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Purpose – The purpose of this article is to investigate one core research question: How can health information technology (HIT) be assessed in a national health care system context?

Design/methodology – We examine this question by taking a systematic approach within a national care system, in which the purpose of HIT is to contribute to a common national health care system's goal: to promote population health in an efficient way. Based on this approach we first develop a framework and our criteria of assessment, and then using Taiwan as a case study, demonstrate how one can apply this framework to assess a national system's HIT. The five criteria we developed are how well does the HIT (1) provide accessible and accurate public health and health care information to the population; (2) collect and provide population health and health care data for government and researchers to analyze population health and processes and outcomes of health care services; (3) provide accessible and timely information that helps to improve provision of cost-effective health care at an institutional level and promotes system-wide efficiency; (4) minimize transaction and administrative costs of the health care system; and (5) establish channels for population participation in governance while also protecting individual privacy.

Findings – The results indicate that Taiwan has high levels of achievement in two criteria while falling short in the other three. Major lessons we learned from this study are that HIT exists to serve a health care system, and the national health care system context dictates how one assesses its HIT.

Originality/value – There is a large body of literature published on the implementation of HIT and its impact on the quality and cost of health care delivery. The vast majority of the literature, however, is focused on a micro institutional level such as a hospital or a bit higher up, on an HMO or health insurance firm. Few have gone further to evaluate the implementation of HIT and its impact on a national health care system. The lack of such research motivated this study. The major contributions of this study are (i) to develop a framework that follows systems thinking principles and (ii) propose a process through which a nation can identify its objectives for HIT and systematically assess its national HIT system. Using Taiwan's national health care system as a case study, this paper demonstrated how it can be done.

Meta-synthesis of the research evidence adds value to the process of literature reviewing, providing useful knowledge for researchers, practitioners and policymakers. The aim of the chapter is to explain what meta-synthesis involves and how it illuminates our understanding of concepts. Previous papers on meta-synthesis (by the author) have reviewed research strategies in information behaviour research and methods for meta-synthesis, discussed application of meta-synthesis to research on information behaviour of women, and proposed methods suitable for integrating information literacy research. Meta-synthesis methods have been applied to many areas of social science research. The literature review examines how to reduce the risks involved in suitable for integrating qualitative research or qualitative and quantitative research; outlines the main approaches used in meta-synthesis before explaining the processes used in a meta-synthesis of research on information behaviour of women, reflects on the meta-synthesis methods used, and which might have been used, and shows what meta-synthesis achieves. Meta-synthesis should be used more in information behaviour research, but it is a rigorous process, requiring time and effort to get useful results. On the other hand, meta-synthesis provides more new knowledge, and a deeper understanding of our ideas, than a conventional literature review.

This study proposes targeted modernization of the Department of Defense (DoD's) Joint Forces Ammunition Logistics information system by implementing the optimized innovative information technology open architecture design and integrating Radio Frequency Identification Device data technologies and real-time optimization and control mechanisms as the critical technology components of the solution. The innovative information technology, which pursues the focused logistics, will be deployed in 36 months at the estimated cost of $568 million in constant dollars. We estimate that the Systems, Applications, Products (SAP)-based enterprise integration solution that the Army currently pursues will cost another $1.5 billion through the year 2014; however, it is unlikely to deliver the intended technical capabilities.

Adults in the United States have low health literacy skills which puts them at high risk for serious health consequences. Libraries have traditionally provided programming on a variety of topics for patrons but barriers such as technology and transportation access may prevent potential patrons from attending. Librarians can help increase the health literacy skills of community members by providing health outreach programming to the communities they serve. This chapter examines strategies and specific examples that library managers can implement to facilitate technology and health literacy skills through programming in communities.

This chapter proposes an optimized innovative information technology as a means for achieving operational functionalities of real-time portable electronic health records, system interoperability, longitudinal health-risks research cohort and surveillance of adverse events infrastructure, and clinical, genome regions – disease and interventional prevention infrastructure. In application to the Dod-VA (Department of Defense and Veteran's Administration) health information systems, the proposed modernization can be carried out as an “add-on” expansion (estimated at $288 million in constant dollars) or as a “stand-alone” innovative information technology system (estimated at $489.7 million), and either solution will prototype an infrastructure for nation-wide health information systems interoperability, portable real-time electronic health records (EHRs), adverse events surveillance, and interventional prevention based on targeted single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) discovery.

