ACIS 2013: Information systems: Transforming the Future: Proceedings of the 24th Australasian Conference on Information Systems

Edited volume of the ACIS 2013 conference proceedings. Reproduced with kind permission from the copyright owner

The Role of Image Quality in Telehealth: Adoption Challenges in the Subcontinent

Background: The purpose of this paper is to explore the underlying challenges in the telehealth environment in India and Pakistan that impede the delivery of high-quality images between a patient and health care professional. Method: An exploratory study was conducted among healthcare professionals in India and Pakistan to assess their perceptions regarding image quality, which is used for the diagnosis and treatment decision making. This cross-sectional qualitative study used semi-structured interviews with healthcare professionals in both India and Pakistan. Results: The interviews were analyzed using a thematic analysis, which revealed three major themes. These themes being: ICT infrastructure and connectivity, expertise of persons taking images, and multiple transmission degrading image quality. Conclusions: Findings indicate that in both countries, the main underlying challenge is the lack of consistency in the network infrastructure between urban, rural and remote areas. Additionally, training patients to use hand-held devices to take high-quality images could hold the key to improving the reliability and, consequently, the quality of images transmitted between patients and health care professionals

An empirical study to determine factors that motivate and limit the implementation of ICT in healthcare environments

The use of recent developments in the digital technologies and their implications to the healthcare industry has increased in the 21st century. The use of wireless handheld devices is on the rise in almost every industry and healthcare is not an exception. However, due to the higher level of risk associated with the healthcare industry, adoption of such technologies in the healthcare domain needs to be studied carefully and understood thoroughly. This research study was conducted to understand the determinants for the adoption of latest digital innovation in the healthcare environment. A Mixed methodology was adopted to collect data from India, Pakistan and Australia. The research found that there were a number of external and internal factors that can influence the implementations of such technologies in a healthcare setting. These factors have been identified in this research paper. The finding of this research is limited to only three contexts and further research is needed to generalize the finding of this research

The Impact of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) on the efficiency of healthcare delivery at Radiology department of Inkosi Albert Luthuli Hospital.

Masters Degree. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban.Healthcare service provision is undoubtedly a major priority for any governmental policy makers and society at large. Access to quality health care is declared a basic human right globally, yet there are many factors that still make it hard for countries to make this a reality. Issues such as shortage of skilled healthcare workers, high costs of healthcare provision and poor economic outlooks are some of the major contributors to gaps in provision of equitable healthcare services. Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has become an integral part of our daily life. The study aimed to investigate the role that ICT can play in improving the efficiency of healthcare delivery processes and spreading access to communities that are left behind in the provision of this basic human need. A quantitative methodology was used to evaluate the perception of professionals with regards to the adoption of ICT and its impact on healthcare services delivery at the radiology department. The target population was made up of administrators, radiographers and radiologists at the radiology department of Inkosi Albert Luthuli Central Hospital. Data was collected through questionnaires which were physically administered on site. A convenience sampling technique was used to identify and recruit study participants. The results revealed that 70% of respondents agree that ICT adoption does indeed increase efficiency of healthcare service delivery. The study did not find significant relationship between users’ attitude towards ICT adoption and the ability of ICT to improve efficiency in a healthcare facility. It is recommended that healthcare facilities adopting ICT should invest more time and resources in training and offering technical support to end users. The study can benefit healthcare facilities who seek to improve the quality, speed, accuracy of healthcare services by using ICT systems

Revisión sistemática de la literatura sobre evaluación de la e-salud

El propósito del documento es presentar una síntesis de los mecanismos para la medición de la e-Salud (definida como el uso de las TIC en el sector de la salud) publicados en la literatura científica como punto de partida para la elaboración de un modelo evaluativo que sirva como referencia para la medición de la e-Salud. Para lograr este propósito, se desarrolló una revisión sistemática de literatura de los documentos publicados entre los años 2004 y 2014 enfocada en los siguientes cinco objetivos, construir un marco conceptual que permita explicar qué es e-salud y sus características más importantes. planear la revisión sistemática, estableciendo las preguntas de investigación, el alcance de la revisión y los criterios a considerar para la selección y clasificación de los documentos, buscar los documentos en las bases de datos seleccionadas utilizando para ello una ecuación de búsqueda depurada, seleccionar los documentos a ser analizados a través de una evaluación de calidad de los mismos, realizar el análisis de los documentos seleccionados y presentar una síntesis de los resultados obtenidos, el principal resultado de este estudio fue la identificación de 22 procesos o frameworks de evaluación, 16 tipos de factores de evaluación, 11 tipos de variables y 6 tipos de indicadores para la medición de la e-Salud. También se encontraron 8 aspectos sometidos a evaluación, distribuidos en los documentos de la siguiente manera: 7.29% a la implementación, el 11.46% a la adopción, 3.13% a la factibilidad, el 11.46% a la satisfacción, el 9.38% a la calidad, el 26.04% al uso y el 35.42% a otros aspectos generales