Adoption of ICT in Rural Medical General Practices in Australia: an Actor-Network Study

ICT has been used in medical General Practice throughout Australia now for some years, but although most General Practices make use of ICT for administrative purposes such as billing, prescribing and medical records, many individual General Practitioners themselves do not make full use of these ICT systems for clinical purposes. The decisions taken in the adoption of ICT in general practice are very complex, and involve many actors, both human and non-human. This means that actor-network theory offers a most suitable framework for its analysis. This article investigates how GPs in a rural Division of General Practice not far from Melbourne considered the adoption and use of ICT. The study reported in the article shows that, rather than characteristics of the technology itself, it is often seemingly unimportant human issues that determine if and how ICT is used in General Practice

Ten challenging questions about SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19

Introduction: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) recently introduced as a global public health problem by the World Health Organization (WHO). The virus outbreak has been documented around the world. Updating data in different aspects of the virus could force us to revise our idea about the main questions concerning coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19). Areas covered: Although our knowledge about the SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 is largely based on the very limited data, the information is growing rapidly. The renewed answers to the specific research questions concerning updating data not only reveal gaps for future research but also re-categorized our information. Here, we attempt to briefly discuss 10 important questions about SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19. Expert opinion: Since our knowledge about different aspects of SARS-CoV-2 appears to be in its infancy and is rapidly changing, the provision of the right data is more difficult in this regard. However, we try to rely on results from more extensive research to answer the main questions about this new virus. Therefore, further studies, particularly in the context of the virus pathogenesis, diagnosis, treatment, and vaccine development, are warranted. © 2020, © 2020 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group

Emerging trends of wellness and medical tourism in India

Medhekar, A ORCiD: 0000-0002-6791-4056India is a leading health tourism destination attracting patients as medical tourists from all over the world. Health tourism is a provision of private healthcare in collaboration with the government and the tourism sector. India has a competitive advantage over other countries engaged in health tourism in combining traditional Ayurveda, Yoga, Unani, Siddhi, and Homeopathy (AYUSH) with allopathic medicine and complex high end of medical surgeries such as cancer, cardiac, and hip and knee replacements. This chapter will identify the factors driving the growing economic importance of wellness and medical tourism to India, opportunities, and challenges in developing India as a global healthcare destination.Associated Grant Code:N/