Vendor Websites Research Articles

What Do Electronic Health Record Vendors Reveal About Their Products: An Analysis of Vendor Websites

BackgroundPurchasing electronic health records (EHRs) typically follows a process in which potential adopters actively seek information, compare alternatives, and form attitudes towards the product. A potential source of information on EHRs that can be used in the process is vendor websites. It is unclear how much product information is presented on EHR vendor websites or the extent of its value during EHR purchasing decisions.ObjectiveTo explore what features of EHR systems are presented by vendors in Ontario, Canada, on their websites, and the persuasive means they use to market such systems; to compare the online information available about primary care EHR systems with that about hospital EHR systems, and with data compiled by OntarioMD, a regional certifying agency.MethodsA list of EHR systems available in Ontario was created. The contents of vendor websites were analyzed. A template for data collection and organization was developed and used to collect and organize information on the vendor, website content, and EHR features. First, we mapped information on system features to categories based on a framework from the Institute of Medicine (IOM). Second, we used a grounded theory–like approach to explore information for building consumer confidence in the vendor and product, and the various persuasive strategies employed on vendor websites. All data were first coded by one researcher. A peer reviewer independently analyzed a randomly chosen subset of the websites (10 of 21; 48%) and provided feedback towards a unified coding scheme. All data were then re-coded and categorized into themes. Finally, we compared information from vendor websites and data gathered by OntarioMD.ResultsVendors provided little specific product information on their websites. Only two of five acute care EHR websites (40%) and nine of 16 websites for primary care systems (56%) featured seven or all eight of the IOM components. Several vendor websites included system interface demonstrations: screenshots (six websites), public videos or slideshows (four websites), or for registered viewers only (three websites). Persuasive means used by vendors included testimonials on 14/21 (67%) websites, and directional language. Except for one free system, trial EHR versions were not available. OntarioMD provided more comprehensive information about primary care systems than the vendors’ websites. Of 14 points of comparison, only the inclusion of templates and bilingual interfaces were fully represented in both data sources. For all other categories, the vendor websites were less complete than the OntarioMD site.ConclusionsEHR vendor websites employ various persuasive means, but lack product-specific information and do not provide options for trying systems on a limited basis. This may impede the ability of potential adopters to form perceptions and compare various offerings. Both vendors and clients could benefit from greater transparency and more specific product information on the Web.Trial RegistrationN/A

Modelling real-time online information needs: A new research approach for complex consumer behaviour

A major challenge for online vendor website operations is serving information that meets visitor needs at a given point in their purchase process. The problem arises from the complexity of human behaviour, as well as changing needs with the evolution of consumer knowledge and skills through the purchase process. The most difficult element, however, is determining the effects of information provided on the site, as well as from other sources that the consumer may access, and anticipating resulting consumer needs. This paper discusses the contributions and limitations of current modelling techniques and utility studies of online consumer information to model consumer needs in real time. An alternative basis for real-time customer need appraisal is proposed using clickstream and customer input data combined with online information utility to enable more effective information serving. This requires further academic research and changes in practitioner online marketing operations.

Induction and Inhibition of Crystallization in Drug-in-Adhesive-Type Transdermal Patches

To screen crystallization inhibitors, perform accelerated stability testing and predict saturation solubility of levonorgestrel in drug-in-adhesive patches. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) studies were compared against slide crystallization studies for screening additives. Release studies were performed from crystallized and supersaturated patches. Die cutting was used for accelerated stability testing of patches. Time lag experiments were performed to predict saturation solubility of levonorgestrel in acrylate adhesive, DuroTak-2516. DSC studies indicated poloxamer to be the best additive whereas slide crystallization studies showed polyvinylpyrrolidone to be better. Supersaturated patches showed higher release profiles relative to crystallized patches. Crystals were observed in crystallized patches even after 96h of release studies. Die-cutting of patches helped in development of crystals in less time as compared to uncut sheets indicating its usefulness in accelerated stability testing. Saturation solubility of levonorgestrel in DuroTak-2516 was predicted to be 0.09% w/w which was in close agreement with value of 0.1% w/w from solubility calculator on vendor's website. Crystallization was shown to have negative impact on drug release and patch performance. Slide crystallization studies, die cutting and time lag experiments can be used as tools to help stabilize the otherwise unstable patches.

