Title: Healthcare engineering for an efficient medical care system

Authors: PohWah Khong, Dhanjoo Ghista

Addresses: School of Mechanical and Production Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Nanyang Avenue, 639798, Singapore. ' School of Mechanical and Production Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Nanyang Avenue, 639798, Singapore

Abstract: Rising costs and increasing expectations from patients (consumers) have caused healthcare planners to seek ways to improve efficiency, while striking a balance with the quality of services offered. This study explores how the integrated emerging technologies can play a valuable role in cost-effective medical and healthcare delivery by means of e-data computer simulation of clinical units, borderless data (such as intelligent patient medical records), engineering e-processes and systems analysis of primary-to-tertiary care systems. Incorporation of costly medical technologies into healthcare delivery is supposed to make: medical diagnosis more timely and reliable; treatment more efficacious; the delivery system more cost-effective. However, this can only happen if: all the components of the healthcare delivery system are analysed as a chain system without duplication of services; and the submits of each of these components are also operating as a multi-compartmental system with feedback loops tying them into one integrated regulatory system, having the objectives of optimal patient care with streamlined operations. Finally, a virtual diagnostic clinic is constructed by means of a system dynamics approach to illustrate these concepts.

Keywords: healthcare engineering; emerging technology; healthcare efficiency; medical care system; virtual diagnosis clinic; virtual primary healthcare; healthcare technology; simulation; virtual clinic; system dynamics; cost reduction; e-healthcare; electronic healthcare.

DOI: 10.1504/IJHTM.2006.008430

International Journal of Healthcare Technology and Management, 2006 Vol.7 No.5, pp.429 - 439

Published online: 20 Dec 2005 *

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