Different Kind of Knowledge Found in the Healthcare Sector

Different kinds of knowledge found in the healthcare sector

Knowledge Management has changed the way in which Hospitals, Doctors and Patients interact. As a result of growing population; doctors, hospitals, and insurance companies are required to accommodate more patients for preventive and end of life needs. Additionally, not only are faced with capacity issues, doctors have to consider risk management, where poor information sharing amongst doctors and testing facilities can result in errors in medical diagnosis and treatment. Through the development of information technology (IT), current and future medical data and information can be leveraged to develop knowledge-based solutions that facilitate collaboration amongst institutions and address the demand for healthcare by improving record management, and the development of more efficient methodologies to diagnose and treat patients in a timely manner. Knowledge is divided into two distinct categories called explicit and tacit knowledge. Explicit knowledge is information that is easy to capture, structure, and share with individuals. For example, explicit knowledge can be the documentations like hospital policies and procedures and clinic diagnostic methodologies. Alternatively, tacit knowledge is comprised of experience and skills that an individual can acquire overtime and apply to problems.

(a) Patient knowledge entails a clear description of the health status of the patient. Patient knowledge encapsulates medical relationships between the various observations of the patient and the inferences drawn by physicians, both captured and recorded in the medical record, to provide a complete picture of the patient.

(b) Practitioner knowledge is practice-related tacit knowledge...

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...ent of health-related information. Patients with access to computers and the Internet may consult with their physicians on- line, receiving a diagnosis, treatment plan, and drug prescriptions for relatively simple disorders without face- to-face meetings. Computer-based decision-support software and videoconferencing technology are also used to provide telemedicine to chronically ill patients at home, and to help people with chronic diseases to self-monitor their conditions.

References

Abidi, S. S. (2007). Healthcare Knowledge Management: The Art of the Possible. Canada: NICHE Research Group, Faculty of Computer Science, Dalhousie University Halifax, B3H 1W5.

Chen, E. T. (2009). KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT IMPLEMENTATION IN THE HEALTHCARE INDUSTRY. One University Avenue, Lowell, MA 01854: Operations and Information Systems Department, University of Massachusetts Lowell.