Showing papers on "Health management system published in 2013"

Factors affecting usage of a personal health record (PHR) to manage health.

Abstract: As the health care industry shifts into the digital age, patients are increasingly being provided with access to electronic personal health records (PHRs) that are tethered to their provider-maintained electronic health records. This unprecedented access to personal health information can enable patients to more effectively manage their health, but little is actually known about patients' ability to successfully use a PHR to perform health management tasks or the individual factors that influence task performance. This study evaluated the ability of 56 middle-aged adults (40-59 years) and 51 older adults (60-85 years) to use a simulated PHR to perform 15 common health management tasks encompassing medication management, review/interpretation of lab/test results, and health maintenance activities. Results indicated that participants in both age groups experienced significant difficulties in using the PHR to complete routine health management tasks. Data also showed that older adults, particularly those with lower numeracy and technology experience, encountered greater problems using the system. Furthermore, data revealed that the cognitive abilities predicting one's task performance varied according to the complexity of the task. Results from this study identify important factors to consider in the design of PHRs so that they meet the needs of middle-aged and older adults. As deployment of PHRs is on the rise, knowledge of the individual factors that impact effective PHR use is critical to preventing an increase in health care disparities between those who are able to use a PHR and those who are not.

Home Health Gateway Based Healthcare Services Through U-Health Platform

Abstract: The Ubiquitous Health, or u-Health, service is an IT health care service using the ubiquitous computing environment. U-Health provides customized medical services. As it is a service that has developed from the current hospital visiting medical system, the u-Health service provides a patient with healthcare anywhere and anytime. In this paper, we propose a home health gateway based healthcare services through the u-Health platform. Using home health gateway, u-Health can provide health monitoring, diet, and exercise services using the healthcare decision support module in the ubiquitous environment. This approach would offer specialized services using an external content provider of DB. In addition, a doctor can provide advice to patients using the monitoring service. The proposed u-Health platform provides effective services using home health gateway in ubiquitous environments to customers, which will improve the health of chronic patients.

Health data management system and method based on network

Abstract: The invention discloses a health data management system and a method based on a network. The system and the method make full use of a mobile phone and the mobile internet technology to collect effective data of people longing for health, mine the mass data, recommend a healthy life style customized according to a user to the user through the mobile phone, help a patient with a chronic disease to control the disease, help the sub-healthy people to raise a health level, and help the people who focus on own health and family health to prevent the disease and to reduce a sick rate and an incidence of the disease based on health management.

Positive Technology as a Driver for Health Engagement

Abstract: . Despite the fact that older adults are healthier than in the past, the current trend of an ageing population implies an increased risk and severity of chronic diseases. Low-resource healthcare systems face increased organizational healthcare costs, which is likely to result in an allocation of limited health resources. Healthcare organizations themselves must deal with patients’ increasing need for a more active role in all the steps of the care & cure process. Technological advances may play a crucial role in sustaining people’s health management in daily life, but only if it is “ecologically” designed and well-attuned to people’s health needs and expectations. Healthcare is more and more called to orient innovative research approaches that recognize the crucial role of a person’s engagement in health and well-being. This will enable patients to reach a higher quality of life and achieve a general psychophysical well-being. Thus, positive technological innovation can sustain people's engagement in health and invoke community empowerment, as we shall discuss in this document.

Research collaboration in health management research communities

Abstract: This study uses scientometrics methodology to reveal the status quo and emerging issues of collaboration in health management. We searched all the articles with the keyword “health management” in the period 1999–2011 in Web of Knowledge, then 3067 articles were found. Methods such as Social network analysis (SNA), co-authorship, co-word analysis were used in this study. Analysis of the past 13 years of research in the field of health management indicates that, whether the production of scientific research, or authors, institutions and scientific research collaboration at the national level, collaboration behavior has been growing steadily across all collaboration types. However, the international scientific research cooperation about health management study between countries needs to be further encouraged. 17 researchers can be seen as the academic leaders in this field. 37 research institutions play a vital role in the information dissemination and resources control in health management. The component analysis found that 22 research groups can be regarded as the backbone in this field. The 8 institution groups consisting of 33 institutions form the core of this field. USA, UK and Australia lie in the center by cohesive subgroup analysis; Based on keywords analysis, 44 keywords with high frequency such as care, disease, system and model were involved in the health management field. This study demonstrates that although it is growing steadily, collaboration behavior about health management study needs to be enhanced, especially between different institutions or countries/regions, which would promote the progress and internationalization of health management. Besides, researchers should pay attention to the cooperation of representative scholars and institutions, as well as the hot areas of research, because their experience would help us promote the research development of our nation.

