Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
We adopt a knowledge creation perspective (Nonaka, 1994, Nonaka, von Krogh,
& Voelpel, 2007; Nonaka, 1998) and propose a theoretical framework that explains
how health websites and online health communities together can facilitate cre-
ation of innovative service ideas through knowledge socialization, combination,
externalization, and internalization. We use the case study of CHESS, a healthcare
center affiliated with the University of Wisconsin-Madison, to illustrate some of our
propositions. We conclude the chapter by discussing some of the important impli-
cations for future research on the role of IT in service innovation in health care.
The implications for strategies and practices adopted by healthcare organizations
are also examined. We start by describing the concept of value-driven healthcare
organization.
8.2 Value-Driven Healthcare Organization
The value-driven healthcare initiative was launched in early 2007 by the Health and
Human Services Department of the US Federal Government for the betterment of
healthcare quality and to empower people to derive better value from the healthcare
system (HHS, 2007). It is directed at healthcare organizations to increase trans-
parency, improve quality, and provide value for money to health consumers. This
would empower consumers with better choices and allow better comparisons based
on cost and quality (HHS, 2007; Feder, 2008; Seicean & Neuhauser, 2007).
Value-driven health care is premised on four cornerstones, all of which focus on
enhancing the value offered to consumers (HHS, 2007).
1. Improve the extent of standardization in HIT to make them more interoperable:
Prior studies have shown the importance of HIT adoption to improve trans-
parency, quality, and efficiency, but still most healthcare organizations are well
behind in adopting these IT systems, particularly when it comes to adopting HIT
systems that are interoperable.
2. Improve quality standards, so that consumers can compare the quality of
care information from different providers: Quality standards need to be devel-
oped with the consensus of different types of stakeholders. Without commonly
accepted quality standards, consumers are unlikely to be able to compare ser-
vices across different healthcare organizations. Healthcare organizations will
then need to make available data based on these quality standards or metrics.
3. Improving price standards, so that consumers can compare service fees across
providers: Some healthcare organizations have started providing the price of their
different services through their websites, but in general, this is not a standard
practice in most parts of the healthcare industry. This information is crucial for
consumers to compare prices as well as to evaluate whether they are getting the
value for the money they are giving for the various services.
4. Improving the incentive structure for all the network participants: This is a call
for designing appropriate incentives that reward all the parties in the healthcare
network - those who provide healthcare services as well as those that avail
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