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The primary objective of this paper is to show a systematic and methodological approach for the digitalization of critical clinical pathways (CPs) within the healthcare domain.

The methodology entails the integration of service design (SD) and action research (AR) methodologies, characterized by iterative phases that systematically alternate between action and reflective processes, fostering cycles of change and learning. Within this framework, stakeholders are engaged through semi-structured interviews, while the existing and envisioned processes are delineated and represented using BPMN 2.0. These methodological steps emphasize the development of an autonomous, patient-centric web application alongside the implementation of an adaptable and patient-oriented scheduling system. Also, business processes simulation is employed to measure key performance indicators of processes and test for potential improvements. This method is implemented in the context of the CP addressing transient loss of consciousness (TLOC), within a publicly funded hospital setting.

The methodology integrating SD and AR enables the detection of pivotal bottlenecks within diagnostic CPs and proposes optimal corrective measures to ensure uninterrupted patient care, all the while advancing the digitalization of diagnostic CP management. This study contributes to theoretical discussions by emphasizing the criticality of process optimization, the transformative potential of digitalization in healthcare and the paramount importance of user-centric design principles, and offers valuable insights into healthcare management implications.

The study’s relevance lies in its ability to enhance healthcare practices without necessitating disruptive and resource-intensive process overhauls. This pragmatic approach aligns with the imperative for healthcare organizations to improve their operations efficiently and cost-effectively, making the study’s findings relevant.

The purpose of this paper is to examine patient engagement in remote consultation services, an increasingly important issue facing Healthcare Operations Management (HOM) given the significant expansion in this and other forms of telehealth worldwide over the last decade. We use our analysis of the literature to develop a comprehensive framework that incorporates the patient journey, multidimensionality, antecedents and consequences, interventions and improvement options, as well as the cyclic nature of patient engagement. We also propose measures suitable for empirical assessment of different aspects of our framework.

We undertook a comprehensive review of the extant literature using a systematic review approach. We identified and analysed 63 articles published in peer-reviewed scientific journals between 2003 and 2022.

We conceptualise patient engagement with remote consultation across three key aspects: dimensions, process, and the antecedents and consequences of engagement. We identify nine contextual categories that influence such engagement. We propose several possible metrics for measuring patient engagement during three stages (before service, at/during service and after service) of remote consultation, as well as interventions and possible options for improving patient engagement therein.

The primary contribution of our research is the development of a comprehensive framework for patient engagement in remote consultation that draws on insights from literature in several disciplines. In addition, we have linked the three dimensions of engagement with the clinical process to create a structure for future engagement assessment. Furthermore, we have identified impact factors and outcomes of engagement in remote consultation by understanding which can help to improve levels of adoption, application and satisfaction, and reduce healthcare inequality. Finally, we have adopted a “cyclic” perspective and identified potential interventions that can be combined to further improve patient engagement in remote consultation.

Patient safety is a top priority globally. A robust healthcare system requires strategic collaboration between research and development. The author analysed over 300 cases from seven hospitals using the failure modes, effects, and criticality analysis (FMECA) tool to understand the underlying causes of medical errors.

The author studied seven hospitals and 300 cases using FMECA to prioritise activities. The findings showed that high-priority events occurred less frequently but had the potential to cause the most harm. Team members evaluated independently to ensure unbiased evaluations. This approach is useful for setting priorities or assessing difficulties.

Poor communication and lack of coordination among staff in a healthcare organisation caused misunderstandings, ineffective decision-making, delays in patient care, and medical errors. Implementation of effective communication and coordination protocols can help avoid these problems.

The study recommends using FMECA to identify and prioritise failures and conducting in-depth analyses to understand their root causes. It also highlights the importance of interdisciplinary knowledge and soft skills for healthcare staff.

This study reveals the significance of FMECA in healthcare risk management and benchmarking. FMECA helps identify system failures, develop prevention strategies, and evaluate effectiveness against industry benchmarks. It offers healthcare professionals a valuable tool to enhance patient safety and improve healthcare quality.

There are two main objectives in this study. First, we aim to develop a set of constructs for health task management support (HTMS) features to evaluate which health-related tasks are supported by mobile health application (mHealth app) functions. Second, drawing on innovation resistance theory (IRT), we examine the impacts of the newly developed HTMS dimensions on perceived usefulness, alongside other barrier factors contributing to technology anxiety.

