Case Study Problem #1

What is the most apporpriate IT system that would allow data to be accessed and transferred between the hospital and the village clinics?

The most feasible IT system that would allow data to be accessed and transferred would be the internet, but, with the exception of village A, the outlying villages do not have internet access. One way to solve this would to get both villages connected to the internet via a new line from Oobunta to both villages B and C, and to upgrade village A's connection, as it is intermittent at best. The most reliable connection would probably be a fiber-optic cable from Oobunta to each village, but that may be too expensive, in which case they should go with a regular cable connection to Oobunta. As for each village it may be beneficial to give each a Wireless network, instead of wiring every computer. There is another option to connect the villages to Oobunta via the internet that is potentially the most appropriate; as they all have access to a cell network it is possible they coulb utilize USB Modems to access the internet using the already present cell networks in the region. This would be both cheaper and more reliabe, as the land lines could become damaged wheras the USBs are much easier to maintain and to replace.

I searched through Cape Cod Hospital's web site, as well as the web sites of Jordan Hopital and Mass General, and none of them mention the computer network supporting thier hospitals. When I searched more broader most of the articles I found were debating the importance of computer networks in hospitals, not actually informing about the hospitals use of information technology.

The stakeholders in this situation are the villagers, the hospital personell and the local government. The villagers would have the advantage of gaining better care, but if the local doctors come to rely on the internet to mucha nd end up misdiagnosing, a villager could die. As for the doctors, they may gain the ability to treat more diseases, but could also misdiagnose if they could become too dependent on the internet. If the program succeds the local government could gain prestige, but if it fails, heads could roll. The doctors on the ground would be responsible for the treatment of patients, but the local government would be responsible for the actual network implimented. The doctors and local government should be held accountable, but a scapegoat may end up taking the fall. Any laws that govern the medical community in the country they are in would apply, as would any policies regarding the treatment of patients, as well as conduct online.