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Geographic Information Systems in Health Care Services

Authors: Brian Hilton, Thomas Horan and Bengisu Tulu*

Abstract: Geographic information systems (GIS) have numerous applications in human health. This chapter opens with a brief discussion of the three dimensions of decision-making in organizations - operational control, management control, and strategic planning. These dimensions are then discussed in terms of three case studies: a practice improvement case study under operational control, a service-planning case study under management control, and a research case study under strategic planning. The discussion proceeds with an analysis of GIS contributions to three health care applications: medical/disability services (operational control/practice), emergency response (management control/planning), and infectious disease/SARS (strategic planning/research). The chapter concludes with a cross-case synthesis and discussion of how GIS could be integrated into health care management though Spatial Decision Support Systems and presents three keys issues to consider regarding the management of organizations: Data Integration for Operational Control, Planning Interorganizational Systems for Management Control, and Design Research for Strategic Planning.

Keywords: Not available

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*This study was conducted as part of a cooperative research agreement between Claremont Graduate University and the QTC Management, Inc.