Investigating the determinants of human development index in Pakistan: an empirical analysis

In this modern era, the importance of information and communication technology (ICT) cannot be ignored for sustainable human development. However, Pakistan has experienced a considerable gap between ICT economic growth and human development. In this regard, this study has modeled the relationship between ICT, economic growth, and the human development index (HDI) considering urbanization, foreign direct investment (FDI), and trade for the period from 1990 to 2014. An autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) and vector error correction model (VECM) approaches are used to analyze the data. The empirical results reveal that ICT promote human development index. Along with, economic growth has a positive and significant impact on human development. Besides, urbanization, trade, and FDI discourage human development in Pakistan. Finally, bidirectional causality is detected between the aforementioned variables. Recommendations to policymakers regarding the productive role of FDI and trade are provided.

Value of Investment as a Key Driver for Prioritization and Implementation of Healthcare Software

Health systems across the nation are recovering from massive financial and resource investments in electronic health record applications. In the midst of these recovery efforts, implementations of new care models, including accountable care organizations and population health initiatives, are underway. The shift from fee-for-service to fee-for-outcomes and fee-for-value payment models calls for care providers to work in new ways. It also changes how physicians are compensated and reimbursed. These changes necessitate that healthcare systems further invest in information technology solutions. Selecting which information technology (IT) projects are of most value is vital, especially in light of recent expenditures. Return-on-investment analysis is a powerful tool used in various industries to select the most appropriate IT investments. It has proven vital in selecting, justifying, and implementing software projects. Other financial metrics, such as net present value, economic value added, and total economic impact, also quantify the success of expenditures on information systems. This paper extends the concept of quantifying project value to include clinical outcomes and nonfinancial value as investment returns, applying a systematic approach to healthcare software projects. We term this inclusive approach Value of Investment. It offers a necessary extension for application in clinical settings where a strictly financial view may fall short in providing a complete picture of important benefits. This paper outlines the Value of Investment process and its attributes, and uses illustrative examples to explore the efficacy of this methodology within a midsized health system.

Advancing the integration of hospital IT. Pitfalls and perspectives when replacing specialized software for high-risk environments with enterprise system extensions

BACKGROUND

Planning and controlling surgical operations hugely impacts upon productivity, patient safety, and surgeons' careers. Established, specialized software for this task is being increasingly replaced by "Operating Room (OR)-modules" appended to enterprise-wide resource planning (ERP) systems. As a result, usability problems are re-emerging and require developers' attention.

OBJECTIVE

Systematic evaluation of the functionality and social repercussions of a global, market-leading IT business control system (SAP R3, Germany), adapted for real-time OR process steering.

METHODS

Field study involving document analyses, interviews, and a 73-item survey addressed to 77 qualified (> 1-year system experience) senior planning executives (end users; "planners") working in surgical departments of university hospitals.

RESULTS

Planners reported that 57% of electronic operation requests contained contradictory information. Key screens contained clinically irrelevant areas (36 +/- 29%). Compared to the legacy system, users reported either no improvements or worse performance, in regard to co-ordination of OR stakeholders, intra-day program changes, and safety. Planners concluded that the ERP-planning module was "non-intuitive" (66%), increased planning work (56%, p=0.002), and did not impact upon either organizational mishap spectrum or frequency. Interviews evidenced intra-institutional power shifts due to increased system complexity. Planners resented e.g. a trend towards increased personal culpability for mishap.

CONCLUSIONS

Highly complex enterprise system extensions may not be directly suited to specific process steering tasks in a high risk/low error-environment like the OR. In view of surgeons' high primary task load, the repeated call for simpler IT is an imperative for ERP extensions. System design should consider a) that current OR IT suffers from an input limitation regarding planning-relevant real-time data, and b) that there are social processes that strongly affect planning and particularly ERP use beyond algorithms. Real improvement of clinical IT tools requires their independent evaluation according to standards developed for pharmaceutical subjects.

capital planning for a new era

Capital planning has become more centralized at many health systems. Managing the capital budget for IT continues to be a challenge. The arrival of value-based payment is influencing some organizations' strategic capital investments.