WorldWideScience

Sample records for patient page services

  1. Resources and Fact Sheets on Servicing Motor Vehicle Air Conditioners (Summary Page)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Page provides links to resources that can assist motor vehicle air-conditioning system technicians in understanding system servicing requirements and best practices, and learn about alternative refrigerants.

  2. Business Systems Branch Abilities, Capabilities, and Services Web Page

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cortes-Pena, Aida Yoguely

    2009-01-01

    During the INSPIRE summer internship I acted as the Business Systems Branch Capability Owner for the Kennedy Web-based Initiative for Communicating Capabilities System (KWICC), with the responsibility of creating a portal that describes the services provided by this Branch. This project will help others achieve a clear view ofthe services that the Business System Branch provides to NASA and the Kennedy Space Center. After collecting the data through the interviews with subject matter experts and the literature in Business World and other web sites I identified discrepancies, made the necessary corrections to the sites and placed the information from the report into the KWICC web page.

  3. Medical Services: Patient Administration

    Science.gov (United States)

    2001-03-12

    5–16, page 41 Final disposition procedures for military patients • 5–17, page 42 Military patients requiring continued hospitalization or nursing ...general anesthetic, intravenous sedation , or nitrous oxide sedation . (3) All nonoperative procedures that involve more than a slight risk of harm to the...aid or palliative treatment, (b) Is likely to result in any disability for work beyond the day or occurrence, (c) Appears to require prolonged

  4. Pharmacists' beliefs and values about advertising patient oriented services.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Segal, R; Smith, D P

    1986-03-01

    Pharmacists' beliefs about the utility of advertising sources and values for advertising outcomes were studied to learn about the decision-making process for advertising patient oriented pharmacy services in the ambulatory setting. The data suggest that pharmacists in the sample believe advertising through word-of-mouth communication is more likely to result in positive outcomes than either yellow pages or local newspaper advertising.

  5. Serum protein profile of Malaria patients through SDS-PAGE method ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Serum protein profile of Malaria patients through SDS-PAGE method. ... reliable method in the diagnosis of antibodies produced against Plasmodium spps. ... of malaria patients may be undertaken for study to develop possible future vaccine.

  6. Improving Interdisciplinary Provider Communication Through a Unified Paging System.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heidemann, Lauren; Petrilli, Christopher; Gupta, Ashwin; Campbell, Ian; Thompson, Maureen; Cinti, Sandro; Stewart, David A

    2016-06-01

    Interdisciplinary communication at a Veterans Affairs (VA) academic teaching hospital is largely dependent on alphanumeric paging, which has limitations as a result of one-way communication and lack of reliable physician identification. Adverse patient outcomes related to difficulty contacting the correct consulting provider in a timely manner have been reported. House officers were surveyed on the level of satisfaction with the current VA communication system and the rate of perceived adverse patient outcomes caused by potential delays within this system. Respondents were then asked to identify the ideal paging system. These results were used to develop and deploy a new Web site. A postimplementation survey was repeated 1 year later. This study was conducted as a quality improvement project. House officer satisfaction with the preintervention system was 3%. The majority used more than four modalities to identify consultants, with 59% stating that word of mouth was a typical source. The preferred mode of paging was the university hospital paging system, a Web-based program that is used at the partnering academic institution. Following integration of VA consulting services within the university hospital paging system, the level of satisfaction improved to 87%. Significant decreases were seen in perceived adverse patient outcomes (from 16% to 2%), delays in patient care (from 90% to 16%), and extended hospitalizations (from 46% to 4%). Our study demonstrates significant improvement in physician satisfaction with a newly implemented paging system that was associated with a decreased perceived number of adverse patient events and delays in care.

  7. THE NEW PURCHASING SERVICE PAGE NOW ON THE WEB!

    CERN Multimedia

    SPL Division

    2000-01-01

    Users of CERN's Purchasing Service are encouraged to visit the new Purchasing Service web page, accessible from the CERN homepage or directly at: http://spl-purchasing.web.cern.ch/spl-purchasing/ There, you will find answers to questions such as: Who are the buyers? What do I need to know before creating a DAI? How many offers do I need? Where shall I send the offer I received? I know the amount of my future requirement, how do I proceed? How are contracts adjudicated at CERN? Which exhibitions and visits of Member State companies are foreseen in the future? A company I know is interested in making a presentation at CERN, who should they contact? Additionally, you will find information concerning: The Purchasing procedures Market Surveys and Invitations to Tender The Industrial Liaison Officers appointed in each Member State The Purchasing Broker at CERN

  8. Training Activity Summary Page (TASP) Campus

    Data.gov (United States)

    U.S. Department of Health & Human Services — The Training Activity Summary Page (formerly the Training Exit Survey Cover Page) dataset contains data about each training event. This dataset includes information...

  9. Going, going, still there: using the WebCite service to permanently archive cited web pages.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eysenbach, Gunther; Trudel, Mathieu

    2005-12-30

    Scholars are increasingly citing electronic "web references" which are not preserved in libraries or full text archives. WebCite is a new standard for citing web references. To "webcite" a document involves archiving the cited Web page through www.webcitation.org and citing the WebCite permalink instead of (or in addition to) the unstable live Web page. This journal has amended its "instructions for authors" accordingly, asking authors to archive cited Web pages before submitting a manuscript. Almost 200 other journals are already using the system. We discuss the rationale for WebCite, its technology, and how scholars, editors, and publishers can benefit from the service. Citing scholars initiate an archiving process of all cited Web references, ideally before they submit a manuscript. Authors of online documents and websites which are expected to be cited by others can ensure that their work is permanently available by creating an archived copy using WebCite and providing the citation information including the WebCite link on their Web document(s). Editors should ask their authors to cache all cited Web addresses (Uniform Resource Locators, or URLs) "prospectively" before submitting their manuscripts to their journal. Editors and publishers should also instruct their copyeditors to cache cited Web material if the author has not done so already. Finally, WebCite can process publisher submitted "citing articles" (submitted for example as eXtensible Markup Language [XML] documents) to automatically archive all cited Web pages shortly before or on publication. Finally, WebCite can act as a focussed crawler, caching retrospectively references of already published articles. Copyright issues are addressed by honouring respective Internet standards (robot exclusion files, no-cache and no-archive tags). Long-term preservation is ensured by agreements with libraries and digital preservation organizations. The resulting WebCite Index may also have applications for research

  10. Default Parallels Plesk Panel Page

    Science.gov (United States)

    services that small businesses want and need. Our software includes key building blocks of cloud service virtualized servers Service Provider Products Parallels® Automation Hosting, SaaS, and cloud computing , the leading hosting automation software. You see this page because there is no Web site at this

  11. Training Activity Summary Page (TASP) State and Tribe

    Data.gov (United States)

    U.S. Department of Health & Human Services — The Training Activity Summary Page (formerly the Training Exit Survey Cover Page) dataset contains data about each training event. This dataset includes information...

  12. A network system of medical and welfare information service for the patients, their families, hospitals, local governments, and commercial companies in a medical service area.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Matsumura, Kouji; Antoku, Yasuaki; Inoue, Reika; Kobayashi, Mariko; Hanada, Eisuke; Iwasaki, Yasutaka; Kumagai, Yasushi; Iwamoto, Haruya; Tsuchihashi, Saburo; Iwaki, Miho; Kira, Jun-ichi; Nose, Yoshiaki

    2002-06-01

    A service information system using the Internet, which connected the various people who are related to medical treatment and nursing welfare, was constructed. An intractable neurological disease patient who lives in the Onga district, Fukuoka, Japan, and the people who are related to the service were chosen as test users in an experimental model. The communicated service information was divided into open-use data (electronic bulletin board, welfare service, medical care service, and link to private company service home page) and closed-use data (the individual patient's hysterics). The open data server was installed in an Internet service provider The open data could be accessed not only by the patient, but also by the family, information center, companies, hospitals, and nursing commodity store related to patient's nursing and medical treatment. Closed data server was installed in an information center (public health center). Only patient and information center staff can access the closed data. Patients should search and collect the service information of various medical and welfare services by themselves. Therefore, services prepared for the patient are difficult to know, and they cannot be sufficiently utilized. With the use of this information system, all usable service information became accessible, and patients could easily use it. The electronic bulletin board system (BBS) was used by patients for knowing each other or each others' family, and was used as a device for exchange of wisdom. Also, the questions for the specialist, such as doctor, dentist, teacher, physical therapist, care manager, welfare office staff member, and public health nurse, and the answers were shown on the BBS. By arranging data file, a reference of various patients in question and answer, which appeared in this BBS, was made as "advisory hints" and was added to the open data. The advisory hints became the new service information for the patients and their family. This BBS discovered

  13. An Analysis of Academic Library Web Pages for Faculty

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gardner, Susan J.; Juricek, John Eric; Xu, F. Grace

    2008-01-01

    Web sites are increasingly used by academic libraries to promote key services and collections to teaching faculty. This study analyzes the content, location, language, and technological features of fifty-four academic library Web pages designed especially for faculty to expose patterns in the development of these pages.

  14. A thorough spring-clean for CERN's Web pages

    CERN Multimedia

    2001-01-01

    This coming Tuesday will see the unveiling of CERN's new user pages on the Web. Their simplified layout and design will make everybody's lives a whole lot easier. Stand by for Tuesday 17 April when, as announced in the Weekly Bulletin of 2 April (n°14/2001), the new newly-designed users welcome page will be hitting our screens as the default CERN home page. But don't worry, if you've got the blues for the good old blue-green home page it's still in service and, to ensure a smooth transition, will be maintained in parallel until 25 May. But in all likelihood you'll be quickly won over by the new-look pages, which are so much simpler to use. Welcome to the new Web! The aim of this revamp, led by the WPE (Web Public Education) group, is to simplify and introduce a more logical hierarchy into the menus and welcome pages on CERN's Intranet. In a second stage, the 'General Public' pages will get a similar makeover. The fact is that the number of links on the user pages, and in particular the welcome page...

  15. Negative captopril renography on patients with renin mediated hypertension due to page kidney and reninoma

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yung, B.C.K.; Wong, K.W.; Fan, W.C.; Chan, J.C.S.; Lo, S.S.S.

    1999-01-01

    Through a mechanism similar to renal artery stenosis, patients with reninoma and page kidney also suffered from renin mediated hypertension. Captopril renograms performed on our patients with the latter two conditions, however, did not yield diagnostic findings. Therefore, equivocal or negative captopril renography cannot serve to rule out conditions with elevated renin other than renal artery stenosis

  16. Banner Pages on the New Printing Infrastructure

    CERN Multimedia

    2006-01-01

    Changes to the printing service were announced in CERN Bulletin No. 37-38/2006. In the new infrastructure, the printing of the banner page has been disabled in order to reduce paper consumption. Statistics show that the average print job size is small and the paper savings by not printing the banner page could be up to 20 %. When each printer is moved onto the new infrastructure banner page printing will be disabled. In the case of corridor printers which are shared by several users, the Helpdesk can re-enable banner page printing upon request. We hope ultimately to arrive at a situation where banner page printing is enabled on fewer than 10% of printers registered on the network. You can still print banner pages on printers where it has been centrally disabled by using Linux. Simply add it to your print job on the client side by adding the -o job-sheets option to your lpr command. Detailed documentation is available on each SLC3/4 under the following link: http://localhost:631/sum.html#4_2 Please bea...

  17. Uniform Page Migration Problem in Euclidean Space

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Amanj Khorramian

    2016-08-01

    Full Text Available The page migration problem in Euclidean space is revisited. In this problem, online requests occur at any location to access a single page located at a server. Every request must be served, and the server has the choice to migrate from its current location to a new location in space. Each service costs the Euclidean distance between the server and request. A migration costs the distance between the former and the new server location, multiplied by the page size. We study the problem in the uniform model, in which the page has size D = 1 . All request locations are not known in advance; however, they are sequentially presented in an online fashion. We design a 2.75 -competitive online algorithm that improves the current best upper bound for the problem with the unit page size. We also provide a lower bound of 2.732 for our algorithm. It was already known that 2.5 is a lower bound for this problem.

  18. NOAA History - Main Page

    Science.gov (United States)

    NOAA History Banner gold bar divider home - takes you to index page about the site contacts noaa americas science and service noaa legacy 1807 - 2007 NOAA History is an intrinsic part of the history of Initiative scroll divider More NOAA History from Around the Nation scroll divider drawing of a tornado NOAA

  19. [An evaluation of the quality of health web pages using a validated questionnaire].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Conesa Fuentes, Maria del Carmen; Aguinaga Ontoso, Enrique; Hernández Morante, Juan José

    2011-01-01

    The objective of the present study was to evaluate the quality of general health information in Spanish language web pages, and the official Regional Services web pages from the different Autonomous Regions. It is a cross-sectional study. We have used a previously validated questionnaire to study the present state of the health information on Internet for a lay-user point of view. By mean of PageRank (Google®), we obtained a group of webs, including a total of 65 health web pages. We applied some exclusion criteria, and finally obtained a total of 36 webs. We also analyzed the official web pages from the different Health Services in Spain (19 webs), making a total of 54 health web pages. In the light of our data, we observed that, the quality of the general information health web pages was generally rather low, especially regarding the information quality. Not one page reached the maximum score (19 points). The mean score of the web pages was of 9.8±2.8. In conclusion, to avoid the problems arising from the lack of quality, health professionals should design advertising campaigns and other media to teach the lay-user how to evaluate the information quality. Copyright © 2009 Elsevier España, S.L. All rights reserved.

  20. Digital marketing in travel industry. Case: Hotel landing page optimization

    OpenAIRE

    Bitkulova, Renata

    2017-01-01

    Landing page optimization is implementation of the principles of digital service design to improve the website’s user experience. Well done landing page optimization can have a significant positive effect on the usability and profitability of the website. The objective of the study was to optimize the Russian language version of Vuokatti landing page in order to increase conversion, defined as the number of clicks to accommodation search button. A literature survey was made to determine ...