Promoting community participation in priority setting in district health systems: experiences from Mbarali district, Tanzania.

Abstract: Background: Community participation in priority setting in health systems has gained importance all over the world, particularly in resource-poor settings where governments have often failed to provide adequate publicsector services for their citizens. Incorporation of public views into priority setting is perceived as a means to restore trust, improve accountability, and secure cost-effective priorities within healthcare. However, few studies have reported empirical experiences of involving communities in priority setting in developing countries. The aim of this article is to provide the experience of implementing community participation and the challenges of promoting it in the context of resource-poor settings, weak organizations, and fragile democratic institutions. Design: Key informant interviews were conducted with the Council Health Management Team (CHMT), community representatives, namely women, youth, elderly, disabled, and people living with HIV/AIDS, and other stakeholders who participated in the preparation of the district annual budget and health plans. Additionally, minutes from the Action Research Team and planning and priority-setting meeting reports were analyzed. Results: A number of benefits were reported: better identification of community needs and priorities, increased knowledge of the community representatives about priority setting, increased transparency and accountability, promoted trust among health systems and communities, and perceived improved quality and accessibility of health services. However, lack of funds to support the work of the selected community representatives, limited time for deliberations, short notice for the meetings, and lack of feedback on the approved priorities constrained the performance of the community representatives. Furthermore, the findings show the importance of external facilitation and support in enabling health professionals and community representatives to arrive at effective working arrangement. Conclusion: Community participation in priority setting in developing countries, characterized by weak democratic institutions and low public awareness, requires effective mobilization of both communities and health systems. In addition, this study confirms that community participation is an important element in strengthening health systems. Keywords: community participation; priority setting; district health systems; Tanzania (Published: 25 November 2013) Citation: Glob Health Action 2013, 6 : 22669 - http://dx.doi.org/10.3402/gha.v6i0.22669

Health service platform system based on real-time monitoring

Abstract: The aging of population and the continuous rise in the number of chronic disease crowd have become prominent problems for the present society A nonprofessional person, however, cannot do anything about the vital sign data detected at home According to a health service platform system based on real-time monitoring, original vital sign data detected by a health detector is sent to a cellphone on which health monitoring software is preinstalled (health cellphone) in a wireless or Bluetooth manner; the vital sign data is received and displayed by the cellphone, and is transmitted to the health service platform through the Internet; a result is created through analysis and processing, and a personal health profile is created; the analysis result and a health hint are fed back to the health cellphone; a professional instruction can be given timely by a remote client (doctor) through logging in the health service platform; health management information can also be acquired by a user or a relative through logging in the health service platform The personal health profile serves as a basis for health tendency analysis, and can judge health tendency timely through dynamic analysis of historical data, so as to assist in preventing the occurrences of major illness and emergency illness

Patient moderator interaction in online health communities.

Abstract: An increasing number of people visit online health communities to share experiences and seek health information. Although studies have enumerated reasons for patients' visits to online communities for health information from peers, we know little about how patients gain health information from the moderators in these communities. We qualitatively analyze 480 patient and moderator posts from six communities to understand how moderators fulfill patients' information needs. Our findings show that patients use the community as an integral part of their health management practices. Based on our results, we suggest enhancements to moderated online health communities for their unique role to support patient care.

