Articles

To what degree can variations in readmission rates be explained on the level of the hospital? a multilevel study using a large Dutch database.

It is not clear which part of the variation in hospital readmissions can be attributed to the standard of care hospitals provide. This is in spite of their widespread use as an indicator of a lower quality of ...

Authors: Karin Hekkert, Rudolf B. Kool, Ester Rake, Sezgin Cihangir, Ine Borghans, Femke Atsma and Gert Westert

General Practitioners' recommendations of self-directed-exercises for musculoskeletal problems and perceived barriers and facilitators to doing so: a mixed methods study

Musculoskeletal problems substantially impact the demand for and the finances of the United Kingdom’s National Health Service. Some of this demand and cost could be alleviated if patients use self-directed-exe...

Authors: Toby Gillman, Kelly Ann Schmidtke, Victoria Manning and Ivo Vlaev

Effects of mixed provider payment systems and aligned cost sharing practices on expenditure growth management, efficiency, and equity: a structured review of the literature

Strategic purchasing of health care services has become a key policy measure on the path to achieving universal health coverage. National provider payment systems for health services are typically characterize...

Authors: Isabelle Feldhaus and Inke Mathauer

An assessment of a performance-based management agreement initiative in Ghana’s health service

As part of its efforts to improve efficiency, accountability and overall performance, the Ghana Health Service (GHS) introduced annual Performance-based Management Agreements (PMAs) in the year 2013. However, ...

Authors: Edmund Wedam Kanmiki, Ben Owusu Smith Bempah, John Koku Awoonor-Williams, Ayaga A. Bawah, Selassi Amah d’Almeida and Kassem M. Kassak

Impact of a peer-review network on the quality of inpatient low secure mental health services: cluster randomised control trial

Peer-review networks aim to help services to improve the quality of care they provide, however, there is very little evidence about their impact. We conducted a cluster randomized controlled trial of a peer-re...

Authors: Lina Aimola, Sarah Jasim, Neeraj Tripathi, Paul Bassett, Alan Quirk, Adrian Worrall, Sarah Tucker, Samantha Holder and Mike J. Crawford

Demonstrating a new approach to planning and monitoring rural medical training distribution to meet population need in North West Queensland

Improving the health of rural populations requires developing a medical workforce with the right skills and a willingness to work in rural areas. A novel strategy for achieving this aim is to align medical tra...

Authors: Matthew R. McGrail, Deborah J. Russell, Belinda G. O’Sullivan, Carole Reeve, Lee Gasser and David Campbell

A systematic mixed studies review on Organizational Participatory Research: towards operational guidance

Organizational Participatory Research (OPR) seeks organizational learning and/or practice improvement. Previous systematic literature reviews described some OPR processes and outcomes, but the link between the...

Authors: Paula Louise Bush, Pierre Pluye, Christine Loignon, Vera Granikov, Michael T. Wright, Carol Repchinsky, Jeannie Haggerty, Gillian Bartlett, Sharon Parry, Jean-François Pelletier and Ann C. Macaulay

Implementation of the Chronic Disease Care System and its association with health care costs and continuity of care in Korean adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus

The Chronic Disease Care System (CDCS) has been implemented in Korea to encourage treatment continuity in chronic disease patients. This study investigated the effect of the introduction of the CDCS on health ...

Authors: Woorim Kim, Yoon Soo Choy, Sang Ah Lee and Eun-Cheol Park

Can single disease payment system based on clinical pathway reduce hospitalization costs in rural area? A case study of uterine leiomyoma in Anhui, China

Single disease payment program based on clinical pathway (CP-based SDP) plays an increasingly important role in reducing health expenditure in china and there is a clear need to explore the scheme from differe...

Authors: Jing Peng, Mengran Zhang, Pingfeng Yu and Nan Wang

Using co-design to develop interventions to address health literacy needs in a hospitalised population

Health literacy describes the cognitive and social skills which determine the motivation and ability of individuals to gain access to, understand and use information in ways which promote and maintain good hea...

Authors: Rebecca L. Jessup, Richard H. Osborne, Rachelle Buchbinder and Alison Beauchamp

Does diverse staff and skill mix of teams impact quality of care in long-term elderly health care? An exploratory case study

Many European countries face challenges in long-term care for older people, such as the growing number of older people requiring care, the increasing complexity of their health care problems, and a decreasing ...

Authors: L. Koopmans, N. Damen and C. Wagner

A cross-sectional survey of the knowledge, attitudes and practices regarding tuberculosis among general practitioners working in municipalities with and without asylum centres in eastern Norway

The number of tuberculosis (TB) cases in Norway is increasing due to immigration from countries with high TB prevalence and few studies have been conducted on general practitioners’ (GPs) knowledge of TB in lo...

