection with design quality in healthcare. High-quality physical environments can promote health and well-being. Developments in healthcare technology and methodology put high demands on the design quality of care environments, coupled with increasing expectations and demands from patients and staff that care environments be person centered, welcoming, and accessible while also supporting privacy and security. In addition, there are demands that decisions about the design of healthcare architecture be based on the best available information from credible research and the evaluation of existing building projects. The basic principles of Arksey and O'Malley's model of scoping review design were used. Data were derived from literature searches in scientific databases. A total of 18 articles and books were found that referred to design quality in a healthcare context. Design quality of physical healthcare environments involves three different themes: (i) environmental sustainability and ecological values, (ii) social and cultural interactions and values, and (iii) resilience of the engineering and building construction. Design quality was clarified herein with a definition. Awareness of what is considered design quality in relation to healthcare architecture could help to design healthcare environments based on evidence. To operationalize the concept, its definition must be clear and explicit and able to meet the complex needs of the stakeholders in a healthcare context, including patients, staff, and significant others.

Personality and information gathering in free-ranging great tits.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Thijs van Overveld

Full Text Available One aspect of animal personality that has been well described in captivity, but received only little attention in studies in the wild, is that personality types may vary in their behavioural flexibility towards environmental changes. A fundamental factor underlying such differences is believed to be the degree to which individual behavior is guided by environmental stimuli. We tested this hypothesis in the wild using free-ranging great tits. Personality variation was quantified using exploratory behaviour in a novel environment, which has previously been shown to be repeatable and correlated with other behaviours in this and other populations of the same species. By temporarily removing food at feeding stations we examined whether birds with different personality differed in returning to visit empty feeders as this may provide information on how birds continue to sample their environment after a sudden change in conditions. In two summer experiments, we found that fast-exploring juveniles visited empty feeders less often compared to slow-exploring juveniles. In winter, sampling behaviour was sex dependent but not related to personality. In both seasons, we found that birds who sampled empty feeders more often were more likely to rediscover food after we again re-baited the feeding stations, but there was no effect of personality. Our results show that personality types may indeed differ in ways of collecting environmental information, which is consistent with the view of personalities as different styles of coping with environmental changes. The adaptive value of these alternative behavioural tactics, however, needs to be further explored.

Personalized Regenerative Medicine

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Babak Arjmand

2017-03-01

Full Text Available Personalized medicine as a novel field of medicine refers to the prescription of specific therapeutics procedure for an individual. This approach has established based on pharmacogenetic and pharmacogenomic information and data. The terms precision and personalized medicines are sometimes applied interchangeably. However, there has been a shift from “personalized medicine” towards “precision medicine”. Although personalized medicine emerged from pharmacogenetics, nowadays it covers many fields of healthcare. Accordingly, regenerative medicine and cellular therapy as the new fields of medicine use cell-based products in order to develop personalized treatments. Different sources of stem cells including mesenchymal stem cells, embryonic stem cells and induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs have been considered in targeted therapies which could give many advantages. iPSCs as the novel and individual pluripotent stem cells have been introduced as the appropriate candidates for personalized cell therapies. Cellular therapies can provide a personalized approach. Because of person-to-person and population differences in the result of stem cell therapy, individualized cellular therapy must be adjusted according to the patient specific profile, in order to achieve best therapeutic results and outcomes. Several factors should be considered to achieve personalized stem cells therapy such as, recipient factors, donor factors, and the overall body environment in which the stem cells could be active and functional. In addition to these factors, the source of stem cells must be carefully chosen based on functional and physical criteria that lead to optimal outcomes.

CALINX (California Information Exchange): a multi-stakeholder statewide initiative to improve healthcare information flows.

Science.gov (United States)

Hopkins, D S; Oswald, N; McCaffrey, K; Bressler, S; Davidson, N; Vela, L

2000-01-01

Given the diffusion of responsibilities for gathering and reporting healthcare information in a managed care environment, California stakeholders are taking concrete steps to break the deadlock on data and information flows that has characterized the industry for some time. The California Information Exchange (CALINX) was established to facilitate the implementation of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) standards in California and to create trust for data exchange between trading partners, without which data exchange still will not occur. Strategic directions are set by the chief executives of key associations and organizations representing purchasers, plans, providers, and consumers. Multi-stakeholder workgroups have produced detailed data guidelines for the HIPAA standards along with rules for exchange of key data sets between trading partners. These rules address frequency, timeliness, and accuracy of data submission. Both the data guidelines and the rules have been tested in live demonstration projects, and the results of these projects have been reported to substantiate the business case for implementation. Further incentives are being built into contracts between purchasers and plans, and between plans and providers. CALINX is currently promoting widespread adoption of the data guidelines and rules for exchange with all members of the industry.

