This is the second book in the series of books that we edit on the Management of Medical Technology (MMT) published by Kluwer Academic Publishers. The fIrst book Managing Technology in Health Care offered a broad-brushed view of the topics involved in the new and exciting area of MMT that we have launched. A group of distinguished scholars contributed to the fIrst book. While working on the first book in the series, and on a variety of articles in MMT, we began to realize that there is an urgent need for a comprehensive and highly focused book which will introduce and define the area of MMT. In addition, we had just completed the two studies of MMT in American hospitals, and had a magnificent database fully analyzed. With three months left in the first author's sabbatical, and thanks to the encouragement from our editor at Kluwer, Gary Folven, we took to the task of writing this book. The merging in this book of the description of a new intellectual space, and the write-up of the results from our MMT studies have created a unique blend of very attractive reading material. The reader will find this book to be a fascinating adventure into a newly-created area of intellectual endeavor, coupled with fIndings about how the health care delivery system manages teclUlology. Regardless of the reader's background, this book will certainly be of interest, as it links the medical and business frameworks.

Technology plays a critical role in the management of health care, the system, its delivery and its organizations. This book examines the role of technology in the delivery of health care by physicians and other health care workers, and their respective roles in the management of health care technology. The complexity of the health care environment and the difficulties in managing technology in general (and in health care in particular) makes this book a landmark exploration for the purpose of creating in-roads into the largely uncharted territory of health care technology. The chapters in this book will introduce the horizons that are open for scholarly pursuit in this area. Managing Technology in Healthcare has two main objectives. First, to provide the reader with an overview of the main issues of concern and the topics of study in managing technology in health care. Second, to offer the reader specific knowledge embedded in the eleven chapters of the book, covering a broad range of topics of interest to health care and to R&D/technology scholars and practitioners.

The health care delivery system, its organizations, and its supporting industries are currently undergoing immense changes and at the center of this change is technology. This book is about the management of this technology. The authors refer to this new intellectual space as the Management of Medical Technology (MMT). From the core activities of delivering medical care, to the supporting industries producing technical systems, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, information technology, and finally to the insurers of health care - all of these demonstrate the central role technology plays in delivering health. Management of Medical Technology examines the many aspects of managing medical technology, discusses its key issues, and outlines how it can be managed more effectively. This is a foundational book in Kluwer's Series on MMT. It is designed for academics and students in all areas of management related to health care, as a text for related undergraduate and graduate courses, as well as a reference book for health care executives and managers of technology in industry. The book is divided into three complementary parts. Part 1 explores the theory of MMT and in six chapters outlines the new intellectual space of MMT and its theoretical background. Part 2 is dedicated to the practice of MMT. This part has six chapters and describes the two main empirical studies conducted by the authors on MMT; one study examined how hospitals currently manage medical technology and the second study investigated the management of medical information technology. Moreover, related to the practice of MMT, this part also discusses in detail issues of effectiveness of delivery, patient value and patientwelfare, and education in MMT. Part 3 is a thorough treatment of MMT cases in a variety of health care organizations, each describing a different phenomenon in the practice of MMT. Eleven cases are included, with discussion questions for use in the classroom.

Technology plays a critical role in the management of health care, the system, its delivery and its organizations. This book examines the role of technology in the delivery of health care by physicians and other health care workers, and their respective roles in the management of health care technology. The complexity of the health care environment and the difficulties in managing technology in general (and in health care in particular) makes this book a landmark exploration for the purpose of creating in-roads into the largely uncharted territory of health care technology. The chapters in this book will introduce the horizons that are open for scholarly pursuit in this area. Managing Technology in Healthcare has two main objectives. First, to provide the reader with an overview of the main issues of concern and the topics of study in managing technology in health care. Second, to offer the reader specific knowledge embedded in the eleven chapters of the book, covering a broad range of topics of interest to health care and to R&D/technology scholars and practitioners.