Mobile users require location based, situation aware services, especially when healthcare is involved. Within “Nomadic Media” an Eureka-ITEA International projects, Ontology based semantic web service discovery and orchestration have been studied and applied to provide mobile users with innovative healthcare services. The designed system identifies, orchestrates and customises the services, acc...

Approximately 1.5% of ontario's population, represented by the top 5% highest cost-incurring users of ontario's hospital and home care services, account for 61% of hospital and home care costs. Similar studies from other jurisdictions also show that a relatively small number of people use a high proportion of health system resources. Understanding these high-cost users (hcus) can inform local h...

The key argument of this commentary is that patient choice has a broader meaning than suggested by consumerist choice models. In increasingly marketized health care systems with diversified and knowledge-based service arrangements, patients are continuously obliged to choose insurers, physicians or hospitals and treatments— whether they like it or not. However, health care users refer to a wide...

The key argument of this commentary is that patient choice has a broader meaning than suggested by consumerist choice models. In increasingly marketized health care systems with diversified and knowledge-based service arrangements, patients are continuously obliged to choose insurers, physicians or hospitals and treatments-whether they like it or not. However, health care users refer to a wide ...

BACKGROUND Clinical specialist (CS) and advanced practitioner (AP) roles have increased in nursing and midwifery internationally. This study explored clinical practice in sites with and without clinical nurse or midwife specialists or advanced nurse practitioners in Ireland. METHODS Using a case study design, interview, observational and documentary data from postholding sites (CSs or APs emp...

Abstract Background The demand for home healthcare devices arises; however, many on the market are not designed to reflect needs and features of end-users. This study explored user knowledge factors that hindered design new interrelationships between factors. Methods abovementioned were identified from analysing project documents thirty-eight carefully selected produced by five manufacturers; f...

OBJECTIVES To analyze changes in users' awareness of the healthcare system and of their rights to healthcare in Colombia in the last 10 years, as well as the factors that influence users' awareness. METHODS We carried out a descriptive study to compare the results of two cross-sectional studies based on two surveys of users of the Colombian healthcare system. The first survey was performed in...