I’m delighted to announce that the article entitled “The integration of Information and Communication Technology into medical practice” has been accepted and is already in press at the  International Journal of Medical Informatics. As soon as possible I will upload a pre-print version.

PREPRINT

Please cite this article as:

Lupiáñez-Villanueva, F., Hardey, M., Torrent, J., & Ficapal, P. (2010). The integration of Information and Communication Technology into medical practice. Int J Med Inform, 79(7), 478–491.

PUBMED link

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVES:

To identify doctors’ utilization of ICT; to develop and characterise a typology of doctors’ utilization of ICT and to identify factors that can enhance or inhibit the use of these technologies within medical practice.

METHODS:

An online survey of the 16,531 members of the Physicians Association of Barcelona who had a registered email account in 2006 was carried out. Factor analysis, cluster analysis and binomial logit model were undertaken.

RESULTS:

Multivariate statistics analysis of the 2199 responses obtained revealed two profiles of adoption of ICT. The first profile (38.61% of respondents) represents those doctors who place high emphasis on ICT within their practice. This group is thus referred to as ‘integrated doctors’. The second profile (61.39% of respondents) represents those doctors who make less use of ICT so are consequently labelled ‘non-integrated doctors’. From the statistical modelling, it was observed that an emphasis on international information; emphasis on ICT for research and medical practice; emphasis on information systems to consult and prescribe; undertaking teaching/research activities; a belief that the use of the Internet improved communication with patients and practice in both public and private health organizations play a positive and significant role in the probability of being an ‘integrated doctor’.

CONCLUSIONS:

The integration of ICT within medical practice cannot be adequately understood and appreciated without examining how doctors are making use of ICT within their own practice, organizational contexts and the opportunities and constraints afforded by institutional, professional and patient expectations and demands.

Please cite this article as:

Lupiáñez-Villanueva, F., Hardey, M., Torrent, J., & Ficapal, P. (2010). The integration of Information and Communication Technology into medical practice. Int J Med Inform, 79(7), 478–491.

PUBMED link

On March 15th to 18th the Ministerial High Level Conference on eHealth and the World Health IT Conference and Exhibition were being held in the same week in a joint initiative called “e-Health Week 2010”. First of all, I would like to congratulate the organizers, specially TICSALUT Foundation and ehealthweek2010, for the very well organized conference and their social media coverage.

The conference was divided into five themes:

• eHealth for Sustainable Healthcare Delivery
• eHealth Addressing Global Challenges through Local Actions
• eHealth works: Here is the Evidence
• eHealth Market: Past and Prospects
• eHealth User Platform

Furthermore,  Paralel sessions and Plenary Sessions were coveraged by @ehealthweek2010 using Twitter #hastag as follow:

Paralel Sessions

• eHealth Governance
• How can IT Help Fight Pandemics
• Is Sustainability of Healthcare Possible without eHealth?
• When Telemedicine does Deliver!
• Embedding eHealth into New Professional Curricula
• Ageing - A Global Challenge
• Empowering the Patient through Information Delivery
• Beyond Technical Interoperability
• eHealth for the Economy
• ICT for a Global Infraestructure for Health Research
• eHealth and Healthcare Org The Chiken and the Egg
• Standards for a Global Scene
• eHealth Procurement
• eHealth for Mental Health

Plenary Sessions

• The ehealth Agenda in the UE
• The right information, at correct place and at the right time
• 2.0 Health care in practice
• EU-US cooperation in eHealth: facing common challenges
• EHealth for urgent public health challenges
• How contributes eHealth in health and well being
• The impact of eHealth in organizations and health personnel
• The dangerous decade. Challenges for system builders national health information
• European market of e-health: dream or reality?

I also had the opportunity to tweet some of the sessions. On one hand, it was a wonderful opportunity for networking and for watching in action how policy-makers, practicioners (specially Hospital managers and IT managers) and the ICT Health industry work together. On the other hand, there was a lack of analytical/empirical presentations so it was remarked by most of the participants that more research is needed. Furthermore, there are many eHealth, mHealth, Health 2.0,…. Health has been always related to technology so probably it is time to delete all the letters and just talk about HEALTH. Nowadays, HEALTH could not be understood without Information and Communication Technologies and these technologies could not be understood without economic, organization, social and cultural changes.

