Mark F. Thouin

The effect of information technology investment on firm-level performance in the health care industry.

Background: The return on investment for information technology (IT) has been the subject of much debate throughout the history of management information systems research. Often referred to as the productivity paradox, increased IT investments have not been consistently associated with increased productivity. Understanding individual IT factors that directly contribute to business value should provide insight into the productivity paradox. Purpose: The effects of 3 different firm-level IT characteristics on financial performance in the health care industry are studied. Specifically, the effects of IT budget, IT outsourcing, and the relative number of IT personnel on firm-level financial performance are analyzed. Methods: Regression analysis of archival survey data for 914 Integrated Healthcare Delivery Systems is performed. Results: IT budgetary expenditures and the number of IT services outsourced are associated with increases in the profitability of Integrated Healthcare Delivery Systems, whereas increases in IT personnel are not significantly associated with increased profitability. Each one tenth of a percentage increase in IT expenditures is associated with approximately

Health information technology and its impact on the quality and cost of healthcare delivery

100,000 in increased profit, and each additional IT service outsourced is associated with approximately

Modeling and simulation for drug discovery and development: current practices and opportunities for advancement

950,000 in increased profit for an average-sized Integrated Healthcare Delivery System. Implications: To increase profitability, IT administrators should increase IT budgetary expenditures along with IT outsourcing levels. IT administrators in the health care industry can use such findings during budgeting cycles to justify increased investments in IT personnel as being budget neutral while increasing organizational capacity.

IT outsourcing and firm-level performance: A transaction cost perspective

The impact of health information technologies (HIT) on the quality of healthcare delivery is a topic of significant importance and recent research has yielded mixed evidence. We use archival data on HIT usage in combination with data on quality of care processes to conduct a three-year longitudinal study of a large panel of U.S. hospitals. Our analysis extends earlier research on the association between HIT and healthcare quality among healthcare providers that have previously focused on outcomes associated with cost reduction. We study the impact of HIT applications, not only on hospital operating expenses, but also on the process quality associated with evidence-based measures for treatment of four major health conditions. Our results indicate a positive association between usage of clinical information systems and patient scheduling applications and conformance with best practices for treatment of heart attacks, heart failures, and pneumonia. Our results also suggest that usage of financial management systems is associated with lower hospital operating expenses. Furthermore, we find that not-for-profits and urban hospitals are more likely to exhibit greater conformance with process quality metrics, while for-profits exhibit lower operational expenses. Our results have important policy implications for investments in health IT and studying their cost and quality implications.

MSIS 2016: Global Competency Model for Graduate Degree Programs in Information Systems

This editorial reviews capabilities and usage domains of modeling and simulation software in support of drug development and discovery. Existing models simulate a subset of biological phenomena and lack integration. Development of precise unified systems models for a wide range of biological processes would greatly facilitate drug development and discovery. To improve modeling and simulation, iterative development combining in vitro, in vivo, and in silico source data are recommended.