Cross-Border Challenges in Informatics with a Focus on Disease Surveillance and Utilising Big Data


Book Description

Achieving and maintaining cross-border interoperability of electronic health records systems implies managing the continuous process of change and adaptation of a multitude of elements within and across electronic infrastructures in neighboring countries. _x000D_ This book presents the proceedings of the 11th Special Topics Conference (STC) of the European Federation for Medical Informatics (EFMI), held in Budapest, Hungary in April 2014. The EFMI STC is an important international forum which brings together computer and information science, medicine and technology to present results of current scientific work in health informatics processes, systems and technologies. The theme of EFMI STC 2014 is “Cross-border challenges in informatics with a focus on disease surveillance and utilizing big data", and the conference addressed a range of important aspects of pan-European and cross-border issues._x000D_ The book is divided into four sections: health data sharing and integration opportunities and the challenges of working across borders; sources of data, including big data, for monitoring and measuring health and disease; using routine data for epidemiological study and public health; as well as a section for posters presented at the conference._x000D_ Given its interdisciplinary nature, the book will be of interest to those working in a variety of disciplines, including medical informatics, bioinformatics and health informatics; medical computing and technology; public health, health insurance and health institutional administration, as well as other allied health professions.




EHealth2014 – Health Informatics Meets EHealth


Book Description

It is generally accepted that information and communication technology has the potential to support high quality, high-tech medicine, but up to now healthcare has lagged behind other sectors, such as service industries, in the implementation of such technology. Medicine is now beginning to catch up, however, and the Austrian government recently agreed on the nationwide implementation of an Electronic Health Record (Elektronische Gesundheitsakte (ELGA))._x000D_ This book presents the proceedings of the 8th scientific eHealth conference, which is being held in Vienna, Austria, in the context of the eHealth Summit Austria, in April 2014. The theme of the conference is "Outcomes Research: The Benefit of Health-IT", addressing the challenges which will inevitably accompany the new opportunities offered by the increased use of ICT in healthcare. The history of technologies making the transition from the laboratory into practice is one of mixed success. It is vital to understand what makes such an implementation a positive one, and factors such as the needs, fears, and context of potential users are as important as a sound technical implementation. Priorities may need to be rethought and new dimensions added._x000D_ The book will be of interest to all those considering the effect of new technologies and eHealth on the provision of healthcare systems, and seeking to achieve services which are both technically and organizationally sound and which will also efficiently deliver noticeable benefits for users.




Nursing Informatics 2014


Book Description

Standing, as it does, at the intersection of the information, computer, social and behavioral sciences and healthcare, and dealing with the resources, devices and methods required to optimize the acquisition, storage, retrieval and use of information in health and biomedicine, nursing informatics is increasingly crucial in modern healthcare. This book presents selected papers from the Twelfth Nursing Informatics Congress (NI2014), held in Taipei, Taiwan in June 2014, and entitled 'East meets West eSMART+'. The aim of the congress is to provide a single, high-profile, internationally renowned forum for research in the theory and practice of nursing informatics. The comprehensive scientific program focuses on mobile and web technologies with healthcare delivery applications, as well as currently relevant core topics including patient safety and quality, data information management, usability, meaningful use and educating for competencies. Containing 68 papers selected from the 280 presentations by delegates from more than 30 countries, the book presents an overview of current research and practice which will be of interest to all those whose healthcare role involves the use of modern information technology.




Investing in E-Health: People, Knowledge and Technology for a Healthy Future


Book Description

As healthcare organisations and governments look to information technology to capitalise and enhance healthcare, the need for effective investment to update existing technology and provide cost-effective infrastructure for the future becomes clear. The issues of defining success and understanding opportunities are crucial to planning optimum investment and the best use of scarce resources. This book presents papers from the Australian Health Informatics Conference (HIC 2014), held in Melbourne, Australia, in August 2014. With the theme of investing in e-health: people, knowledge and technology for a healthy future, the papers delivered at the conference and included here address the issues of building a future-focused, scalable and adaptable infrastructure and of training the healthcare workforce necessary to support it. Subjects covered include: user participation in ICT development for older adults; interactive patient websites; application areas of multi-user virtual environments in the healthcare context; as well as governance, training and assessing the quality of data in public health information systems. The book will be of interest to all those policy makers and practitioners involved in the planning and implementation of information technology projects as part of the healthcare system.




Annual Review of Cybertherapy and Telemedicine 2014


Book Description

The evolution of healthcare delivery systems has included an increased reliance on technology. There has been a significant shift in the nature of care prevention, diagnosis and treatment, which has decreased the importance of traditional methods of care delivery. Cybertherapy has started to make progress in treating a variety of disorders, but more work is needed in a number of areas, including the development of easy-to-use and more affordable hardware and software and objective measurement tools, the need to address potential side-effects, and the implementation of more controlled studies to evaluate cybertherapy in comparison to traditional therapies._x000D_ This book, the 2014 Annual Review of Cybertherapy and Telemedicine (ARCTT), presents a carefully structured overview of subjects related to the area of cybertherapy and telemedicine. The book is divided into six sections. An introductory editorial explains the focus of this year's issue, and is followed by a section entitled Critical Reviews, which summarises and examines emerging cybertherapy topics. The third section includes chapters on Evaluation Studies, and the contributions in section four, Original Research, deal with new cybertherapy methods and approaches. The fifth section, Clinical Observations, includes case studies and research protocols with long-term potential, and the final sixth section presents papers describing future research work._x000D_ The book will be of interest to both health professionals and patients, and to anyone else interested in the continued improvement of healthcare systems.