[Nursing home placement of people with dementia: a secondary analysis of qualitative data and literature review on perspectives of informal caregivers and healthcare professionals].

Science.gov (United States)

Nguyen, Natalie; Renom-Guiteras, Anna; Meyer, Gabriele; Stephan, Astrid

2018-06-01

Background: Nursing home placement of people with dementia can become necessary when informal care is no longer sufficient. Informal carers experience the transition period as an additional burden. Aim: Experiences and views of informal carers and healthcare professionals regarding the transition from people with dementia to a nursing home are investigated to improve the support for informal carers. Method: This secondary analysis included data from all five focus groups with n = 30 informal carers and healthcare professionals conducted as part of the “RightTimePlaceCare” project. To supplement the material which resulted from a single interview question, a literature analysis with the same focus was conducted. Results: The merged results indicated that informal carers needed professional support early on at home until after the nursing home placement. Concerns regarding nursing homes, financial aspects and family related issues were important aspects in the decision making. Healthcare professionals recommended provision of early guidance regarding those matters and making own experiences with nursing homes. Healthcare professionals should serve as mediators during the transition process and improve the collaboration between service providers. Conclusions: Empowering families to make informed choices could be facilitated by offering advice at home about their options for formal support services, financial support, and housing solutions. Healthcare professionals should support caregivers to make a decision, coordinate the placement and to cope with the new situation.

Challenges of information security incident learning: An industrial case study in a Chinese healthcare organization.

Science.gov (United States)

He, Ying; Johnson, Chris

2017-12-01

Security incidents can have negative impacts on healthcare organizations, and the security of medical records has become a primary concern of the public. However, previous studies showed that organizations had not effectively learned lessons from security incidents. Incident learning as an essential activity in the "follow-up" phase of security incident response lifecycle has long been addressed but not given enough attention. This paper conducted a case study in a healthcare organization in China to explore their current obstacles in the practice of incident learning. We interviewed both IT professionals and healthcare professionals. The results showed that the organization did not have a structured way to gather and redistribute incident knowledge. Incident response was ineffective in cycling incident knowledge back to inform security management. Incident reporting to multiple stakeholders faced a great challenge. In response to this case study, we suggest the security assurance modeling framework to address those obstacles.

Qualitative interviews with healthcare staff in four European countries to inform adaptation of an intervention to increase chlamydia testing.

Science.gov (United States)

McNulty, Cliodna; Ricketts, Ellie J; Fredlund, Hans; Uusküla, Anneli; Town, Katy; Rugman, Claire; Tisler-Sala, Anna; Mani, Alix; Dunais, Brigitte; Folkard, Kate; Allison, Rosalie; Touboul, Pia

2017-09-25

To determine the needs of primary healthcare general practice (GP) staff, stakeholders and trainers to inform the adaptation of a locally successful complex intervention (Chlamydia Intervention Randomised Trial (CIRT)) aimed at increasing chlamydia testing within primary healthcare within South West England to three EU countries (Estonia, France and Sweden) and throughout England. Qualitative interviews. European primary healthcare in England, France, Sweden and Estonia with a range of chlamydia screening provision in 2013. 45 GP staff, 13 trainers and 18 stakeholders. The iterative interview schedule explored participants' personal attitudes, subjective norms and perceived behavioural controls around provision of chlamydia testing, sexual health services and training in general practice. Researchers used a common thematic analysis. Findings were similar across all countries. Most participants agreed that chlamydia testing and sexual health services should be offered in general practice. There was no culture of GP staff routinely offering opportunistic chlamydia testing or sexual health advice, and due to other priorities, participants reported this would be challenging. All participants indicated that the CIRT workshop covering chlamydia testing and sexual health would be useful if practice based, included all practice staff and action planning, and was adequately resourced. Participants suggested minor adaptations to CIRT to suit their country's health services. A common complex intervention can be adapted for use across Europe, despite varied sexual health provision. The intervention (ChlamydiA Testing Training in Europe (CATTE)) should comprise: a staff workshop covering sexual health and chlamydia testing rates and procedures, action planning and patient materials and staff reminders via computer prompts, emails or newsletters, with testing feedback through practice champions. CATTE materials are available at: www.STItraining.eu. © Article author(s) (or their

Evidence-based management - healthcare manager viewpoints.