This book analyses the barriers to, and facilitators of, evidence-based decision making in OECD health-care systems.

Provides information and analysis on such topics as, new and emerging health-related technologies, long-term care, private health insurance, health-care cost control, equity of access across income groups, health workforce planning and productivity, and waiting times for elective surgery.

New technologies with the potential to improve the health of populations are continuously being introduced. But not every technological development results in clear health gains. Health technology assessment provides evidence-based information on the coverage and usage of health technologies, enabling them to be evaluated properly and applied to health care efficaciously, promoting the most effective ones while also taking into account organizational, societal and ethical issues. This book reviews the relationship between health technology assessment and policy-making, and examines how to increase the contribution such research makes to policy- and decision-making processes. By communicating the value and potential of health technology assessment to a wider audience, both within and beyond decision-making and health care management, it aims ultimately to contribute to improve the health status of the population through the delivery of optimum health services.

Developments in health-related technologies have significant potential to expand knowledge of diseases and transform health service delivery. However, decisions about whether to purchase these technologies need to be based on high quality evidence about the likely impact on health care outcomes; and whilst many countries have invested in the production of health technology assessment, evidence about its use in decision-making is limited. This publication examines the use of evidence-based decision making in OECD health-care systems and considers how countries can successfully manage the opportunities and challenges arising from health-related technological developments.

The congress’s unique structure represents the two dimensions of technology and medicine: 13 themes on science and medical technologies intersect with five challenging main topics of medicine to create a maximum of synergy and integration of aspects on research, development and application. Each of the congress themes was chaired by two leading experts. The themes address specific topics of medicine and technology that provide multiple and excellent opportunities for exchanges.

This book reports cutting-edge cases of emerging health technologies. Some health care fields are experiencing paradigmatic shifts because of robotic technologies and the new relationships that they create in r-Health (r-Curing and r-Caring) activities. The book explores emerging health care technologies such as image-guided surgical robotics, pharmacy robots, new visualisation methods (3D, 4D & ′′5D′′) and home telehealth management systems and their acceptance in the workplace but also, more generally, their special role in business and society. These technologies allow health care professionals to effectively reach far beyond the current service offerings, providing new methods for communication, diagnosis, and treatment. The relocation of certain knowledge areas from physicians to patients in self-care management or the reconfiguration of health care expertise from one health profession to another are examples of topics developed in this book. The book describes the emerging relocation of innovative visual knowledge and expertise within health care organisations and beyond, such as in the patient’s home environment.

This report discusses the need for an integrated and cyclical approach to managing health technology in order to mitigate clinical and financial risks, and ensure acceptable value for money.

Health management information systems : a managerial perspective / Joseph Tan -- Health management information systems executives : roles and responsibilities of chief executive officers and chief information officers in healthcare services organizations / Joseph Tan -- Online health information seeking : access and digital equity considerations / Fay Cobb Payton and Joseph Tan -- Health management information system enterprise software : the new generation of HMIS administrative applications / Joshia Tan with Joseph Tan -- Community health information networks : building virtual communities and networking health provider organizations / Jayfus T. Doswell, SherRhonda R. Gibbs, and Kelley M. Duncanson -- Trending toward patient-centric management systems / Joseph Tan with Joshia Tan -- Health management information system integration : achieving systems interoperability with Web services / J.K. Zhang and Joseph Tan -- Health management strategic information system planning/information requirements / Jon Blue and Joseph Tan -- Systems development : health management information system analysis and developmental methodologies / Joseph Tan -- Data stewardship : foundation for health management information system design, implementation, and evaluation / Bryan Bennett -- Managing health management information system projects : system implementation and information technology services management / Joseph Tan -- Health management information system standards : standards adoption in healthcare information technologies / Sanjay P. Sood ... [et al.] -- Health management information system governance, policy, and international perspectives : HMIS globalization through e-health / Anantachai Panjamapirom and Philip F. Musa -- Health management information system innovation : managing innovation diffusion in healthcare services organizations / Tugrul U. Daim, Nuri Basoglu, and Joseph Tan.

This report calls for a better understanding of the effects of pharmaceutical residues in the environment, greater international collaboration and accountability distribution, and policy actions to prevent and remedy emerging concerns. Laboratory and field tests show traces of oral contraceptives causing the feminisation of fish and amphibians, and residues of psychiatric drugs altering fish behaviour. Antimicrobial resistance, linked to the overuse of antibiotics, has rapidly escalated into a global health crisis.