ABSTRACT
Healthcare is a knowledge intensive business. Making the best use of knowledge within any healthcare provider organization (hospital, clinic, pharmacy, physician private practice, etc.) is essential for optimal patient care as well as cutting and/or streamlining costs. Knowledge management (KM) in healthcare is about sharing know-how through collaboration and integration of systems to enable access to knowledge. Applying knowledge sharing and collaboration to healthcare would include sharing medical research, giving visibility to patient decisions, and collaboration between physicians and healthcare provider organizations. Collaborative work environments will bring more effective communication and more physician responsiveness to patients.
