Mobile Services Provide Value by Decoupling the Time and Location Constraints in Healthcare Delivery

Abstract

Mobile healthcare services exist to improve outcomes, but they have the potential to improve output of service provision as well. Operations management research on remote and mobile healthcare interventions tends to focus solely on output efficiency and leaving the questions of output-outcome relations to clinical medicine. However, with preventive interventions output-outcome relation plays a critical role in defining life-cycle long costs, outcomes and production effects of the technological intervention. Healthcare operations management can offer a valuable framework for better understanding remote mobile service systems and their effects. In this paper we explore different types of efficiency implications using mobile phone based solutions as an interesting example. We discuss time and location constraints of traditional service provision and how mobile services can impact them. We conclude by defining a new approach to studying mobile interventions from an operations management perspective.

A Theory of Constraints Approach to Health Technology Assessment

“…This would be true if data entry was the only reason nurses visited the office. There may however be other time and location constraints [8]. In this case the nurses also have to collect and return the customers' home keys.…”

“…The home care service delivery process includes several time and location constraints [8], which greatly impact the production flow. In our case example the nurses visit the office each morning, to pick up their work list specifying which customers to visit, when, and which types of service events [9] to perform.…”

The Technological Growth in eHealth Services

“…Some research articles [ 101 , 103 – 107 , 111 , 113 – 115 , 118 ] revolve around the different features of mobile communication and its benefits which results in the wide deployment of eHealth services across the globe. Research articles [ 102 , 116 , 117 , 119 ] discuss the challenges in establishment of eHealth services through mobiles whereas [ 108 – 110 , 112 ] focus on the impact and strategies that may be followed for deploying mobiles for eHealth services.…”

Defining Service Elements in Home Care

“…In other words, the services provided during a home care visit are currently synchronous in terms of both time and location. As discussed by Ilvonen et alia, health care services have traditionally been constrained by time and location [11]. Patients and service providers have been forced to meet at the same time in the same location.…”