Making sense of pervasive healthcare: The role of knowledge management

Abstract

This brief chapter serves as an introduction to the section of the book dealing with KM aspects of pervasive health. It may well be that, to some, the notion of pervasive healthcare conjures images, which depict the following terms: wireless, technology, infrastructure, protocols, and standards. This overtly technical focus is then applied to the patient and their (improved) healthcare. However, the true power of pervasive computing for health lies not so much with the technology itself but rather with its judicious application to the healthcare (patient) domain. What improvements and efficiencies can it bring about in this regard?