Impact of a decision-support tool on decision making at the district level in Kenya

Abstract: In many countries, the responsibility for planning and delivery of health services is devolved to the subnational level. Health programs, however, often fall short of efficient use of data to inform decisions. As a result, programs are not as effective as they can be at meeting the health needs of the populations they serve. In Kenya, a decision-support tool, the District Health Profile (DHP) tool was developed to integrate data from health programs, primarily HIV, at the district level and to enable district health management teams to review and monitor program progress for specific health issues to make informed service delivery decisions. Thirteen in-depth interviews were conducted with ten tool users and three non-users in six districts to qualitatively assess the process of implementing the tool and its effect on data-informed decision making at the district level. The factors that affected use or non-use of the tool were also investigated. Respondents were selected via convenience sample from among those that had been trained to use the DHP tool except for one user who was self-taught to use the tool. Selection criteria also included respondents from urban districts with significant resources as well as respondents from more remote, under-resourced districts. Findings from the in-depth interviews suggest that among those who used it, the DHP tool had a positive effect on data analysis, review, interpretation, and sharing at the district level. The automated function of the tool allowed for faster data sharing and immediate observation of trends that facilitated data-informed decision making. All respondents stated that the DHP tool assisted them to better target existing services in need of improvement and to plan future services, thus positively influencing program improvement. This paper stresses the central role that a targeted decision-support tool can play in making data aggregation, analysis, and presentation easier and faster. The visual synthesis of data facilitates the use of information in health decision making at the district level of a health system and promotes program improvement. The experience in Kenya can be applied to other countries that face challenges making district-level, data-informed decisions with data from fragmented information systems.

Health management system and implementation method thereof

Abstract: The invention discloses a health management system and implementation method thereof, belonging to the technical field of disease prevention and control. The health management system comprises a computer application module, a special testing module and a health management module. The computer application module comprises a user information acquisition module, a health risk assessment module and a disease risk assessment module. The health management repertoire includes the following steps: setting up a health risk assessment database in the health risk assessment module; and setting up a disease risk assessment database in the disease risk assessment module. The health management system and the implementation method thereof have the advantages that through the health management repertoire, the risk of an individual getting certain specific chronic disease or the outcome of the disease in the future can be simply estimated, thus helping the individual to have a fuller and more comprehensive understanding about the risk and the gravity of the threat of the disease so that the individual can take comprehensive intervention against a specific cause or high-risk factor of the disease to prevent and reverse the progress of the disease. Therefore, the health management system and the implementation method can alleviate the living and economic burdens of the families and the society.

Which bundles of features in a web-based personally controlled health management system are associat

Abstract: Background Personally controlled health management systems (PCHMS), which include a personal health record (PHR), health management tools, and consumer resources, represent the next stage in consumer eHealth systems. It is still unclear, however, what features contribute to an engaging and efficacious PCHMS. Objective To identify features in a Web-based PCHMS that are associated with consumer utilization of primary care and counselling services, and help-seeking rates for physical and emotional well-being concerns. Methods A one-group pre/posttest online prospective study was conducted on a university campus to measure use of a PCHMS for physical and emotional well-being needs during a university academic semester (July to November 2011). The PCHMS integrated an untethered personal health record (PHR) with well-being journeys, social forums, polls, diaries, and online messaging links with a health service provider, where journeys provide information for consumer participants to engage with clinicians and health services in an actionable way. 1985 students and staff aged 18 and above with access to the Internet were recruited online. Logistic regression, the Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient, and chi-square analyses were used to associate participants’ help-seeking behaviors and health service utilization with PCHMS usage among the 709 participants eligible for analysis. Results A dose-response association was detected between the number of times a user logged into the PCHMS and the number of visits to a health care professional (P=.01), to the university counselling service (P=.03), and help-seeking rates (formal or informal) for emotional well-being matters (P=.03). No significant association was detected between participant pre-study characteristics or well-being ratings at different PCHMS login frequencies. Health service utilization was strongly correlated with use of a bundle of features including: online appointment booking (primary care: OR 1.74, 95% CI 1.01-3.00; counselling: OR 6.04, 95% CI 2.30-15.85), personal health record (health care professional: OR 2.82, 95% CI 1.63-4.89), the poll (health care professional: OR 1.47, 95% CI 1.02-2.12), and diary (counselling: OR 4.92, 95% CI 1.40-17.35). Help-seeking for physical well-being matters was only correlated with use of the personal health record (OR 1.73, 95% CI 1.18-2.53). Help-seeking for emotional well-being concerns (including visits to the university counselling service) was correlated with a bundle comprising the poll (formal or informal help-seeking: OR 1.03, 95% CI 1.00-1.05), diary (counselling: OR 4.92, 95% CI 1.40-17.35), and online appointment booking (counselling: OR 6.04, 95% CI 2.30-15.85). Conclusions Frequent usage of a PCHMS was significantly associated with increased consumer health service utilization and help-seeking rates for emotional health matters in a university sample. Different bundles of PCHMS features were associated with physical and emotional well-being matters. PCHMS appears to be a promising mechanism to engage consumers in help-seeking or health service utilization for physical and emotional well-being matters.