Using a mixed-method research design, this research seeks to develop new measurement scales that reflect how mHealth apps support older adults’ health-related needs based on interviews. Subsequently, data were collected from older adults and exploratory factor analysis was used to confirm the validity of the new scales. Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was used to analyze survey data from 602 older adults.

The PLS-SEM results indicated that medical management task support, dietary task support, and exercise task support were positively associated with perceived usefulness, while perceived complexity and dispositional resistance to change were identified as antecedents of technology anxiety. Perceived usefulness and technology anxiety were found to positively and negatively influence adoption intention, respectively.

This study enriches the information systems literature by developing a multidimensional construct that delineates how older adults’ health-related needs can be supported by features of mHealth apps. Drawing on IRT, we complement the existing literature on resistance to innovation by systematically examining the impact of five types of barriers on technology anxiety.

This study investigates the pathways for adopting IoTs and BDA technologies to improve healthcare management.

The study relied on 445 healthcare professionals' perspectives to explore different causal pathways to IoTs and BDA adoption and usage for daily healthcare management. The Fussy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis was adopted to explore the underlying pathways for healthcare management.

The empirical analysis revealed six different configural paths influencing the acceptance and use of IoTs and BDA for healthcare improvement. Two key user topologies from the six configural paths, digital literacy and ease of use and social influence and behavioural intentions, mostly affect the paths for using digital health technologies by healthcare physicians.

Despite this study's novel contributions, limitations include the fsQCA methodology, perceptual data and the context of the study. The fsQCA methodology is still evolving with different interpretations, although it reveals new insights and as such further studies are required to explain the configural paths of social phenomena. Additionally, future research should consider other constructs beyond the UTAUT and digital literacy to illustrate configural paths to healthcare technology acceptance and usage. Again, the views of healthcare professionals are perceptual data. Hence future research on operational data will support significant contributions towards pathways to accept and use emerging technologies for healthcare improvement. Lastly, this study is from a developing country perspective where emerging digital healthcare technology is still emerging to support healthcare management. Hence, more investigation from other cross-country analyses of configural paths for digital technology deployment in healthcare will enhance the conversation with IoTs and BDA for healthcare management.

Holistically, the acceptance and use of healthcare technologies and platforms is not solely on their capabilities, but a combination of distinct factors driven by users' perspectives. This offers healthcare administrators and institutions to essentially reflect on the distinct combinations of conditions favourable to health professionals who can use IoTs and BDA for healthcare improvement.

This study is among the few scholarly works to empirically investigate the configural paths to support healthcare improvement with emerging technologies. Using fsQCA is a unique contribution to existing information system literature for configural paths for healthcare improvement with emerging digital technologies.

The purpose of this study is to comprehensively explore the impact of digitalization on healthcare supply chains (HcSCs). It seeks to understand how digital technologies enhance efficiency, transparency and responsiveness within these complex logistical systems. The study aims to provide a holistic view of the transformative potential of digitalization in the healthcare sector, with a particular focus on improving patient care and streamlining operational processes.

This research employs a systematic review methodology, carefully curating a selection of 45 relevant articles from 66 articles rigorously screened using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) methodology to provide a holistic view. It follows established systematic review protocols, incorporating a meticulous search strategy and precise keyword selection. The chosen research design enables a comprehensive examination of the existing body of knowledge concerning digital platforms, real-time tracking technologies, transparency and responsiveness in the context of HcSCs.

The findings of this study emphasize the pivotal role of digital technologies in reshaping HcSCs. Digital platforms, real-time tracking systems and technological integrations substantially enhance efficiency, transparency and responsiveness. Data-driven decision-making, improved communication and agile responses to dynamic demands are key aspects. These findings underscore the transformative impact of digitalization on healthcare logistics, emphasizing the potential for streamlined operations, enhanced patient care and more efficient resource allocation.

Despite the systematic methodology, this study is subject to certain limitations. It relies on existing literature, which may not cover the most recent developments in the rapidly evolving field of digital HcSCs. Furthermore, the study may be influenced by publication bias. The implications suggest the need for continued research to explore emerging digital technologies and their effects on healthcare logistics, ensuring that supply chains remain agile and responsive.

