Telehealth Ecosystems In Practice

Telemedicine is a term which covers all remotely-provided health services. It removes the obstacle of distance and can equalize access to care by means of technology. Telemedicine assumed increased importance during the time of pandemic restrictions, but despite increased interest, progress has been slowed by factors such as cost, lack of privacy legislation, the reluctance of elderly patients to use ICT, and a lack of qualified actors. It remains, however, one of the best solutions to the problems of different levels of healthcare provision and health outcomes across regions. This book presents the proceedings of STC2023, a Special Topic Conference (STC) organized by the European Federation for Medical Informatics (EFMI), and held from 25 - 27 October 2023 in Turin, Italy. These conferences promote research and development in a specific field of biomedical and health informatics, and the theme of the 2023 STC was Telehealth Ecosystems in Practice. A total of 112 submissions were received for the conference. Of these, the number of papers selected after a thorough review process was 51 full papers (acceptance 59%) and 26 posters, all of which are included in these proceedings. Topics covered include homecare and telemonitoring; televisits; teleradiology; telerehabilitation; data integration and standards; embedded decision support systems; sensors, devices and patient-reported outcomes; healthbots and conversational agents; and AI applications to telehealth. Covering a wide range of topics and methods in telemedicine and biomedical informatics, the book will be of interest to all those involved in the planning and provision of healthcare.

This book provides a principled approach to classification using the available data in a model which combines information from the social network and the healthcare models. It presents studies from leading researchers and practitioners focusing on the current challenges, directions, trends and opportunities associated with healthcare delivery systems and their supporting wireless and mobile health technologies. mHealth Ecosystems and Social Networks in Healthcare is divided into two parts. Part I covers the area of mHealth Ecosystems. Chapters include topics on adoption of cloud based mHealth services, the socio-economic impact of mHealth, as well as self-management of health and disease. In Part II, Social Networks in Healthcare are highlighted. Chapters cover social media and patient support, virtual knowledge sharing and knowledge management and also web-based applications in health care. Ultimately this book is an excellent source of comprehensive knowledge and literature on the topics of mobile health ecosystems and social networks in healthcare.

Digital health technologies could change the trajectory of current healthcare systems and make them more proactive. Advanced predictive technologies have now become available which make this more possible than ever before, but it will not happen without improved policies, regulations, and governance of our systems. Health informatics must operate at the macro level if it is to provide policymakers and other stakeholders with the information they need to better allocate resources and intervene more effectively. This book presents the proceedings of FHLIP, the Future of Health Leadership, Informatics, and Policy Conference, held on 22 February 2024 in Toronto, Canada. The conference aimed to catalyze the development of proactive, innovative digital-health solutions capable of addressing the ever-evolving challenges faced by the healthcare sector, and lay the groundwork for a more resilient, patient-centered healthcare ecosystem. It provided a platform for stakeholders to identify challenges, question assumptions, and better understand the roles of policymakers and vendors. The conference received a total of 26 submissions, of which 19 were selected for presentation at the conference and publication here after a thorough review process. Topics covered included interoperability and governance, regulation of electronic medical records, addressing the needs of vulnerable populations, scaling up use of artificial intelligence and the design of health system level architectures for large scale interventions. The book looks forward to a future where digital health makes contributions beyond the provider and patient level and will be of great interest to not only those working in the field of health informatics and digital health, but also to digital leaders and policy makers interested in taking their healthcare systems From Reactive to Proactive.

Science-fiction author William Gibson is famously quoted as saying, “The future is already here – it's just not very evenly distributed.” During the Covid pandemic, telehealth and remote monitoring were elevated from interesting innovations to essential tools in many healthcare systems, but not all countries had the infrastructure necessary to pivot quickly, amply demonstrating the negative consequences of the digital divide. This book presents the proceedings of MedInfo 2023, the 19th World Congress on Medical and Health Informatics, held from 8 – 12 July 2023 in Sydney, Australia. This series of biennial conferences provides a platform for the discussion of applied approaches to data, information, knowledge, and wisdom in health and wellness. The theme and title of MedInfo 2023 was The Future is Accessible, but the digital divide is a major concern for health and care-informatics professionals, whether because of global economic disparities, digital literacy gaps, or limited access to reliable information about health. A total of 935 submissions were received for the conference, of which 228 full papers, 43 student papers and 117 posters were accepted following a thorough peer-review process involving 279 reviewers. Topics covered include: information and knowledge management; quality, safety and outcomes; health data science; human, organizational and social aspects; and global health informatics. Significant advances in artificial intelligence, machine learning, augmented reality, virtual reality, and genomics hold great hope for future healthcare planning, delivery, management, education, evaluation, and research, and this book will be of interest to all those working to not only exploit the benefits of these technologies, but also to identify ways to overcome their associated challenges.

Health Technology Literacy: A Transdisciplinary Framework for Consumer-Oriented Practice examines the wide range of resources used by health consumers to inform and support their decisions around their own health care. Today’s health consumer is self-monitoring, building supportive social networks online or via cell phone, and engaging in treatment using interactive programs online, on CD or related media. Using evidence-based practice and relevant theories, this unique text analyzes the trend for health care systems to be reactive, while consumers are proactively seeking the health care information they feel they deserve.

Public-private collaborations are central to the functioning and provisioning of most essential ecosystems. Ecosystems such as security, healthcare, education, and the environment face challenges of governance, diverse constituencies, numerous advocacy organizations, incompatible outcome metrics, and persistent media attention, to name a few. There is a wide range of public and private players involved in operating, sustaining, and investing in these ecosystems, including stakeholders from government, industry, academia, non-governmental organizations, and the general public. Fundamental change requires understanding a wide range of interests and accommodating change strategies accordingly. The challenges of transforming these ecosystems would easily qualify as “wicked problems”; social or cultural problems laced with incomplete or contradictory knowledge, large numbers of people and opinions, substantial economic burdens, and inextricable connections with other issues. Transforming Public-Private Ecosystems addresses these challenges for the four important ecosystems of national security, healthcare delivery, higher education, and energy and climate, and provides an integrated perspective for understanding and enabling change.

Recent advancements in medical technology, such as telehealth services, have influenced the healthcare sector tremendously. While telehealth technology and its application are not new, it has not been widely utilized despite the numerous benefits and opportunities it provides. However, recent policy changes have lowered obstacles to telehealth access and pushed the use of telemedicine to deliver acute, chronic, primary, and specialist care. In order to successfully integrate this technology in all areas of healthcare, further study is required to fully understand the best practices and challenges of adoption. Advancement, Opportunities, and Practices in Telehealth Technology discusses advances in the digital health technology and telemedicine domains as well as key challenges, solutions, and opportunities regarding their use in healthcare. The book also introduces critical communication protocols, interconnections, system designs, and developments that are extensively used in the present-day telehealth process. Covering a wide range of topics such as digital twins, big data analytics, and robotics, this reference work is an ideal resource for engineers, industry professionals, hospital administration, policymakers, researchers, scholars, academicians, practitioners, instructors, and students.