I have collected all the presentations in the same post to summarise the information. Thank you very much indeed to all the participants for these inspiring and wonderful days. I would like also to express my gratitude to Internet Interdisciplinary Institute (IN3) for its support.

Workshop: Innovative health technologies: health systems in transition
Supported by: Internet Interdisciplinary Institute (IN3)
Organized by: Francisco Lupiáñez-Villanueva (Internet Interdisciplinary
Institute –UOC) and Michael Hardey (Hull/York Medical School – Science and
Technology Studies Unit, Department of Sociology, University of York)
Data: 26th and 27th November
Place: Meeting room -1A , UOC IN3 building. Av. Canal Olímpic, s/n. Edifici B3,
08860 Castelldefels (Barcelona)

26th November

• Andrew Webster - Innovation in health: a social science perspective
• Michael Morrison - ‘Measuring Innovation - a brief introduction to
  the REMEDiE project’
• Laura Machin - Cord blood banking: initial observations
• Mariann Hardey - Private medical care and the Web
• Eulàlia Hernádez - Providing resources for caregivers trough the
  Internet.
• Flis Henwood - ‘Health-e discourse? Engaging the community in ehealth
  developments for obesity self-management’
• Sue Ziebland - Knowledge is Power? The role of health information

27th November

• Imma Grau - Studying Virtual Communities for patients with chronic
  illnesses, in Forumclinic
• Daniel López - Reframing telecare: an ethical discussion concerning
  ageing-in-place, independence and care.
• Darren Reed - Performativity of Data
• Michael Hardey - Consuming professions: user-review websites and health services.
• Francisco Lupiáñez-Villanueva and Michael Hardey - Health professionals, the Internet and Internet informed patients.

“Innovative health technologies: health systems in transition Workshop”

Supported by: Internet Interdisciplinary Institute (IN3)

Organized by: Francisco Lupiáñez-Villanueva (Internet Interdisciplinary Institute –UOC) and Michael Hardey (Hull/York Medical School – Science and Technology Studies Unit, Department of Sociology, University of York)

Data: 27th November

Place: UOC IN3 building. Av. Canal Olímpic, s/n. Edifici B3, 08860 Castelldefels (Barcelona)

Michael Hardey - Consuming professions: user-review websites and health services

The relationship between doctor and patient was variously regarded as ‘special’, ‘outside’ or otherwise at a distance from other consumer experiences. Since then, the status of doctors has changed and information about health and illness has moved from the confines of the consulting room to the World Wide Web. This presentation considers the recent development of Web 2.0 resources that are constructed around user-generated content about identified health practitioners and services. Web sites where users can both read and write comments about health practitioners and services reflect the broader consumer content industry commonly associated with sites like Amazon and TripAdvisor.

Michael Hardey

Reader in Sociology at the Hull/York Medical School and the Department of Social Sciences, University of Hull. He is also an Associate Director Researcher of the Science and Technology Studies Unit, University of York . His main research interests are in mediated information and relationships. This falls into three broad areas: e-health and in particular the role of the Internet in shaping health beliefs and behaviours; e-body and identity (particularly the representation of the self through new media); and the generation and mediation of information through Web 2.0 resources.