  1. CT paging arteriography with a multidetector-row CT. Advantages in splanchnic arterial imaging

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kobayashi, Seiji [Keio Univ., Tokyo (Japan). School of Medicine

    1999-11-01

    The purpose of this study is to assess the utility of CT paging arteriography with a multidetector-row CT as a replacement for conventional angiography in the evaluation of splanchnic arterial anomalies. Sixty-three patients underwent CT paging arteriography with a multidetector-row CT. In the 56 patients with conventional angiographic correlation, there was only one minor disagreement with CT paging arteriography. In the 7 patients who underwent IVDSA (intra venous digital subtraction angiography), CT paging arteriography defined four hepatic arterial anomalies which could not be depicted by IVDSA. In conclusion, CT paging arteriography provides noninvasive means to identify splanchnic arterial anomalies. (author)

  2. Social media for physiotherapy clinics: considerations in creating a Facebook page

    OpenAIRE

    Ahmed, Osman; Claydon, L.S.; Ribeiro, D.C.; Arumugam, A.; Higgs, C.; Baxter, G.D.

    2013-01-01

    Social media websites play a prominent role in modern society, and the most popular of these websites is Facebook. Increasingly, physiotherapy clinics have begun to utilize Facebook in order to create pages to publicize their services. There are many factors to consider in the planning, implementing, and maintenance of Facebook pages for physiotherapy clinics, including ethical and privacy issues. The primary purpose of creating a page must be clearly defined, with dedicated clinicians given ...

  3. Accounting Programs' Home Pages: What's Happening.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peek, Lucia E.; Roxas, Maria L.

    2002-01-01

    Content analysis of 62 accounting programs' websites indicated the following: 53% include mission statements; 62.9% list accreditation; many faculty biographies and personal pages used inconsistent formats; provision of information on financial aid, student organizations, career services, and certified public accountant requirements varied. Many…

  4. The Service Pledge for Breast Cancer – Improving services through patient involvement

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Freeman, Shauna; Kester, Ross; Greenbrook, Sally; O’Connor, Ruairi; Rawlings, Sarah

    2012-01-01

    A guiding principle for today’s National Health Service is for services to reflect the needs and choices of patients and carers. There is evidence that meaningful patient involvement and engagement of people in their own care supports relationships with NHS professionals, and improves the quality and experience of healthcare. This paper reviews the Service Pledge for Breast Cancer, developed by the charity Breakthrough Breast Cancer as a tried and tested route to delivering effective patient involvement and examines some implications for radiotherapy services. The Service Pledge, which has benefitted an estimated 19,000 patients across the UK, is a tool that enables healthcare professionals and patients to work in partnership to improve local breast cancer services. Based on the results of a patient survey and in depth interviews to determine to what extent standards of care are being met at each participating hospital, improvement goals are identified helping turn the patient voice into constructive action. Improvement goals resulting from the Service Pledge range from small changes that make a real difference to patients, through to much larger changes to local breast services. To date, there has been limited involvement of radiotherapy staff in the Service Pledge, yet radiographers play an important role in the treatment of breast cancer as most patients will be offered radiotherapy. However, radiotherapy services have been criticised for not being patient -centred and for not providing enough information, psychological and emotional support before, during and after treatment. It is contended that radiographers are ideally placed to address many of these concerns and engage further with patients through projects such as the Service Pledge, empowering their patients to voice what is most important to them and driving the quality improvements that emerge.

  5. Evaluation of emergency department nursing services and patient satisfaction of services.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mollaoğlu, Mukadder; Çelik, Pelin

    2016-10-01

    To identify nursing services and assess patient satisfaction in patients who present to the emergency department. Emergency nursing care is a significant determinant of patient satisfaction. Patient satisfaction is often regarded as a reliable indicator of the quality of services provided in the emergency department. This is a descriptive study. Eighty-four patients who presented to the university emergency department were included in the study. The study data were collected by the Patient Information Form and the Satisfaction Level Form. Emergency nursing services, including history taking, assessing vital signs, preparing the patient for an emergency intervention, oxygen therapy, drug delivery and blood-serum infusion were shown to be more commonly provided compared with other services such as counselling the patients and the relatives about their care or delivering educational and psychosocial services. However, 78·6% of the patients were satisfied with their nursing services. The highest satisfaction rates were observed in the following sub-dimensions of the Satisfaction Level Form: availability of the nurse (82·1%), behaviour of the nurse towards the patient (78·6%) and the frequency of nursing rounds (77·4%). The most common practices performed by nurses in the emergency department were physical nursing services. Patient satisfaction was mostly associated with the availability of nurses when they were needed. Our results suggest that in addition to the physical care, patients should also receive education and psychosocial care in the emergency department. We believe that this study will contribute to the awareness and understanding of principles and concepts of emergency nursing, extend the limits of nursing knowledge and abilities, and improve and maintain the quality of clinical nursing education and practice to train specialist nurses with high levels of understanding in ethical, intellectual, administrative, investigative and professional issues.

  6. Service quality, trust, and patient satisfaction in interpersonal-based medical service encounters.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chang, Ching-Sheng; Chen, Su-Yueh; Lan, Yi-Ting

    2013-01-16

    Interaction between service provider and customer is the primary core of service businesses of different natures, and the influence of trust on service quality and customer satisfaction could not be ignored in interpersonal-based service encounters. However, lack of existing literature on the correlation between service quality, patient trust, and satisfaction from the prospect of interpersonal-based medical service encounters has created a research gap in previous studies. Therefore, this study attempts to bridge such a gap with an evidence-based practice study. We adopted a cross-sectional design using a questionnaire survey of outpatients in seven medical centers of Taiwan. Three hundred and fifty copies of questionnaire were distributed, and 285 valid copies were retrieved, with a valid response rate of 81.43%. The SPSS 14.0 and AMOS 14.0 (structural equation modeling) statistical software packages were used for analysis. Structural equation modeling clarifies the extent of relationships between variables as well as the chain of cause and effect. Restated, SEM results do not merely show empirical relationships between variables when defining the practical situation. For this reason, SEM was used to test the hypotheses. Perception of interpersonal-based medical service encounters positively influences service quality and patient satisfaction. Perception of service quality among patients positively influences their trust. Perception of trust among patients positively influences their satisfaction. According to the findings, as interpersonal-based medical service encounters will positively influence service quality and patient satisfaction, and the differences for patients' perceptions of the professional skill and communication attitude of personnel in interpersonal-based medical service encounters will influence patients' overall satisfaction in two ways: (A) interpersonal-based medical service encounter directly affects patient satisfaction, which represents a

  7. 78 FR 14359 - Verizon Business Networks Services, Inc., Specialist-Tech Customer Service, Philadelphia, PA...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-03-05

    ... Business Networks Services, Inc., Specialist-Tech Customer Service, Philadelphia, PA; Verizon Business Networks Services, Inc., Specialist-Tech Customer Service, Tampa, Florida; Amended Certification Regarding... should [[Page 14360

  8. Experiencing health care service quality: through patients' eyes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schembri, Sharon

    2015-02-01

    The primary aim of the present study was to consider health care service quality from the patients' perspective, specifically through the patient's eyes. A narrative analysis was performed on 300 patient stories. This rigorous analysis of patient stories is designed to identify and describe health care service quality through patients' eyes in an authentic and accurate, experiential manner. The findings show that there are variant and complex ways that patients experience health care service quality. Patient stories offer an authentic view of the complex ways that patients experience health care service quality. Narrative analysis is a useful tool to identify and describe how patients experience health care service quality. Patients experience health care service quality in complex and varying ways.

  9. Patient Satisfaction With Health Services At The Out-patient ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Journal Home > Vol 5, No 1 (2013) > ... Introduction: The patient's view as a recipient of health care service is rarely ... This study was aimed at assessing patient satisfaction with healthcare services received at a tertiary hospital in Nigeria.

  10. Telecommunications Relay Services

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... Home » Health Info » Hearing, Ear Infections, and Deafness Telecommunications Relay Services On this page: What are telecommunication ... additional information about telecommunication relay services? What are telecommunication relay services? Title IV of the Americans with ...

  11. Service quality, trust, and patient satisfaction in interpersonal-based medical service encounters

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-01-01

    Background Interaction between service provider and customer is the primary core of service businesses of different natures, and the influence of trust on service quality and customer satisfaction could not be ignored in interpersonal-based service encounters. However, lack of existing literature on the correlation between service quality, patient trust, and satisfaction from the prospect of interpersonal-based medical service encounters has created a research gap in previous studies. Therefore, this study attempts to bridge such a gap with an evidence-based practice study. Methods We adopted a cross-sectional design using a questionnaire survey of outpatients in seven medical centers of Taiwan. Three hundred and fifty copies of questionnaire were distributed, and 285 valid copies were retrieved, with a valid response rate of 81.43%. The SPSS 14.0 and AMOS 14.0 (structural equation modeling) statistical software packages were used for analysis. Structural equation modeling clarifies the extent of relationships between variables as well as the chain of cause and effect. Restated, SEM results do not merely show empirical relationships between variables when defining the practical situation. For this reason, SEM was used to test the hypotheses. Results Perception of interpersonal-based medical service encounters positively influences service quality and patient satisfaction. Perception of service quality among patients positively influences their trust. Perception of trust among patients positively influences their satisfaction. Conclusions According to the findings, as interpersonal-based medical service encounters will positively influence service quality and patient satisfaction, and the differences for patients’ perceptions of the professional skill and communication attitude of personnel in interpersonal-based medical service encounters will influence patients’ overall satisfaction in two ways: (A) interpersonal-based medical service encounter directly

  12. Service quality, trust, and patient satisfaction in interpersonal-based medical service encounters

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chang Ching-Sheng

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Interaction between service provider and customer is the primary core of service businesses of different natures, and the influence of trust on service quality and customer satisfaction could not be ignored in interpersonal-based service encounters. However, lack of existing literature on the correlation between service quality, patient trust, and satisfaction from the prospect of interpersonal-based medical service encounters has created a research gap in previous studies. Therefore, this study attempts to bridge such a gap with an evidence-based practice study. Methods We adopted a cross-sectional design using a questionnaire survey of outpatients in seven medical centers of Taiwan. Three hundred and fifty copies of questionnaire were distributed, and 285 valid copies were retrieved, with a valid response rate of 81.43%. The SPSS 14.0 and AMOS 14.0 (structural equation modeling statistical software packages were used for analysis. Structural equation modeling clarifies the extent of relationships between variables as well as the chain of cause and effect. Restated, SEM results do not merely show empirical relationships between variables when defining the practical situation. For this reason, SEM was used to test the hypotheses. Results Perception of interpersonal-based medical service encounters positively influences service quality and patient satisfaction. Perception of service quality among patients positively influences their trust. Perception of trust among patients positively influences their satisfaction. Conclusions According to the findings, as interpersonal-based medical service encounters will positively influence service quality and patient satisfaction, and the differences for patients’ perceptions of the professional skill and communication attitude of personnel in interpersonal-based medical service encounters will influence patients’ overall satisfaction in two ways: (A interpersonal-based medical

  13. PAGING IN COMMUNICATIONS

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    2016-01-01

    A method and an apparatus are disclosed for managing paging in a communications system. The method may include, based on a received set of physical resources, determining, in a terminal apparatus, an original paging pattern defining potential time instants for paging, wherein the potential time...... instants for paging include a subset of a total amount of resources available at a network node for paging....

  14. Inpatient satisfaction and usage patterns of personalized smart bedside station system for patient-centered service at a tertiary university hospital.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ryu, Borim; Kim, Seok; Lee, Kee-Hyuck; Hwang, Hee; Yoo, Sooyoung

    2016-11-01

    Bedside stations, also known as bedside terminals, are in place to enhance the quality and experience of a hospital's healthcare service delivery. The purpose of this study was to identify information needs and overall satisfaction with the personalized patient bedside system, called Smart Bedside Station (SBS) system, embedded in a tertiary general university hospital. End-user responses on the satisfaction survey and system usage logs of the SBS system were collected and analyzed. For the user opinion survey, 156 nurses and 1914 patients, their family members, or caregivers participated during the evaluation period of 2013 to 2014 in this study. All working nurses in the SBS-installed ward were answered the paper-based evaluation, for complete enumeration survey. Inpatients were voluntary participated to deliver the online questionnaire on the SBS menu. We also explored system log data including page calls and usage time from December 2013 to 2015. Regarding the relationship of overall satisfaction of the SBS with patient's characteristics, patient's education status and degree of familiarity with the smart device were statistically significant. From the analysis of system logs, Personalized My Menu(28.0%) was the most frequently used menu item (except for TV and Internet entertainment service use of 62.7%),it provides individual health information, such as laboratory test results, hospital fee check, message logs, daily medication information, and meal information. Next frequently used menus were information support(4.9%) which deliver hospital guide and health information and convenience service ordering(4.4%) such as meal order, bed sheet change. Satisfaction survey results and log data results show that the personalized service enhances the user satisfaction during hospital admission. Our post-implementation experience and subsequent assessment of SBS system is capable of providing insights into improving the hospital information system and service contents

  15. A framework for automatic annotation of web pages using the Google Rich Snippets vocabulary

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Meer, van der J.; Boon, F.; Hogenboom, F.P.; Frasincar, F.; Kaymak, U.

