E-healthcare strategies and implementation

Due to changes in government policy, severe competition and advancement in information technology, the healthcare industry is unstable, highly agitated and very competitive. These market conditions encourage healthcare providers to maximise efficiency by cutting costs, improving decision making processes and increasing the quality of patient care through information technology. The healthcare sector lags behind several other industries in terms of use and implementation of information technology. In order for healthcare organisations to gain and maintain a competitive advantage, it is important for their management to understand the trends and innovations in information systems as they relate to the healthcare industry. This paper describes various decision support systems, internet applications and e-business possibilities for healthcare organisations and presents a future vision of e-healthcare.