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

Enabling High Value Care with A Point of Care Solution: the Australian Experience

Adopting patient-centric technology solutions is considered a critical enabler to enhance superior, high value healthcare delivery. Evidence from the literature underscores the simultaneous benefits of such an approach for enhancing the quality of care, increasing value and reducing associated costs. This study contributes to the current void in the literature by providing data from an implementation of a patient-centric solution that serves to deliver and support value based-care. Specifically, the presented study highlights how a point of care system can deliver high value patient-centric care across a healthcare group in Australia. The results from this qualitative study show that the examined point of care system supports patient-centric care by facilitating a high level of patient engagement and supporting key safety and quality care outcomes, as well as building a cultural shift towards patient-centric care as part of standard practice. The study has far reaching implications for both theory and practice

Detailed Perceptions by Health Service Providers Around EHRs: A Case Study of Australia’s e-Health Solution

The Australian government has invested heavily in the national e-health solution; namely, initially, the PCEHR, now MyHealth Record. A critical success factor is concerned with the perception and expectations of health service providers regarding the MyHealth Record. Further, it is important to understand the effect of the MyHealth Record on the patient-provider relationship, quality of care, and service providers’ views toward data security and confidentiality. The primary goal of this pilot study is to understand the health service providers’ perceptions and expectations; and thereby, predict the likely sustainability of the MyHealth Record. This has important implications in general as all OECD countries’ transition to large-scale e-health solutions

Assimilating Healthcare Information Systems in a Malaysian Hospital

The importance of information systems/information technology (IS/IT) to healthcare organisations is being recognised today as paramount and critical in order to realise superior healthcare delivery. Successful assimilation of IS/IT, which is the central focus of this study, then becomes a key consideration in ensuring that IS/IT is appropriately and systematically deployed into a healthcare organisation. The key findings from this research indicate that there are people, process, technology and environment elements that should be considered as facilitators to the healthcare information systems (HIS) assimilation process, as well as barriers that the healthcare organisation should overcome throughout the entire assimilation process or at specific stages. This research, therefore, is not only topical but especially beneficial to management and administrators in the web of healthcare players as they grapple with trying to successfully assimilate HIS into their respective organisations

Examining the PoC System Implementation and Adoption: A FVM Perspective

HIS implementation is complex and involves people issues as well as technological issues. The effect of sociotechnical issues such as macro level or external factors including political, social, economic, environmental infrastructure and technology, laws and regulations; meso level or organizational factors such as leadership, management style, policies, structure; and micro level or tactical factors such as information sharing, training and learning, technical staff or user behaviour, have been less widely studied. Yet, it is precisely these issues that separately or in combination derail numerous HIS implementations. To examine this dilemma, we proffer a unique application of the fit viability model (FVM) to facilitate a better understanding of key issues pertaining the implementation and adoption of a Point of Care (PoC) System at one of the not for profit private hospitals in Australia. This will help the decision makers in hospital to understand how the new system fits within the different departments and also is it a viable option to install such a new system. This study focuses on just two departments of the hospital; namely, food services and environment services. An exploratory single case qualitative study methodology is adopted. From such an analysis, it is possible to identify optimal aspects with the PoC solution and opportunities to add value

Extended Length of Hospital Stay for Surgical and Medical Patients – Insights from Hospital and Psychosocial Predictors

Ensuring that patients do not overstay the expected Length of Stay (LOS) in the hospital is a recognized indicator of the quality of care received and helps to reduce the cost of healthcare. Moreover, it is a key factor in value-based care models. This study identifies the predictors of Extended Length of Hospital Stay (ELOHS) for surgical and medical patients to include LOS (>20 days), Age (> 40 years), Hour to Surgery (HTS) – within 4 hours of admission, zero and one Rapid Response Team (RRT) calls, Average Operating Room Time (AORT) of 0 – 120 minutes and one Theatre Session (TS). Apart from the “ear, nose, mouth & throat”, “kidney and urinary tract”, “circulatory system”, “nervous system” and “digestive system” Major Diagnostic Categories (MDCs), other considered MDCs have significant differences in the Classification of Hospital Acquired Diagnoses (CHAD) rate of ELOHS and Normal Length of Hospital Stay (NLOHS) patients. It is expected that the early consideration of ELOHS predictors will be vital in improving patients’ outcomes in the hospital