A Framework to Build a Big Data Ecosystem Oriented to the Collaborative Networked Organization

A Collaborative Networked Organization (CNO) is a set of entities that operate in heterogeneous contexts and aim to collaborate to take advantage of a business opportunity or solve a problem. Big data allows CNOs to be more competitive by improving their strategy, management and business processes. To support the development of big data ecosystems in CNOs, several frameworks have been reported in the literature. However, these frameworks limit their application to a specific CNO manifestation and cannot conduct intelligent processing of big data to support decision making at the CNO. This paper makes two main contributions: (1) the proposal of a metaframework to analyze existing and future frameworks for the development of big data ecosystems in CNOs and (2) to show the Collaborative Networked Organizations–big data (CNO-BD) framework, which includes guidelines, tools, techniques, conceptual solutions and good practices for the building of a big data ecosystem in different kinds of Collaborative Networked Organizations, overcoming the weaknesses of previous issues. The CNO-BD framework consists of seven dimensions: levels, approaches, data fusion, interoperability, data sources, big data assurance and programmable modules. The framework was validated through expert assessment and a case study

Hospital health care executives\u27 attitudes and beliefs on the impact that the Healthcare Providers and Systems survey has on service quality and hospital reimbursement

This study surveyed 314 hospital health care executives\u27 attitudes and beliefs on the impact that the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) survey had on service quality levels and hospital reimbursements from Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (HCAHPS, 2008). Additionally, this study reviewed the increase in service quality levels as measured by HCAHPS since its inception in 2006. Consumers now have access to data that previously was unavailable to them. If consumers see that a hospital has higher HCAHPS scores than a competing hospital in the area, the hospital with the higher scores should attract more patients. This study provides a research base of information that can be used as comparative data for other surveys conducted by those seeking to validate the effectiveness of the HCAHPS survey. A simple one-page 10-question survey was developed by this researcher. HCAHPS Survey Average Aggregate Scores increased by one full percentage point for each of the targeted areas. This indicates that over the past 4 years, the perception of healthcare in the United States has increased slightly. The survey found that 82.2% agreed that service quality is the primary driver of their organization, 73.2% agreed that HCAHPS is the proper tool to measure service quality, 61.1% agreed that having HCAHPS data publicly shared is positive, and 56.7% agreed that HCAHPS should be used to justify CMIS reimbursement. 6 of the 15 demographic variables were significantly correlated with the aggregated scores. Specifically, higher aggregated scores were related to: (a) higher Hospital\u27s HCAHPS Overall Rating (r = .80); (b) being a CEO (r = .19); not being a COO (r = -.16); and (c) position of the hospital healthcare executive. Additionally, hospitals located in the West region (r = .22) as well as hospitals that identified themselves as being rural (r = .18) also showed significant correlation. Finally, the hospital\u27s number of licensed beds (r = -.25) was also significantly correlated with the 4 research questions

Evolutionary Service Composition and Personalization Ecosystem for Elderly Care

Current demographic trends suggest that people are living longer, while the ageing process entails many necessities, calling for care services tailored to the individual senior’s needs and life style. Personalized provision of care services usually involves a number of stakeholders, including relatives, friends, caregivers, professional assistance organizations, enterprises, and other support entities. Traditional Information and Communication Technology based care and assistance services for the elderly have been mainly focused on the development of isolated and generic services, considering a single service provider, and excessively featuring a techno-centric approach. In contrast, advances on collaborative networks for elderly care suggest the integration of services from multiple providers, encouraging collaboration as a way to provide better personalized services. This approach requires a support system to manage the personalization process and allow ranking the {service, provider} pairs. An additional issue is the problem of service evolution, as individual’s care needs are not static over time. Consequently, the care services need to evolve accordingly to keep the elderly’s requirements satisfied. In accordance with these requirements, an Elderly Care Ecosystem (ECE) framework, a Service Composition and Personalization Environment (SCoPE), and a Service Evolution Environment (SEvol) are proposed. The ECE framework provides the context for the personalization and evolution methods. The SCoPE method is based on the match between the customer´s profile and the available {service, provider} pairs to identify suitable services and corresponding providers to attend the needs. SEvol is a method to build an adaptive and evolutionary system based on the MAPE-K methodology supporting the solution evolution to cope with the elderly's new life stages. To demonstrate the feasibility, utility and applicability of SCoPE and SEvol, a number of methods and algorithms are presented, and illustrative scenarios are introduced in which {service, provider} pairs are ranked based on a multidimensional assessment method. Composition strategies are based on customer’s profile and requirements, and the evolutionary solution is determined considering customer’s inputs and evolution plans. For the ECE evaluation process the following steps are adopted: (i) feature selection and software prototype development; (ii) detailing the ECE framework validation based on applicability and utility parameters; (iii) development of a case study illustrating a typical scenario involving an elderly and her care needs; and (iv) performing a survey based on a modified version of the technology acceptance model (TAM), considering three contexts: Technological, Organizational and Collaborative environment

Patient Safety and Quality: An Evidence-Based Handbook for Nurses

Compiles peer-reviewed research and literature reviews on issues regarding patient safety and quality of care, ranging from evidence-based practice, patient-centered care, and nurses' working conditions to critical opportunities and tools for improvement

Security in Internet of Things: networked smart objects.

Internet of Things (IoT) is an innovative paradigm approaching both industries and humans every-day life. It refers to the networked interconnection of every-day objects, which are equipped with ubiquitous intelligence. It not only aims at increasing the ubiquity of the Internet, but also at leading towards a highly distributed network of devices communicating with human beings as well as with other devices. Thanks to rapid advances in underlying technologies, IoT is opening valuable opportunities for a large number of novel applications, that promise to improve the quality of humans lives, facilitating the exchange of services. In this scenario, security represents a crucial aspect to be addressed, due to the high level of heterogeneity of the involved devices and to the sensibility of the managed information. Moreover, a system architecture should be established, before the IoT is fully operable in an efficient, scalable and interoperable manner. The main goal of this PhD thesis concerns the design and the implementation of a secure and distributed middleware platform tailored to IoT application domains. The effectiveness of the proposed solution is evaluated by means of a prototype and real case studies

Healthcare Leader Strategies for Leveraging Electronic Heath Records

AbstractHealthcare organizations may incur significant losses of productivity and profit because of the absence or incomplete implementation of Electronic Health Records (EHRs). EHRs are important to healthcare leaders because they enhance communication between providers and patients, reduce unnecessary costs, and increase adherence to clinical guidelines. Grounded in the transformational leadership theory, the purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to explore strategies that some successful healthcare leaders used to leverage EHRs in their organization to increase profit and productivity. The participants were nurse managers from four healthcare organizations that successfully implemented an EHR system in Georgia. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the data from semistructured virtual interviews and public organizational documents. Four themes emerged: the importance of effective communication between EHRs, usability of software for EHRs, requiring accurate documentation, and additional training for the medical staff. The key recommendation of the study is to ensure that the medical office staff effectively communicate with other providers to provide smooth transitions of a patient’s care. Implications for social change include improving efficiencies through coordination of healthcare services, enhancing clinical decision making, and providing better healthcare at a lower cost to patients