    2011-01-01

    One of the latest developments for the Semantic Web is Google Rich Snippets, a service that uses Web page annotations for displaying search results in a visually appealing manner. In this paper we propose the Automatic Review Recognition and annOtation of Web pages (ARROW) framework, which is able

  16. Community pharmacy-based asthma services--what do patients prefer?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Naik Panvelkar, Pradnya; Armour, Carol; Saini, Bandana

    2010-12-01

    Patient preferences can influence the outcomes of treatment and so understanding and organizing health-care services around these preferences is vital. To explore patient preferences for types of community pharmacy-based asthma services, to investigate the influence of "experience" in molding preferences for such services, and to identify aspects of the services that patients prefer over others. Semistructured face-to-face interviews were conducted with a convenience sample of two types of asthma patients: (1) those naïve to a specialized asthma service and (2) those who had experienced a specialized asthma service. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and thematically analyzed. Eighteen interviews were conducted (8 experienced patients, 10 naïve patients). The majority of the patients wanted the pharmacist to play a greater role in their asthma management. Patients experiencing increased levels of service had increased levels of expectations as well as more specific preferences for various aspects of the service. The key aspects of an asthma service that all patients wanted their pharmacists to provide were the provision of information about asthma and its medications, lung function testing and monitoring of their asthma, and checking/correcting their inhaler technique. Patients also expressed a desire for skilled communication and behavioral aspects from the pharmacist such as friendliness, empathy, attentiveness, and dedicated time. Patients highlighted the importance of privacy in the pharmacy. There was a high level of satisfaction toward the currently delivered asthma service among both naïve and experienced patients. The provision of the specialized service was associated with increased patient loyalty to the particular pharmacy. All patients indicated a willingness to participate in future pharmacy-delivered specialized asthma services. Elements of the specialized pharmacy-based asthma services important from a patient's perspective were

  17. Medium-sized Universities Connect to Their Libraries: Links on University Home Pages and User Group Pages

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pamela Harpel-Burk

    2006-03-01

    Full Text Available From major tasks—such as recruitment of new students and staff—to the more mundane but equally important tasks—such as providing directions to campus—college and university Web sites perform a wide range of tasks for a varied assortment of users. Overlapping functions and user needs meld to create the need for a Web site with three major functions: promotion and marketing, access to online services, and providing a means of communication between individuals and groups. In turn, college and university Web sites that provide links to their library home page can be valuable assets for recruitment, public relations, and for helping users locate online services.

  18. The patient as service co-creator

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Moll, Jonas

    2010-01-01

    This paper reports on insights from designing support for patients as participants in their own treatment and care. Informed by the notion of service, the paper illustrates how the new design reconfigures the role of patients to stage a more participatory and co-created practice of care....... By conceptualizing the patient as service co-creator, the paper then explores the consequences and opportunities of this reconfigured role....

  19. Web server for priority ordered multimedia services

    Science.gov (United States)

    Celenk, Mehmet; Godavari, Rakesh K.; Vetnes, Vermund

    2001-10-01

    In this work, our aim is to provide finer priority levels in the design of a general-purpose Web multimedia server with provisions of the CM services. The type of services provided include reading/writing a web page, downloading/uploading an audio/video stream, navigating the Web through browsing, and interactive video teleconferencing. The selected priority encoding levels for such operations follow the order of admin read/write, hot page CM and Web multicasting, CM read, Web read, CM write and Web write. Hot pages are the most requested CM streams (e.g., the newest movies, video clips, and HDTV channels) and Web pages (e.g., portal pages of the commercial Internet search engines). Maintaining a list of these hot Web pages and CM streams in a content addressable buffer enables a server to multicast hot streams with lower latency and higher system throughput. Cold Web pages and CM streams are treated as regular Web and CM requests. Interactive CM operations such as pause (P), resume (R), fast-forward (FF), and rewind (RW) have to be executed without allocation of extra resources. The proposed multimedia server model is a part of the distributed network with load balancing schedulers. The SM is connected to an integrated disk scheduler (IDS), which supervises an allocated disk manager. The IDS follows the same priority handling as the SM, and implements a SCAN disk-scheduling method for an improved disk access and a higher throughput. Different disks are used for the Web and CM services in order to meet the QoS requirements of CM services. The IDS ouput is forwarded to an Integrated Transmission Scheduler (ITS). The ITS creates a priority ordered buffering of the retrieved Web pages and CM data streams that are fed into an auto regressive moving average (ARMA) based traffic shaping circuitry before being transmitted through the network.

  20. Experiences of patients and service providers with out-patient rehabilitation services in a rehabilitation centre in the Western Cape Province

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anne Kumurenzi

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Background: Rehabilitation is important for persons with disabilities as it contributes to their sense of autonomy, self-worth and social participation, and improves their quality of life. Improving the quality of rehabilitation services requires the dialogue of patients’ perceptions with those of service providers, in order to recommend informed reform. Objective: The objective was to explore the experiences of persons with physical disabilities and service providers, regarding the multi-disciplinary rehabilitation services provided at a community-based out-patient rehabilitation centre. Methods: A qualitative, exploratory study design was used to collect the data. A focus group was conducted with conveniently selected persons with physical disabilities. Three in-depth interviews were conducted with purposively selected key informants. All ethical considerations were adhered to during the implementation of the study. Results: Patients and service providers had different experiences regarding accessibility to rehabilitation services, and similar experiences with patient education and intensity of rehabilitation. Although the patients experienced that the service providers had sufficient knowledge and skills to manage them, services providers expressed that they lacked certain skills. Conclusions: The experiences expressed highlighted the need to improve rehabilitation services in terms of increasing the capacity of service providers and providing transport services for persons with disabilities.

  1. Assessing the performance of mental health service facilities for meeting patient priorities and health service responsiveness.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bramesfeld, A; Stegbauer, C

    2016-10-01

    The World Health Organisation has defined health service responsiveness as one of the key-objectives of health systems. Health service responsiveness relates to the ability to respond to service users' legitimate expectations on non-medical issues when coming into contact with the services of a healthcare system. It is defined by the areas showing respect for persons and patient orientation. Health service responsiveness is particularly relevant to mental health services, due to the specific vulnerability of mental health patients but also because it matches what mental health patients consider as good quality of care as well as their priorities when seeking healthcare. As (mental) health service responsiveness applies equally to all concerned services it would be suitable as a universal indicator for the quality of services' performance. However, performance monitoring programs in mental healthcare rarely assess health service performance with respect to meeting patient priorities. This is in part due of patient priorities as an outcome being underrepresented in studies that evaluate service provision. The lack of studies using patient priorities as outcomes transmits into evidence based guidelines and subsequently, into underrepresentation of patient priorities in performance monitoring. Possible ways out of this situation include more intervention studies using patient priorities as outcome, considering evidence from qualitative studies in guideline development and developing performance monitoring programs along the patient pathway and on key-points of relevance for service quality from a patient perspective.

  2. Entertainment Pages.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Druce, Mike

    1981-01-01

    Notes that the planning of an effective entertainment page in a school newspaper must begin by establishing its purpose. Examines all the elements that contribute to the makeup of a good entertainment page. (RL)

  3. Ambulance services in London and Great Britain from 1860 until today: a glimpse of history gleaned mainly from the pages of contemporary journals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pollock, Alexander

    2013-03-01

    Little has been published on the subject of civil ambulance services and their development from the mid-19th century in the UK until modern times. There is limited secondary literature available which provides useful background information on the subject and most organisations may give brief histories of their early days but these sources lack historical adequacy in terms of detail. This article shows part of the uncertain path which the history followed towards the service which we enjoy today. From the pages of the British Medical Journal and the Lancet and Hansard, the battle to set up the service is followed and an indication of the drivers towards change over the period is revealed in the attitudes expressed. In particular, the two World Wars are seen to be the stepwise stimuli to providing a necessary service to the British population where the will to achieve this had hitherto been lacking at a parliamentary level. The history of the London Ambulance Service is chosen because more is written about it in these journals but services in other British cities and the USA are mentioned since they played a part in influencing change.

  4. MedlinePlus Connect: Web Service

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... MedlinePlus Connect → Web Service URL of this page: https://medlineplus.gov/connect/service.html MedlinePlus Connect: Web ... will change.) Old URLs New URLs Web Application https://apps.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/services/mpconnect.cfm? ...

  5. Marketing to older patients: perceptions of service quality.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brand, R R; Cronin, J J; Routledge, J B

    1997-01-01

    Marketing has taken on increased importance in the United States' health care industry, especially with respect to Americans aged 55 and older. Given that health care costs account for 14 percent of the GNP of the U.S., and that older Americans represent nearly 25 percent of all health care expenditures, the ability of physicians to assess the perceptions of service quality, service value, and satisfaction and the effects of these variables on patient loyalty with respect to older patients is very important. A comprehensive model of patient behavior is introduced and tested. The results suggest the medical office staff and the expertise of the physician play particularly important roles in older patients' perceptions of service quality. In addition, strong relationships were found between (1) Service Quality and Satisfaction, (2) Satisfaction and Patient Behavior (repeated use of the physician), and (3) Service Quality and Patient Behavior. Conclusions and suggestions for future research are offered.

  6. Full page insight

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Cortsen, Rikke Platz

    2014-01-01

    Alan Moore and his collaborating artists often manipulate time and space by drawing upon the formal elements of comics and making alternative constellations. This article looks at an element that is used frequently in comics of all kinds – the full page – and discusses how it helps shape spatio......, something that it shares with the full page in comics. Through an analysis of several full pages from Moore titles like Swamp Thing, From Hell, Watchmen and Promethea, it is made clear why the full page provides an apt vehicle for an apocalypse in comics....

  7. Limitations of existing web services

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    First page Back Continue Last page Overview Graphics. Limitations of existing web services. Uploading or downloading large data. Serving too many user from single source. Difficult to provide computer intensive job. Depend on internet and its bandwidth. Security of data in transition. Maintain confidentiality of data ...

  8. JALFHCC - Patient Registration Service

    Data.gov (United States)

    Department of Veterans Affairs — The Captain James A. Lovell Federal Health Care Center (JALFHCC) Patient Registration Service supports the operation of the first VA/Navy Federal Health Care Center...

  9. A Runtime System for Interactive Web Services

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Brabrand, Claus; Møller, Anders; Sandholm, Anders

    1999-01-01

    Interactive web services are increasingly replacing traditional static web pages. Producing web services seems to require a tremendous amount of laborious low-level coding due to the primitive nature of CGI programming. We present ideas for an improved runtime system for interactive web services ...... built on top of CGI running on virtually every combination of browser and HTTP/CGI server. The runtime system has been implemented and used extensively in , a tool for producing interactive web services.......Interactive web services are increasingly replacing traditional static web pages. Producing web services seems to require a tremendous amount of laborious low-level coding due to the primitive nature of CGI programming. We present ideas for an improved runtime system for interactive web services...

  10. A new podiatry service for patients with arthritis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rome, Keith; Erikson, Kathryn; Ng, Anthony; Gow, Peter J; Sahid, Hazra; Williams, Anita E

    2013-03-01

    The aims of this study were to identify the impact of a new podiatric rheumatology service on reducing foot pain, impairment and disability in patients with foot problems associated with rheumatic disease, and to report on patient satisfaction with the service. A retrospective study of 245 patients with rheumatic disease at Counties Manukau DHB was conducted. Foot pain, impairment and disability were measured using a self-reporting patient outcome measure, the Foot Function Index. A range of podiatric interventions were reported. A self-administered, postal patient satisfaction questionnaire was sent to 148 patients. Over two-thirds of patients were observed with hallux valgus (bunions). The results demonstrate a significant reduction in foot pain (p<0.001) from initial visit to second visit (18% reduction in pain). A significant decrease in foot disability (p=0.04) was found from initial visit to second visit. No significant differences were seen with foot impairment (p=0.78). A variety of intervention measures were used with 24% of patients being prescribed foot orthoses and 28% of patients given footwear advice. The patient satisfaction survey found 84% of patients reported they were satisfied with the new service and 80% of patients reported that the service helped with their foot problems. The current service meets the needs of patients who suffer from rheumatological foot conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis and gout. The need for good foot education, provision of foot orthoses and advice on footwear are crucial to reduce the burden on patients with rheumatological foot conditions.

  11. Measurement of patient satisfaction with community pharmacy services: a review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Naik Panvelkar, Pradnya; Saini, Bandana; Armour, Carol

    2009-10-01

    The aim of this review is to conduct an in-depth analysis of the available literature in order to identify and evaluate studies measuring patient satisfaction with pharmacy services delivered by pharmacists in a community setting. An extensive literature search was conducted in five databases (Medline, Scopus, Embase, Psychinfo, International Pharmaceutical Abstracts) using the search terms "patient/client/consumer satisfaction" AND "community pharmacy/pharmacies" AND "pharmacy service/pharmaceutical services/pharmacy program/intervention/intervention studies". Only those articles where the main focus was measuring patient satisfaction with services delivered in community pharmacies were included in the review. Patient satisfaction was explored with three different levels of pharmacy services -- general services, intervention services and cognitive services. Twenty-four articles measuring patient satisfaction with community pharmacy services were retrieved. Of these, eleven measured patient satisfaction with general services, six measured satisfaction with intervention services and seven measured satisfaction with cognitive services. The majority of studies reviewed had adopted and measured satisfaction as a multidimensional construct. None of the studies reviewed tested any theoretical models of satisfaction. Further a lack of consistent instruments measuring patient satisfaction was observed, with most of the reviewed studies using self developed, non-validated or ad hoc instruments with items from various previously published papers. The review also observed high levels of patient satisfaction with pharmacy services be they general, intervention or cognitive services. This review found that patient satisfaction has been measured within the community pharmacy context to a certain degree. Further research is needed to develop and test instruments based on theoretical frameworks, to test satisfaction pre and post hoc and in well designed randomized controlled

  12. Early supported discharge services for stroke patients: a meta-analysis of individual patients' data.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Langhorne, Peter; Taylor, Gillian; Murray, Gordon; Dennis, Martin; Anderson, Craig; Bautz-Holter, Erik; Dey, Paola; Indredavik, Bent; Mayo, Nancy; Power, Michael; Rodgers, Helen; Ronning, Ole Morten; Rudd, Anthony; Suwanwela, Nijasri; Widen-Holmqvist, Lotta; Wolfe, Charles

    Stroke patients conventionally undergo a substantial part of their rehabilitation in hospital. Services have been developed that offer patients early discharge from hospital with rehabilitation at home (early supported discharge [ESD]). We have assessed the effects and costs of such services. We did a meta-analysis of data from individual patients who took part in randomised trials that recruited patients with stroke in hospital to receive either conventional care or any ESD service intervention that provided rehabilitation and support in a community setting with the aim of shortening the duration of hospital care. The primary outcome was death or dependency at the end of scheduled follow-up. Outcome data were available for 11 trials (1597 patients). ESD services were mostly provided by specialist multidisciplinary teams to a selected group (median 41%) of stroke patients admitted to hospital. There was a reduced risk of death or dependency equivalent to six (95% CI one to ten) fewer adverse outcomes for every 100 patients receiving an ESD service (p=0.02). The hospital stay was 8 days shorter for patients assigned ESD services than for those assigned conventional care (pstroke patients with mild to moderate disability. Appropriately resourced ESD services provided for a selected group of stroke patients can reduce long-term dependency and admission to institutional care as well as shortening hospital stays.

