title: Developing IT Infrastructure for Rural Hospitals: A Case Study of Benefits and Challenges of Hospital-to-Hospital Partnerships.
abstract: This article presents a study identifying benefits and challenges of a novel hospital-to-hospital information technology (IT) outsourcing partnership (HHP). The partnership is an innovative response to the problem that many smaller, rural hospitals face: to modernize their IT infrastructure in spite of a severe shortage of resources. The investigators studied three rural hospitals that outsourced their IT infrastructure, through an HHP, to a larger, more technologically advanced hospital in the region. The study design was based on purposive sampling and interviews of senior managers from the four hospitals. The results highlight the HHP's benefits and challenges from both the rural hospitals' and vendor hospital's perspectives. The HHP was considered a success: a key outcome was that it has improved the rural hospitals' IT infrastructure at an affordable cost. The investigators discuss key elements for creating a successful HHP and offer preliminary answers to the question of what it takes for an HHP to be successful.
authors.affiliation: College of Information Sciences and Technology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802-6823, USA. mreddy@ist.psu.edu
authors.forename: Madhu C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Reddy
authors.forename: Sandeep
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Purao
authors.forename: Mary
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kelly
mesh_terms: D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis; D006742:Hospital Bed Capacity; D006751:Hospital Information Systems / Q000191:economics / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006780:Hospitals, Rural / Q000458:organization & administration*; D007373:Interinstitutional Relations; D019982:Organizational Case Studies; D020416:Outsourced Services / Q000458:organization & administration*; D012041:Regional Medical Programs