Collaboration Examines Healthcare Information Systems

HanExpanding his research activities in healthcare IT, Dr. Bernard Han, professor of business information systems and director of the WMU Center for Health Information Technology Advancement, recently launched two research projects focusing on healthcare services in China. Working with WMU 2014-15 visiting professor Dr. Huiping Zhang, associate professor, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Han is pursuing research he hopes will help advance that country’s healthcare system.

  • Privacy and attitudes regarding electronic use of personal health information are concerns in China. In an effort to provide insight into ways China can speed up adoption of electronic medical records, Han and Zhang are identifying differences in acceptance by Chinese healthcare consumers and those in other parts of the world toward the use of electronic medical records in maintaining personal healthcare information.
  • Han and Zhang developed a conceptual model to illustrate how China can pursue healthcare reform to standardize healthcare services at all levels. From this case study, they identified ongoing issues that remain to be resolved, including incentive programs for adopting electronic records and standards that allow seamless integration of records throughout the healthcare system.

Han will travel to China in spring 2017 to continue his research efforts at Sichuan University at Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China. He will work with other faculty on data analysis for optimal medical decision making for patients with respiratory diseases.