Studies in health technology and informatics
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The current volume presents the accepted papers of the ICIMTH (International Conference on Informatics, Management, and Technology in Healthcare). The Organising Committee and the Scientific Programme Committee would like to present to the academic community the scientific outcomes of the ICIMTH 2015 Conference, which is being held from 9 to 11 July, 2015 in Athens, Greece. The ICIMTH 2015 Conference is the 13th Annual Conference in this series of scientific events, gathering scientists from all continents as well as from the hosting country in the field of Biomedical and Health Informatics. ⋯ The Editors would like to thank the Members of the Scientific Programme Committee, the Organising Committee, and all Reviewers, who have done a thorough and objective refereeing of the scientific work to produce a high quality publishing achievement and a successful scientific event. Athens, 26.05.2015 The Editors, John Mantas, Arie Hasman and Mowafa S. Househ.
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Determining the priority of attention in an Emergency Room (ER) has always been a difficult issue. Priority is determined with a simple triage system as people arrive at the hospital. It is important to establish how long they can wait for treatment. ⋯ With this software, we decreased significantly:1) the length of the triage system process, 2) the waiting time of patients in the waiting room, 3) the number of complaints and 4) the number of patients who walk away. In conclusion, the NSET improves and helps to define more accurately a patient's risk. NSET helps in the emergency department triage.
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Stud Health Technol Inform · Jan 2015
Innovative Information Systems in the Intensive Care Unit, King Saud Medical City in Saudi Arabia.
The purpose of this paper is to discuss the experience of implementing innovative information technology to improve the quality of services in one of the largest Intensive Care Units in Saudi Arabia. The Intensive Care Units in King Saud Medical City (ICU-KSMC) is the main ICU in the kingdom that represents the Ministry of Health. ⋯ By 2015, ICU in KSMC has noticed a remarkable improvement in: beds' occupation and utilization, staff communication, reduced medical errors, and improved departmental work flow, which created a healthy professional work environment. Yet, ICU in KSMC has ongoing improvement projects that include future plans for more innovative information technologies' implementation in the department.
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Stud Health Technol Inform · Jan 2015
Developing an Emergency Physician Productivity Index Using Descriptive Health Analytics.
Emergency department (ED) crowding became a major barrier to receiving timely emergency care. At King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center, Saudi Arabia, we identified variables and factors affecting crowding and performance to develop indicators to help evaluation and improvement. ⋯ Three variables were identified for their influence on productivity and performance; Number of Treated Patients per Physician, Patient Acuity Level and Treatment Time. The study suggested a formula to calculate the productivity index of each physician through dividing the Number of Treated Patients by Patient Acuity Level squared and Treatment Time to identify physicians with low productivity index and investigate causes and factors.
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Stud Health Technol Inform · Jan 2015
Comparative StudyeHealth in Saudi Arabia: Current Trends, Challenges and Recommendations.
The purpose of this study is to explore the current status of eHealth in Saudi Arabia from the perspective of health informatics professionals. We used a case study approach and analyzed participant data using thematic analysis. The study took place between July and August 2013. ⋯ The findings describe participant views on current eHealth trends in Saudi Arabia and show differences among Saudi healthcare organizations in terms of eHealth adoption. Participants also describe the challenges relating to organizational and cultural issues, end user attitudes towards eHealth projects, and the lack of specialized human resources to implement eHealth systems. Two main recommendations made by the participants were to form a new national body for eHealth and to develop a unified plan for the implementation of Saudi eHealth initiatives.