Authors: Oddvar Aadnanes, Selina Wallis and Ingunn Harstad

A categorisation of problems and solutions to improve patient referrals from primary to specialty care

Improving access to specialty care has been identified as a critical issue in the delivery of health services, especially given an increasing burden of chronic disease. Identifying and addressing problems that...

Authors: James Greenwood-Lee, Lauren Jewett, Linda Woodhouse and Deborah A. Marshall

Presenteeism exposures and outcomes amongst hospital doctors and nurses: a systematic review

Presenteeism is a behavior in which an employee is physically present at work with reduced performance due to illness or other reasons. Hospital doctors and nurses are more inclined to exhibit presenteeism tha...

Authors: Juliana Nga Man Lui, Ellie Bostwick Andres and Janice Mary Johnston

Introducing post-discharge malaria chemoprevention (PMC) for management of severe anemia in Malawian children: a qualitative study of community health workers’ perceptions and motivation

Severe malarial anaemia is one of the leading causes of paediatric hospital admissions in Malawi. Post-discharge malaria chemoprevention (PMC) is the intermittent administration of full treatment courses of an...

Authors: Thandile Nkosi-Gondwe, Bjarne Robberstad, Björn Blomberg, Kamija S. Phiri and Siri Lange

Infectious disease consultations in a Japanese tertiary care teaching hospital: a retrospective review of 508 cases

Limited epidemiological data are available at tertiary care teaching hospitals in Japan. We reviewed infectious disease (ID) consultations in a tertiary acute care teaching hospital in Japan.

Authors: Yoshiro Hadano and Takanori Matsumoto

Understanding Indigenous Australians’ experiences of cancer care: stakeholders’ views on what to measure and how to measure it

Disparities in cancer outcomes amongst Indigenous Australians reflect a pattern of reduced access to and engagement with health services. A growing emphasis on patient-centred care has increased efforts to mea...

Authors: Monica Green, Kate Anderson, Kalinda Griffiths, Gail Garvey and Joan Cunningham

Content analysis of locum tenens recruitment emails for anesthesiologists

Locum tenens continues to be an increasingly utilized employment option among healthcare organizations to cope with short-term provider vacancies. There exist no studies that explore the job characteristics of...

Authors: Matthew DiMeglio, William Furey and Krzysztof Laudanski

Prevalence of HIV infection and uptake of HIV/AIDS services among fisherfolk in landing Islands of Lake Victoria, north western Tanzania

New HIV infections in Tanzania have been decreasing, however some populations remain at higher risk. Despite of that, evidence on the magnitude of HIV infection and the associated factors and HIV/AIDS services...

Authors: Anthony Kapesa, Namanya Basinda, Elias C. Nyanza, Martha F. Mushi, Ola Jahanpour and Sospatro E. Ngallaba

What effect do point of care fees have on childhood consultations in general practice?

General practice (GP) has historically been central to the prevention and treatment of childhood illnesses. In Ireland, this role has recently expanded with the introduction of free GP care for children aged u...

Authors: Andrew O’Regan, Walter Cullen, Clodagh O’Gorman, Louise Hickey, Eimear O’Neill, Jane O’Doherty and Ailish Hannigan

Patients’ perception of privacy and confidentiality in the emergency department of a busy obstetric unit

Privacy and confidentiality are central components of patient care and are of particular importance in obstetrics and gynaecology, where clinical situations of a sensitive nature regularly occur. The layout of...

Authors: Lucia Hartigan, Leanne Cussen, Sarah Meaney and Keelin O’Donoghue

A prospective investigation of direct and indirect home care activities in three rural Norwegian municipalities

Home care providers struggle to manage their day-to-day work, which is increasing in volume and complexity. In general, they are expected to achieve more with the same planning methods, resources, and capacity...

Authors: Berit Irene Helgheim, Birgithe E. Sandbaek and Line Slyngstad

An evidence-based approach to understanding the competency development needs of the health service management workforce in Australia

Competent managers are essential to the productivity of organisations and the sustainability of health systems. Effective workforce development strategies sensitive to the current competency development needs ...

Authors: Zhanming Liang, Felicity C. Blackstock, Peter F Howard, David S Briggs, Sandra G Leggat, Dennis Wollersheim, David Edvardsson and Aziz Rahman

The Improvement Readiness scale of the SCORE survey: a metric to assess capacity for quality improvement in healthcare

Quality improvement efforts are inextricably linked to the readiness of healthcare workers to take them on. The current study aims to clarify the nature and measurement of Improvement Readiness (IR) by 1) exam...

Authors: Kathryn C. Adair, Krystina Quow, Allan Frankel, Paul J. Mosca, Jochen Profit, Allison Hadley, Michael Leonard and J. Bryan Sexton

Precision of provider licensure data for mapping member accessibility to Medicaid managed care provider networks

In July 2018, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) updated its Medicaid Managed Care (MMC) regulations that govern network and access standards for enrollees. There have been few published stud...

