Calls for papers

 

International Journal of Healthcare Technology and Management

 

Special issue on: “Internet and Web-based Healthcare”

Guest Editor: Dr. Daniel Lorence, Penn State University, USA

On a global level, information and communication technologies are converging in increasingly complex networked technologies to form the basis for a new era in the practice of medicine and the delivery of health care. This infrastructure poses an entirely new dimension to the concept of healthcare delivery, based on the inclusion of readily-accessible clinical evidence and other information applicable to an emerging model of shared decision-making between patients and providers.

While users of web-based information increasingly report their reliance on such information for medical decision-making, the impact of this phenomenon on the global healthcare community has yet to be assessed in detail. Some have argued, for example, that the web may be improperly used as 'substituted clinical judgment', and relatively little attention has been paid to the selective development of methodologies for consumer-centred discussions, or to selective grouping and analysis of debated 'domains of uncertainty' in healthcare.

Overall, it is increasingly important for our culture to bring people together and to promote dynamics in professional organisations, and foster mutual understanding, learning and harmony. The examination and creation of 'patient centric' and 'consumer-centric' shared decision-making models is one major way to do this, on an international level. The main objective of this special issue is to provide a forum for dissemination of current and envisioned activities in aspects of web-based healthcare.

Original contributions, including conceptual, empirical, and case studies, as well as technical reports, management reports, benchmarks, and software and book reviews addressing and/or relating to any of the subject coverage areas are welcome from authors.

Subject Coverage
Suggested topics include but are not limited to:

• Disease-specific discussion groups
• Peer to peer health networking
• Prescription drug procurement and use
• Health information sharing in online networks
• Genetics and personal health networks
• Web search strategies
• Emerging technologies
• Evaluating online health and medical information
• Domains of medical uncertainty
• Web communities and health policy
• Patient empowerment through web technologies
• Healthcare consumerism on the web
• Global healthcare as a commodity
• Self disclosure and personal health narrative
• The role of agents and mediators
• Communities of practice
• Special needs and medical disabilities
• The future of healthcare on the web

Notes for Prospective Authors

Submitted papers should not have been previously published nor be currently under consideration for publication elsewhere

All papers are refereed through a peer review process. A guide for authors, sample copies and other relevant information for submitting papers are available on the Author Guidelines page

Important Dates

Manuscripts Submission: 31 March, 2007

Notification of Acceptance: 30 June, 2007

Final Submission: 15 August, 2007