Interdisciplinarity on campus: how the publishing world is responding

PurposeThe purpose of this article is to explore how the publishing world is responding to library collection development challenges posed by the growth of interdisciplinary studies programs.Design/methodology/approachThe first step in this study was a survey of the websites of selected ARL and all Oberlin Group university and college websites to determine those institutions that have a clearly identified Interdisciplinary program or majors. The authors then investigated the status of interdisciplinary collection development practices at these institutions. Finally the websites of reviewers, publishers, and vendors were surveyed to explore what tools are available to help librarians identify new interdisciplinary monographs.FindingsRather than supplying formal interdisciplinary collection development support, most librarians rely on external resources to help identify interdisciplinary materials. As technology evolves publisher/vendor websites can provide librarians with the tools needed to conduct in‐depth searches of their catalogs, thus aiding in the identification of interdisciplinary monographs for purchase.Originality/valueBuilding on previous scholarship about the growth of interdisciplinary studies and libraries, this paper extends the research by examining the tools available to help librarians bridge the gap created by new disciplinary formations and offers suggestions for publishers to enhance interdisciplinary selection.

Commercial Products That Convey Personal Health Information in Emergencies

Describe commercially available products and services designed to convey personal health information in emergencies. The search engine Google®, supplemented by print ads, was used to identify companies and organizations that offer relevant products and services to the general market. Disease-specific, health system, and health plan-specific offerings were excluded. Vendor web sites were the primary sources of information, supplemented by telephone and e-mail queries to sales representatives. Perfect inter-rater agreement was achieved. Thirty-nine unique vendors were identified. Eight sell engraved jewelry. Three offer an embossed card or pamphlet. Twelve supply USB drives with various features. Eleven support password-protected web sites. Five maintain national call centers. Available media differed markedly with respect to capacity and accessibility. Quoted prices ranged from a one-time expenditure of $3.50 to an annual fee of $200. Associated features and annual fees varied widely. A wide range of products and services exist to help patients convey personal health information. Health care providers should be familiar with their features, so they can access the information in a disaster or emergency.

A Historical Review of Distance Vision Screening Eye Charts

Vision screening protocol and equipment guidelines differ among schools across the United States. Budget cuts are forcing many school nurses to reevaluate their vision screening programs, as well as items in their vision screening toolboxes. School nurses tasked with inventorying those toolboxes to determine which items to toss, keep, or replace are oftentimes perplexed by the copious choices featured in vendor catalogs and websites. For school nurses who want their vision screening toolboxes to include eye charts, national and international eye chart design guidelines are available to help ensure selected eye charts are standardized. A national consensus policy exists that recommends specific eye charts. And, a large body of vision screening literature is available to help school nurses make informed decisions. Current documents suggest that LEA Symbols are appropriate for young children and Sloan Letters are a better choice than "Snellen" charts for older children.

Globalizing children's literature in academic libraries using automatic acquisition

PurposeThis paper sets out to examine the use of an automatic acquisition plan to acquire international children's award book winners in academic libraries and to offer suggestions for promoting these resources.Design/methodology/approachThe paper examined the vendor's website, vendor‐created spreadsheets detailing award‐winning children's books from 2007‐2009, and book award websites.FindingsThe findings show that acquiring international children's award book winners using an automatic acquisition plan is an excellent starting‐point for developing international children's award collections. Featured awards favor works in English. Award books from all continents and regions are not available, but award winners chosen by ethnic and international organizations can be selected to broaden the ethnic and cultural diversity of the resources.Originality/valueThis paper details a beginning point for acquiring and promoting international children's award book winners for academic libraries in order to support multiculturalism and globalism by diversifying curriculum materials collection and providing vital resources for future educators and the larger campus community.