Can action research strengthen district health management and improve health workforce performance? A research protocol.

Abstract: Introduction: The single biggest barrier for countries in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) to scale up the necessary health services for addressing the three health-related Millennium Development Goals and achieving Universal Health Coverage is the lack of an adequate and well-performing health workforce. This deficit needs to be addressed both by training more new health personnel and by improving the performance of the existing and future health workforce. However, efforts have mostly been focused on training new staff and less on improving the performance of the existing health workforce. The purpose of this paper is to disseminate the protocol for the PERFORM project and reflect on the key challenges encountered during the development of this methodology and how they are being overcome. Methods: The overall aim of the PERFORM project is to identify ways of strengthening district management in order to address health workforce inadequacies by improving health workforce performance in SSA. The study will take place in three districts each in Ghana, Tanzania and Uganda using an action research approach. With the support of the country research teams, the district health management teams (DHMTs) will lead on planning, implementation, observation, reflection and redefinition of the activities in the study. Taking into account the national and local human resource (HR) and health systems (HS) policies and practices already in place, ‘bundles’ of HR/HS strategies that are feasible within the context and affordable within the districts’ budget will be developed by the DHMTs to strengthen priority areas of health workforce performance. A comparative analysis of the findings from the three districts in each country will add new knowledge on the effects of these HR/HS bundles on DHMT management and workforce performance and the impact of an action research approach on improving the effectiveness of the DHMTs in implementing these interventions. Discussion: Different challenges were faced during the development of the methodology. These include the changing context in the study districts, competing with other projects and duties for the time of district managers, complexity of the study design, maintaining the anonymity and confidentiality of study participants ARTICLE SUMMARY

Employer Health and Productivity Roadmap™ strategy.

Abstract: The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health Total Worker Health™ Program defines essential elements of an integrated health protection and health promotion model to improve the health, safety, and performance of employers and employees. The lack of a clear strategy to address the core drivers of poor health, excessive medical costs, and lost productivity has deterred a comprehensive, integrated, and proactive approach to meet these challenges. The Employer Health and Productivity Roadmap™, comprising six interrelated and integrated core elements, creates a framework of shared accountability for both employers and their health and productivity partners to implement and monitor actionable measures that improve health, maximize productivity, and reduce excessive costs. The strategy is most effective when linked to a financially incentivized health management program or consumer-directed health plan insurance benefit design.

Designing the framework for competency-based master of public health programs in India.

