Introduction to the Minitrack: Data and Knowledge Management in Health Care

Abstract

The delivery of health services involves a myriad of stakeholders, including patients, direct health care providers, researchers, managed care organizations, and third-party payers. These stakeholders often have considerable differences in objectives, concerns, priorities and constraints, making data and knowledge management in health care organizations a challenging endeavor. The planning, management, and delivery of health care services involves the manipulation of large amounts of information and the corresponding technologies are becoming increasingly embedded in all aspects of health care. The Data and Knowledge Management in Health Care Minitrack focuses on the use of knowledge management technologies for clinical, managerial, and population-based activities. In recent years, cost pressures have again been affecting the health sector. The availability of health care has drawn the attention of candidates, political pundits, and working Americans. The adoption of information technology is viewed as one of the primary mechanisms for efficiency gains. This year, the eight accepted papers (from fourteen