The crux and the myth — breaches in security vendor websites

The security business model revolves around security entities and those security service providers that ensure implementation of secured mechanisms in every aspect of deployment. But how mature are those businesses' own security models? We will evaluate various instances of breaches in security companies and how they occur. The world has seen a number of cases like Kaspersky, F-Secure, a reseller for BitDefender, and so on. There are a number of cases that have not been released publicly. Why is this happening, and what is the root cause?

Initial online trust formation: the role of company location and web assurance

PurposePrior research suggests that significant impediments to the growth in electronic commerce exist, particularly in relation to international exchanges. This paper aims to investigate the respective roles of vendor location (domestic vs international) and web assurance seals in the development of initial trusting beliefs about a vendor's web site, and to determine whether these beliefs ultimately influence online purchase intentions.Design/methodology/approachA model is developed and tested using a controlled laboratory experiment in which 181 subjects are randomly allocated to one of six web site treatments corresponding to two possible locations of the web site vendor (domestic vs international) and three web assurance states (no Web seal vs TRUSTe seal vs WebTrust seal). Data are analysed using ANCOVA and multiple regression analysis.FindingsAs hypothesised, the results suggest that geographical location does appear to influence the formation of initial trusting beliefs (perceived trustworthiness) about a vendor's websites. In contrast, web assurance seals, in general, were found to have little influence on trusting beliefs; and accountants' seals, in particular, were found to be equally ineffective as those issued by other providers. Overall, trusting beliefs were seen to strongly influence online purchase intentions.Research limitations/implicationsFuture research aimed at evaluating the relative effectiveness of various trust‐building mechanisms applicable to international vendors is warranted, as is research advancing the understanding of why assurance seals appear to be ineffective as trust‐building mechanisms. The implications of using students as surrogates for online consumers and other limitations inherent in experimental analyses ought to be considered in interpreting the study's findings.Practical implicationsThe study's findings indicate that international vendors ought to consider implementing targeted trust‐building mechanisms to compensate for being at a competitive disadvantage to their domestic counterparts. Suggested strategies are discussed in the paper. In relation to assurance seals, results suggest that the accounting profession can no longer assume to successfully leverage off its reputation for trustworthiness and integrity in extending its claims to expertise into new markets.Originality/valueNo previous study has examined the role of vendor location in the development of initial trusting beliefs. In relation to web assurance, previous studies have produced conflicting results and employed a range of research models. This study attempts to address these concerns through the use of a comprehensive and integrated theoretical model.

Prescription drug misuse: Is technology friend or foe?

Prescription drug misuse and related harms have been increasing considerably over the past decade. At the same time, there has also been rapid growth in the use of online and Internet technologies. Thus, it is important that we understand the role online and Internet technologies play in prescription drug misuse. Published work addressing the role of technology in prescription drug misuse is explored. Topics include: Internet supply, online monitoring of prescription drug use trends and electronic prescription monitoring. Little is known about the prevalence of acquiring prescription drugs from online pharmacies. Prescription drugs are easily accessible through vendor websites, and 'rogue' no-prescription websites have proven difficult to control. There has so far been limited application of real-time monitoring to prevent overuse of prescription medications. Online monitoring of drug use trends may also prove to be a useful and timely source of information about new methods of 'off-label' prescription drug use. Technology has the potential to play a more prominent role in facilitating drug acquisition, while also enhancing the monitoring and prevention of prescription drug misuse. As technology becomes more ubiquitous in everyday life, the continued investigation of its relationship with prescription drug misuse becomes even more important.

Tiers of Enterprise Resource Planning Softwares

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software's are classified in different ways in to categories such as Tier-1, Tier-2, Tier-3, Tier-4, Teir-5, ERP-II, component based ERP, Accounting ERP, Marketing ERP etc. These classifications are based on license fee, implementation fee they charge from their customers, size and types of customer's organization and also the functionalities of various ERP products. Various vendor websites have reported these classifications of ERP software's in the past but in pieces. In this article author reviewed these classification & presented five tiers of classification in a comprehensive manner. In addition, article also discusses the functionalities of ERP systems for different tiers and contradictions of their grouping to a specific tier.

