The health care delivery system, its organizations, and its supporting industries are currently undergoing immense changes and at the center of this change is technology. This book is about the management of this technology. The authors refer to this new intellectual space as the Management of Medical Technology (MMT). From the core activities of delivering medical care, to the supporting industries producing technical systems, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, information technology, and finally to the insurers of health care - all of these demonstrate the central role technology plays in delivering health. Management of Medical Technology examines the many aspects of managing medical technology, discusses its key issues, and outlines how it can be managed more effectively. This is a foundational book in Kluwer's Series on MMT. It is designed for academics and students in all areas of management related to health care, as a text for related undergraduate and graduate courses, as well as a reference book for health care executives and managers of technology in industry. The book is divided into three complementary parts.

Part 1 explores the theory of MMT and in six chapters outlines the new intellectual space of MMT and its theoretical background. Part 2 is dedicated to the practice of MMT. This part has six chapters and describes the two main empirical studies conducted by the authors on MMT; one study examined how hospitals currently manage medical technology and the second study investigated the management of medical information technology. Moreover, related to the practice of MMT, this part also discusses in detail issues of effectiveness of delivery, patient value and patient welfare, and education in MMT. Part 3 is a thorough treatment of MMT cases in a variety of health care organizations, each describing a different phenomenon in the practice of MMT. Eleven cases are included, with discussion questions for use in the classroom.