Knowledge transfer and exchange (KTE) relates to both the translation and transfer of information, as well as the exchange of information, between researchers and decision-makers. Despite recent advances, KTE efforts may be compromised on two fronts: first, the existing reward structure for university-based researchers may not be compatible with applied research; and second, there appears to be...

This report synthesizes findings and lessons from case studies of four diverse health care organizations participating in the Brookings–Dartmouth ACO Pilot Program, launched in 2009 to support selected provider groups that are collaborating with private payers to form accountable care organizations (ACOs). The organizations are: HealthCare Partners, a medical group/independent practice associat...

Rural healthcare organizations face significant challenges when implementing quality and safety initiatives due to limited human and financial resources. The Clinical Nurse Leader (CNL), a new nursing role developed to address the quality and safety concerns of healthcare organizations and providers, may prove to be an exceptionally valuable member of the rural nursing leadership team. Educatio...

Healthcare organizations are under siege by cybercriminals with the intent to do harm and extort money from their victims. The profile of cybercriminals has evolved from "script kiddies" and rogue individuals who wanted to see how far they can infiltrate a company's IT infrastructure to a more sophisticated, well-funded, and organized effort backed by syndicated crime rings and nation-states mo...

Data mining has been used intensively and extensively by many organizations. In healthcare, data mining is becoming increasingly popular, if not increasingly essential. Data mining applications can greatly benefit all parties involved in the healthcare industry. For example, data mining can help healthcare insurers detect fraud and abuse, healthcare organizations make customer relationship mana...

Recently, most healthcare organizations focus their attention on reducing the cost of their supply chain management (SCM) by improving the decision making pertaining processes' efficiencies. The availability of products through healthcare SCM is often a matter of life or death to the patient; therefore, trial and error approaches are not an option in this environment. Simulation and modeling (S...

Purpose – This editorial briefly outlines present applications of lean systems applications in healthcare and then summarises the contributions to this special edition. Design/methodology/approach – A brief background to lean is introduced to provide the context for the subsequent papers in this special issue Findings – The requirements for successful introduction of Lean Systems Thinking (LST)...

BACKGROUND This paper presents findings from the Tobacco Control in Arizona Healthcare Systems Survey, conducted in 2000. The purpose of the survey was to assess the status of Arizona healthcare systems' awareness and implementation of tobacco cessation and prevention measures. METHODS The 20-item survey was developed by The University of Arizona HealthCare Partnership in collaboration with t...

A fundamental requirement for achieving continuity of care and supporting clinical and administrative work in healthcare organizations is commonly accepted to be the integration and interoperability of both valuable legacy systems and new technologies. However, there is much marketplace confusion today in the healthcare domain, due to the variety of overlapping or complementary integration tech...

Purpose – This editorial briefly outlines present applications of lean systems applications in healthcare and then summarises the contributions to this special edition. Design/methodology/approach – A brief background to lean is introduced to provide the context for the subsequent papers in this special issue Findings – The requirements for successful introduction of Lean Systems Thinking (LST)...