Update on Personal Digital Assistant Applications for the Healthcare Provider

To review the common general drug information applications and specialty drug information applications available for personal digital assistants (PDAs). The literature was accessed through MEDLINE (2003-June 2004). Other information was obtained through secondary sources, such as Web sites describing common PDA applications as well as actual product trials. The key search terms used were handheld, PDA, personal digital assistants, drug information, pharmacokinetics, medical information, and medical applications. Articles or studies that provided a review of drug information references for the PDA since 2002 were included. Data pertaining to cost and application size were obtained from product or vendor Web sites. There are numerous medical applications available for the PDA including general drug information references, specialty drug information references (eg, pediatrics, cardiology, infectious diseases, oncology, psychology, herbals), diagnostic applications, medical calculators, nursing references, and patient tracking databases. Due to the huge array of programs, as well as factors such as cost and memory requirements, the healthcare provider must be selective in the medical applications that are placed on the PDA. There are many excellent PDA drug information applications that provide fast and accurate drug information and other features that assist the healthcare provider.

What makes websites trustworthy? A two-phase empirical study

Trustworthiness has been cited as one of the most important factors in the completion of commercial transactions, and this is also true for internet commerce systems. In the internet commerce environment, people do business by interacting with a customer interface which, in this case, is an internet vendor's website. Thus, websites must be designed carefully to induce feelings of trust on the part of the customer, which will influence the decision to buy from a specific vendor. The objective of this research was to identify website design features that have significant effect on customer trust in internet shopping. A two-phase empirical study was conducted. In Phase I, respondents were asked to rate the importance of various website design features in terms of their trust for internet shopping. Forty six features were identified and grouped into nine categories. In Phase II, a different group of respondents were asked to decide whether each of these 46 features and nine categories was a Hygiene factor (i.e., a 'must have' factor, without which a customer would certainly feel distrustful), or a Motivator (i.e., a 'good to have' factor, without which a customer would not feel distrustful, but which, if present, could increase the customer's perception of trustworthiness).

Cleaning a Cold Cathode Gauge Tube

Abstract This topic appeared on the MSA list server In December 2002 and January 2003. While cleaning my gauge tube recently, I documented the steps. In this article I describe cleaning a Varian 524-2 gauge tube. There are a number of other cold cathode and penning style gauge tubes on the market, Edwards CP-25 (old penning), CVC GPH-001A(old cold cathode), Pfeiffer IRK 250 (new cold cathode) to name a few. The cleaning steps are very similar. Consult the instructions that came with the gauge tube or visit the vendor's websites.

Evaluation of personal digital assistant drug information databases for the managed care pharmacist.

Personal digital assistants (PDAs) are becoming a necessity for practicing pharmacists. They offer a time-saving and convenient way to obtain current drug information. Several software companies now offer general drug information databases for use on hand held computers. PDAs priced less than 200 US dollars often have limited memory capacity; therefore, the user must choose from a growing list of general drug information database options in order to maximize utility without exceeding memory capacity. This paper reviews the attributes of available general drug information software databases for the PDA. It provides information on the content, advantages, limitations, pricing, memory requirements, and accessibility of drug information software databases. Ten drug information databases were subjectively analyzed and evaluated based on information from the product.s Web site, vendor Web sites, and from our experience. Some of these databases have attractive auxiliary features such as kinetics calculators, disease references, drug-drug and drug-herb interaction tools, and clinical guidelines, which may make them more useful to the PDA user. Not all drug information databases are equal with regard to content, author credentials, frequency of updates, and memory requirements. The user must therefore evaluate databases for completeness, currency, and cost effectiveness before purchase. In addition, consideration should be given to the ease of use and flexibility of individual programs.

