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Advances in healthcare information technology have enabled new models for electronic delivery of healthcare services. In this article, we present the case of electronic delivery of radiological services and describe the market-based and technological factors that have led to the development of Internet-based service models for flexible delivery of radiological services. Specifically, we describ...

In the United States, there is currently significant growth in the construction of healthcare facilities. This healthcare construction boom is driven by multiple factors including population shifts within the U.S.; aging facilities which no longer meet modern operational practices and efficiencies; and significant shifts in building code requirements. The last major healthcare construction boom...

BACKGROUND As part of efforts to reduce maternal deaths in Nigeria, pregnant women are being encouraged to give birth in healthcare facilities. However, little is known about whether or not available healthcare facilities can cope with an increasing demand for obstetric care. We thus carried out this survey as a rapid and tactical assessment of facility quality. We visited 121 healthcare facili...

“We’re at the eye of the storm,” said Nancy Koenig, general manager of Merge, an IBM Company, referring to the three major trends she believes are hitting healthcare at exactly the same moment. The trends she believes will transform healthcare and, with it, diagnostics, are: • Payment reform, • More attention to appropriateness of use criteria, and • A renewed focus on quality and outcomes. And...

Healthcare Systems (HCSs) throughout the world undergo important changes driven by aging populations and advances in biomedical technologies. At the same time, in the current economic climate, many Western countries are struggling to reduce public spending on all kinds of services, including healthcare. With this tension between tightening budgets and skyrocketing costs, many countries are seek...

Effective communication between patients, their families, their carers and health care professionals is paramount to the delivery of high quality care. Addressing the ideas, concerns and expectations of these groups may improve their healthcare experience. We propose that opening a new channel of communication between patients, families, carers and healthcare professionals on the wards would im...