  13. Customer Satisfaction in Internal Customer Service : Case: Abloy Oy Internal Customer Service

    OpenAIRE

    Turunen, Susanna

    2011-01-01

    ABSTRACT Turunen, Susanna Marita 2011. Customer Satisfaction in Internal Customer Service. Case: Abloy Oy Internal Customer Service. Master’s thesis. Kemi-Tornio University of Applied Sciences. Business and Culture. Pages 73. Appendix 1. This thesis discusses and studies service quality and customer satisfaction in internal customer service. The main objective is to find out what the service quality level in the internal customer service at Abloy Oy is and whether there exists a diffe...

  14. Maximizing collections from patient services billing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Orenstein, Gil C; Kaye, Alan David; Fox, Charles J; Urman, Richard D

    2014-01-01

    The field of medical billing and collections continues to evolve along with current developments in U.S. healthcare reform. Although there has been a significant shift of payment responsibility from third-party payers to patients, many practices are not equipped to handle this change. As patients' financial obligations increase, the physician's ability to collect from patients will become increasingly important. Inability to collect bills receivable can adversely affect the revenue cycle of the practice. Solutions include improvement of the point-of-service collection processes, properly trained office staff, written financial policies, and the use of technology to facilitate online payments. Patients should fully understand their financial responsibilities and options available to them for payment of services rendered.

  15. Users page feedback

    CERN Multimedia

    2010-01-01

    In October last year the Communication Group proposed an interim redesign of the users’ web pages in order to improve the visibility of key news items, events and announcements to the CERN community. The proposed update to the users' page (right), and the current version (left, behind) This proposed redesign was seen as a small step on the way to much wider reforms of the CERN web landscape proposed in the group’s web communication plan.   The results are available here. Some of the key points: - the balance between news / events / announcements and access to links on the users’ pages was not right - many people asked to see a reversal of the order so that links appeared first, news/events/announcements last; - many people felt that we should keep the primary function of the users’ pages as an index to other CERN websites; - many people found the sections of the front page to be poorly delineated; - people do not like scrolling; - there were performance...

  16. Emergency service admissions of patients with burn injury

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sadiye Yolcu

    2013-09-01

    Full Text Available Objective: In this study, we aimed to investigate the propertiesof burn injured patients who admitted to our hospitalemergency service.Methods: Patients were detected from the hospital recordsof emergency service during six months period andwere divided into five groups according to their ages (60 years. Age, gender totalbody surface area (TBSA, mechanism of injury and theoutcome of emergency evaluation were recorded.Results: Totally 111619 patients admitted to our emergencyservice between 01.07.2011 and 31.12.2011. Duringsix months, 2349 males and 1960 females totally4309 patients were burn injured patients. 1773 patientswere between 0-10 years, 1083 patients were 11-20years, 735 patients were between 21 and 40, 361 patientswere between 41 and 60 and 357 patients were over 60years. Most of the patients were treated in the emergencyservice (90.1%. 0-10% TBSA patients constituted 94.2%.This ratio for burn area >40% was 0.6%. Hot liquid burn(vapored water, milk etc. was 60.2%. There was a significantrelation between mechanism of burn injury andage groups (p<0.05. No corrosive and sunburn injuriesdetermined in females. Age groups were related with hospitalization(p<0.05. The highest intensive care unit admissionwas found in the 0-10 age group (1.3%.Conclusion: Emergency service is the first admission departmentof burn injury patients. Knowing the propertiesof burn injury patients, would help hard-working emergencydoctors in triage of these patients. Also, reportingthe data of emergency service burn injury patients wouldbe helpful for further studies. J Clin Exp Invest 2013; 4(3: 285-288Key words: Burn injury, emergency service, total body surface area

  17. Mobile Cloud-Computing-Based Healthcare Service by Noncontact ECG Monitoring

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ee-May Fong

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available Noncontact electrocardiogram (ECG measurement technique has gained popularity these days owing to its noninvasive features and convenience in daily life use. This paper presents mobile cloud computing for a healthcare system where a noncontact ECG measurement method is employed to capture biomedical signals from users. Healthcare service is provided to continuously collect biomedical signals from multiple locations. To observe and analyze the ECG signals in real time, a mobile device is used as a mobile monitoring terminal. In addition, a personalized healthcare assistant is installed on the mobile device; several healthcare features such as health status summaries, medication QR code scanning, and reminders are integrated into the mobile application. Health data are being synchronized into the healthcare cloud computing service (Web server system and Web server dataset to ensure a seamless healthcare monitoring system and anytime and anywhere coverage of network connection is available. Together with a Web page application, medical data are easily accessed by medical professionals or family members. Web page performance evaluation was conducted to ensure minimal Web server latency. The system demonstrates better availability of off-site and up-to-the-minute patient data, which can help detect health problems early and keep elderly patients out of the emergency room, thus providing a better and more comprehensive healthcare cloud computing service.

  18. Measuring patient-perceived hospital service quality: a conceptual framework.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pai, Yogesh P; Chary, Satyanarayana T

    2016-04-18

    Purpose - Although measuring healthcare service quality is not a new phenomenon, the instruments used to measure are timeworn. With the shift in focus to patient centric processes in hospitals and recognizing healthcare to be different compared to other services, service quality measurement needs to be tuned specifically to healthcare. The purpose of this paper is to design a conceptual framework for measuring patient perceived hospital service quality (HSQ), based on existing service quality literature. Design/methodology/approach - Using HSQ theories, expanding existing healthcare service models and literature, a conceptual framework is proposed to measure HSQ. The paper outlines patient perceived service quality dimensions. Findings - An instrument for measuring HSQ dimensions is developed and compared with other service quality measuring instruments. The latest dimensions are in line with previous studies, but a relationship dimension is added. Practical implications - The framework empowers managers to assess healthcare quality in corporate, public and teaching hospitals. Originality/value - The paper helps academics and practitioners to assess HSQ from a patient perspective.

  19. Patient Awareness and Expectations of Pharmacist Services During Hospital Stay.

    Science.gov (United States)

    King, Philip K; Martin, Steven J; Betka, Eric M

    2017-10-01

    There are insufficient data in the United States regarding patient awareness and expectations of hospital pharmacist availability and services. The objective of this research is to assess patient awareness and expectations of hospital pharmacist services and to determine whether a marketing campaign for pharmacist services increases patient awareness and expectations. Eligible inpatients were surveyed before and after implementation of a hospital-wide pharmacist services marketing campaign (12 items; Likert scale of 1 [strongly disagree] to 4 [strongly agree]; maximum total score of 48) regarding awareness of pharmacist services. The primary outcome was the change in median total survey scores from baseline. Other outcomes included the frequency of patient requests for pharmacists. Similar numbers of patients completed the survey before and after the campaign (intervention, n = 140, vs control, n = 147). Awareness of pharmacist availability and services was increased (41 [interquartile ranges, IQRs: 36-46] vs 37 [IQR 31-43]; P marketing campaign implementation. Awareness among inpatients of pharmacist services is low. Marketing pharmacist availability and services to patients in the hospital improves awareness and expectations for pharmacist-provided care and increases the frequency of patient-initiated interaction between pharmacists and patients. This could improve patient outcomes as pharmacists become more integrally involved in direct patient care.

  20. Sleep Apnea Information Page

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... Page You are here Home » Disorders » All Disorders Sleep Apnea Information Page Sleep Apnea Information Page What research is being done? ... Institutes of Health (NIH) conduct research related to sleep apnea in laboratories at the NIH, and also ...

  1. NRPB patient dosimetry service

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shrimpton, P.; Hillier, M.; Bungay, D.; Wall, B.

    1994-01-01

    For nearly 20 years, thermoluminescent dosemeters (TLDs) have been used by NRPB to investigate the doses received by patients undergoing diagnostic examinations with x-rays, and these measurements have formed the basis for national recommendations on patient protection. Monitoring typical levels of patient dose should represent an essential element of routine quality assurance in x-ray departments. In order to promote more widespread measurements in hospitals, NRPB has drawn on a wealth of experience to establish a high-quality service providing TLDs for medical dosimetry by post. (author)

  2. 75 FR 29914 - Telecommunications Relay Services, Speech-to-Speech Services, E911 Requirements for IP-Enabled...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-05-28

    ... FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION 47 CFR Part 64 [CG Docket No. 03-123; WC Docket No. 05-196; FCC 08-275] Telecommunications Relay Services, Speech-to-Speech Services, E911 Requirements for IP... with the Commission's Telecommunications Relay Services, [[Page 29915

  3. Service quality of hospital outpatient departments: patients' perspective.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zarei, Ehsan

    2015-01-01

    Assessment of patient perceptions of health service quality as an important element in quality assessments has attracted much attention in recent years. The purpose of this paper is to assess the service quality of hospital outpatient departments affiliated to Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences from the patients' perspective. This cross-sectional study was conducted in 2014 in Tehran, Iran. The study samples included 500 patients who were selected by multi-stage random sampling from four hospitals. The data collection instrument was a questionnaire consisting of 50 items, and the validity and reliability of the questionnaire were confirmed. For data analysis, exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, Friedman test, and descriptive statistics were used through LISREL 8.54 and SPSS 18 applications. Eight significant factors were extracted for outpatient service quality, which explained about 67 per cent of the total variance. Physician consultation, information provided to the patient, and the physical environment of the clinic were the three determining factors of the quality of outpatient services. The highest and lowest perceptions were related to physician consultation and perceived waiting time dimension, respectively. The mean score of patients' perception of outpatient service quality was 3.89 (±0.60). About 59.5 per cent of patients assessed the quality of outpatient services as good, 38.2 per cent as moderate, and 2.3 per cent as poor. Practical implications - The instrument developed for this study is valid and reliable, and it can help hospital managers to identify the areas needing improvement and correction. According to the findings of this study, the majority of patients had a positive experience with outpatient departments of teaching hospitals, and the services provided in these centres were of adequate quality, based on patient assessments.

  4. IDENTITY THEFT SERVICES: Services Offer Some Benefits but Are Limited in Preventing Fraud

    Science.gov (United States)

    2017-03-01

    17-254 Identity Theft Services standards. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain sufficient, appropriate evidence to... audited financial statements. Page 34 GAO-17-254 Identity Theft Services Although the websites of many identity theft services ...reasonable assurance that significant decisions on the use of identity theft services are appropriately documented. We provided a draft of this

  5. Senior and Disabilities Services

    Science.gov (United States)

    State Employees Division of Senior and Disabilities Services DHSS State of Alaska Home Divisions and ; Assistance Senior Benefits Program Medicare Substance Abuse Treatment Alaska Tribal Child Welfare Compact ; Senior and Disabilities Services Page Content Director Duane Mayes photo image. Duane Mayes Director

  6. Building National Infrastructures for Patient-Centred Digital Services

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Thorseng, Anne; Jensen, Tina Blegind

    2015-01-01

    Patient-centred digital services are increasingly gaining impact in the healthcare sector. The premise is that patients will be better equipped for taking care of their own health through instant access to relevant information and by enhanced electronic communication with healthcare providers. One...... infrastructure theory, we highlight the enabling and constraining dynamics when designing and building a national infrastructure for patient-centred digital services. Furthermore, we discuss how such infrastructures can accommodate further development of services. The findings show that the Danish national e...

  7. The Effect of Hospital Service Quality on Patient's Trust.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zarei, Ehsan; Daneshkohan, Abbas; Khabiri, Roghayeh; Arab, Mohammad

    2015-01-01

    The trust is meant the belief of the patient to the practitioner or the hospital based on the concept that the care provider seeks the best for the patient and will provide the suitable care and treatment for him/her. One of the main determinants of patient's trust is the service quality. This study aimed to examine the effect of quality of services provided in private hospitals on the patient's trust. In this descriptive cross-sectional study, 969 patients were selected using the consecutive method from eight private general hospitals of Tehran, Iran, in 2010. Data were collected through a questionnaire containing 20 items (14 items for quality, 6 items for trust) and its validity and reliability were confirmed. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and multivariate regression. The mean score of patients' perception of trust was 3.80 and 4.01 for service quality. Approximately 38% of the variance in patient trust was explained by service quality dimensions. Quality of interaction and process (P quality of the environment had no significant effect on the patients' degree of trust. The interaction quality and process quality were the key determinants of patient's trust in the private hospitals of Tehran. To enhance the patients' trust, quality improvement efforts should focus on service delivery aspects such as scheduling, timely and accurate doing of the service, and strengthening the interpersonal aspects of care and communication skills of doctors, nurses and staff.

