Improving the science of healthcare delivery and informatics using modeling approaches

The science of health care delivery and informatics is to be viewed as mutually connected disciplines and, therefore, the problems in both streams often occur concomitantly. For example, inefficiencies or ineffectiveness of Healthcare Information Technologies (HIT) quickly translates into poor healthcare delivery or vice versa. Research focusing on various decision making or decision support aspects of HIT and healthcare delivery is still sparse. We identify six key thematic areas that require significant attention from various researchers and stakeholder communities and emphasize on ways research in this space could further developed. We provide examples from the articles appearing in the special issue on healthcare modeling.