Background New digital health technologies are considered one solution to challenges in the health sector, which include rising numbers of chronic diseases and increased health spending. As digitalization in health care is still in its infancy, there are many unanswered questions about the impact of digital health on management. Objective This paper assesses the current state of knowledge in the field of digital health from a management perspective. It highlights research gaps within this field to determine future research opportunities. Methods A systematic review of digital health literature was conducted using 3 databases. The chosen articles (N=38) were classified according to a taxonomy developed for the purpose, and research gaps were identified based on the topic areas discussed. Results The literature review revealed a slight prevalence of practical (n=21, 55%) over theoretical (n=17, 45%) approaches. Most of the papers (n=23, 61%) deal with information technology (IT) and are, therefore, focused more on technology and less on management. The research question in most of the papers (n=31, 82%) deals with the creation of concepts, and very few (n=4, 11%) evaluate or even question existing solutions. Most consider the main reason for digitalization to be the optimization of operational processes (n=26, 68%), and 42% (n=16) deal with new business models. The topic area discussed most frequently was found to be eHealth (n=30, 79%). By contrast, the field of tech health with topics such as sensors receives the least attention (n=3, 8%), despite its significant potential for health care processes and strategy. Conclusions Three main research propositions were identified. First, research into digital health innovation should not focus solely on the technology aspects but also on its implications for strategic and operational management. Second, the research community should target other domains besides eHealth. Third, we observed a lack of quantitative research on the real impact of digital health on organizations and their management. More quantitative evidence is required regarding the expected outcome and impact of the implementation of digital health solutions into our health care organizations.
Background:Telemedicine health insurance models are highly prevalent in the Swiss healthcare system.Nevertheless, the potential of telemedicine is only partly being achieved, since current telemedicine health insurance models are limited to an initial contact by telephone and a gatekeeper role that organizes access to health care providers such as GPs, specialists, or hospitals. Against this background, a telemedicine device with diverse visual and auscultatory examination functions was made available to 2,000 telemedicine-insured clients. This device allowed diagnostic information to be sent to a medical care provider and used for telemedical consultation.
Im schweizerischen Gesundheitssystem gibt es, ähnlich wie in Deutschland, einen Risikoausgleich zwischen den Krankenversicherern, der zu einem fairen Wettbewerb und ähnlichen Beiträgen führen soll. Vor diesem Hintergrund wurde der Risikoausgleich in der Schweiz in den letzten 10 Jahren zahlreichen Reformen unterzogen. Haben die Reformen bereits zu einer Angleichung der Versicherungsbeiträge geführt? Mit diesem Beitrag soll eine Analyse aufgezeigt werden, inwieweit dieses Ziel in der Schweiz bereits erreicht werden konnte.
BACKGROUND New digital health technologies are considered one solution to challenges in the health sector, which include rising numbers of chronic diseases and increased health spending. As digitalization in healthcare is still in its infancy, there are many unanswered questions about the impact of digital health on management. OBJECTIVE This paper assesses the current state of knowledge in the field of digital health from a management perspective. It highlights research gaps within this field to determine future research opportunities. METHODS A systematic review of digital health literature was conducted using three databases. The chosen articles (n=38) were classified according to a taxonomy developed for the purpose and research gaps were identified based on the topic areas discussed. RESULTS The literature review revealed a slight prevalence of practical (55%) over theoretical (45%) approaches. Most of the papers (61%) deal with information technology (IT) and are, therefore, focused more on technology and less on management. Most of them (82%) have a research question dealing with the creation of concepts; very few (11%) evaluate or even question existing solutions. Most consider the main reason for digitalization to be the optimization of operational processes (68%); 42% deal with new business models. The topic area discussed most frequently was found to be eHealth (79%). By contrast, the field of tech health with topics such as sensors receives the least attention (8%), despite its significant potential for healthcare processes and strategy. CONCLUSIONS Three main research propositions were identified. First, research into digital health should focus less on the technology and more on the implications it has for management. Second, the research community should target other domains besides eHealth. Third, we observed a lack of quantitative research on the real impact of digital health on organizations and their management.
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