The economy we live in is constantly changing. Technology fuels challenging developments like digitalization, the internet of things, smart objects or cloud computing. No less significant are changes derived from the mindset of people interacting with those technologies. Producers, customers and users face rising complexity in technologies and handle steadily increasing amounts of information. At the same time, societies understand the need for a greener way of life and the importance of aligning their actions with strategies of sustainability. In the face of demographical change, the challenge is to create and provide products and services that address the needs of the aging population.

In this vibrant economic framework, changes tremendously influence man's most valuable asset: health. The health care sector is affected by the trends of technology push and shift of needs, but also affects the economic systems of regions and countries in return. The digitalization of society reduces information asymmetries between patients and medical experts. Patient empowerment challenges the patient-physician relationship. However, it is also a chance to integrate patients in decision-making or product development. As health care technologies become smarter and easier to use, the point of care shifts from hospitals to homes. With aging populations, the demand for health care services and its costs increase continuously. The societal trend towards “acting green” impacts medical supplies, medical products and even hospitals. All players need to enhance their sustainable use of resources. In the conflict of scarce resources and increasing demand, efficiency seems to be a decisive lever t o meet the challenges. Stakeholders like governmental or regulatory bodies, providers, suppliers and patients have to align their strategies and actions to achieve the common goal of efficiency.

The following book draws a vital picture of current challenges in health care management. Essays from different stakeholder perspectives summarize pressing hot topics and analyze their future potential in order to derive managerial implications.

• Adoption and diffusion of innovations in the health care system
• Acceptance and use of technology in health care
• Business models in different health care systems
• Trends in health care marketing
• Ecological issues in health care
• Economic trends in health care

• Low-cost innovations in health care
• E-health and telemedicine: experiences, opportunities & limitations
• Approaches to increase efficiency in health care provision (e.g., competition in health insurance, managed care)
• Approaches to improve the quality of care (e.g., physician incentive schemes, pay-for-performance)

• Consumer choice in health care (e.g., information requirements, social media aspects)
• Patient perception and valuation of health care quality
• Shared decision-making and patient integration

• Hospital competition: strategies and impact on health care provision
• Knowledge transfer in medical teams
• Stakeholder integration in decision-making for new technologies
• Green hospitals
• Managing occupational health

• New product development processes
• Open innovation in health care
• User aspects of new technologies in health care (e.g., usability)
• Integration of stakeholders in the product development process

• All chapter proposals will be subject to a double-blind peer review process. The submitting authors agree to participate as reviewers.
• Publishing language: English
• Manuscripts should be no longer than 3,000 words (excluding references and appendices)
• Important dates:

Submission of abstracts (500 words): May 31, 2013
Decision on abstracts: June 30, 2013
Full chapter submission: September 30, 2013
Final submission: January 05, 2014
Publication: Summer 2014

Dr. Sebastian Gurtner
Dr. Katja Soyez
Technische Universität Dresden
Department of Business and Economics
Research Group InnoTech4Health
01062 Dresden
www.InnoTech4Health.de
sebastian.gurtner@tu-dresden.de