Authors: Nathaniel Bell, Ana Lòpez-DeFede, Rebecca C. Wilkerson and Kathy Mayfield-Smith

Impact of Xpert MTB/RIF and decentralized care on linkage to care and drug-resistant tuberculosis treatment outcomes in Johannesburg, South Africa

In 2011, South Africa improved its ability to test for rifampicin-resistant TB (RR-TB) by introducing GeneXpert MTB/RIF. At the same time, the South African National TB program adopted a policy decentralized, ...

Authors: Denise Evans, Tembeka Sineke, Kathryn Schnippel, Rebecca Berhanu, Caroline Govathson, Andrew Black, Lawrence Long and Sydney Rosen

Cost-of-illness of type 2 diabetes mellitus in low and lower-middle income countries: a systematic review

Diabetes is one of the world’s most prevalent and serious non-communicable diseases (NCDs). It is a leading cause of death, disability and financial loss; moreover, it is identified as a major threat to global...

Authors: Afsana Afroz, Mohammed J. Alramadan, Md Nassif Hossain, Lorena Romero, Khurshid Alam, Dianna J. Magliano and Baki Billah

State variation in opioid treatment policies and opioid-related hospital readmissions

State policy approaches designed to provide opioid treatment options have received significant attention in addressing the opioid epidemic in the United States. In particular, expanded availability of naloxone...

Authors: Janice Blanchard, Audrey J. Weiss, Marguerite L. Barrett, Kimberly W. McDermott and Kevin C. Heslin

Self-reported use of family physician, chiropractor and physiotherapy services among adult Canadians with chronic back disorders: an observational study

Chronic back disorders (CBD) are prevalent, costly, and among the most common reasons for seeking primary care; however, little is known regarding the comparative use of family physician, chiropractic, and phy...

Authors: Brenna Bath, Josh Lawson, Dennis Ma and Catherine Trask

Qualitative study exploring the phenomenon of multiple electronic prescribing systems within single hospital organisations

A previous census of electronic prescribing (EP) systems in England showed that more than half of hospitals with EP reported more than one EP system within the same hospital. Our objectives were to describe th...

Authors: Zamzam Ahmed, Yogini Jani and Bryony Dean Franklin

EMPATHIC-N in a Greek-Cypriot sample: confirming its factorial structure

Family-centered care has been receiving increased attention during the last decades and health professionals recognize family satisfaction with care as an important health indicator. The Empowerment of Parents...

Authors: Elena Papamichael, Myria Ioannou and Michael A. Talias

Economic evaluations in community aged care: a systematic review

This paper reports the methods and findings from a systematic review of economic evaluations conducted in the community aged care sector between 2000 and 2016.

Authors: Norma B. Bulamu, Billingsley Kaambwa and Julie Ratcliffe

The prevalence and clinical seriousness of medication discrepancies identified upon hospital admission of pediatric patients

Medication discrepancies are seen frequently in hospital setting upon admission or discharge. Medication Reconciliation service is a practice designed to ensure that patients’ medications are ordered in a corr...

Authors: Rana Abu Farha, Khawla Abu Hammour, Sayida Al-Jamei, Raja AlQudah and Mohammed Zawiah

Using the behavior change wheel to identify barriers to and potential solutions for primary care clinical guideline use in four provinces in South Africa

Clinical practice guidelines risk having little impact on healthcare if not effectively implemented. Theory informed, targeted implementation may maximise their impact. Our study explored barriers to and facil...

Authors: Tamara Kredo, Sara Cooper, Amber Abrams, Jocelyn Muller, Jimmy Volmink and Salla Atkins

Am I seeing things through the eyes of patients? An exercise in bolstering patient attentiveness and empathy

Modern marketing thought heavily emphasizes the need for healthcare providers to possess a customer orientation, placing patients at the focal point of attention within health and medical establishments. This ...

Authors: James K. Elrod and John L. Fortenberry Jr.

Healthcare establishments as owner-operators of digital billboards: making the most of excellent roadside visibility and high traffic counts to better connect with patients

Given the importance of communicating effectively with current and prospective patients, healthcare institutions must direct considerable energies toward achieving associated excellence. Pursuits usually cente...

Authors: James K. Elrod and John L. Fortenberry Jr.

Establishing Good Samaritan programs in healthcare institutions: a method for enhancing patient experiences and increasing loyalty

Healthcare institutions deliver essential services that practically everyone needs at least periodically over the course of their lives. Hospital admissions, in particular, place patients in circumstances very...

Authors: James K. Elrod and John L. Fortenberry Jr.

Formulating productive marketing communications strategy: a major health system’s experience

Healthcare establishments serve as key community resources, bringing into locales a wealth of resources aimed at enhancing and improving health and wellness. Without effective communications, current and prosp...

