Strategic knowledge management in healthcare: discovering priorities, interconnections and innovations

The strategic process of knowledge management (KM) aims to efficiently identify, create, share, and utilize knowledge, with demonstrated potential to enhance innovation and balance innovative forces. Within healthcare, KM plays a vital role in improving care quality, reducing costs, and promoting public health. However, managing knowledge in healthcare proves complex due to the high distribution and fragmentation of knowledge, notably clinical knowledge. While new technologies offer unique support in knowledge collection, management, and utilization, they also present significant challenges. The purpose of this study is to explore strategic knowledge management within the healthcare sector, focusing on identifying key priorities and understanding the interconnections between knowledge and management. To gain deeper insights into the underlying dynamics and connections between concepts, this study employs an advanced methodology centered on latent semantic analysis (LSA) and co-occurrence analysis. Through content analysis applied to a sample of 12 reports from supranational companies and consultants, the research aims to explore priorities in strategic knowledge management within the healthcare sector. The results of the analysis revealed several key findings regarding strategic knowledge management in the healthcare sector. Initially, an examination of the most frequent terms in the documents illustrated a predominant focus on organizations, patients, and workforce-related activities, indicating the significance of knowledge management across various professions. Notably, the increasing integration of new technologies and data-driven innovation emerged as crucial priorities, alongside a strong emphasis on patient-centric care. Moreover, the co-occurrence analysis identified six main clusters, highlighting the evolving landscape of healthcare, characterized by the adoption of medical devices, the transition towards a broader conceptual framing of healthcare as life sciences, and the strategic role of knowledge management in enhancing innovation processes. Latent Semantic Analysis (LSA) further elucidated the semantic relationships between words, emphasizing the importance of individual growth, corporate strategy, and resource management within an organizational context. Overall, the findings underscore the multifaceted nature of knowledge management and resource management in healthcare, providing valuable insights for strategic decision-making and innovation initiatives in the sector.