7,445 research outputs found

    Perceived Limitations of Telemedicine from a Phenomenological Perspective

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    In the course of healthcare digitization, the roles of therapists and patients are likely to change. To shape a theoretical based process of technological transformation, a phenomenological perspective on Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is introduced. Therefore, this paper illustrates the benefit of a holistic view on patients and therapists to describe and explain phenomena concerning Human Technology Interaction (HTI). The differentiation between a measurable objective body and a habitual subjective body helps to evaluate and anticipate constituting factors of accepting telemedicine systems. Taking into account findings from a secondary analysis of semi-structured interviews we conducted with primary care physicians, we develop a phenomenological framework for HTI in healthcare. Our aim is to structure future research concerning design implications for ICT and the implementation of telemedicine systems in clinical and primary care

    Disease surveillance and patient care in remote regions: an exploratory study of collaboration among healthcare professionals in Amazonia

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    The development and deployment of information technology, particularly mobile tools, to support collaboration between different groups of healthcare professionals has been viewed as a promising way to improve disease surveillance and patient care in remote regions. The effects of global climate change combined with rapid changes to land cover and use in Amazonia are believed to be contributing to the spread of vector-borne emerging and neglected diseases. This makes empowering and providing support for local healthcare providers all the more important. We investigate the use of information technology in this context to support professionals whose activities range from diagnosing diseases and monitoring their spread to developing policies to deal with outbreaks. An analysis of stakeholders, their roles and requirements, is presented which encompasses results of fieldwork and of a process of design and prototyping complemented by questionnaires and targeted interviews. Findings are analysed with respect to the tasks of diagnosis, training of local healthcare professionals, and gathering, sharing and visualisation of data for purposes of epidemiological research and disease surveillance. Methodological issues regarding the elicitation of cooperation and collaboration requirements are discussed and implications are drawn with respect to the use of technology in tackling emerging and neglected diseases

    Commercialisation of eHealth Innovations in the Market of UK Healthcare Sector: A Framework for Sustainable Business Model.

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    This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Festus Oluseyi Oderanti, and Feng Li, ‘Commercialization of eHealth innovations in the market of the UK healthcare sector: A framework for a sustainable business model’, Psychology & Marketing, Vol. 35 (2): 120-137, February 2018, which has been published in final form at https://doi.org/10.1002/mar.21074. Under embargo until 10 January 2020. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-Archiving.Demographic trends with extended life expectancy are placing increasing pressures on the UK state-funded healthcare budgets. eHealth innovations are expected to facilitate new avenues for cost-effective and safe methods of care, for enabling elderly people to live independently at their own homes and for assisting governments to cope with the demographic challenges. However, despite heavy investment in these innovations, large-scale deployment of eHealth continues to face significant obstacles, and lack of sustainable business models (BMs) is widely regarded as part of the greatest barriers. Through various empirical methods that include facilitated workshops, case studies of relevant organizations, and user groups, this paper investigates the reasons the private market of eHealth innovations has proved difficult to establish, and therefore it develops a framework for sustainable BMs that could elimiesnate barriers of eHealth innovation commercialization. Results of the study suggest that to achieve sustainable commercialization, BM frameworks and innovation diffusion characteristics should be considered complements but not substitutes.Peer reviewe

