Investigating ways to improve U.S. health care networks

Integrated Health Service Delivery Networks (IHSDN) based on primary health care (PHC) are the most promising solution for health systems to satisfy the health needs of the population and to address access, efficiency, quality and equity challenges faced by health systems of the world. PHCs essential attributes (people and family centered care, comprehensiveness, continuity, longitudinality) position this approach as one of the key strategies for countries to meet the aspiration of achieving universal health coverage. Creating care networks has been a common thread running through Latin America and the Caribbeans health policy agendas. In terms of actually putting the IHSDN model in action, there is a wide range of interpretations and experiences, with designs, scales, organizational methods, and maturity levels that vary within and between countries. This book shares evidence of the progress made in forming and launching IHSDN in Latin America based on four case studies conducted in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, and Mexico. The results were found by systematically applying an instrument that collects regional information on the context and features of the IHSDNs governance, funding, care models, and IHSDN management models. The books chapters describe the characteristics of IHSDN in the four studied countries, lessons are drawn from how these IHSDN have been designed and implemented, challenges for the future are identified and recommendations are provided on what will it take to consolidate the IHSDN model in Latin America. The hypothetical story of Dioselina, illustrates throughout the book the obstacles and difficulties that arise for a diabetic patient when using health services that are not people-centered. The results shed light on how prepared IHSDN in this region are to provide patient-centered care and where to focus efforts for improvement. The evidence found in this study will help develop and advance PHC in Latin America.

Networks have become a prominent template for public service governance. Often seen as an alternative to hierarchies and contracts, networks cross institutionalized organizational or sectoral boundaries to promote collaboration and the sharing of resources when addressing complex problems. Nowhere is this more the case than in the field of health services modernization and improvement. Comprising unique empirical contributions, drawn primarily from the experience of the UK National Health Service (NHS), this edited collection develops a ‘decentred’ analysis of health and care networks. Contributors look beyond particular structures or patterns of governance and focus instead on the interpretation of the meaningful practices of policy actors as they encounter and enact policy instruments and structures. The approach offers a distinct form of analysis that deepens and enriches more traditional public policy accounts of network governance. It recognizes the influence of local history, highlights the influence of dominant economic, technical and corporate narratives, and acknowledges the continued influence of biomedical knowledge and professional expertise. Offering practical insight for current and future service leaders about the challenges of implementing, managing and working within networks, this book draws out key messages for practitioners and researchers alike.

This open access book applies insights from the network perspective in health research to explain the reproduction of health inequalities. It discusses the extant literature in this field that strongly correlates differences in social status with health behaviours and outcomes, and add to this literature by providing a coherent theoretical explanation for the causes of these health inequalities. It also shows that much research is needed on the precise factors and the social and socio-psychological mechanisms that are at play in creating and cementing social inequalities in health behaviours. While social support and social relations have received considerable attention within social and behavioural science research on health inequalities, this book considers the whole network of interpersonal relations, structures and influence mechanisms. This is the perspective of the social network analytical approach which has recently gained much attention in health research. The chapters of this book cover state-of-the-art research, open research questions, and perspectives for future research. The book provides network analyses on health inequalities from the perspective of sociology, psychology, and public health and is of interest to a wide range of scholars, students and practitioners trying to understand how health inequalities are reproduced across generations.

Title page -- Contents -- INTRODUCTION -- EXECUTIVE SUMMARY -- 1. VISION OF A COMPREHENSIVE RHCN -- 2. RHCNs - MAKING IT HAPPEN -- 3. RHCNs - THE FUTURE (1998 - 2002) -- 4. RHCNs - A PERSPECTIVE BY COUNTRY -- Appendix A: Glossary and Abbreviations -- Appendix B: Healthcare Standardisation Organisations -- Appendix C: References -- Appendix D: Description of six EU IVFP projects building RHCNs

Consumer health websites have garnered considerable media attention, but only begin to scratch the surface of the more pervasive transformations the Internet could bring to health and health care. Networking Health examines ways in which the Internet may become a routine part of health care delivery and payment, public health, health education, and biomedical research. Building upon a series of site visits, this book: Weighs the role of the Internet versus private networks in uses ranging from the transfer of medical images to providing video-based medical consultations at a distance. Reviews technical challenges in the areas of quality of service, security, reliability, and access, and looks at the potential utility of the next generation of online technologies. Discusses ways health care organizations can use the Internet to support their strategic interests and explores barriers to a broader deployment of the Internet. Recommends steps that private and public sector entities can take to enhance the capabilities of the Internet for health purposes and to prepare health care organizations to adopt new Internet-based applications.

Combining and integrating cross-institutional data remains a challenge for both researchers and those involved in patient care. Patient-generated data can contribute precious information to healthcare professionals by enabling monitoring under normal life conditions and also helping patients play a more active role in their own care. This book presents the proceedings of MEDINFO 2019, the 17th World Congress on Medical and Health Informatics, held in Lyon, France, from 25 to 30 August 2019. The theme of this year’s conference was ‘Health and Wellbeing: E-Networks for All’, stressing the increasing importance of networks in healthcare on the one hand, and the patient-centered perspective on the other. Over 1100 manuscripts were submitted to the conference and, after a thorough review process by at least three reviewers and assessment by a scientific program committee member, 285 papers and 296 posters were accepted, together with 47 podium abstracts, 7 demonstrations, 45 panels, 21 workshops and 9 tutorials. All accepted paper and poster contributions are included in these proceedings. The papers are grouped under four thematic tracks: interpreting health and biomedical data, supporting care delivery, enabling precision medicine and public health, and the human element in medical informatics. The posters are divided into the same four groups. The book presents an overview of state-of-the-art informatics projects from multiple regions of the world; it will be of interest to anyone working in the field of medical informatics.