Abstract: Competency in the practice of public health is the implicit goal of education institutions that offer master of public health (MPH) programs. With the expanding number of institutions offering courses in public health in India, it is timely to develop a common framework to ensure that graduates are proficient in critical public health. Steps such as situation assessment, survey of public health care professionals in India, and national consultation were undertaken to develop a proposed competency-based framework for MPH programs in India. The existing curricula of all 23 Indian MPH courses vary significantly in content with regard to core, concentration, and crosscutting discipline areas and course durations. The competency or learning outcome is not well defined. The findings of the survey suggest that MPH graduates in India should have competencies ranging from monitoring of health problems and epidemics in the community, applying biostatistics in public health, conducting action research, understanding social and community influence on public health developing indicators and instruments to monitor and evaluate community health programs, developing proposals, and involving community in planning, delivery, and monitoring of health programs. Competency statements were framed and mapped with domains including epidemiology, biostatistics, social and behavioral sciences, health care system, policy, planning, and financing, and environmental health sciences and a crosscutting domain that include health communication and informatics, health management and leadership, professionalism, systems thinking, and public health biology. The proposed competency-based framework for Indian MPH programs can be adapted to meet the needs of diverse, unique programs. The framework ensures the uniqueness and diversity of individual MPH programs in India while contributing to measures of overall program success.

Human Resources for Health Country Profile of Indonesia

Abstract: The Public Health Reform Roadmap by the Ministry of Health put priority reforms on financing health care; drugs and health equipment availability; health management in the remote, country borderline areas and outer islands including human resources for health (HRH); and healthcare services. In the Strategic Plan document of the Ministry of Health year 2010-2014, HRH development is one of top eight priorities in health development. It includes several strategic activities such as HRH planning and management, pre-service and in service trainings, HRH quality including registration and certification and other management and technical support for HRH development program. Along with most social sectors, the health sector has been undergoing a process of decentralizing many responsibilities from central ministry to the district level particularly to the Provincial and District Health Offices. This has had implications on human resource planning and management which include the need for accurate and timely data and information on HRH. Most of the data required for this HRH country profile is still limited or incomplete. It has become clear that there is an urgent need to strengthen national health information system. Some key issues in HRH information need to address including weak coordination among stakeholder, inadequate use for decision making, various capacity of human resources in data processing of each level and lack of timely reporting and feedback. Special attention is required at both regional and national levels to create an up-to-date HRH information system. Health services are provided by both public and private institutions. In general, the ratio of health workers per 1000 population has increased from 1,42 per 1000 population in year 2009 to 2,11 per 1000 population in year 2010. The highest number of cadre is nurses with 160,074 and the lowest number is physiotherapist with 2,587. Imbalance distribution remains one of key issues not only between urban and rural but also among regions in Indonesia. The highest number of health workforces remains in Java/Bali . Migration or movement of the health workforce within and across country has become a great attention. So far in 2009 there were approximately 2892 nurses work in United Emirate Arab, United State of America, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the Netherlands, Singapore, Japan, and Norway. Distribution of health workers based on gender is also another issue, although the exact data is unavailable. There is a tendency of increasing female medical doctors and dentists, for example in mid 2010 the percentage of contract female doctors was 56% while the contract female dentists was 81%. This document failed to describe the age distribution by cadre and the public � private distribution by cadre due to lack of data. It is estimated 60 to 70 percent of publicly employed health worker engaged in dual practice, mainly in private practice and private facilities. Production of health workforce has been continuously increasing from year 2004 to 2009 especially in private health education institutions. Accreditation of health education institutions was conducted to ensure the quality of graduates. In-service training for health workforce is provided through technical and clinical trainings, management and leadership training and other professional development trainings. Projection of the health workforce requirement was developed for the HRH plan, which involved participation of stakeholders. The method used was the ratio of health workers to the certain value i.e. the health status measured by the life expectancy target. To improve deployment and distribution for HRH especially in remote and underserved areas, the MoH encourage the local government to provide additional incentives, scholarship, and other facilities such as vehicles, housing, telecommunication equipment and electricity as well as safety at workplace. This document showed that Human Resource Information System need to be strengthened both in local and national level.

Intelligent health management system and intelligent health management method

Abstract: The invention discloses an intelligent health management system and an intelligent health management method. The intelligent health management system comprises a login module, a parameter obtaining module and a prescription management module. The login module is used for logging in a user account of a user; the parameter obtaining module used for obtaining initial exercise data and body parameters correlative to the user account; and the prescription management module is used for providing exercise prescription data based on the initial exercise data and/or the body parameters. By means of the intelligent health management system and the intelligent health management method, management of health conditions by the user is benefited, mobile management of the initial exercise data and/or the body parameters can be carried out in all directions, and therefore effective keep-fit exercises can be realized.

