Developments in ICT have created a new generation of networking technology that affects all areas, including healthcare. The use of ICT in healthcare organizations, for example in health information systems (HIS), has developed the same way as the wider landscape, and includes the use of Internet-based technology. The adoption of social network features as the ‘front end’ of electronic health (...

This paper focuses on antimicrobial stewardshipin human healthcare, and some concepts possibly transferable to veterinary medicine. Antimicrobial stewardship is a multidisciplinary effort to reduce antimicrobial resistance in human pathogens, when future drug development is dwindling. These strategies encourage healthcare staff to use antimicrobials prudently and, when needed, for as short a du...

BACKGROUND Geographical distribution of healthcare resources is an important dimension of healthcare access. Little work has been published on healthcare resource allocation patterns in China, despite public equity concerns. METHODS Using national data from 2043 counties, this paper investigates the geographic distribution of hospital beds at the county level in China. We performed Gini coeff...

How much the Government should provide for its people in sickness and in health, till death do us part, is open to different interpretation in different societies. One of the great paradoxes is that welfare states with high taxation can be globally competitive, innovative, successful market economies, and still provide quality universal healthcare. The Nordic countries, classical welfare states...

Healthcare systems in many developed countries are rapidly approaching a crisis point, due to an aging population, an increase of chronic diseases, healthcare costs consuming an increasing share of the government expenditure, and the dwindling pool of healthcare professionals. One solution to address these challenges is to empower health consumers to better manage their health. Consumer Health ...

There are major steps being taken at national, provincial, regional, and organizational levels to increase the implementation of information systems (IS) in the healthcare system. Developing and implementing nationally accessible electronic health records in the form of panCanadian electronic health records is the ultimate goal for the Canadian government. The solution called for by the healthc...

With a large potential impact and a high level of complexity in the deployment of IT in healthcare in the U.S., the role of the federal government in setting the context is important. This study provides an overview of the current and evolving regulatory environment that healthcare organizations in the U.S. face when they deploy essential information technologies. We establish the framework of ...

The Francis Report into failures of care at Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust Hospital documented a series of 'shocking' systematic failings in healthcare that left patients routinely neglected, humiliated and in pain as the Trust focused on cutting costs and hitting government targets. At present, the criminal law in England plays a limited role in calling healthcare professionals to acco...

background: this paper considers a range of issues related to the financing of health care system and relevant government policies in iran. methods: this study used mixed methods. a systematic literature review was undertaken to identify relevant publications. this was supplemented by hand searching in books and journals, including government publications. the issues and uncertainties identifie...