Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
regard to the societal embedding process of BAN application in health care.
Table 12.1 also summarizes the main concerns different actors anticipated
on regarding the societal embedding process of BAN. We will present our
main findings first by shortly reflecting on different important stakehold-
ers and their positions in the field and then in sequential steps we will
elaborate on various relevant issues through looking at changes that will
result from introduction of BAN in terms of location of the health-care set-
ting, arrangement of health-care services, and funding mechanisms. On
the basis of this, we will highlight some of the key issues that need urgent
consideration.
12.3.1 Key Factors Influencing Social Embedding of Body Area Networks
There is clear distinction to be made about the mechanisms that influence
the successful social embedment of products and services that are related to
health care compared with other goods and services that are traded on the
consumer markets. One of the important reasons underlying this distinc-
tion is the consumption behavior of users related to health-care products.
Instead of being determined by cost-and-benefit tradeoffs, the acceptance or
adoption of health-care-related products and services is very much deter-
mined by contextual factors (such factors may include user characteristic or
actor characteristics as well as the inherent characteristics of technologies).
Another important factor is uncertainty. Namely, the health conditions of
individuals is highly uncertain and different individuals are hardly aware
of when they might become ill while they are also not always aware of state of
their health. The use of services and facilities to safeguard health condition
or treat certain illnesses is therefore an uncertain factor. Moreover, citizens
and patients are not always capable of assessing their state of health because
they lack the knowledge necessary to form a precise judgment. At the same
time, there is a knowledge deficit at the side of users (or patients) to evaluate
what is available in the medical market and decide on what exactly fits their
situation.
Government policy can play a crucial role in regulating the market
dynamics of health care, including positioning and strategic behavior of
different professional groups. Interest groups can also have an important
role, and therefore the timely involvement of stakeholder groups is impor-
tant to understand desired directions for further development. For instance,
it is important to understand how the introduction of medical applications
might influence the status of health-care professionals and their economical
incentives. Health-care insurance companies play a major role in the finan-
cial structure of health care through reimbursement schemes. Their strate-
gic and economical incentives play a crucial role in the social embedding
process of medical and health-care-related products. Health-care providers
form a gateway between the industry and their patients, and therefore can
exert great influence in promoting the applications that would also benefit