Authors: James K. Elrod and John L. Fortenberry Jr.

Engaging patients, enhancing patient experiences: insights, innovations, and applications

Authors: Stephen J. O’Connor and Katherine A. Meese

Driving brand equity in health services organizations: the need for an expanded view of branding

Branding—the assignment of names, logos, slogans, and related elements of identity to institutions and their product offerings for the purpose of conveying desired images to target audiences—is of paramount im...

Authors: James K. Elrod and John L. Fortenberry Jr.

Target marketing in the health services industry: the value of journeying off the beaten path

Target marketing, a practice used to more effectively address the wants and needs of customers, involves three interrelated activities: market segmentation, targeting, and product positioning. The practice fol...

Authors: James K. Elrod and John L. Fortenberry Jr.

Catalyzing marketing innovation and competitive advantage in the healthcare industry: the value of thinking like an outsider

Marketing arguably is the most critical administrative responsibility associated with the pursuit and realization of growth and prosperity, making prowess in the discipline essential for any healthcare institu...

Authors: James K. Elrod and John L. Fortenberry Jr.

Identifying MSM-competent physicians in China: a national online cross-sectional survey among physicians who see male HIV/STI patients

Men who have sex with men (MSM) are at high risk of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection and sexually transmitted infection (STI) in China. Inadequate clinical services and poor clinical competency amo...

Authors: Peipei Zhao, Bolin Cao, Cedric H. Bien-Gund, Weiming Tang, Jason J. Ong, Yi Ding, Weiying Chen, Joseph D. Tucker and Zhenzhou Luo

The development and validation of a scale to explore staff experience of governance of economic efficiency and quality (GOV-EQ) of health care

In publicly funded health care systems, governance models are developed to push public service providers to use tax payers’ money more efficiently and maintain a high quality of service. Although this implies ...

Authors: Sara Korlén, Anne Richter, Isis Amer-Wåhlin, Peter Lindgren and Ulrica von Thiele Schwarz

E-IMR: e-health added to face-to-face delivery of Illness Management & Recovery programme for people with severe mental illness, an exploratory clustered randomized controlled trial

E-mental health holds promise for people with severe mental illness, but has a limited evidence base. This study explored the effect of e-health added to face-to-face delivery of the Illness Management and Rec...

Authors: Titus A. A. Beentjes, Peter J. J. Goossens, Hester Vermeulen, Steven Teerenstra, Maria W. G. Nijhuis-van der Sanden and Betsie G. I. van Gaal

Differences between the perspectives of physicians and patients on the potential barriers to optimal diabetes control in China: a multicenter study

To investigate the potential barriers to optimal diabetes control by evaluating the different perspectives of physicians and patients on such matters in China.

Authors: Chun Liu, Shaoyong Xu, Jie Ming, Aihua Jia, Yingji Wei, Hui Li, Yang Jiao, Mingxi Song, Yadong Zhao, Yafang Du, Wenjuan Yang, Xiaoqiang Lu, Shengqi Shi, Hui Tong, Guangtang Jia, Guohua Zhao…

Are health facilities well equipped to provide basic quality childbirth services under the free maternal health policy? Findings from rural Northern Ghana

Basic inputs and infrastructure including drugs, supplies, equipment, water and electricity are required for the provision of quality care. In the era of the free maternal health policy in Ghana, it is unclear...

Authors: Philip Ayizem Dalinjong, Alex Y. Wang and Caroline S. E. Homer

The impact of health literacy on shared decision making before elective surgery: a propensity matched case control analysis

Poor health literacy affects over 90 million Americans. The primary aim of the study was to evaluate a possible association between health literacy and decision conflict in surgical patients.

Authors: Gildasio S. De Oliveira Jr, Martin Errea, Jane Bialek, Mark C. Kendall and Robert J. McCarthy

Transitional care interventions reduce unplanned hospital readmissions in high-risk older adults

Acute hospital services account for the largest proportion of health care system budgets, and older adults are the most frequent users. As a result, older people who have been recently discharged from hospital...

Authors: Kathleen Finlayson, Anne M. Chang, Mary D. Courtney, Helen E. Edwards, Anthony W. Parker, Kyra Hamilton, Thu Dinh Xuan Pham and Jane O’Brien

Improving TB case notification in northern Uganda: evidence of a quality improvement-guided active case finding intervention

Strategies to identify and treat undiagnosed prevalent cases that have not sought diagnostic services on their own, are necessary to treat TB in patients earlier and interrupt transmission. Late presentation f...

Authors: Esther Karamagi, Simon Sensalire, Martin Muhire, Herbert Kisamba, John Byabagambi, Mirwais Rahimzai, Frank Mugabe, Upenytho George, Jacqueline Calnan, Dejene Seyoum and Estella Birabwa