Information Technology Reference
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consumers with the needed social or emotional support, the emerging examples dis-
cussed here implies a more powerful role for online communities. It can empower
consumers to create collective knowledge about diseases, treatments, provider ser-
vices, etc. that not only help them to deal with their particular health situations more
effectively but also evaluate and identify those services that deliver value.
Healthcare organizations can facilitate this by providing the associated tech-
nological infrastructure (for example, establish online health communities as part
of their service offering). Such a strategy would enhance the overall quality and
value of their services portfolio and at the same time achieve it in a cost-effective
manner. The involvement of health experts in such online communities can further
enhance their positive impact. However, all of this would call for cultural changes in
healthcare organizations as it would involve bringing transparency in the processes,
sharing knowledge with consumers, etc. Overall, the study framework implies the
critical need for healthcare organizations to incorporate online resources (including
online communities) as an important element of their service portfolio.
The second implication relates to the need to integrate such online health commu-
nities with existing health information websites that the healthcare organization may
already be maintaining. As the application of the knowledge creation perspective
showed there are important synergies between such websites and online commu-
nities in facilitating different types of knowledge creation activities. The ability
of healthcare organizations to identify appropriate linkages between these two IT-
based solutions and to enable consumers to leverage such linkages effectively will
go a long way in determining the overall value consumer perceive in such facilities.
Related to this is the important need for healthcare organizations to arrive at appro-
priate HIT information standards that would facilitate such integration. As such, the
framework presented in this chapter also has important implications for government
and non-governmental agencies that are playing a supportive role in steering the
healthcare industry toward such information standards.
It would also be important to note that consumers' interactions in the online
health community could redefine their perceptions regarding the healthcare orga-
nization in ways that are not always within the control of the organization. Thus,
healthcare organizations will need to deploy new and innovative mechanisms so
as to facilitate those knowledge interactions that are likely to lead to positive atti-
tudes and perceptions. Future research may focus on identifying and validating the
effectiveness of such organizational mechanisms.
Finally, while not directly evident from the discussion so far, the framework
also implies the need for healthcare organizations to adopt a holistic perspective
in deploying their online and offline patient relationship and support strategies. It is
evident that patients' offline interactions and experiences (say, with their physicians)
will complement their interactions and experiences in the online health commu-
nity. Strategies and practices to find potential synergies between offline healthcare
facilities and the online facilities will also be very beneficial. Future studies may
also focus on the manner in which the different experiences are integrated and how
it affects the value derived by consumers as well as their overall service-related
perceptions and attitudes.
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