Personal remote health service system

Abstract: The invention discloses a personal remote health service system. The system at least comprises a health mobile phone and a remote health service platform for supporting the health mobile phone to realize the health management, wherein a client APP is installed in the health mobile phone and comprises function modules of user management, equipment management, health information management, health guidance, calorie management, medication management, health knowledge introduction, medicine consultation, health interaction, health assessment and the like, and a service request is proposed to the remote service platform through the modules; the remote health service platform at least comprises a platform management layer and a data logic management layer which are used for executing corresponding operations after receiving the request and synchronizing the result into the health mobile phone so as to realize the personal health service. The real-time individualized and specialized remote health service for individual can be realized through the remote health service system so as to realize the health guidance and disease prevention to achieve the aim of preventive treatment of disease.

Non-pharmacological intervention method and system for health management over chronic disease

Abstract: The invention discloses a non-pharmacological intervention method and a non-pharmacological intervention system for health management over a chronic disease, belongs to the field of preventive medicine, and provides a service system for the participation of a user in the non-pharmacological intervention of the chronic disease. A great number of researches show that the chief culprit of increase of an incidence rate of the chronic disease is energy surplus, and diet and exercise form the most main factors for the adjustment of overall energy balance. According to the method, daily energy intake is determined according to the basic situation and symptoms of a user to realize energy balance. Chronic disease non-pharmacological intervention software and an energy monitor are organically combined. A management method specifically comprises the following steps that a personal health management platform is created for a patient with the chronic disease on a health management website, a managed patient carries the energy monitor, personal information is input, energy data is uploaded, and computer software analyzes risk factors for the chronic disease, performs health assessment, and provides personalized health guidance and diet and exercise guidance for the managed patient to enhance the health belief of the managed patient and enable the managed patient to form health behavior habits, so that the incidence and the development of the chronic disease are prevented and retarded.

Online Health Information Seeking and Adolescents’ Intention Towards Health Self-Management

Abstract: The widespread availability of healthcare websites has changed the traditional healthcare system by enabling patients to play an active role in health management The emerging field of Health 20 has enabled both professionals and patients to engage in content generation; changing the traditionally accepted professional healthcare to a new dimension of patient-centric healthcare With the easy access to health information online, patients are turning to the Internet to look up for symptoms, diagnose health problems, or determine treatment procedures Anecdotal evidence suggests that individuals’ health management practices can be highly influenced by online health information Considering the psychological characteristics of adolescents and their high exposure to the Internet, this study investigates the mechanisms of how online health information can motivate adolescents’ behavioral intention towards self-management of their health issues Our results showed that empowerment, attitude towards the website and privacy concerns significantly predict adolescents’ health self-management behavior Our findings also revealed that perceived health threat is not directly influencing the intention to self-managed health but instead interacts with other factors to influence intention The findings provide important implications for theory and practice, by providing a better understanding of an emerging field of health care

Health management system and image forming device

Abstract: PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a convenient health management system to a user.SOLUTION: A health management system 1 comprises: an authentication apparatus 200 that executes authentication processing with an image forming device whose use is requested by a user on the basis of identification information of the user; a health data provision apparatus that provides health data relating to the user when the authentication is successful; and an image forming device that collects the health data, and generates health management data indicating the user's health condition on the basis of the collected health data. The image forming device supports health management by providing the health management data.

Mobile Technology in Healthcare

Abstract: Missed appointments lead to substantial cost for many health systems but particularly for the national health system (NHS) in England. The costs are due to direct costs involved in arranging the appointment and the opportunity cost of missed appointments [1]. MHealth is the use of mobile and wireless devices to improve health outcomes, health care services and health research [2]. In England, since 2003, a number of pilot trials, which use mobile phone short message service (SMS) to remind patients to attend NHS appointments, have been launched [1]. In health management systems, information has a special role in planning, evaluation, training, legal aspects and research [3]. In fact, the fist distinction between developed and developing countries, are the production, application and utilization of information [4-5].