  8. Readability and quality of wikipedia pages on neurosurgical topics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Modiri, Omeed; Guha, Daipayan; Alotaibi, Naif M; Ibrahim, George M; Lipsman, Nir; Fallah, Aria

    2018-03-01

    Wikipedia is the largest online encyclopedia with over 40 million articles, and generating 500 million visits per month. The aim of this study is to assess the readability and quality of Wikipedia pages on neurosurgical related topics. We selected the neurosurgical related Wikipedia pages based on the series of online patient information articles that are published by the American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS). We assessed readability of Wikipedia pages using five different readability scales (Flesch Reading Ease, Flesch Kincaid Grade Level, Gunning Fog Index, SMOG) Grade level, and Coleman-Liau Index). We used the Center for Disease Control (CDC) Clear Communication Index as well as the DISCERN Instrument to evaluate the quality of each Wikipedia article. We identified a total of fifty-five Wikipedia articles that corresponded with patient information articles published by the AANS. This constitutes 77.46% of the AANS topics. The mean Flesch Kincaid reading ease score for all of the Wikipedia articles we analyzed is 31.10, which indicates that a college-level education is necessary to understand them. In comparison to the readability analysis for the AANS articles, the Wikipedia articles were more difficult to read across every scale. None of the Wikipedia articles meet the CDC criterion for clear communications. Our analyses demonstrated that Wikipedia articles related to neurosurgical topics are associated with higher grade levels for reading and also below the expected levels of clear communications for patients. Collaborative efforts from the neurosurgical community are needed to enhance the readability and quality of Wikipedia pages related to neurosurgery. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  9. A Survey on PageRank Computing

    OpenAIRE

    Berkhin, Pavel

    2005-01-01

    This survey reviews the research related to PageRank computing. Components of a PageRank vector serve as authority weights for web pages independent of their textual content, solely based on the hyperlink structure of the web. PageRank is typically used as a web search ranking component. This defines the importance of the model and the data structures that underly PageRank processing. Computing even a single PageRank is a difficult computational task. Computing many PageRanks is a much mor...

  10. Patient preferences for community pharmacy asthma services: a discrete choice experiment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Naik-Panvelkar, Pradnya; Armour, Carol; Rose, John M; Saini, Bandana

    2012-10-01

    Specialized community pharmacy services, involving the provision of disease state management and care by pharmacists, have been developed and trialled and have demonstrated very good health outcomes. Most of these services have been developed from a healthcare professional perspective. However, for the future uptake and long-term sustainability of these services as well as for better and sustained health outcomes for patients, it is vital to gain an understanding of patients' preferences. We can then structure healthcare services to match these preferences and needs rather than around clinical viewpoints alone. The aim of this study was to elicit patient preferences for pharmacy-based specialized asthma services using a discrete choice experiment and to explore the value/importance that patients place on the different attributes of the asthma service. The existence of preference heterogeneity in the population was also investigated. The study was conducted with asthma patients who had recently experienced a specialized asthma management service at their pharmacy in New South Wales, Australia. Pharmacists delivering the asthma service mailed out the discrete choice questionnaires to participating patients at the end of 6 months of service provision. A latent class (LC) model was used to investigate each patient's strength of preference and preference heterogeneity for several key attributes related to asthma service provision: frequency of visits, access to pharmacist, interaction with pharmacy staff, availability of a private area for consultation, provision of lung function testing, type and depth of advice provision, number of days with asthma symptoms and cost of service. Eighty useable questionnaires (of 170 questionnaires sent out) were received (response rate 47.1%). The study identified various key elements of asthma services important to patients. Further, the LC analysis revealed three classes with differing patient preferences for levels of asthma service

  11. Model construction of nursing service satisfaction in hospitalized tumor patients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Yongyi; Liu, Jingshi; Xiao, Shuiyuan; Liu, Xiangyu; Tang, Xinhui; Zhou, Yujuan

    2014-01-01

    This study aims to construct a satisfaction model on nursing service in hospitalized tumor patients. Using questionnaires, data about hospitalized tumor patients' expectation, quality perception and satisfaction of hospital nursing service were obtained. A satisfaction model of nursing service in hospitalized tumor patients was established through empirical study and by structural equation method. This model was suitable for tumor specialized hospital, with reliability and validity. Patient satisfaction was significantly affected by quality perception and patient expectation. Patient satisfaction and patient loyalty was also affected by disease pressure. Hospital brand was positively correlated with patient satisfaction and patient loyalty, negatively correlated with patient complaint. Patient satisfaction was positively correlated with patient loyalty, patient complaints, and quality perception, and negatively correlated with disease pressure and patient expectation. The satisfaction model on nursing service in hospitalized tumor patients fits well. By this model, the quality of hospital nursing care may be improved.

  12. In-Degree and PageRank of web pages: why do they follow similar power laws?

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Litvak, Nelli; Scheinhardt, Willem R.W.; Volkovich, Y.

    2009-01-01

    PageRank is a popularity measure designed by Google to rank Web pages. Experiments confirm that PageRank values obey a power law with the same exponent as In-Degree values. This paper presents a novel mathematical model that explains this phenomenon. The relation between PageRank and In-Degree is

  13. The influences of patient's satisfaction with medical service delivery, assessment of medical service, and trust in health delivery system on patient's life satisfaction in China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tang, Liyang

    2012-09-14

    Patient's satisfaction with medical service delivery/assessment of medical service/trust in health delivery system may have significant influence on patient's life satisfaction in China's health delivery system/in various kinds of hospitals.The aim of this study was to test whether and to what extent patient's satisfaction with medical service delivery/patient's assessments of various major aspects of medical service/various major aspects of patient's trust in health delivery system influenced patient's life satisfaction in China's health delivery system/in various kinds of hospitals. This study collaborated with National Bureau of Statistics of China to carry out a 2008 national urban resident household survey in 17 provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the central government (N = 3,386), and specified ordered probit models were established to analyze dataset from this household survey. The key considerations in generating patient's life satisfaction involved patient's overall satisfaction with medical service delivery, assessment of doctor-patient communication, assessment of medical cost, assessment of medical treatment process, assessment of medical facility and hospital environment, assessment of waiting time for medical service, trust in prescription, trust in doctor, and trust in recommended medical examination. But the major considerations in generating patient's life satisfaction were different among low level public hospital, high level public hospital, and private hospital. The promotion of patient's overall satisfaction with medical service delivery, the improvement of doctor-patient communication, the reduction of medical cost, the improvement of medical treatment process, the promotion of medical facility and hospital environment, the reduction of waiting time for medical service, the promotion of patient's trust in prescription, the promotion of patient's trust in doctor, and the promotion of patient's trust in

  14. In-degree and pageRank of web pages: Why do they follow similar power laws?

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Litvak, Nelli; Scheinhardt, Willem R.W.; Volkovich, Y.

    The PageRank is a popularity measure designed by Google to rank Web pages. Experiments confirm that the PageRank obeys a 'power law' with the same exponent as the In-Degree. This paper presents a novel mathematical model that explains this phenomenon. The relation between the PageRank and In-Degree

  15. 75 FR 57086 - Submission for Review: Federal Cyber Service: Scholarship for Service (SFS) Registration Web Site

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-09-17

    ... OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT Submission for Review: Federal Cyber Service: Scholarship for Service (SFS) Registration Web Site AGENCY: Office of Personnel Management. ACTION: 30-Day Notice and... National Science Foundation in accordance with [[Page 57087

  16. Analysis of the relationships among perceived service encounter quality, service value, satisfaction and behavioral intention for physical therapy patients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ko, Min-Seok; Lee, Won-Hwee

    2017-11-01

    [Purpose] The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationships among perceived service encounter quality, service value, patient satisfaction, and behavioral intention in physical therapy patients. [Subjects and Methods] This study surveyed 335 patients who received physical therapy treatment at five medical institutions in Jeonju-si, Republic of Korea. This study conducted path analysis on the collected data using Smart PLS 2.0 M3. [Results] The analysis of this study showed that service encounter quality had significantly positive relationship with service value, patient satisfaction, and behavioral intention. Service value had significantly positive relationship with patient satisfaction and behavioral intention. Patient satisfaction had significantly positive relationship with behavioral intention. [Conclusion] Improving the perceived quality of service encounters for physical therapy patients increases service value and patient satisfaction, and positively influences behavioral intention.

  17. Patient seeking behaviors and online personas: social media's role in cosmetic dermatology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ross, Nicholas A; Todd, Quintin; Saedi, Nazanin

    2015-02-01

    Social media sites, composed of providers, patients, and their social circles, facilitate health and healthcare delivery. To examine patients' perspective on social media as an information source, communication tool, and referral service through an anonymous survey. In addition, influences on patient Internet personas, an actively constructed online identity, around the time of cosmetic procedures are examined. Patients completed an anonymous institutional review board-approved survey during their initial cosmetic visit. Patients are highly active on social media using it as a multipurpose tool for physician referral services, support groups, and disease education. Patients gathered dermatology information from multiple sources, including friends, family, social media pages, and other online sources, often sharing their own experiences through social media platforms. Patients indicated a desire for provider educational materials on interactive media pages. Most preferred material written by a physician, but some indicated a preference for both physician and lay material. Online images highlighting dissatisfying skin features were influential to select patients, prompting manipulation of online personas and evaluation for aesthetic procedures. Although the study examines cosmetic patient perspectives, data highlight valuable trends for all dermatologists. Social media can improve patient education, collaboration, recruitment, and online professional image, leading to healthier patient-centered care.

  18. Detection of Deteriorating Patients on Surgical Wards Outside the ICU by an Automated MEWS-Based Early Warning System With Paging Functionality.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heller, Axel R; Mees, Sören T; Lauterwald, Benjamin; Reeps, Christian; Koch, Thea; Weitz, Jürgen

    2018-05-16

    The establishment of early warning systems in hospitals was strongly recommended in recent guidelines to detect deteriorating patients early and direct them to adequate care. Upon reaching predefined trigger criteria, Medical Emergency Teams (MET) should be notified and directed to these patients. The present study analyses the effect of introducing an automated multiparameter early warning score (MEWS)-based early warning system with paging functionality on 2 wards hosting patients recovering from highly complex surgical interventions. The deployment of the system was accompanied by retrospective data acquisition during 12 months (intervention) using 4 routine databases: Hospital patient data management, anesthesia database, local data of the German Resuscitation Registry, and measurement logs of the deployed system (intervention period only). A retrospective 12-month data review using the same aforementioned databases before the deployment of the system served as control. Control and intervention phases were separated by a 6-month washout period for the installation of the system and for training. Data from 3827 patients could be acquired from 2 surgical wards during the two 12-month periods, 1896 patients in the control and 1931 in the intervention cohorts. Patient characteristics differed between the 2 observation phases. American Society of Anesthesiologists risk classification and duration of surgery as well as German DRG case-weight were significantly higher in the intervention period. However, the rate of cardiac arrests significantly dropped from 5.3 to 2.1 per 1000 admissions in the intervention period (P automated MEWS-based early warning system with paging functionality.

  19. Service provision patterns by main diagnoses and characteristics of patients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brennan, D S; Spencer, A J; Szuster, F S

    2000-06-01

    Service provision patterns may be influenced not only by clinical oral health status leading to a diagnosis and treatment plan, but also by other variables such as patient characteristics. The main aim of this study was to investigate whether associations between services provided and patient factors would persist after controlling for the main presenting diagnosis or condition. A random sample of dentists surveyed in 1993-94 provided a response rate of 74%. Private general practitioners recorded service provision data from logs of 1-2 typical days of practice. Caries (26.5%) was the most prevalent diagnosis, followed by recall/maintenance care (19.0%), pulpal/periapical infection (10.9%), and failed restorations (10.4%). Diagnoses were associated with variation in the percentage of patients receiving services in main areas of service, and also with insurance status, sex and age distributions of patients, and type of visit (chi-square; Pservices indicated statistically significant associations with patient characteristics and diagnosis categories. Controlling for diagnosis, uninsured patients and those visiting for emergencies had less favourable service patterns (e.g., higher odds of extractions, but lower odds of preventive and crown and bridge services) compared to patients who had dental insurance or visited for check-ups or other non-emergency dental problems. The influence of these factors on services provided has implications of public health importance in terms of appropriateness of care and social inequality.

  20. Understanding patient e-loyalty toward online health care services.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martínez-Caro, Eva; Cegarra-Navarro, Juan Gabriel; Solano-Lorente, Marcelina

    2013-01-01

    Public health institutions are making a great effort to develop patient-targeted online services in an attempt to enhance their effectiveness and reduce expenses. However, if patients do not use those services regularly, public health institutions will have wasted their limited resources. Hence, patients' electronic loyalty (e-loyalty) is essential for the success of online health care services. In this research, an extended Technology Acceptance Model was developed to test e-loyalty intent toward online health care services offered by public health institutions. Data from a survey of 256 users of online health care services provided by the public sanitary system of a region in Spain were analyzed. The research model was tested by using the structural equation modeling approach. The results obtained suggest that the core constructs of the Technology Acceptance Model (perceived usefulness, ease of use, and attitude) significantly affected users' behavioral intentions (i.e., e-loyalty intent), with perceived usefulness being the most decisive antecedent of affective variables (i.e., attitude and satisfaction). This study also reveals a general support for patient satisfaction as a determinant of e-loyalty intent in online health care services. Policy makers should focus on striving to get the highest positive attitude in users by enhancing easiness of use and, mainly, perceived usefulness. Because through satisfaction of patients, public hospitals will enlarge their patient e-loyalty intent, health care providers must always work at obtaining satisfied users and to encourage them to continue using the online services.

  1. Evaluation of Patient Satisfaction with Tuberculosis Services in Southern Nigeria

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ugochukwu U. Onyeonoro

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Objective Knowing tuberculosis (TB patients’ satisfaction enables TB program managers to identify gaps in service delivery and institute measures to address them. This study is aimed at evaluating patients’ satisfaction with TB services in southern Nigeria. Materials and Methods A total of 378 patients accessing TB care were studied using a validated Patient Satisfaction (PS-38 questionnaire on various aspects of TB services. Factor analysis was used to identify eight factors related to TB patient satisfaction. Test of association was used to study the relation between patient satisfaction scores and patient and health facility characteristics, while multilinear regression analysis was used to identify predictors of patient satisfaction. Results Highest satisfaction was reported for adherence counseling and access to care. Patient characteristics were associated with overall satisfaction, registration, adherence counseling, access to care, amenities, and staff attitude, while health system factors were associated with staff attitude, amenities, and health education. Predictors of satisfaction with TB services included gender, educational status, if tested for HIV, distance, payment for TB services, and level and type of health-care facility. Conclusion Patient- and health system–related factors were found to influence patient satisfaction and, hence, should be taken into consideration in TB service programing.

