A Generic Quality Assurance Model (GQAM) for Successful E-Health Implementation in Rural Hospitals in South Africa

Abstract

Although e-health can potentially facilitate the management of scarce resources and improve the quality of healthcare services, implementation of e-health programs continues to fail or not fulfil expectations. A key contributor to the failure of e-health implementation in rural hospitals is poor quality management of projects. Based on a survey 35 participants from five rural hospitals in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa, and using a qualitative case study research methodology, this article attempted to answer the question: does the adoption of quality assurance (QA) models add value and help to ensure success of information technology projects, especially in rural health settings? The study identified several weaknesses in the application of QA in these hospitals; however, findings also showed that the QA methods used, in spite of not being formally applied in a standardised manner, did nonetheless contribute to the success of some projects. The authors outline a generic quality assurance model (GQAM), developed to enhance the potential for successful acquisition of e-health solutions in rural hospitals, in order to improve the quality of care and service delivery in these hospitals.

Telemedicine in Middle Eastern countries: Progress, barriers, and policy recommendations

“…In addition, despite the launch of many telemedicine programs in Middle Eastern countries since the 1990s (Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Iran, Turkey, Kuwait, Bahrain, Iraq, Syria, Oman, Qatar, and Jordan), the progress made in the utilization has been insufficient and varied across countries (Bali, Gupta, Khan, & Pakhare, 2016), with most telemedicine initiatives not progressing as expected (Barakat, Woolrych, Sixsmith, Kearns, & Kort, 2013;Jalghoum & Khasawneh, 2016). Poor progress may lead to failure, especially when implemented in low-income countries such as Yemen and Syria (Al-Fadhli, Othman, Rashed, & Ramasamy, 2015;Ruxwana, Herselman, & Pottas, 2014). Zayyad and Toycan (2018) suggested that the poor adoption of telemedicine services in most Middle Eastern countries can be attributed to cultural barriers (Alajlani & Clarke, 2013).…”

Quality Management Practices and Performance of County Government Infrastructural Projects in Migori County, Kenya

“…Lack of critical stakeholders, user involvements, together with independent Quality Assurance Evaluations (Ruxwana et al ,. 2014).…”

A Strategic Study about Quality Characteristics in e‐Health Systems Based on a Systematic Literature Review

“…This section aims to choose the sources to complete searches for primary studies. First of all, we carried out preliminary searches with the intention of both identifying existing systematic reviews and assessing the volume of potentially relevant studies, so that in this case we found the following relevant initiatives: Asoh and Rivers [ 15 ], Bangert et al [ 16 ], Esteves [ 17 ], Ferrer-Roca et al [ 18 ], Gama et al [ 19 ], Golemanov et al [ 20 ], Goletsis and Chletsos [ 3 ], Gutiérrez and Riveill [ 21 ], Harris et al [ 22 ], Holbrook et al [ 23 ], Hadwich et al [ 24 ], Kastania and Kossida [ 25 ], Liu and Park [ 26 ], Monda et al [ 27 ], Moumtzoglou and Kastania [ 28 ], Palos et al [ 29 ], Pate and Turner-Ferrier [ 30 ], Ruxwana et al [ 31 ], Ferrer-Roca et al [ 18 ], Smedberg [ 32 ], Tan et al [ 33 ], and Zvikhachevskaya et al [ 34 ]. Secondly, a Web-search was performed to find out other relevant and new concepts associated with our Quality Characteristics.…”