From Multiple Register to Family folder: The Transition of Data Collection and Reporting Tools for Health Extension Workers in Ethiopia

Abstract: Absence of unified data collection tools and over reporting to the higher levels are major problems in the health management information systems (HMIS) in many developing countries. Building on the notions of boundary objects and knowledge boundary, this study examined the challenges and opportunities for developing unified data collection tools and health reports. To do so, an interpretative case study was conducted in Ethiopia during the inception of HMIS reform in order to improve the quality of health information. The reform process includes standardizing data collection and reporting tools for all health facilities across the country.The focus of this study is a family folder that is designed to capture the community health data by the health extension workers of Ethiopia. The findings indicate a tendency to use multiple registers and reports at the health facilities to fulfill the information demand of different partners. This challenge need to be dealt through discussion, negotiation and convergence of conflicting interests among stakeholders to address the identified defy.

Shared Governance and Reasonableness as Ethical Contributions to Health Policy

Abstract: Health is one of the fundamental human rights Recognizing it as a right means that the State has an obligation to ensure a minimum level of opportunities is maintained, and to restore it when lost This minimum level may not be covered in periods of economic crisis, such as the one we are currently experiencingManaged care, focused on economic questions, emerged after the crisis of 1973 in order to help make clinical decisions based on economic factors In practice, the result of managed care was to turn economic cost control into an end in itself while forgetting about equity; something for which it has been challenged from an ethical perspective Since then, many authors have attempted to reconcile efficiency and equity in health management, but the debate remains openIn this article, and basing our approach on the theories of P Ruger and Norman Daniels, we argue that shared health governance and accountability for reasonableness can offer significant ethical contributions in the process of achieving an efficient and fair health system In the model we propose, citizens, professionals and health institutions all play an active role in capacity building in the field of health These capacities are related to healthy lifestyles, accessible and transparent information, the promotion of self-care, the acquisition of knowledge, skills and appropriate attitudes, leadership based on values and co-responsibility to achieve set goals in a reasonable way If we develop these capacities, we will have used the current economic crisis as an opportunity for improving ethical practice in the field of health

Team-based health management

Abstract: An application offers personalized content, such as health care plans, health actions, and interactive games, to a user. Based on such health data provided by a user, the health management application may provide content, such as health information or health care plans, that is tailored to the current health status or condition of the user. In some instances, a user may request to participate in a particular health action or task. The health management application may recommend personalized tasks or actions for the user to complete to promote and improve health. Following partial or successful completion of a chosen health action, a user may earn points or rewards that may be redeemable for various prizes. A user may also earn points by completing an educational or informational task such as quizzes, questionnaires, or surveys. Points may also be earned by participating in or playing a game.

Health care in small prisons: incorporating high‐quality standards

Abstract: – In the past, health management in Geneva's six post‐trial prisons had been variable and inconsistent. In 2008, the unit of penitentiary medicine of the Geneva University Hospitals was mandated to re‐organize and provide health care at all six prison facilities. The specific aim of this paper is to outline the example as a practical solution to some of the common challenges in unifying the structure and process of health services across multiple small facilities, while meeting European prison health and local quality standards., – Geneva's post‐trial prisons are small and close to one another in geographical proximity – ideal conditions for the construction of a health mobile team (HMT). This multidisciplinary mobile team operated like a community ambulatory care model; it was progressively launched in all prison facilities in Geneva. The authors incorporated an implementation strategy where health providers partnered with prison and community stakeholders in the health delivery model's development and adaption process., – The model's strategic initiatives are described along the following areas, in light of other international prison health activity and prior care models: access to a health care professional, equivalence of care, patient consent, confidentiality, humanitarian interventions, and professional competence and independence., – From the perspective of the HMT members, the authors provide the “lessons learned” through this experience, especially to providers who are working on prison health services reform and coordination improvement. The paper particularly stresses the importance of partnering with community health stakeholders and prison staff, a key component to the approach.

