Journal of Health Information Management
Year:2020 | Volume:17 | Issue:6 (76)|Papers Count:8

Mobile health applications have become widely available in recent years for prenatal care. In the current crisis, which has imposed restrictions on the world due to coronavirus and pregnant women have been forced to limit their visits to medical staff out of fear of being infected by coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), high quality and credible applications can help them navigate this stressful journey more easily. In addition to routine prenatal care, there may be certain problems such as gestational diabetes, preeclampsia, and high blood pressure that require special care and appropriate information support. The access to mobile health applications, that can help pregnant women with different aspects of selfcare during pregnancy, is extremely necessary in this situation. Mobile health applications-with the supervision of physicians-support the necessary care and monitoring in such a way that the health outcomes of pregnant women are not irreparably endangered due to the impossibility or risk of face-to-face medical visits. In countries where such applications have been further developed, positive effects of mobile health applications have been observed in pregnancy self-care. 1 However, there are very few applications in the field of pregnancy care, created with the participation of obstetricians, and have the necessary quality and credibility in our country. While increasing internet access, the high penetration of smartphones in the community, as well as the prevalence of coronavirus, have provided access and use of hundreds of applications without quality and credibility, and this can be an alarm for health care providers and policymakers in our country.

Introduction: Parallel with the growth of technologies, which affect the telemedicine, timely identification of telemedicine entrepreneurial opportunities seems to be necessary for the product development. This study aimed to identify applied aspects, medical fields, and technological trends in developing future entrepreneurial opportunities in telemedicine. Methods: A three-step framework for identifying future entrepreneurial opportunities was employed as a trend analysis method to identify telemedicine technological trends and the cross impact analysis to predict future strategic trends in the field. This was done by completing the 9*9 matrix in a panel of 5 experts in this field, and reviewing 109 articles in the Scopus database with keyword search (Telemedicine and Opportunity) to identify practical aspects and future of telemedicine opportunities. Results: In the first step, 9 technological trends affecting the future of telemedicine were identified. In the second step, the technological trends of artificial intelligence along with the Internet of Things were identified as effective trends; wearable technologies and cloud computing were identified as strategic trends. In the final step, it was revealed that practical aspects (i. e., prevention, diagnosis, treatment and healthy living), as well as psychology and psychiatry, education, information acquisition, nutrition, and cardiology, shape a great majority of opportunities for telemedicine in the next 5 years. Conclusion: To develop a successful new product in telemedicine, a three-dimensional framework (applied aspects, fields of medicine, and technology) should be considered; therefore, establishing cooperation between technology development companies and health companies seems to be necessary.

Introduction: Tourism industry, especially health tourism, is one of the prominent growing industries in the world, and many countries have made this industry as their major source of income, employment, so on. This way, countries seek to stabilize the influx of tourists. This study sought to identify barriers to attracting and retaining health tourists in Kashan City, Iran, with a qualitative method and at the supply chain level. Methods: This was a qualitative study using semi-structured interviews with 18 experts in the tourism and health tourism industry in Kashan, conducted by judgment and snowball method, and continued until the theoretical saturation of the data. Thematic analysis was employed to analyze the data. Results: The barriers to attracting and retaining health tourists at the level of health supply chain in Kashan included five major themes of external management weaknesses, cultural issues, weather conditions, internal management weakness, and the intensity of international competition. Conclusion: The barriers to attracting and retaining health tourists at the level of health tourism supply chain in Kashan should be considered by managers, policymakers, and activists in the health tourism industry. Besides, experts and planners in the field of health tourism should not neglect the benefits of using new management approaches, especially supply chain management in this area, and should use it to gain and promote competitive advantages.

Introduction: Non-communicable diseases such as cardiovascular diseases are the main cause of death worldwide today. The aim of this study was to determine the frequency and cost of various outpatient diagnostic procedures for cardiovascular diseases insured with the Health Insurance Organization in Isfahan Province, Iran, during the years 2011-2017. Methods: This was a descriptive-analytical study on the data of the Health Insurance Organization of Isfahan Province. After defining the list of outpatient diagnostic procedures for cardiovascular diseases, the information on the frequency and cost of these procedures were extracted in the form of an Excel file. Results: The total frequency and cost of outpatient diagnostic procedures for cardiovascular diseases over a period of 7 years were 751, 421 procedures and 251, 670, 136, 936 Iranian Rials (IRR), respectively. The per capita frequency of total procedures increased from about 19 procedure per thousand to about 115 procedure per thousand of the insured individuals of the Health Insurance Organization of the Isfahan Province. In addition, the per capita cost of these procedures increased from 1, 733, 815. 24 to 46, 130, 235. 10 IRR per thousand individuals. Conclusion: As the frequency and costs of outpatient diagnostic procedures for cardiovascular diseases of insured individuals of the Health Insurance Organization of the Isfahan province respectively raised 6. 8 and 29. 5 times during 2011-2017, the payment system reforms and prevention and effective control of cardiovascular diseases should be considered by policymakers.

