Research Directions

In line with technological advancements, the healthcare industry ushers in the “age of big data”. A wide range of data including social media and user generated data from wearable devices promote rapid development of medical data. In the presence of multi-sourced, biased and diverse big data, how to derive useful medical information, and then carry out effective digitalization in use and management has become a new topic of development in the healthcare industry. Medical treatment based on big data can improve the level of public health, build efficient health information systems, and solve a variety of problems that traditionally arise in the healthcare industry. How to change passive participation of patients into active health management, turn effectiveness evaluation of single cases to procedural overall evaluation and experience, extend disease data management to health data management, convert paying attention to dispute and technology to prevention, professional development, and recovery issues are all opportunities and challenges of the age of big data. Relying on the eHealth research institute, team members have carried out multidirectional scientific research, mainly including the following directions:

Research direction 1: Modeling and Analytic Research

Healthcare operations management methods and theory with special emphasis on big data and emerging information technologies. Data management, deviation rectifying of data, and health evaluation and disease warning methods based on integrating health big data.

Research direction 2: Behavioral Research

Exploration of behaviors regarding healthcare IT usage and knowledge management at various levels. Exploration of service process, management mechanisms and means of sustainable value creation for eHealth.

Research direction 3: Design Science Research

Design and evaluation of advanced clinical decision support systems, models and methods as well as personal health systems. Exploration of the social impact of eHealth based on practical application.

Research direction 4: Empirical Research

Healthcare policy and IT evaluation and recommendation.

Research direction 5: Integrated Research

Exploration of complex issues, such as combination of traditional Chinese and western medicine, and medical resource integration based on cross-validation of multi-method and tracked economic behavior as well as design science research paradigm.