  2. Evaluation of Patient Satisfaction with Tuberculosis Services in Southern Nigeria

    Science.gov (United States)

    Onyeonoro, Ugochukwu U; Chukwu, Joseph N; Nwafor, Charles C; Meka, Anthony O; Omotowo, Babatunde I; Madichie, Nelson O; Ogbudebe, Chidubem; Ikebudu, Joy N; Oshi, Daniel C; Ekeke, Ngozi; Paul, Nsirimobu I; Duru, Chukwuma B

    2015-01-01

    OBJECTIVE Knowing tuberculosis (TB) patients’ satisfaction enables TB program managers to identify gaps in service delivery and institute measures to address them. This study is aimed at evaluating patients’ satisfaction with TB services in southern Nigeria. MATERIALS AND METHODS A total of 378 patients accessing TB care were studied using a validated Patient Satisfaction (PS-38) questionnaire on various aspects of TB services. Factor analysis was used to identify eight factors related to TB patient satisfaction. Test of association was used to study the relation between patient satisfaction scores and patient and health facility characteristics, while multilinear regression analysis was used to identify predictors of patient satisfaction. RESULTS Highest satisfaction was reported for adherence counseling and access to care. Patient characteristics were associated with overall satisfaction, registration, adherence counseling, access to care, amenities, and staff attitude, while health system factors were associated with staff attitude, amenities, and health education. Predictors of satisfaction with TB services included gender, educational status, if tested for HIV, distance, payment for TB services, and level and type of health-care facility. CONCLUSION Patient- and health system–related factors were found to influence patient satisfaction and, hence, should be taken into consideration in TB service programing. PMID:26508872

  3. 78 FR 17234 - Negotiated Service Agreement

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-03-20

    ... (DFS) Negotiated Service Agreement (NSA) to the market dominant product list.\\1\\ After a [[Page 17235... dominant product list.\\2\\ On March 8, 2013, the Postal Service filed an amendment to the DFS NSA with the...

  4. Creating Web Pages Simplified

    CERN Document Server

    Wooldridge, Mike

    2011-01-01

    The easiest way to learn how to create a Web page for your family or organization Do you want to share photos and family lore with relatives far away? Have you been put in charge of communication for your neighborhood group or nonprofit organization? A Web page is the way to get the word out, and Creating Web Pages Simplified offers an easy, visual way to learn how to build one. Full-color illustrations and concise instructions take you through all phases of Web publishing, from laying out and formatting text to enlivening pages with graphics and animation. This easy-to-follow visual guide sho

  5. Room service improves patient food intake and satisfaction with hospital food.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Williams, R; Virtue, K; Adkins, A

    1998-07-01

    Cancer therapy causes side effects that interfere with oral intake. Frequently, patients undergoing such therapy suffer from anorexia, nausea, vomiting, food aversions, dysgeusia, and xerostomia, all which adversely affect oral intake. Adequate nutrition intake is an important part of therapy for the cancer patient, especially when that patient is a child. Children who are well nourished are better able to withstand infection and tolerate therapy. Parents and staff at our hospital have worked diligently to improve patient's oral intake with limited success. Hence, a multidisciplinary team was organized to develop a new approach to food services that would improve patients' oral intake. The team initiated patient "room service," and patients were allowed to call the kitchen when they were ready to eat. The system works much like room service in a hotel. After the introduction of room service, patients' caloric intake improved significantly (P = .008), and protein intake increased by 18%. Patient satisfaction with hospital food service also improved; excellent ratings increased by as much as 35%. We conclude that room service is a viable alternative to traditional food services in the pediatric oncology setting and may be useful in other patient populations, such as maternity and general pediatrics.

  6. Flash-Aware Page Replacement Algorithm

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Guangxia Xu

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Due to the limited main memory resource of consumer electronics equipped with NAND flash memory as storage device, an efficient page replacement algorithm called FAPRA is proposed for NAND flash memory in the light of its inherent characteristics. FAPRA introduces an efficient victim page selection scheme taking into account the benefit-to-cost ratio for evicting each victim page candidate and the combined recency and frequency value, as well as the erase count of the block to which each page belongs. Since the dirty victim page often contains clean data that exist in both the main memory and the NAND flash memory based storage device, FAPRA only writes the dirty data within the victim page back to the NAND flash memory based storage device in order to reduce the redundant write operations. We conduct a series of trace-driven simulations and experimental results show that our proposed FAPRA algorithm outperforms the state-of-the-art algorithms in terms of page hit ratio, the number of write operations, runtime, and the degree of wear leveling.

  7. The changing pages of comics : Page layouts across eight decades of American superhero comics

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Pederson, Kaitlin; Cohn, Neil

    2016-01-01

    Page layouts are one of the most overt features of comics’ structure. We hypothesized that American superhero comics have changed in their page layout over eight decades, and investigated this using a corpus analysis of 40 comics from 1940 through 2014. On the whole, we found that comics pages

  8. Evaluating a Service-Oriented Architecture

    Science.gov (United States)

    2007-09-01

    See the description on page 13. SaaS Software as a service ( SaaS ) is a software delivery model where customers don’t own a copy of the application... serviceability REST Representational State Transfer RIA rich internet application RPC remote procedure call SaaS software as a service SAML Security...Evaluating a Service -Oriented Architecture Phil Bianco, Software Engineering Institute Rick Kotermanski, Summa Technologies Paulo Merson

  9. Assessment of patient's satisfaction with healthcare services ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Assessment of patient's satisfaction with healthcare services obtained from a ... to identify deficiencies and improve on the quality of health services rendered. ... by the doctor or nurse (r = 0.315, p<0.001) and a significant negative correlation ...

  10. Realistic page-turning of electronic books

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fan, Chaoran; Li, Haisheng; Bai, Yannan

    2014-01-01

    The booming electronic books (e-books), as an extension to the paper book, are popular with readers. Recently, many efforts are put into the realistic page-turning simulation o f e-book to improve its reading experience. This paper presents a new 3D page-turning simulation approach, which employs piecewise time-dependent cylindrical surfaces to describe the turning page and constructs smooth transition method between time-dependent cylinders. The page-turning animation is produced by sequentially mapping the turning page into the cylinders with different radii and positions. Compared to the previous approaches, our method is able to imitate various effects efficiently and obtains more natural animation of turning page.

  11. Service Encounter Related Process Quality, Patient Satisfaction, and Behavioral Intention

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nandakumar Mekoth

    2011-12-01

    Full Text Available This study identifies some of the critical service encounters thatthe outpatients undergo in a health care facility and investigateswhether the service encounter related process quality as perceivedby the patients leads to patient satisfaction, repeat visit, and recommendationintentions. Personal visits, observations, and enquiriesat the outpatient center have been conducted to identifythe various service encounters that outpatients undergo in thehospital. Exit interviews of the outpatients have been conductedto identify service encounter related process quality variableswhich determine patient satisfaction and behavioral intentions.A preliminary scale to measure service encounter related processquality was developed and its factor structure and internal consistencyreliability were established. The study reveals that boththe physician quality and laboratory quality have been found tobe significantly related to patient satisfaction. However, quite interestingly,courtesy shown by the registration or outpatient staff,perceived length of waiting time, or even the salient aspects of theservicescape, did not influence patient satisfaction.

  12. On Page Rank

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hoede, C.

    In this paper the concept of page rank for the world wide web is discussed. The possibility of describing the distribution of page rank by an exponential law is considered. It is shown that the concept is essentially equal to that of status score, a centrality measure discussed already in 1953 by

  13. Patients' reasons for accepting a free community pharmacy asthma service

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kaae, Susanne; Sporrong, Sofia Kälvemark

    2015-01-01

    few studies have been conducted so far to explore why patients accept or decline offers of cognitive services at the pharmacy counter. Objective To explore patients’ reasons for accepting a particular cognitive service (the Inhaler Technique Assessment Service) a service intended to detect inhalation...... with 24 patients suffering mainly from asthma and COPD. Researchers from Copenhagen University conducted 11 long interviews and pharmacy internship students from Copenhagen University carried out 13 short interviews. The interviews were analyzed using descriptive analysis. Main outcome measure Patients......’ perceived needs of an inhalation counseling service as well as their motivation for accepting the service, including their accounts of how the service was orally offered by staff. Results The majority of participants were used to using inhaler devices. The participants felt, for several reasons, little need...

  14. PageRank of integers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Frahm, K M; Shepelyansky, D L; Chepelianskii, A D

    2012-01-01

    We up a directed network tracing links from a given integer to its divisors and analyze the properties of the Google matrix of this network. The PageRank vector of this matrix is computed numerically and it is shown that its probability is approximately inversely proportional to the PageRank index thus being similar to the Zipf law and the dependence established for the World Wide Web. The spectrum of the Google matrix of integers is characterized by a large gap and a relatively small number of nonzero eigenvalues. A simple semi-analytical expression for the PageRank of integers is derived that allows us to find this vector for matrices of billion size. This network provides a new PageRank order of integers. (paper)

  15. The Faculty Web Page: Contrivance or Continuation?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lennex, Lesia

    2007-01-01

    In an age of Internet education, what does it mean for a tenure/tenure-track faculty to have a web page? How many professors have web pages? If they have a page, what does it look like? Do they really need a web page at all? Many universities have faculty web pages. What do those collective pages look like? In what way do they represent the…

  16. Patients' quality assessment of ambulatory obstetric and gynaecological services.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bojar, I; Wdowiak, L; Ostrowski, T

    2005-01-01

    The quality could be assessed from two perspectives: internal and external. From the internal perspective the quality means being consistent with particular conditions and standards. The external perspective is based on relative assessment of the product made by a client who is also aware of other competitors' offer. Despite the professional assessment which is focused on providing health services according to medical and managerial correctness, patient's assessment is also relevant. Measuring patient's satisfaction is additional method of health services quality assessment. The aim of the study was to estimate patients' opinion on quality of ambulatory obstetric and gynaecological services. The study was conducted in 11 obstetric and gynaecological out-patient clinics of Lublin in September and October 2003. The study tool was an author's questionnaire. Patients were asked to assess such areas as registration before visit, their relationship with nurses and gynaecologists and other aspects of services provision like intimacy assurance and respecting Patient's Rights. The collected data was statistically analysed. 635 patients took part in the study. The biggest groups in the studied population were women at the age of 20-30 years, married, living in cities and secondary educated. It was found that around half of the population is satisfied and 2.2% of them are unsatisfied with the fact that they have chosen particular out-patient clinic. More than 70% of women had positive opinion of following aspects influencing general opinion about service quality: politness of reception desk staff, opening hours, the length of time before a patient is seen by the specialist, intimacy assurance and respect for Patient's Rights in the practice. 80% of patients were satisfied with the relationship with nurses and 3.3% were unsatisfied with it. Eight patients out of ten were satisfied with gynaecological care, less than 2% were unsatisfied. The studied women had also high opinion

  17. 76 FR 2930 - Product Change-Parcel Select Negotiated Service Agreement

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-01-18

    ... POSTAL SERVICE Product Change--Parcel Select Negotiated Service Agreement AGENCY: Postal Service... INFORMATION: The United States Postal Service[reg] hereby gives notice that on December 23, 2010, it filed with the Postal Regulatory [[Page 2931

  18. A conceptual framework of patient satisfaction with a pharmacy adherence service.

    Science.gov (United States)

    van den Berg, Melandi; Donyai, Parastou

    2014-02-01

    Patients do not adhere to their medicines for a host of reasons which can include their underlying beliefs as well as the quality of their interactions with healthcare professionals. One way of measuring the outcome of pharmacy adherence services is to assess patient satisfaction but no questionnaire exists that truly captures patients' experiences with these relatively new services. Our objective was to develop a conceptual framework specific to patient satisfaction with a community pharmacy adherence service based on criteria used by patients themselves. The study was based in community pharmacies in one large geographical area of the UK (Surrey). All the work was conducted between October 2008 and September 2010. This study involved qualitative non-participant observation and semi-structured interviewing. We observed the recruitment of patients to the medicines use review (MUR) service and also actual MUR consultations (7). We also interviewed patients (15). Data collection continued until no new themes were identified during analysis. We analysed interviews to firstly create a comprehensive account of themes which had significance within the transcripts, then created sub-themes within super-ordinate categories. We used a structure-process-outcome approach to develop a conceptual framework relating to patient satisfaction with the MUR. Favourable ethical opinion for this study was received from the NHS Surrey Research Ethics Committee on 2nd June 2008. Five super-ordinate themes linked to patient satisfaction with the MUR service were identified, including relationships with healthcare providers; attitudes towards healthcare providers; patients' experience of health, healthcare and medicines; patients' views of the MUR service; the logistics of the MUR service. In the conceptual framework, structure was conceptualised as existing relationships, environment, and time; process was conceptualised as related to recruitment and consultation stages; and outcome as two

  19. Patients' satisfaction with eye care services in a Nigerian Teaching ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    ... will recommend the hospital to others strongly, 145 (47.2%) will do so hesitantly. Conclusion: Majority of the patients were satisfied with the services received. The major dissatisfaction points were cost of services and inadequate toilet facilities. Key words: Developing country, eye care services, patient satisfaction ...

  20. Samaru Journal of Information Studies Vol.9 (2)2009 Page 1 Public ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Gbaje E.S

    Public Library Services and the Information Needs of Women in Northern Nigeria. ... European form of education was initially rejected by the people of the north regarding it ... Nigeria is a country of great diversity ... Secondary schools and Teacher ... Page 3. Statistics of female/male students in both primary and secondary ...

