White Papers

Consumer-Driven Healthcare: Understanding the health system’s latest innovation.

Consumer-driven healthcare (CDH) is a hot topic these days. But what exactly is it? Even though the last several years have witnessed an explosion of literature on the subject, many people are still unclear on what consumer-driven healthcare actually means... (more)

The Other Healthcare Shortage.

Countless reports and surveys over the past few years testify to the fact that there is an acute shortage of nurses in the nation’s healthcare system, and that this shortage is only expected to grow, despite numerous efforts to recruit and retain nurses in the field. But what about the "other" healthcare shortage? Namely, the pharmacists, lab technicians and other allied health and support staff members that are just as integral to providing quality care. Unfortunately, with all of the attention given to the nursing shortage, it’s easy for administrators to overlook this issue...(more)

The Medical Informatics Revolution - Information Technology Holds the Key to Quality Care in the Future.

Designing a more effective, comprehensive health care system has historically been a hot button in the political arena, but the subject has become even more evident in recent years. And several factors are placing information technology—known as medical informatics when it is applied to health care and medicine—at the center of this debate...  (more)

The Coming Crisis in Nursing Education - While Student Interest is Increasing, Academia Lacks Resources to Accommodate Them.

Have you ever gotten to the airport only to find that due to a wide range of incentives, coupled with demand that exceeded availability, the airline had sold more seats than they had to give and wants to buy your seat back? This is essentially what is happening in nursing education today—without the refunds. Most people in the healthcare field are aware of the nursing shortage by now. One of the oft-cited statistics is the American Hospital Association’s 2001 survey, which discovered that of the 168,000 vacant hospital positions, 75 percent were for registered nurses...  (more)