This future vision paper describes the emerging issue of multicultural medical informatics teams. In an increasingly networked healthcare environment, the rise of global teams has come to the forefront, calling for an increased understanding of various cultural norms. Team members may reside in other countries and be known to others only virtually. Concomitantly, the team dynamics of physically...

Government initiatives aimed at improving the healthcare available to Canadians pose a significant challenge to leaders responsible for developing and implementing strategies to translate these initiatives into reality. This article presents a new approach to management structures and processes designed to address this challenge. The approach includes new senior leadership skills focusing on co...

An interdisciplinary healthcare team (IHT) has been advocated as a way to manage chronic illnesses. There is growing evidence that operation of an IHT can be improved with better coordination of team’s activities and improved collaboration among team members. This paper proposes MET4 – a multi-agent decision support system developed to facilitate collaboration and coordination among the IHT mem...

Methods The study was conducted during 2010 in a general ICU and in a Cardiology ICU of a medium sized hospital in Sao Paulo, Brazil. CLABSI was defined according to the National Healthcare Safety Network definition. The set of measures was introduced in July 2010 and included reinforcement of prevention measures, switching opaque valve connectors to a transparent version, introduction of chlor...

Good communication is vital for safe patient care and good team functioning, not only in the Operating Room but also in all areas of healthcare, as well as in other safety critical industries. Examples from aviation demonstrate both the failures and the successes that can arise from poor and excellent communication. There are six components of effective teamwork: situational awareness, problem ...

A decade ago, sub-Saharan Africa accounted for 24% of the global disease burden but was served by only 4% of the global health workforce. The chronic shortage of medical doctors has led other health professionals especially nurses to perform the role of healthcare providers. These health workers have been variously named clinical officers, health officers, physician assistants, nurse practition...

As Executive City Councillor for Public Health it is one of my main objectives to provide all Viennese irrespective of their income, background, age and gender with the best possible healthcare. The City of Vienna strives to provide all its citizens with excellent healthcare focusing on humanity. We have a long tradition of science, research and training in Vienna, which enables us to provide m...

A paradigm shift is underway in our healthcare system whereby traditionally allopathic medical centers are beginning to adopt non-allopathic modalities of healing into their practices. This phenomenon has influenced the widespread emergence of integrative healthcare centers throughout the country whereby multiple disciplines are housed under one institutional roof. There is much to be learned f...

Cancer patients rely on good coordination of care between their healthcare providers and their cancer specialists throughout their cancer journey. However, there are often problems of communication, continuity, and coordination of care that can lead to suboptimal care and anxiety for patients and their families, as well as inefficiency within the healthcare system. We are a pan-Canadian team of...