    EVALUATING TELEMEDICINE TECHNOLOGIES IN RURAL SETTINGS

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    Changes in health care policies, demographics, and technology have presented new opportunities for the delivery of medical care services and information to rural communities. Telemedicinethe use of electronic information and communications technologies to provide and support health care when distance separates the participantshas significantly impacted the delivery of rural health care services. This paper presents an overview of the telemedicine technologies, government involvement in support of telemedicine, and issues that need to be addressed in designing an economic framework to evaluate the net benefits of telemedicine to rural communities and consumers. Federal and state governments have invested millions of support dollars in the form of equipment, infrastructure, and incentives for consumers and providers to expand the use of telecommunications in medical care. Since disbursement of these funds is already underway, it only makes sense to develop a method to determine both where and whether an additional dollar of funding for telemedicine development would be of the greatest benefit to society. If telemedicine can prove itself as a useful method for improving the likelihood of survival of rural hospitals, then, in the interest of rural development, it may be a technology worth investing in; i.e., the social benefits, measured as the sum of the private and public benefits, may outweigh the costs. According to its supporters, telemedicine systems have the potential to simultaneously address several problems characteristic of health care in rural areas, including access to care, cost containment, and quality assurance. Access can be improved by linking providers in remote areas with specialists in metropolitan centers or peers in rural areas. Telemedicine not only enables a wider range of services to be offered in the local community but may have the added effect of improving physician retention in isolated areas, one of the primary challenges in maintaining access for frontier medical centers. Telemedicine can promote cost containment through the substitution of lower-cost rural providers and facilities. Ideally, improved quality will be achieved by the ready availability of consultations and referrals. These are the potential benefits of telemedicine implementation, but they have not yet been verified by research in a field setting. An evaluation framework for telemedicine needs to be capable of modeling changes in the behavior of health care consumers (i.e., altered visitation patterns), recognizing differences in quality of service, and finally, quantifying the value of these changes. This is no small task, and obtaining the required data will likely require the cooperation of many parties, including health care providers, patients, hospital and program administrators, and policymakers. These are the same groups that could benefit greatly from a better understanding of how telemedicine technologies affect health care delivery, but a meaningful framework for analysis needs to capture the many aspects of telemedicine implementation.rural health care, telemedicine, averted costs, economic benefits, telecommunications technology, R0, Community/Rural/Urban Development, Health Economics and Policy, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies, I1,

    Parental evaluation of a telemonitoring service for children with Type 1 Diabetes

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    Introduction In the past years, we developed a telemonitoring service for young patients affected by Type 1 Diabetes. That service provides data to the clinical staff and offers an important tool to the parents, that are able to oversee in real time their children. The aim of this work was to analyze the parents' perceived usefulness of the service. Methods The service was tested by the parents of 31 children enrolled in a seven-day clinical trial during a summer camp. To study the parents' perception we proposed and analyzed two questionnaires. A baseline questionnaire focused on the daily management and implications of their children's diabetes, while a post-study one measured the perceived benefits of telemonitoring. Questionnaires also included free text comment spaces. Results Analysis of the baseline questionnaires underlined the parents' suffering and fatigue: 51% of total responses showed a negative tendency and the mean value of the perceived quality of life was 64.13 in a 0-100 scale. In the post-study questionnaires about half of the parents believed in a possible improvement adopting telemonitoring. Moreover, the foreseen improvement in quality of life was significant, increasing from 64.13 to 78.39 ( p-value\u2009=\u20090.0001). The analysis of free text comments highlighted an improvement in mood, and parents' commitment was also proved by their willingness to pay for the service (median\u2009=\u2009200\u2009euro/year). Discussion A high number of parents appreciated the telemonitoring service and were confident that it could improve communication with physicians as well as the family's own peace of mind

    EVALUATING TELEMEDICINE IN RURAL SETTINGS: ISSUES AND APPLICATIONS

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    Changes in health care policies, demographics, and technology have presented new opportunities for the delivery of medical care services and information to rural communities. Telemedicinethe use of electronic information and communications technologies to provide and support health care when distances separates the participantsis one technology that has impacted the efficiency of delivery of rural health care services. This paper presents an overview of the telemedicine technologies, government involvement in support of telemedicine, evaluation efforts to date for these technologies, and issues that need to be addressed in designing an economic-based framework to evaluate the net benefits of telemedicine technologies to rural communities and consumers. An evaluation framework needs to be capable of quantifying the tradeoffs among access to health care services, the costs of delivery of a given level of services, and changes in the quality of the service that is being delivered via electronic communications; and how these tradeoffs shift as the level of telemedicine and the technology changes. The framework that is proposed is based on models of consumer behavior that incorporate discrete choices among quality differentiated sites.rural health care, telemedicine, averted costs, economic benefits, telecommunications technology, R0, Community/Rural/Urban Development, Health Economics and Policy, I1,
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