Document Detail


Technology management in an information age.
MedLine Citation:
PMID:  10143212     Owner:  NLM     Status:  MEDLINE    
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
Healthcare spending in this country is approaching 15% of the gross national product (GNP) while 1.4 million more Americans have become uninsured in the past 12 months. Although we spend nearly twice what some industrialized nations spend, an increasing number of people do not have access to our healthcare system. To complicate matters, healthcare reform legislation has stalled, leaving hospitals without a clear sense of direction. Yet, even without federal mandates, hospitals need to be more cost effective. Reform will occur regardless of whether it is driven by legislation, private payers, or marketplace competition. Successful hospitals in the post reform era will maintain or raise their quality standards while reducing operating expenses. The key question is: How can one do more with less? The answer, of course, is better resource management. To achieve real gains, however, it will be important to think of these resources in new ways. Typically hospitals have focused on managing human and capital resources, and many have undertaken initiatives to improve productivity and preserve financial reserves. But to be successful in the new era, you must define resources in non-traditional ways, then develop new strategies to manage them. This article suggests that technology is a resource that can be managed. A straightforward method for identifying a manageable, representative set of core technologies will be described. Once this informational baseline is established, the costs associated with a hospital's technology infrastructure can be estimated and summarized. Then, "if you can measure it, you can manage it." A template for a four-phase technology management program is proposed.
Authors:
R Harmon
Publication Detail:
Type:  Journal Article    
Journal Detail:
Title:  Journal of healthcare resource management     Volume:  13     ISSN:  1078-9537     ISO Abbreviation:  J Healthc Resour Manag     Publication Date:  1995 Jun 
Date Detail:
Created Date:  1995-08-03     Completed Date:  1995-08-03     Revised Date:  2000-12-18    
Medline Journal Info:
Nlm Unique ID:  9504369     Medline TA:  J Healthc Resour Manag     Country:  UNITED STATES    
Other Details:
Languages:  eng     Pagination:  22-4     Citation Subset:  H    
Affiliation:
Index Data Systems, Index, WA, USA.
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MeSH Terms
Descriptor/Qualifier:
Health Resources / organization & administration
Materials Management, Hospital / organization & administration*
Planning Techniques
Program Development / methods
Technology Assessment, Biomedical / organization & administration*
United States

From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine


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