The practical implications of this research are significant for HcSC managers with insights into digital technologies to enhance transparency and collaboration and improve resource visibility. The integration of data analytics can lead to more effective inventory management and demand forecasting. Blockchain (BC) technology can ensure transparent and secure transactions, fostering trust among stakeholders. For practitioners, this research offers actionable guidance for navigating the digital age, promoting operational efficiency and ensuring a consistent supply of essential medical products. Researchers can use these insights as a foundation for further exploration into the potential of digitalization in HcSCs.

The social implications of digitalization in HcSCs are far-reaching. They encompass improved patient care, as digital technologies enhance the efficiency, transparency and responsiveness of supply chains. This translates to better access to critical medical supplies, potentially reducing healthcare disparities and benefiting underserved populations. Enhanced patient safety is a significant social outcome, as transparent and secure transactions enabled by technologies like BC mitigate the risks associated with counterfeit medications. Furthermore, digitalization builds trust among stakeholders, promotes accountability and fosters resilient healthcare systems, which are capable of responding effectively to crises. It also has the potential to make healthcare more affordable, contributing to increased healthcare access and transparency in decision-making.

The originality and value of this study lie in its comprehensive synthesis of diverse findings related to digitalization in HcSCs. While prior studies have examined isolated facets of digital technology adoption, this research provides a comprehensive overview. It contributes to a deeper understanding of the transformative potential of digitalization within the healthcare sector, offering practical approaches to enhance patient care and streamline operations.

The purpose of this paper is to examine prominent issues and contributions from extant research and explore the literature on the services provided by Knowledge-Intensive Public Organizations (KIPOs) and its pursuit to achieve the United Nations (UN) 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) (hereafter referred to as the UN 2030 SDGs agenda) amidst the challenges represented by COVID-19 pandemic. It emphasizes the crucial role of accounting in dealing with techniques and social and moral practices concerned with the sustainable utilization of resources. This paper also provides an overview of the other papers presented in this JPBAFM Special Issue and draws from their findings to scope out future impactful research opportunities in this area.

The design consists of a review and examination of the prior relevant literature and the other papers published in this JPBAFM Special Issue.

The paper identifies and summarizes three key research themes in the extant literature: the growth in the types of KIPO; the rise in the research approaches to study the provision of public services by KIPO in pursuit of the UN 2030 SDG agenda and the consequent call for developments in the accounting field; and unintended consequences during COVID-19 pandemic. It draws upon work within these research themes to set out four broad areas for future impactful research.

The value of this paper rests with collating and synthesizing several important research themes on the nature and unintended consequences of the UN 2030 SDG agenda, and the challenges represented by COVID-19 pandemic in the governance, management and accounting for KIPO and in prompting future extensions of this work through setting out areas for further innovative research within the field.

The research examined in this paper and the future research avenues proposed are highly relevant to the health sector, the judiciary, museums, research centers and the UN. The focus on accounting and accountability towards a broader spectrum of stakeholders calls for new avenues of study in the accounting field. They also offer important insights into matters of management, accounting, accountability, sustainability accounting and control more generally.

The research examined in this paper and the future research avenues proposed are highly relevant to the health sector, the judiciary, museums, universities, research centers and the UN. They also offer important insights into matters of management, accounting, accountability, sustainability accounting and control more generally.

This paper adds to vibrant existing streams of research in the area of KIPO by bringing together authors from different areas of accounting research for this JPBAFM Special Issue. In scoping out an agenda for impactful research approaches used to study the provision of public services by KIPO, this paper also draws attention to underexplored issues pertaining to extents such as the “lived experience” of personnel in the KIPO and envisioning what a future system of governance, management and accounting of SDG might look like.

This paper aims to provide insights into the potential of digital technologies-based innovations for more inclusive healthcare by alleviating the affordability, accessibility and availability barriers to utilization of healthcare services. Also, it aims to provide insights into the potential of digital technologies-based innovations for more inclusive services, broadly.

A conceptual framework is inductively developed by analyzing real-world examples of digital technologies-based innovations for more inclusive healthcare through the lenses of economics of information in digital form and certain characteristics of services.

Concurrent implementation of digital technologies-based healthcare innovations with innovations and/or modifications in service processes can enable greater inclusivity by alleviating the affordability, accessibility and availability barriers to utilization of healthcare services.