Introduction: Due to the frequency, prevalence, and specific nature of cardiovascular diseases in our country, and the multiplicity, variety, complexity, and high cost of diagnostic and therapeutic services and equipment, the possibility of inducing demand in this category of diseases is higher. Using the partial least squares approach, this study aimed to test the factors affecting the induced demand in cardiovascular diseases, and provide a model of the relationship between these factors. Methods: This was a library study with a systematic review of 49 articles, and then a survey of 118 people selected via random sampling method. First, a list of factors, sub-factors and components related to induced demand was extracted using qualitative content analysis technique; and then, using analysis technique, the path of the fitting model and the final model were validated by completing a validated questionnaire by physicians, experts, staff, and clients of Shahid Chamran Heart Hospital in Isfahan, Iran, in 2019. Results: In this study, 5 main factors, 18 sub-factors, and 82 items were obtained. In fitting the measurement model, the combined reliability coefficient, cross validity, convergent, and divergent the results of test was acceptable, and in structural fit model, path coefficients were significant, except for “ patients” coefficient, at the 95% confidence, the mean model determination coefficient was 0. 822 (strong), and the predictive fit index, except for the characteristics of medical services, was greater than 0. 02 (acceptable). The result of the overall fit test was 0. 133, which indicated the desirability of the overall fit of the model. The validity of the final model was confirmed with 77% agreement of experts. Conclusion: Based on the findings of this study, it is necessary to adopt an appropriate policy at the macro-level to reform the network structure and referral and strengthen information management, and at the executive level, to modify payment methods, change tariffs and franchises for services, and change insurance methods and coverage.

Introduction: Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is one of the most common and costly gastrointestinal diseases which results in disturbances in the performance of intestines. In this study, the most important historical references of IBS were identified using spectroscopy method. Methods: This was a bibliometrics investigation carried out using Reference Publication Year Spectroscopy (RPYS) approach. Data gathering was carried out from the Web of Science database, and by searching for the term irritable bowel syndrome in the subject field. 13841 records and 320218 citations were retrieved and analyzed using the RPYS. exe software application. Results: The distribution of the number of references in the IBS documents was divided into four time periods: 1900-1950, 1951-1975, 1976-2000, and 2001-2015. The first group of highly-cited articles focused on the introduction of IBS, its diagnostic methods, and possible causes, and the second group focused on the pathophysiological and physiological aspects of the disease. The next group dealt with other aspects of IBS, including epidemiology, medicine, financial costs, and physiological and clinical factors, and the large number of citations in the fourth group was due to the type of review articles and their potential for receiving more citations. Conclusion: The results indicate that the articles compared to other resources have the greatest impact on the formation of the historical origin of the topics in the field of IBS, and the most highly cited resources follow the historical process of the disease.

Introduction: Promoting community health and improving health status requires training and clarifying health information seeking behavior in the community. In this regard, due to the caring role parents have in the family, they can play an important role by improving their health information acquisition skills. This study aimed to identify the components related to parental health information seeking behavior. Methods: This was a library review study using a hybrid approach. After determining the keywords and searching in internal and external databases, 5574 articles were found. Applying filters and examining the content, the codes were extracted from 22 articles. Critical Appraisal Skills Program (CASP) indices were used to review the articles, and Shannon entropy table, expert opinion, and kappa coefficient were employed to extract the codes. Results: In this study, 4 main and 12 subcategories were identified. Information needs, sources of information, cognitive factors and barriers to class information acquisition, and health-oriented information as well as child health assessment, conventional and non-conventional sources, social support, communication infrastructure, information validity were among the subcategories. Conclusion: Facilitating the access to credible health-oriented information has a great impact on promoting health literacy and ultimately improving the level of health of individuals, including parents of children under 5 years old. Therefore, considering physical infrastructure, search skills, and individual and social differences as well as health information literacy training are among the factors affecting health promotion and improving its two-way relationship with health-information seeking behavior.

Introduction: Human resource management in libraries and medical information centers can play an important role in the branding process, which has received less attention so far. This study endeavored to identify the characteristics and role of librarians, as an important pillar of human resources, in branding Iranian medical libraries and information centers. Methods: This applied study employed qualitative content analysis method. The data were collected through semi-structured interviews with a purposeful sample of 14 managers of Iranian libraries and medical information centers. Results: Three major concepts, including cognitive, professional, and communication skills, 8 components and 28 codes related to the role and characteristics of librarians in branding libraries and medical information centers were identified. Conclusion: The managers of libraries and medical information centers should have sufficient sensitivity and planning to attract, select, and trigger librarians towards branding.