  1. Dosimetry Service

    CERN Multimedia

    2006-01-01

    Cern Staff and Users can now consult their dose records for an individual or an organizational unit with HRT. Please see more information on our web page: http://cern.ch/rp-dosimetry Dosimetry Service is open every morning from 8.30 - 12.00. Closed in the afternoons. We would like to remind you that dosimeters cannot be sent to customers by internal mail. Short-term dosimeters (VCT's) must always be returned to the Service after the use and must not be left on the racks in the experimental areas or in the secretariats. Dosimetry Service Tel. 7 2155 Dosimetry.service@cern.ch http://cern.ch/rp-dosimetry

  2. Personal Web home pages of adolescents with cancer: self-presentation, information dissemination, and interpersonal connection.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Suzuki, Lalita K; Beale, Ivan L

    2006-01-01

    The content of personal Web home pages created by adolescents with cancer is a new source of information about this population of potential benefit to oncology nurses and psychologists. Individual Internet elements found on 21 home pages created by youths with cancer (14-22 years old) were rated for cancer-related self-presentation, information dissemination, and interpersonal connection. Examples of adolescents' online narratives were also recorded. Adolescents with cancer used various Internet elements on their home pages for cancer-related self-presentation (eg, welcome messages, essays, personal history and diary pages, news articles, and poetry), information dissemination (e.g., through personal interest pages, multimedia presentations, lists, charts, and hyperlinks), and interpersonal connection (eg, guestbook entries). Results suggest that various elements found on personal home pages are being used by a limited number of young patients with cancer for self-expression, information access, and contact with peers.

  3. 75 FR 81832 - Technical Service Provider Assistance

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-12-29

    ... DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Natural Resources Conservation Service 7 CFR Part 652 Technical Service... as of Jan. 1, 2010, on page 565, in Sec. 652.2, the first definition for ``Technical service'' is removed. [FR Doc. 2010-32945 Filed 12-28-10; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 1505-01-D ...

  4. Research of Subgraph Estimation Page Rank Algorithm for Web Page Rank

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    LI Lan-yin

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available The traditional PageRank algorithm can not efficiently perform large data Webpage scheduling problem. This paper proposes an accelerated algorithm named topK-Rank,which is based on PageRank on the MapReduce platform. It can find top k nodes efficiently for a given graph without sacrificing accuracy. In order to identify top k nodes,topK-Rank algorithm prunes unnecessary nodes and edges in each iteration to dynamically construct subgraphs,and iteratively estimates lower/upper bounds of PageRank scores through subgraphs. Theoretical analysis shows that this method guarantees result exactness. Experiments show that topK-Rank algorithm can find k nodes much faster than the existing approaches.

  5. Service quality of private hospitals: the Iranian patients' perspective.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zarei, Asghar; Arab, Mohammad; Froushani, Abbas Rahimi; Rashidian, Arash; Ghazi Tabatabaei, S Mahmoud

    2012-02-02

    Highly competitive market in the private hospital industry has caused increasing pressure on them to provide services with higher quality. The aim of this study was to determine the different dimensions of the service quality in the private hospitals of Iran and evaluating the service quality from the patients' perspective. A cross-sectional study was conducted between October and November 2010 in Tehran, Iran. The study sample was composed of 983 patients randomly selected from 8 private general hospitals. The study questionnaire was the SERVQUAL questionnaire, consisting of 21 items in service quality dimensions. The result of factor analysis revealed 3 factors, explaining 69% of the total variance. The total mean score of patients' expectation and perception was 4.91(SD = 0.2) and 4.02(SD = 0.6), respectively. The highest expectation and perception related to the tangibles dimension and the lowest expectation and perception related to the empathy dimension. The differences between perception and expectation were significant (p SERVQUAL is a valid, reliable, and flexible instrument to monitor and measure the quality of the services in private hospitals of Iran. Our findings clarified the importance of creating a strong relationship between patients and the hospital practitioners/personnel and the need for hospital staff to be responsive, credible, and empathetic when dealing with patients.

  6. Relational Benefits & Costs in Social Media Brand Pages

    OpenAIRE

    Tsimonis, Georgios; Dimitriadis, Sergios

    2014-01-01

    Attracted by the rapid penetration of social media into society, firms are increasingly using them to offer interactive services to their customers, and to create or enhance their relationships with them. As the number of consumers who join brand pages on social media platforms raises, it brings to the front a new question: What relational benefits and costs arise from customer interactions with brands in social media? Thus, this study is an attempt to identify what benefits and costs users p...

  7. Page sample size in web accessibility testing: how many pages is enough?

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Velleman, Eric Martin; van der Geest, Thea

    2013-01-01

    Various countries and organizations use a different sampling approach and sample size of web pages in accessibility conformance tests. We are conducting a systematic analysis to determine how many pages is enough for testing whether a website is compliant with standard accessibility guidelines. This

  8. Patient satisfaction with a hospital-based neuropsychology service.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Foran, Amie; Millar, Elisa; Dorstyn, Diana

    2016-09-01

    Objective The aim of the present study was to develop and pilot a measure of patient satisfaction that encompasses themes, activities, settings and interactions specific to the neuropsychological assessment process. Methods A focus group of out-patients (n=15) was surveyed to identify the factors commonly associated with a satisfactory neuropsychological experience. Responses informed a purposely designed 14-item patient satisfaction scale (α=0.88) that was completed by 66 hospital out-patients with mild to moderate cognitive impairment. Results Satisfaction with the neuropsychological assessment process was generally reported, with the testing phase (85%) rated significantly more favourably than the pre-assessment (79%) and feedback (70%) phases. Commentaries provided by 32 respondents identified interpersonal facilitators to a satisfactory neuropsychological assessment experience, but also dissatisfaction with physical aspects of the testing environment in addition to service availability. Conclusions The patient satisfaction scale can be used as a quality assurance tool to evaluate neuropsychological service delivery. Large-scale research is needed to confirm the scale's psychometric properties. Further research may also include a broader perspective on the consumers' experience of neuropsychological services.

  9. Demographic characteristics of patients using a fully integrated psychosocial support service for cancer patients

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hope Teresa

    2009-12-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Psychosocial support services are an important component of modern cancer treatment. A major challenge for all psychosocial services is the achievement of equity of use. Previous studies in the UK have found that women of higher socio-economic status with breast cancer were over-represented amongst those accessing support services. People with other cancer diagnoses, those from socio-economically deprived areas, and men, were under-represented. Findings The Oncology Health Service, Kingston Upon Hull, UK, delivers fully integrated psychosocial support and interventions. To assess equity of access in this service, a cross-sectional study of all patients with cancer accessing the service during a 5 day period was carried out. One hundred and forty-five patients attended. Forty four percent were male, and the types of cancer were broadly in the proportions expected on the basis of population prevalence (breast cancer 22%, colorectal cancer 21%, lung cancer 16%. Sixty six percent came from the three most deprived quintiles of the Townsend deprivation Index. Conclusions The fully integrated Oncology Health Service in Hull is accessed by a more diverse range of patients than previously reported for other services, and is an example of a model of service by which socially equitable use of psychosocial support in the National Health Service might be achieved.

  10. A new day for patient financial services.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Canfield, David P; Johnston, Scott

    2002-09-01

    The patient financial services (PFS) department plays a crucial role in the financial health of a provider organization. Complete, accurate data are a competitive advantage. Data should be obtained and validated as early as possible in the process of providing a healthcare service. A redefined revenue cycle should emphasize interdepartmental collaboration, technology, and patient satisfaction. The PFS department should expand its role to emphasize the merging of clinical and financial data in support of the organization's goals. PFS professionals require educational and career opportunities to fulfill the PFS department's expanded role.

  11. College of DuPage District 502 Educational Needs Assessment (Total Sample Summary).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rice, Gary

    In spring 1987, the Gallup Organization conducted a telephone survey for the College of DuPage (COD) in Illinois to determine community perceptions of the college's role in the community; community awareness of COD and its competitors; perceptions of current college services; importance of factors in selecting an educational program; interest in…

  12. Service design attributes affecting diabetic patient preferences of telemedicine in South Korea.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Park, Hayoung; Chon, Yucheong; Lee, Jongsu; Choi, Ie-Jung; Yoon, Kun-Ho

    2011-01-01

    Attempts to introduce telemedicine in South Korea have failed mostly, leaving critical questions for service developers and providers about whether patients would be willing to pay for the service and how the service should be designed to encourage patient buy-in. In this study, we explore patients' valuations and preferences for each attribute of telemedicine service for diabetes management and evaluate patient willingness to pay for specific service attributes. We conducted a conjoint survey to collect data on patients' stated preferences among telemedicine service alternatives. The alternatives for diabetes-related service differed in 10 attributes, including those related to price, type of service provider, and service scope. To estimate the relative importance of attributes, patients' willingness to pay for each attribute, and their probable choice of specific alternatives, we used a rank-ordered logit model. A total of 118 respondents participated in the survey. All 10 attributes significantly affected patients' valuations and preferences, and demographic and disease characteristics, such as existence of complications and comorbidities, significantly affected patients' valuations of the attributes. Price was the most important attribute, followed by comprehensive scope of service, the availability of mobile phone-based delivery, and large general-hospital provided services. The study findings have significant implications for adoption policy and strategy of telemedicine in diabetes management care. Further, the methodology presented in this study can be used to draw knowledge needed to formulate effective policy for adoption of the necessary technology and for the design of services that attract potential beneficiaries.

  13. Evaluating the Situation of Service Quality Based on Patient Relationship Management Approach

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    AM SHarifabadi

    2015-07-01

    Conclusion: It seems that it is better for this hospital to put its priorities on "understanding patients' key needs in a correct way", "changing in hospital services for patients' more benefits", "using patients' opinions in designing services", "hospital management and employees' flexibility in offering new services", "understanding patients' information precisely", and "making precise feedback system" regarding the limits in its resources and attempts to upgrading its service quality.

  14. Exploiting link structure for web page genre identification

    KAUST Repository

    Zhu, Jia

    2015-07-07

    As the World Wide Web develops at an unprecedented pace, identifying web page genre has recently attracted increasing attention because of its importance in web search. A common approach for identifying genre is to use textual features that can be extracted directly from a web page, that is, On-Page features. The extracted features are subsequently inputted into a machine learning algorithm that will perform classification. However, these approaches may be ineffective when the web page contains limited textual information (e.g., the page is full of images). In this study, we address genre identification of web pages under the aforementioned situation. We propose a framework that uses On-Page features while simultaneously considering information in neighboring pages, that is, the pages that are connected to the original page by backward and forward links. We first introduce a graph-based model called GenreSim, which selects an appropriate set of neighboring pages. We then construct a multiple classifier combination module that utilizes information from the selected neighboring pages and On-Page features to improve performance in genre identification. Experiments are conducted on well-known corpora, and favorable results indicate that our proposed framework is effective, particularly in identifying web pages with limited textual information. © 2015 The Author(s)

  15. Exploiting link structure for web page genre identification

    KAUST Repository

    Zhu, Jia; Xie, Qing; Yu, Shoou I.; Wong, Wai Hung

    2015-01-01

    As the World Wide Web develops at an unprecedented pace, identifying web page genre has recently attracted increasing attention because of its importance in web search. A common approach for identifying genre is to use textual features that can be extracted directly from a web page, that is, On-Page features. The extracted features are subsequently inputted into a machine learning algorithm that will perform classification. However, these approaches may be ineffective when the web page contains limited textual information (e.g., the page is full of images). In this study, we address genre identification of web pages under the aforementioned situation. We propose a framework that uses On-Page features while simultaneously considering information in neighboring pages, that is, the pages that are connected to the original page by backward and forward links. We first introduce a graph-based model called GenreSim, which selects an appropriate set of neighboring pages. We then construct a multiple classifier combination module that utilizes information from the selected neighboring pages and On-Page features to improve performance in genre identification. Experiments are conducted on well-known corpora, and favorable results indicate that our proposed framework is effective, particularly in identifying web pages with limited textual information. © 2015 The Author(s)

  16. Patient-perceived value of Medication Therapy Management (MTM services: a series of focus groups

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Heidi Schultz

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Objective: To determine the patient-perceived value of MTM services and non-financial barriers preventing patients with insurance coverage from receiving MTM services. Design: Focus groups. Setting: Fairview Pharmacy Services, Minneapolis, MN. Participants: Three focus groups, each with five to nine participants, consisting of different participant populations: (i patients who paid out-of-pocket to receive MTM services; (ii insurance beneficiaries, under which MTM is a covered benefit and participants may have received incentives for receiving MTM services; (iii patients with an insurance plan which covers MTM services who were recruited to receive MTM services but declined. Intervention: MTM services. Main Outcome Measure: Patient-perceived value of MTM services and non-financial barriers. Results: Seven themes were identified relating to the patient-perceived value of MTM services: collaboration of the health care team, MTM pharmacist as a supporter/advocate/confidant, MTM pharmacist as a resource for questions and education, accessibility to the MTM pharmacist, financial incentives for participation in MTM services, MTM pharmacy as a specialty field, and the MTM pharmacist as a coordinator. Three themes were identified regarding patient-perceived non-financial barriers to receiving MTM services, including: availability of the MTM pharmacist, patient/physician lack of knowledge of MTM services, patient's belief that MTM services are not needed. Conclusion: MTM is a service which patients identify as valuable. Patients are able to identify non-financial barriers that may prevent some patients from receiving MTM services. This study provides preliminary evidence of both the value and barriers perceived by patients.   Type: Original Research

  17. Assessment of Patients' Perception of Telemedicine Services Using the Service User Technology Acceptability Questionnaire.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dario, Claudio; Luisotto, Elena; Dal Pozzo, Enrico; Mancin, Silvia; Aletras, Vassilis; Newman, Stanton; Gubian, Lorenzo; Saccavini, Claudio

    2016-06-01

    The purpose of this paper is to assess if similar telemedicine services integrated in the management of different chronic diseases are acceptable and well perceived by patients or if there are any negative perceptions. Participants suffering from different chronic diseases were enrolled in Veneto Region and gathered into clusters. Each cluster received a similar telemedicine service equipped with different disease-specific measuring devices. Participants were patients with diabetes (n = 163), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (n = 180), congestive heart failure (n = 140) and Cardiac Implantable Electronic Devices (n = 1635). The Service User Technology Acceptability Questionnaire (SUTAQ) was initially translated, culturally adapted and pretested and subsequently used to assess patients' perception of telemedicine. Data were collected after 3 months and after 12 months from the beginning of the intervention. Data for patients with implantable devices was collected only at 12 months. Results at 12 months for all clusters are similar and assessed a positive perception of telemedicine. The SUTAQ results for clusters 2 (diabetes), 5 (COPD) and 7 (CHF) after 3 months of intervention were confirmed after 12 months. Telemedicine was perceived as a viable addition to usual care. A positive perception for telemedicine services isn't a transitory effect, but extends over the course of time.