Issues relating to inequities in healthcare, as a social problem, are the focus of research at multiple levels (e.g. global, national, regional and local) in several academic disciplines. In relation to the scope of the problems and challenges pertaining to providing quality healthcare to the unserved and underserved segments of society, worldwide, the contribution of the proposed framework to practice is modest. However, by highlighting the promise and potential of digital technologies-based innovations as solutions for alleviating barriers to affordability, accessibility and availability of healthcare services during various stages (prevention, detection, diagnosis, treatment and post-treatment follow-up) with illustrative vignettes and developing a framework, the article offers insights for future research. For instance, in reference to mission-driven social enterprises that operate in the product-market space for inclusive innovations under resource constraints, a resourcefulness-based view of the social enterprise constitutes a potential avenue for theory development and research.

Given the conceptual nature of the article, the implications for practice are limited to cognitive implications. Action implications (instrumental implications or implications for practice) are outside of the scope of the article.

Innovations that are economically viable, environmentally sustainable and socially impactful is one of the important issues of our times.

The proposed framework provides insights into the potential of digital technologies-based innovations for more inclusive healthcare by alleviating the affordability, accessibility and availability barriers in the context of emerging and less developed country markets and base of the pyramid segments of society in these markets.

This article aims to provide the current state of the art of the literature on the contribution of information and communication technologies (ICTs) on the measurement and management of performance in the healthcare sector. In particular, the work aims to identify current and emerging ICTs and how these relate to the performance measurement and management (PMM) cycle of healthcare organizations.

To address the research objective, we adopted a systematic literature review. In particular, we used the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analysis (PRISMA) methodology to select articles related to the investigated topic. Based on an initial screening of 560 items retrieved from Scopus and ISI Web of Knowledge, we identified and analyzed 58 articles dealing with ICTs and PMM in the healthcare sector. The last update of the dataset refers to February 2024.

Although we attempted to address a relevant topic for both research and practice, we noticed that a relatively small sample of articles directly addressed it. Through this literature review, in addition to providing descriptive statistics of research on ICTs and PMM in healthcare, we identified six theoretical clusters of scientific streams focusing on the topic and eleven categories of ICTs effectively tackled by the literature. We then provided a holistic framework to link technologies to the different PMM phases and functions.

Nowadays, the availability of ICTs to support healthcare organizations’ processes and services is extensive. In this context, managers at various organizational levels need to understand and evaluate how each ICT can support different activities to benefit most from their adoption. The findings of this study can offer valuable insights to top and line managers of healthcare organizations for planning their investments in both existing and emerging ICTs to support the various stages of development and functions of PMM.

Most of the current literature focusing on ICTs in the healthcare sector refers to the contribution that technology provides to clinical processes and services, devoting limited attention to the impact of ICTs on administrative processes, such as PMM. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this represents the first literature review on the contribution of ICTs to PMM in the healthcare sector. The review, differently from other research focused on specific ICTs and/or specific PMM functions, provides a holistic perspective to understand how these technologies may support healthcare organizations and systems in measuring and managing their performance.

The United Nations' Sustainable Development Goal of ensuring healthy lives and promoting well-being for people of all ages underscores the vital role of public healthcare facilities (PHFs) in delivering essential healthcare services. However, these facilities often suffer from inadequate maintenance, exacerbated by the insufficient implementation of maintenance strategies. Recognizing the importance of PHFs in enhancing healthcare services, this paper investigates the Critical Success Factors (CSFs) in the maintenance strategies of PHFs in South Africa.

Through semi-structured interviews with nineteen purposively selected maintenance personnel from the Limpopo Department of Health (DoH), this study identified and analyzed the CSFs to enhance maintenance operations in PHFs. Thematic content analysis was employed to derive key insights from the collected data.

The study's findings highlight adequate maintenance planning and effective leadership as the two overarching CSFs in the maintenance of PHFs. These factors play a pivotal role in addressing challenges that hinder the current maintenance team from meeting maintenance requirements to the satisfaction of both staff and patients within PHFs.

The study offers valuable insights for policymakers to improve the effectiveness of maintenance operations in PHFs. By addressing the identified CSFs, policymakers can enhance maintenance operations in PHFs, positively impacting healthcare service delivery and the well-being of both staff and patients.