“Innovative health technologies: health systems in transition Workshop”

Supported by: Internet Interdisciplinary Institute (IN3)

Organized by: Francisco Lupiáñez-Villanueva (Internet Interdisciplinary Institute –UOC) and Michael Hardey (Hull/York Medical School – Science and Technology Studies Unit, Department of Sociology, University of York)

Data: 26th and 27th November

Place: UOC IN3 building. Av. Canal Olímpic, s/n. Edifici B3, 08860 Castelldefels (Barcelona)

Flis Henwood’s presentation - ‘Health-e discourse? Engaging the community in e-health developments for obesity self-management’

Drawing on an action-oriented research project exploring and intervening in the lived experiences of those seeking to manage their weight, the paper explores how those engaged in weight management position themselves in relation to e-health discourse, exploring their engagements with dominant understandings of obesity, information and technologies (specifically ICTs) in particular. A case is then made for ‘engagement work’ that can explore and exploit the tensions within the discourse to promote a more progressive model for e-health development –one that supports the emergence of an active, critical and engaged citizen-user (the ‘health-e citizen) rather than the less ambitious but much more ubiquitous neo-liberal consumer-user (or ‘informed patient’).

Flis Henwood

Professor of Social Informatics at the University of Brighton in the UK.  In her early career, she published widely on gender and technology issues, co-editing Technology and In/Equality: Questioning the Information Society (2000) and Cyborg Lives? Women’s Technobiographies (2001). More recently, she has published on the social dynamics of e-Health, including an ‘e-Health’ special issue of the journal Information, Communication and Society (2005) and, most recently,  a co-edited volume entitled Gender, Health and Information Technology in Context (Palgrave Macmillan, 2009). Her journal publications have appeared in a range of disciplinary fields including gender studies, sociology of health and medicine, social policy, information systems and media studies.

“Innovative health technologies: health systems in transition Workshop”

Supported by: Internet Interdisciplinary Institute (IN3)

Organized by: Francisco Lupiáñez-Villanueva (Internet Interdisciplinary Institute –UOC) and Michael Hardey (Hull/York Medical School – Science and Technology Studies Unit, Department of Sociology, University of York)

Data: 26th and 27th November

Place: UOC IN3 building. Av. Canal Olímpic, s/n. Edifici B3, 08860 Castelldefels (Barcelona)

Mariam Hardey - Private medical care and the Web

The Internet has opened up new opportunities for people to learn about and choose elective medical interventions available across the globe.  I will focus on Web resources that enable people in countries with a National Health Service to choose private health care that is available in countries other than those in which they are citizens.  For example, the nature of the UK NHS means that there is a relatively small market for private medicine and that it is costly compared to that available elsewhere and especially in countries such as Poland and India.

Mariam Hardey

Teaching part-time at the Sociology Department at the University of York. Her research charts the rise of digital social networks and associated media in the lives of young people - commonly known as a Generation-Y.  Mariann’s approach is to draw attention to the increasingly participatory nature of technology, which characterises how the resources have become ubiquitous and take for granted as ‘everyday’ and essential hubs of information.

I’m deligthed to announce the “Innovative health technologies: health systems in transition Workshop”

Supported by: Internet Interdisciplinary Institute (IN3)

Organized by: Francisco Lupiáñez-Villanueva (Internet Interdisciplinary Institute –UOC) and Michael Hardey (Hull/York Medical School – Science and Technology Studies Unit, Department of Sociology, University of York)

Data: 26th and 27th November

Place: UOC IN3 building. Av. Canal Olímpic, s/n. Edifici B3, 08860 Castelldefels (Barcelona)

Description

Digital technologies and the Internet are increasingly changing how people understand their health, how health care is organised and delivered to patients and opening up new scientific approaches and innovations. For example, health care records are being digitised and made available though various devices to users in most nations with a centralised health care system. Developments in genetics, imaging technologies, cloning and stem cell research are changing how health is understood and the treatments available to individuals. Such changes in the organisation of health and medical knowledge are increasingly engaging with the public through information that is made available on the Internet.

The Internet is now a vast repository of information about health and well-being.  Supported by Web 2.0 resources, the Internet has increasingly included information about health, illness and lifestyles provided by individuals.  As more of the public become connected through computers and mobile devices new opportunities are created for the publication of health information and advice.  However, the diversity of health information raises questions about quality and the impact incorrect or poor information may have on individuals.  There is already evidence that the doctor-patient relationship is changing in the face of developments in Information and Communications Technologies.  In addition, while people are the advice people may choose to follow may not necessarily result in health behaviours.  For example, men defined as obese may share information available on the Internet to remain ‘big and fat’ despite medical advice to the contrary.

