Treatment of Partial Deafness: The Polish School in World Science

Introduction of the method of treatment of partial deafness with cochlear implants has given many patients the previously inaccessible chance to (re)enter the world of sounds. This method of treatment had been developed and introduced to the world’s medicine by H. Skarżyński in 2002, after the extensive research since 1997. This task involved creation of a multispecialty team of experts, development of a special surgical method, and concept of the therapy reflecting on the world largest number of hearing improving surgeries being performed for 13 years averaging 15,000 otosurgical procedures yearly. This chapter introduces the treatment of partial deafness, considered as the Polish School in world science and medicine

Ensuring High Value National e-Health Solutions Using the Business Value of IT

This paper provides insights from a pilot study which is part of a larger longitudinal research project focused on assessing the value of different national digital health solutions. In this study, the focus is on Australia’s My Health Record and the German e-Health Card. The adopted methodology is a multicase qualitative approach which enables deeper insights to be uncovered. Data collection is from multiple sources including semi-structured interviews, surveys and the analysis of key documents. An initial model for assessing the value of the digital health solution is presented and findings are analyzed against this model to provide recommendations and understand critical success factors for designing, developing and deploying national digital health solutions

A History of Diabetic Retinopathy: An obscure entity becomes an international public health dillemma

Diabetic retinopathy is a disorder that was unknown until the late 19th century and that did not become important until at least the 1940’s. This study describes the disorder’s history and provides support for the thesis that most of the world’s health care systems have responded inadequately to the subsequent epidemics of diabetic retinopathy and its cause, diabetes mellitus, particularly in view of the well documented availability of evidence-based management strategies that have been developed over decades. The global distribution of health care systems to combat these disorders is exceptionally limited, and although contemporary exemplary plans are available in most corners of the world, they are limited in the percentages of populations that can be appropriately managed. In general, optimal systems are available only in environments containing sophisticated equipment and personnel in which only patients with appropriate medical insurance or funding are managed. Many caregivers remain unable to provide exemplary support because of inadequate access to patients, funding, or education, and few patients are genuinely compliant in managing their diabetes. Each of these factors is amplified in regions of relative poverty and poor hygiene. It currently appears that most of the world’s diabetic patients with retinopathy will remain underserved