EHealth - For Continuity of Care


Book Description

Information technology and the information sciences have been part of our lives for some time now. They have revolutionized the healthcare system, changing the whole health landscape, as well as health culture. New devices, sources of data and roles for all those involved in healthcare are being developed as a result. This book presents the proceedings of the 25th European Medical Informatics Conference, held in Istanbul, Turkey in August/September 2014. The conference aims to present the most recent developments in biomedical informatics. The book is divided into 15 sections, which include: decision support systems and clinical practice guidelines; improved healthcare through informatics; data analysis; mobile health; technology and system evaluation; and text mining. The final two sections present posters from the conference. The book will be of interest to all those in the healthcare sector, researchers and practitioners alike, who develop, evaluate or work with information technology.




Integrating Information Technology and Management for Quality of Care


Book Description

The impact of information technology on the management of healthcare has been enormous in recent years, and it continues to grow in scope and complexity. This book presents papers from the 2014 International Conference on Informatics, Management, and Technology in Healthcare (ICIMTH), held in Athens, Greece, in July 2014. The book includes 79 full papers and 12 poster presentations as well as keynotes, two workshops and three tutorials. Papers are divided into sections including: clinical informatics; decision support and intelligent systems; e-learning and education; health informatics, information management and technology assessment; healthcare IT; mobile technology in healthcare; public health informatics and issues; social and legal issues; and telemedicine. The book will be of interest to all those whose work involves the use of biomedical and health informatics.




Active Ageing and Healthy Living


Book Description

Increased life expectancy and the ageing of the population have been the subject of attention in Western countries, and particularly in Europe, for some years now. The challenge of 'squaring the circle' between ends and means – as well as between personal aspirations and systemic constraints – in health and social care continues to be a major concern for policymakers and all those involved in the delivery of services. This book, Active Ageing and Healthy Living: A Human Centered Approach in Research and Innovation as Source of Quality of Life, presents the results of a number of research projects from the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore - the largest private university in Italy and in Europe - with a strong commitment to the areas of medicine and health sciences, economics, business, international relations, political science, psychology and communications. Visions and research directions for the future are also presented and discussed. The introduction to the book addresses the challenges posed by an increasingly ageing population and the way in which multidisciplinary research can contribute to positive outcomes. The remainder of the book is divided into two sections. The first proposes promising research directions for future focus, and includes papers on demographic change; frailty in the elderly; the role of diet in healthy ageing; active ageing; and positive technology. The second section deals with recent developments in research into active ageing and healthy living (AA&HL). It addresses numerous topics, including: mechanisms to shift the balance from unhealthy to healthy ageing; nutrition; the role of ICTs for older people; work, retirement and health; and empowering skills for AA&HL.




PHealth 2014


Book Description

Microsystems, smart textiles, telemedicine, mobile computing, smart implants, sensor-controlled medical devices, and innovative sensor and actuator principles and techniques have become important enablers, not only for monitoring, diagnosis and treatment in both inpatient and outpatient care, but also for personalized, preventive, predictive participative systems medicine. This book contains the proceedings of pHealth 2014, the 11th in a series of successful international conferences on wearable or implantable micro and nano technologies for personalized medicine, held in Vienna, Austria, in June 2014. This conference combined the presentation of emerging principles, future visions and use with a careful analysis of lessons learned from international and national research and development activities and practical solutions. Included here are the keynotes, as well as the oral presentations and poster presentations selected after having been checked by three independent reviewers for inclusion in the conference. The new EU Framework Program for Research and Innovation, Horizon 2020, addressing pHealth implementation by focusing on technology transfer support and building ecosystems and value chains to ensure better time to market and higher impact of knowledge-based technologies, is properly reflected as well. The advances made so far in this field are just the beginning of evolutionary and revolutionary changes which will offer significant opportunities for patients and healthcare professionals alike, and this book will be of interest to all those developing, providing or receiving such healthcare services._x000D_ Cover Image Courtesy of Don Espresso – aboutpixel.de




Innovative Healthcare Systems for the 21st Century


Book Description

This book presents the latest in decision-making tools, techniques, and solutions for policy makers to utilize in overcoming the challenges faced by healthcare systems. With contributions from experts world-wide, an array of healthcare management models, techniques, and integrative solutions are presented, drawing on econometric, system dynamics, and agent-based models as well as state-of-the-art empirical studies. As total healthcare spending (both total expenditures on health as a percentage of GDP and average spending on per capita) increases across most of the world’s economies, healthcare systems continue to face challenges in terms of cost, quality, and access, as a result of its fragmented nature. Consequently, healthcare managers and policy makers require innovative integrative approaches and solutions to better manage complex, dynamic healthcare systems. This volume offers researchers and policy makers an insightful and critical review of the state of the art in healthcare modeling, with a particular focus on system dynamics, agent-based models, and modern empirical studies. It will be of interest to those in the fields of health, business management, and information systems.