The desire to provide a seamless inter-agency service built around the needs of individual people (and more broadly clients and patients of national health and welfare services) is a common aspiration in most countries with a centralised welfare system.  Developments in Telecare have seen the growth of ‘smart homes’ that enable people to live safely at home through various monitoring and intervention systems.  Such monitoring devices are also being used by people in pursuit of healthy bodies through exercise.  The iPod or iPhone can, for example, be used to monitor running and other physical activity. These technologies raise questions to do with the privacy and ownership of information.  In other words information technology has become both directly and indirectly part of everyday life for many people and those who play a part in their lives.

In this broad context, the aim of this workshop is seeking to understand how, for whom and to what extend changes in the material conditions of health information and communication is transforming the generation of medical knowledge, the conception of health and the demand and provision of healthcare delivery.

To reach this aim, the workshop is organized in discussion sessions where social researchers will present their recent research results, methodologies and experiences with enough time for rich interaction among the participants.

Program

26th Thursday

10:00 – 10:15 Opening session
10:15 – 12:00 Presentations

• Andrew Webster - Innovation in health: a social science perspective
• Michael Morrison - ‘Measuring Innovation - a brief introduction to the REMEDiE project’
• Laura Machin - Cord blood banking: initial observations

12:00 – 12:15 Coffer-break
12:15 – 13:45 Presentations

• Mariann Hardey - Private medical care and the Web
• Eulàlia Hernádez - Providing resources for caregivers trough the Internet.

13:45 – 15:00 Lunch
15:00 – 16:45 Presentation

• Flis Henwood - ‘Health-e discourse? Engaging the community in e-health developments for obesity self-management’
• Sue Ziebland - Knowledge is Power? The role of health information

16:45 – 17:00 Coffer-break
17:00 – 17:30 Conclusions of the day

27th Friday

10:00 – 10:15 Opening session
10:15 – 12:00 Presentations

• Imma Grau - Studying Virtual Communities for patients with chronic illnesses, in Forumclinic
• Daniel López - Reframing telecare: an ethical discussion concerning ageing-in-place, independence and care.
• Darren Reed - Performativity of Data

12:00 – 12:15 Coffer-break
12:15 – 13:45 Presentation

• Michael Hardey - Consuming professions: user-review websites and health services
• Francisco Lupiáñez-Villanueva and Michael Hardey - Health professionals, the Internet and Internet informed patients

13:30 – 15:00 Lunch
15:00 – 16:00 Conclusions of the workshop

Thanks indeed to the participants, to IN3 for the support and to Laura Vidal for her wonderful organization work. See also information available at IN3.

On 26th October I have the opportunity to act as a moderator in a symposium called Communication in health 2.0, organized by the Institute for Continuing Education (IDEC) and the University of Pompeu Fabra’s Science Communication Observatory (OCC). First of all, I would like to thank Vladimir de Semir, Gemma Revuelta and Clara Armengou for their invitation and their organization of the symposuum. I really think that University has a role as a hub to disseminate and research about this topic in collaboration with the rest of the actors (industry, healthcare providers, professionals, Government,…).

Act as a moderator gave me the opportunity to work on the Health Communication field as a framework of part of the research I have been doing and develop the first step towards the conceptualization of Health Mass-Self Communication.

On Wednesday 8th I’m presenting Health and the Internet: Autonomy of the User in the World Internet Project Macao 2009. I have finished the presentation and I would like to share a graphic that clearly represents the difference between Access, Use and Assessment of ICT used by Catalonia citizens (based on a representative survey of Catalonia population).

Following Dr. Shock comment, age characterization of these citizens suggests that those who are younger and probably in a better health status are also more Networed oriented and those who are older and probably in a worse bad status are Excluded or Disconnected. It looks like sometimes the promises of eHealth and eGovernment forget that Inverse Care Law still matters in the Digital Era. Are online service for-profit and also non-profit providers taking care of these situations?