The Government of India is soon going to launch a new digital initiative called as the ‘National Digital Health Mission’ (NDHM) to act as a principal depository for all the data collected through the flagship health insurance scheme Ayushman Bharat. (1,2) Through NDHM, the government plans to map health data of citizens on the lines […]
Healthcare management is a combination of information science, computer science, information technology and healthcare. It incorporates resources, devices, and methods for optimising the acquisition, storage, retrieval, and use of data in health and biomedicine. This includes not only computers, but also clinical guidelines, medical terminologies as well as information and communication systems. Research and development […]
The transformation of healthcare from volume-based to value-based mode has encouraged public and private payers to reform reimbursement models emphasizing on accountability for care quality and healthcare costs. Thanks to the ever-increasing healthcare costs, payers and providers are increasingly preferring bundled payments over fee-for-service (FFS) payment structures. (1,2) Bundled payments, also known as episode payments/case […]
The worldwide transformation of the healthcare industry is being driven by ever-increasing costs and an ageing population. The global population is estimated to reach 8.1 billion by 2025, out of which 2.1 billion people will be at or above 50 years of age. (1,2) Organisations like WHO and UN confirm that by 2025, 70% of […]
Systematic literature reviews (SLRs) are widely used to pool and present the findings from multiple studies in a dependable way and are often used to inform policy and practice guidelines. (1) An important SLR feature is the application of scientific tools to find and curtail bias as well as error in the selection and treatment […]
The 90’s saw the Internet and the World Wide Web entering commercial markets as a result of major advancements in Information Technology (IT). Another huge development was later followed when mobile devices connected to the Internet became a rage in late 2000’s. Today, we’re in the middle of the next major leap, i.e. the next […]
Systematic literature reviews (SLRs) are the foundation of evidence-based healthcare. Explicit methods need to be implemented while conducting SLRs to minimize bias in order to provide more reliable findings, since reduction of bias may affect all steps of the review process. For instance, bias can occur while identifying/screening studies, selecting studies (e.g. due to unclear […]
Use of multiple databases together with additional search strategies is often suggested to search relevant references for systematic reviews. (1,2) For instance, the Cochrane Handbook recommends using at least MEDLINE and Cochrane Central as well as EMBASE, when available, to search randomized controlled trials (RCTs). (3) However, using multiple databases can be strenuous and time […]
Value-based healthcare is driven by ‘meaningful’ treatment that matters to the patient. The purpose of value-based healthcare is not minimizing the costs, but maximizing the ‘value’, which is defined by “patient outcomes divided by cost”; (1) thus emphasizing on a patient’s importance. (2) The progress in efficient healthcare services relies to a great extent on […]
