MAY A HEALTHCARE SOCIAL NETWORKING SITE HELP REVEAL HIDDEN QUALITY OF A HEALTHCARE PROVIDER?

In this study, we discuss an information asymmetry problem between a healthcare provider and consumers, and examine the strategy for a platform owner to mitigate this problem. Because the Internet has become a major media for healthcare information sharing, we believe that social networking sites may mitigate the problem of information asymmetry by providing a more efficient way to facilitate information sharing and quality disclosure. We develop a game-theoretic model describing the process of information exchange among healthcare consumers themselves and the platform on a social networking site. We show that this “strategy” of engaging in social networking sites is indeed helpful for revealing the quality information of a healthcare provider, and the existence of a healthcare social networking site does benefit patients. Finally, we discuss factors affecting the platform owner’s decision

Social Justice Documentary: Designing for Impact

Explores current methodologies for assessing social issue documentary films by combining strategic design and evaluation of multiplatform outreach and impact, including documentaries' role in network- and field-building. Includes six case studies

Constitution of the market through social media: Dialogical co-production of medicine in a virtual health community organization

This research explores new systems of marketing, and new roles and relationships of organizations and consumers developing in healthcare as a result of transformations occurring in technology, consumer/marketer value systems, forms of discourse and institutional roles. Inspired by observations from a Medicine 2.0 community organization, which turn social networking into a business phenomenon – PatientsLikeMe (PLM) – I explore how such systems develop and function and the institutionalizations that reconstitute roles and maintain relationships among actors in these systems through netnographic research. That is, (1) why and how patients in PLM participate in the social co-production of medical knowledge and experience, and (2) how the ‘community’ organizes roles and relations, and institutionalize ‘sharing’ in healthcare where privacy dominates relations. Findings articulate a dialogical approach to organizing roles and relations with the dilution of provisioning in this co-mediated market system, which reflects collaborative, connective and communal relations built on dialogues among diverse healthcare actors. From a theoretical vantage point, Foucauldian notions of biopower and govern-mentality are reconsidered in order to articulate why and how such a system may be attracting healthcare actors and maintain their interest and sharing in this community

Enabling medicine reuse using a digital time temperature humidity sensor in an internet of pharmaceutical things concept

Medicinal waste due to improper handling of unwanted medicines creates health and environmental risks. However, the re-dispensing of unused prescribed medicines from patients seems to be accepted by stakeholders when quality and safety requirements are met. Reusing dispensed medicines may help reduce waste, but a comprehensive validation method is not generally available. The design of a novel digital time temperature and humidity indicator based on an Internet of Pharmaceutical Things concept is proposed to facilitate the validation, and a prototype is presented using smart sensors with cloud connectivity acting as the key technology for verifying and enabling the reuse of returned medicines. Deficiency of existing technologies is evaluated based on the results of this development, and recommendations for future research are suggested

Digital skills in healthcare practice

The healthcare industry is rapidly evolving in tandem with a demand for increased flexibility in the delivery of education in our fast-paced society. As a result, the passive reception of content by students, delivered by an expert from the front of the class, is becoming increasingly redundant. Students are now being taught, ubiquitous connectivity allowing widespread access to online materials (Collier, Gray, & Ahn, 2011). Programs such as nursing are often offered in an external, online delivery mode (Wright, 2013). Due to an increasingly aging population, healthcare is by far one of the fastest-growing industries, and graduate job seekers choosing to enter healthcare, will need to ensure they have developed sound digital literacies, particularly as they apply to professional communication. It is imperative that students develop and leverage emerging communication technologies as part of their portfolio prior to seeking employment (Clark, 2009; Hargittai & Litt, 2013)