The impact of initial consumer trust on intentions to transact with a web site: a trust building model

This paper develops and tests a model of consumer trust in an electronic commerce vendor. Building consumer trust is a strategic imperative for web-based vendors because trust strongly influences consumer intentions to transact with unfamiliar vendors via the web. Trust allows consumers to overcome perceptions of risk and uncertainty, and to engage in the following three behaviors that are critical to the realization of a web-based vendor's strategic objectives: following advice offered by the web vendor, sharing personal information with the vendor, and purchasing from the vendor's web site. Trust in the vendor is defined as a multi-dimensional construct with two inter-related components— trusting beliefs (perceptions of the competence, benevolence, and integrity of the vendor), and trusting intentions—willingness to depend (that is, a decision to make oneself vulnerable to the vendor). Three factors are proposed for building consumer trust in the vendor: structural assurance (that is, consumer perceptions of the safety of the web environment), perceived web vendor reputation, and perceived web site quality. The model is tested in the context of a hypothetical web site offering legal advice. All three factors significantly influenced consumer trust in the web vendor. That is, these factors, especially web site quality and reputation, are powerful levers that vendors can use to build consumer trust, in order to overcome the negative perceptions people often have about the safety of the web environment. The study also demonstrates that perceived Internet risk negatively affects consumer intentions to transact with a web-based vendor.

Supplier Web‐page design and organizational buyer preferences

Gauges the accessibility of vendors to organizational customers and compares sellers’ approaches to online communication with the preferences expressed by buyers. A survey of organizational buying‐center members revealed that responding organizations relied at least partially on Web‐based research for a mean of 40 percent of purchases involving supplier/vendor search. Distinct segments are observed that differ in their desire for suppliers’ Web sites to provide information about purchase facilitators (e.g. online ordering, prices, product and services information), quality/performance assessment (e.g. financial statements, company profiles, certification information), and non‐purchase information (e.g. community activities, job opportunities, company news). An analysis of vendor Web sites demonstrates a need for more systematic inclusion of prices, online ordering, literature requests, answers to frequently asked questions, certification information and financial statements.

To Trust Or Not To Trust: The Impact Of WebTrust On The Perceived Trustworthiness Of A Web Site

Despite the explosive growth of electronic commerce, many individuals are still reluc-tant to conduct business transactions on the Internet. Individuals may mistrust sending private information over the Internet or they may have concerns about the existence, performance, standing, and integrity of online businesses. In direct response to these concerns, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) has developed an electronic commerce assurance service called WebTrust which is intended to improve the consumer's confidence in the process and the quality of information disclosed on vendor web sites. The purpose of this study is to shed light on the effectiveness of WebTrust by examining the influence of WebTrust on consumers' perceptions of a web site's trustworthiness. The question is investigated through a computer experiment. The results of this study are very encouraging for electronic commerce assurance services in general, and the WebTrust service in particular. Evidence is found that the presence of WebTrust on a web site has a positive impact on the perceived trustworthiness of the website. The results also show that knowledge of WebTrust plays a significant moderating role in the relationship between perceived trustworthiness and the presence of WebTrust. When subjects have prior knowledge of WebTrust they perceive a web site with WebTrust to be more trustworthy than a web site without whereas, the presence of WebTrust has no impact when subjects are uneducated about the WebTrust assurances. Also, when WebTrust is present, subjects with knowledge of WebTrust are more confident in the web site than those without knowledge of WebTrust. When WebTrust is not present, knowledge subjects are more unsure of a web site without WebTrust than those without knowledge.

The Internet

The World Wide Web has transformed the way acquisitions and serials departments do business. Internet transactions have become integral to our work. This article describes how the Acquisitions and Serials Department at the Washington College of Law Library has integrated the Internet into daily workflow, using e-mail, FTP, and the World Wide Web. Practical applications of each are described. Specific library, publisher, and vendor Web sites that are particularly useful for law libraries are illustrated.