Concentrating on the hospital and its variants, a panel of eminent academics and practitioners explores the major transformations that technological innovations have brought to the worldwide delivery of health care. This book spans a diversity of countries and health-care delivery systems but focuses primarily on the U.S., Europe, Japan, and Australia. Doctors and hospitals have long resisted joining the digital revolution, said The Wall Street Journal (June 10, 2002.) Now they have no choice. Concentrating on the hospital and its variants, a panel of eminent academics and practitioners explores the major transformations that technological innovations have brought to the worldwide delivery of health care. This book spans a diversity of countries and health-care delivery systems but focuses primarily on the U.S., Europe, Japan, and Australia. The book is divided into three parts:• Creating Frameworks, which describes organizational changes in future health-care delivery• Future Processes of Healthcare Delivery, which examines different processes of delivery, such as strategic planning, palliative care, and the impact of research knowledge• Emerging Technologies, which addresses technology's potential impact on future careThe breadth of contributions and the variety of topics covered make this a truly useful review of the origins and current state of the delivery health care, and what we might reasonably expect in the future. Designed for professionals and academics in health care and health-care technology management, the book will be equally important to people in related disciplines who are also affected in various ways by advances in the health-care system worldwide.