Public Services 2.0: The Impact of Social Computing on Public Services

This report presents the findings of the study on "Public Services 2.0: The Impact of Social Computing on Public Services" conducted by TNO and DTI on behalf of IPTS from 2008 to 2009. The report gives an overview of the main trends of Social Computing, in the wider context of an evolving public sector, and in relation to relevant government trends and normative policy visions on future public services within and across EU Member States. It then provides an exhaustive literature review of research and practice in the area of Social Computing and identifies its key impact areas in the public sector. The report goes on to discuss four case studies of Social Computing-enabled communities in different areas: education (Connexions), health (Doctors.net.uk), inclusion (PatientsLikeMe) and governance (Wikileaks). This is followed by the findings of a scenario-building exercise in which two alternative scenarios were developed and related future opportunities and risks discussed. Additionally, the report presents the results of a cross-case analysis and an ad-hoc online survey which identifies the level of usage, the general characteristics and the key drivers of Social Computing for public services. The report concludes with a summary of research challenges and policy-relevant recommendations. Evidence from the study indicates that Social Computing technologies, applications and values have already been adopted in many areas of government activity. Social Computing affects several aspects of public service, related to both the front office (citizen-government relations) and the back office activities of public administrations. Social Computing is leading to new forms of ICT-enabled participation, capable of enhancing users¿ social awareness and involvement. Social Computing is also transforming relationships and ways of working within and between public sector organisations and opens the way to innovative service delivery mechanisms.JRC.J.4-Information Societ

Virtual Clinical Trials: One Step Forward, Two Steps Back

Virtual clinical trials have entered the medical research landscape. Today’s clinical trials recruit subjects online, obtain informed consent online, send treatments such as medications or devices to the subjects’ homes, and require subjects to record their responses online. Virtual clinical trials could be a way to democratize clinical research and circumvent geographical limitations by allowing access to clinical research for people who live far from traditional medical research centers. But virtual clinical trials also depart dramatically from traditional medical research studies in ways that can harm individuals and the public at large. This article addresses the issues presented by virtual clinical trials with regard to: (1) recruitment methods; (2) informed consent; (3) confidentiality; (4) potential risks to the subjects; and (5) the safety and efficacy of treatments that are approved

Using Grounded Theory to Reveal Tacit Knowledge for Nurse Educators in an Unfamiliar African Setting

There is a gap in evidence to guide individuals as they prepare for a nursing education partnership in an unfamiliar setting. Much of the existing knowledge base is contained within institutional or organizational confines. Individuals new to the field need access to existing expertise and tacit knowledge. The purpose of this research was to generate a grounded theory to guide aspiring nursing faculty in developing the necessary knowledge base to fulfill the nurse educator role in an unfamiliar setting. Ghana, Africa, was specified as the unfamiliar setting and context for this study. Purposive sampling identified individuals from North America and Ghana who were experienced in the role preparation processes of outside nurse educators partnering in Ghana. In addition to first-hand experience with the phenomenon of interest, inclusion criteria specified the ability to speak and converse in English, and a minimum age of 18. Data collection used theoretical sampling via telephone interviews for individuals from North America (n=10) experienced as partners for nursing education in Ghana. After determining theoretical saturation from North American participants, sampling transitioned via researcher fieldwork, for face-toface interviews with individuals from inside Ghana (n=6) experienced in partnering with outsiders for nursing education. Data management included an inductive on-going data analysis process that began with the first interview, and used constant comparison of thematic concepts until the final theory emerged. Interviews were audio-recorded, and transcribed into Microsoft Word. Member checks served to validate the transcriptions. Researcher thoughts, observations, and methodological decisions were recorded in journal entries in memo format, and served as another data source for this study. TAMS Analyzer qualitative software was used to store, manage, code, and analyze the data. An audit trail was used to track data sources. Findings revealed five steps to outsider preparation processes that organized the emergent theory, Preparing for an Unfamiliar Setting, grounded in participant experiences. The five steps included (1) Personalizing Information Needs, (2) Seeking Information, (3) Laying the Groundwork, (4) Developing Understanding, and (5) Framing the Outsider Role. Antecedents to preparation processes included the participants’ past experience, existing network, and existing knowledge base. Progression through the process was fluid, allowing individualized interpretation based on antecedent characteristics. Instances of ineffective preparation were also revealed. Findings indicated that outsiders returned to earlier steps in the process when they recognized a gap in knowledge or understanding. Failure to correct gaps in understanding or amend gaps in knowledge resulted in ineffective partnering while Framing the Outsider Role. Findings revealed the necessity of including insiders as information resources during preparation. This research generated a theory grounded in the realities of individuals\u27 experiences while partnering for nursing education in an unfamiliar setting. Concepts derived from interview data combined with researcher interpretations formed a theoretical framework that can guide individual nurses through the process of Preparing for an Unfamiliar Settin