Assessing management training needs: a study in the Punjab health services, Pakistan.

Abstract: Pakistans public sector is organized in a federal system with many management and planning functions devolved to the 4 provincial governments. Provincial health secretariats lead on most policy and planning decisions for health services. The provinces employ health personnel although the national Public Service Commission controls some key aspects of human resources management. Reporting the findings of a training needs assessment (TNA) for health personnel in the provincial health services of Punjab the authors show how TNA can be used systematically to improve the quality of health professional training. They also discuss the extent to which better training could contribute to improved health management capacity in Pakistan and describe the context and problems of Pakistans health services focusing upon management capacity and the methods and results of a training needs assessment conducted to address the problems. A final section covers the usefulness of the TNA method in Pakistan and its applicability to other countries. Moreover the implications of decentralization and the problems of preparing training plans in the absence of decentralized structures are discussed.

Health management system using home network and operation method thereof

Abstract: A health management system. A method of operating a home gateway for a home network connectable with at least one home device in the health management system includes receiving health information for at least one user from a health management server, generating environment control information for configuring an environment corresponding to the health information for the at least one user, and transmitting the environment control information to the at least one home device to control the at least one home device.

Channeling health economics research initiatives to improve decision-making processes in the EU.

Abstract: Health economics as a specialization area has rapidly grown during the last 4 decades. Researchers have selected the topics according to a variety of issues, such as general scientific interest, background knowledge, and perceived gaps in the field as well as the relevance of the topics to their jurisdictions, among others. On the part of the health authorities (managers and politicians), they have to cope with a variety of real-life types of problems that need to be addressed. In their daily practice, they have at their disposal instruments and information from the health economics literature to better manage their health systems. Nevertheless, some mismatches exist in the activities developed by these two groups. On the one hand, it is believed that health authorities disregard or do not use all the available information generated by researchers in their decision-making processes. This could be due to either the irrelevance of a given research for a specific health decision or because health authorities simply ignore it. On the other hand, researchers, for whatever the reason, do not address some topics that really matter to health managers and that would potentially improve the general efficiency of healthcare systems and increase social welfare. The interest in assessing the value of research activities in support of health systems policies was highlighted by Buxton and Hanney 2 decades ago [1]. The need to cope with the gap between research and health policy has also been previously acknowledged by some authors and institutions such as the WHO [2–4]. However, the number of studies and their scope have been quite limited (addressing particular health areas such as pain [5], focusing on single Member States’ research needs [6], being descriptive of some situations [7], and dealing with specific research venues—such as the economic evaluation of health technologies [8] and the value of information as a technique to establish research topics in economic evaluation [9]). More recently, Hunter and Brown [10] have reviewed research topics within the field of health management, and Debrand and Dourgnon [11] described the relationships between health economics research and health policies debated in a meeting of experts from several countries; they also emphasized the need for ‘‘using research evidence to produce pertinent and efficient tools for health policymaking.’’ In spite of these efforts, there is a lack of systematic analysis (follow-up or periodic reviews) on this topic so that health research can be channeled to the more useful areas of health policy making. Other authors have recently noted the necessity to fill the gap between health research and policy [12]. Interestingly, health economics scientific policy in most of the EU countries usually relies on public calls as the instruments to channel funds to research programs. However, these programs have vaguely defined goals and are commonly framed in rather general terms, either guided by some leading research teams or by politicians and bureaucrats in charge of the general scientific policy. Health authorities are not usually empowered to decide on or select the guiding principles of the general scientific policy (i.e., the goals of the calls for each program). In this environment, it is a common practice for each research group to participate in the calls by proposing its preferred topics, which usually find a niche that makes their proposal eligible to receive financial aid. One frequent evaluation criterion to evaluate the results of a research project ex-post is to look at the quality of the peer-reviewed F. Antonanzas (&) R. Rodriguez-Ibeas Department of Economics, University of La Rioja, 26004 Logrono, Spain e-mail: fernando.antonanzas@unirioja.es