Purpose: Many Internet users search for health information but they struggle with assessing the quality of the information they find. By drawing on a multi-modal approach to data collection, this study aims to understand further the nuanced cognitive processes that people utilize as they acquire and evaluate online health information.

Design: We used a mixed-methods approach that includes surveys, interviews, and observations of 76 diverse adults of all ages in the Chicago area completing various health information-seeking tasks.

Findings: Most participants begin their information-seeking process on search engines. We identified the most popular credibility-assessment strategies used on the search engine results’ pages (SERP) as well as on websites. We also explored how the process of executing such strategies reveals greater and lesser savvy among users.

Research Limitations: While the sample size and methods limit its generalizability, this study included a larger and more diverse group of participants than most observational work, which results in data about a wider range of behaviors than is typical of such research.

Social Implications: Our findings showed that most of our participants could use additional education regarding credibility assessment of online health information. Additionally, since a great deal of credibility assessment occurs on SERP, search companies bear a particular responsibility for ensuring the quality of the information their results highlight.

Introduction: Healthcare facilities have witnessed deterioration, limited employee engagement, and communication gaps due to a lack of wireless technology. The Internet makes work and life quicker and more intelligent. The Internet of Things (IoT) is a scheme of interconnection equipped with unique identifiers in recent years. Artificial intelligence (AI) and IoT advancement allow employees to develop competent and predictive services and solutions in human resource (HR) practices. This chapter has been formulated to summarise and classify the existing research and better understand the past, present, and future of employee engagement by improving IoT interrelated devices in the healthcare industry.

Purpose: This study aims to categorise and overcome the challenges involved in HR practices. Effectively embracing IoT application-connected devices in the healthcare industry can enhance human resources management’s (HRM) role and measure performance assessment to improve employee engagement and productivity.

Methodology: In this study, the authors develop propositions dependent on a theory-based review. A systematic analysis was applied to minimise the challenges of HRM. The subject-related articles from different journal sources, like Scopus, Emerald, Web of Science, Springer, etc., were analysed based on engagement criteria. It was graphically recorded in a collective and informative way to emphasise the review outcomes. The study has presented the positive impacts of AI and IoT on engagement in health care.

Summary: This chapter accumulated theory-based knowledge about healthcare employee engagement and how IoT-based technology like AI can optimise employees’ engagement effectively. Further, it draws comparative benefits for a workforce to execute performance advancements and create future progressive aspects for healthcare employees.

Healthcare policy-makers are implementing practices based on the logic of cost-opportunity to rationalize investments and resource consumption. The successful implementation of these practices depends on policy-makers’ capacity to involve professionals dispersed in the ecosystem, and who are unaccustomed to cooperating. Our case study investigates the institutional work pursued by the Lombardy Region to stimulate a Health Technology Assessment (HTA) program.

This chapter is based on a longitudinal case study of institutional change linked with a HTA program in the Lombardy Region. The HTA program initiatives were implemented during the 2009–2012 period. The case study is based on triangulating data from archival data, contents of the assessment forms and interviews with regional staff and experts.

The Lombardy Region implemented two distinct strategies, with mixed results. A strategy that was based on the formalization of the HTA program in a legislative direct through educational efforts did not obtain the commitment of the key actors in the relevant ecosystem. Subsequently, the Region implemented an ‘institutional work’ design strategy that included a combination of political, cultural, technical and structural work. This strategy stimulated local HTA experiments that might be used in the future to legitimize the full diffusion of the new practice in the ecosystem.

This study highlights a viable strategy of change that policy-makers can use to manage processes of institutional change in a professional ecosystem. The ‘institutional work’ strategy can support the establishment of new practices that incorporate the logic of cost-opportunity, which might rationalize the use of resources and improve investment decisions.