  18. Improving outpatient services for elderly patients in Taiwan: a qualitative study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kuo, Ren-Jieh; Wu, Yung-Hung; Hsu, Tsung-Shin; Chen, Liang-Kung

    2011-01-01

    The rapid pace of population aging poses significant importance of establishing an age-friendly health care system, including outpatient, inpatient, intermediate, and long-term care. The main purpose of this study is to evaluate the quality of outpatient services for elderly patients in Taiwan. Quality function deployment (QFD) is a tool effectively shortening the research-and-development period, reducing costs, and fulfilling customer needs (CNs). This study applied Kano's model and the analytic network process (ANP) to improve the basic framework of QFD. Kano's model enables a thorough understanding of elderly patients' needs and problems with regard to medical care services, so that appropriate outpatient services can be offered to them from the outset. In addition, adapting the supermatrix of ANP to the calculation of the house of quality (HoQ) will reduce subjective judgments. Using Kano's model and an integrated ANP-QFD approach, we extracted five needs of elderly patients and calculated their priorities: 'Professional medical care services convincing patients' (27%), 'With sufficient knowledge to answer patients' questions' (23.5%), 'Providing fast services to solve patients' problems' (19.3%), 'Voluntarily serving patients' (19.1%), and 'Providing proper medical equipment to patients' (11.1%). We then identified six outpatient service attributes deserving of improvement and their priorities: 'Physician with a high level of professionalism and giving clear interpretation of patient's condition' (25%), 'Staff with good communication skills and assistance to patients' (22%), 'High standardization of operating procedures' (18%), 'Staff getting on-the-job training periodically' (15%), 'Facilities sufficient and fitting for elderly patients' (10%), and 'Applying IT (internet) to help patients to receive medical care' (10%). In conclusion, we reconstructed an integrated QFD model which will not only reduce costs but also reveal the crucial outpatient service items

  19. Patient-perceived value of Medication Therapy Management (MTM services: a series of focus groups

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Amanda Brummel, PharmD

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Objective: To determine the patient-perceived value of MTM services and non-financial barriers preventing patients with insurance coverage from receiving MTM services. Design: Focus groups. Setting: Fairview Pharmacy Services, Minneapolis, MN.Participants: Three focus groups, each with five to nine participants, consisting of different participant populations: (i patients who paid out-of-pocket to receive MTM services; (ii insurance beneficiaries, under which MTM is a covered benefit and participants may have received incentives for receiving MTM services; (iii patients with an insurance plan which covers MTM services who were recruited to receive MTM services but declined. Intervention: MTM services. Main Outcome Measure: Patient-perceived value of MTM services and non-financial barriers. Results: Seven themes were identified relating to the patient-perceived value of MTM services: collaboration of the health care team, MTM pharmacist as a supporter/advocate/confidant, MTM pharmacist as a resource for questions and education, accessibility to the MTM pharmacist, financial incentives for participation in MTM services, MTM pharmacy as a specialty field, and the MTM pharmacist as a coordinator. Three themes were identified regarding patient-perceived non-financial barriers to receiving MTM services, including: availability of the MTM pharmacist, patient/physician lack of knowledge of MTM services, patient’s belief that MTM services are not needed. Conclusion: MTM is a service which patients identify as valuable. Patients are able to identify non-financial barriers that may prevent some patients from receiving MTM services. This study provides preliminary evidence of both the value and barriers perceived by patients.

  20. Delivering Library Services to Remote Students.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Casado, Margaret

    2001-01-01

    Discusses library services at the University of Tennessee to reach off-campus and distance education students. Topics include online research; email; library instruction for faculty and students; Web interfaces; fax; telephone service; chat technology; the library's Web page; virtual classrooms; library links from a course management system; and…

  1. HDR-Federated Patient Data Service (FPDS)

    Data.gov (United States)

    Department of Veterans Affairs — FPDS is a REST web service accessed via HTTPS that supports the following:1. reading Virtual Patient Record (VPR) data from VistA2. eHMP subscription, cancellation...

  2. Insights into Facebook Pages: an early adolescent health research study page targeted at parents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Amon, Krestina L; Paxton, Karen; Klineberg, Emily; Riley, Lisa; Hawke, Catherine; Steinbeck, Katharine

    2016-02-01

    Facebook has been used in health research, but there is a lack of literature regarding how Facebook may be used to recruit younger adolescents. A Facebook Page was created for an adolescent cohort study on the effects of puberty hormones on well-being and behaviour in early adolescence. Used as a communication tool with existing participants, it also aimed to alert potential participants to the study. The purpose of this paper is to provide a detailed description of the development of the study Facebook Page and present the fan response to the types of posts made on the Page using the Facebook-generated Insights data. Two types of posts were made on the study Facebook Page. The first type was study-related update posts and events. The second was relevant adolescent and family research and current news posts. Observations on the use of and response to the Page were made over 1 year across three phases (phase 1, very low Facebook use; phase 2, high Facebook use; phase 3, low Facebook use). Most Page fans were female (88.6%), with the largest group of fans aged between 35 and 44 years. Study-related update posts with photographs were the most popular. This paper provides a model on which other researchers could base Facebook communication and potential recruitment in the absence of established guidelines.

  3. Assessment of Patient Satisfaction with Pharmaceutical Services in ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Prof. Kongola

    Key words: Pharmaceutical services, patient satisfaction, Dar es Salaam. INTRODUCTION ... business venture and therefore customer ... Factors that influenced patients to go to particular pharmacies. .... identified as affecting the utilization of.

  4. 76 FR 5431 - Publication of FY 2010 Service Contract Inventory

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-01-31

    ... DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY Publication of FY 2010 Service Contract Inventory AGENCY: Departmental Offices, Treasury. ACTION: Notice of publication of Fiscal Year 2010 Service Contract Inventory. [[Page 5432

  5. Finding Specification Pages from the Web

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yoshinaga, Naoki; Torisawa, Kentaro

    This paper presents a method of finding a specification page on the Web for a given object (e.g., ``Ch. d'Yquem'') and its class label (e.g., ``wine''). A specification page for an object is a Web page which gives concise attribute-value information about the object (e.g., ``county''-``Sauternes'') in well formatted structures. A simple unsupervised method using layout and symbolic decoration cues was applied to a large number of the Web pages to acquire candidate attributes for each class (e.g., ``county'' for a class ``wine''). We then filter out irrelevant words from the putative attributes through an author-aware scoring function that we called site frequency. We used the acquired attributes to select a representative specification page for a given object from the Web pages retrieved by a normal search engine. Experimental results revealed that our system greatly outperformed the normal search engine in terms of this specification retrieval.

  6. Is patient satisfaction and perceived service quality with musculoskeletal rehabilitation determined by patient experiences?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Medina-Mirapeix, Francesc; Jimeno-Serrano, Francisco J; Escolar-Reina, Pilar; Del Baño-Aledo, M Elena

    2013-06-01

    To assess the relationships between patient experiences and two overall evaluations - satisfaction and service quality - in outpatient rehabilitation settings. A cross-sectional, self-reported survey carried out in the year 2009. Three outpatient rehabilitation units belonging to Spanish hospitals located in Barcelona, Madrid and Seville. Four hundred and sixty-five outpatients (response rate 90%) mean age 39.4 (SD = 11.9) years. Self-reported experiences on aspects of care, participants' perception of service quality, satisfaction with care, socio-demographic and health characteristics. Satisfaction and service quality were highly correlated (rho = 0.72, Pservice quality (with adjusted R(2) 31.5% and 37.1%, respectively) indicated that patients' experiences and global rating of health improvement have more effect on those evaluations than socio-demographic characteristics. Mean satisfaction was 8.9 (SD = 1.2), and 88% of respondents described high service quality. However, nearly 25% of the respondents who reported high-quality evaluations also indicated a problem score of more than 50% in almost all aspects of care studied. Satisfaction and service quality provide a poor indicator of patients' experiences. Both are two proxies but distinct constructs in rehabilitation care. Besides, not all problems encountered by patients are equally important to them.

  7. Classifying web pages with visual features

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    de Boer, V.; van Someren, M.; Lupascu, T.; Filipe, J.; Cordeiro, J.

    2010-01-01

    To automatically classify and process web pages, current systems use the textual content of those pages, including both the displayed content and the underlying (HTML) code. However, a very important feature of a web page is its visual appearance. In this paper, we show that using generic visual

  8. Are patient surveys valuable as a service-improvement tool in health services? An overview

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Patwardhan A

    2012-05-01

    Full Text Available Anjali Patwardhan,1 Charles H Spencer21Nationwide Children’s Hospital Columbus, 2Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USAAbstract: Improving the quality of care in international health services was made a high priority in 1977. The World Health Assembly passed a resolution to greatly improve “Health for all” by the year 2000. Since 1977, the use of patient surveys for quality improvement has become a common practice in the health-care industry. The use of surveys reflects the concept that patient satisfaction is closely linked with that of organizational performance, which is in turn closely linked with organizational culture. This article is a review of the role of patient surveys as a quality-improvement tool in health care. The article explores the characteristics, types, merits, and pitfalls of various patient surveys, as well as the impact of their wide-ranging application in dissimilar scenarios to identify gaps in service provision. It is demonstrated that the conducting of patient surveys and using the results to improve the quality of care are two different processes. The value of patient surveys depends on the interplay between these two processes and several other factors that can influence the final outcome. The article also discusses the business aspect of the patient surveys in detail. Finally, the authors make future recommendations on how the patient survey tool can be best used to improve the quality of care in the health-care sector.Keywords: patient surveys, quality improvement, service gaps 

  9. Podiatry services for patients with arthritis: an unmet need.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rome, Keith; Chapman, Jonathan; Williams, Anita E; Gow, Peter; Dalbeth, Nicola

    2010-03-05

    Foot problems are extremely common in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). There is ample evidence that foot pain, either alone or as a comorbidity, contributes significantly to disability. Despite the high prevalence of foot disease in RA, this problem is often trivialised or underappreciated. The inequity in foot health provision for patients with rheumatic disorders in New Zealand has recently been highlighted. Expertise in dealing with foot problems is often limited among healthcare professionals, and it has been argued that better integration of podiatric services into rheumatology services would be beneficial. The aim of this paper is to highlight the major issues related to foot care for patients with arthritis and provide key recommendations that should implemented to improve access to podiatric services in New Zealand.

  10. Association between time of pay-for-performance for patients and community health services use by chronic patients.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xi Sun

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Pay-for-performance for patients is a cost-effective means of improving health behaviours. This study examined the association between the pay time for performance for patients and CHS use by chronic patients. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was undertaken to estimate distribution characteristics of CHS use in 2011 and collect data of socio-demographic characteristics (sex, age, education level, occupation, disposable personal income in 2011, distance between home and community health agency, chronic disease number, and time of pay-for-performance for patients. Participants were 889 rural adults with hypertension or type II diabetes aged 35 and above. Standardized CHS use means chronic patients use CHS at least once per quarter. RESULTS: Patients who received incentives prior to services had 2.724 times greater odds of using standardized CHS than those who received incentives after services (95%CI, 1.986-3.736, P<0.001. For all subgroups (socio-demographic characteristics and chronic disease number, patients who received incentives prior to services were more likely to use standardized CHS than those receiving incentives after services. CONCLUSIONS: Pay time for performance for patients was associated with CHS use by chronic patients. Patients receiving incentive prior to services were more likely to use standardized CHS. And pay time should not be ignored when the policy on pay-for-performance for patients is designed.

  11. Health service utilization by indigenous cancer patients in Queensland: a descriptive study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bernardes Christina M

    2012-10-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Introduction Indigenous Australians experience more aggressive cancers and higher cancer mortality rates than other Australians. Cancer patients undergoing treatment are likely to access health services (e.g. social worker, cancer helpline, pain management services. To date Indigenous cancer patients’ use of these services is limited. This paper describes the use of health services by Indigenous cancer patients. Methods Indigenous cancer patients receiving treatment were recruited at four major Queensland public hospitals (Royal Brisbane Women’s Hospital, Princess Alexandra, Cairns Base Hospital and Townsville Hospital. Participants were invited to complete a structured questionnaire during a face-to-face interview which sought information about their use of community and allied health services. Results Of the 157 patients interviewed most were women (54.1%, of Aboriginal descent (73.9%, lived outer regional areas (40.1% and had a mean age of 52.2 years. The most frequent cancer types were breast cancer (22.3%, blood related (14.0%, lung (12.1% and gastroenterological (10.8%. More than half of the participants reported using at least one of the ‘Indigenous Health Worker/Services’ (76.4%, ‘Allied Health Workers/Services’ (72.6% and ‘Information Sources’ (70.7%. Younger participants 19–39 years were more likely to use information sources (81.0% than older participants who more commonly used community services (48.8%. The cancer patients used a median of three health services groups while receiving cancer treatment. Conclusions Indigenous cancer patients used a range of health services whilst receiving treatment. Indigenous Health Workers/Services and Allied Health Workers/Services were the most commonly used services. However, there is a need for further systematic investigation into the health service utilization by Indigenous cancer patients.

  12. Patients' perceptions of service quality in China: An investigation using the SERVQUAL model.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Li-Hua Fan

    Full Text Available The doctor-patient relationship has been a major focus of society. Hospitals' efforts to improve the quality of their medical services have been to reduce the probability of doctor-patient conflicts. In this study, we aimed to determine the gap between expectations and perceptions of service quality according to patients to provide reference data for creating strategies to improve health care quality.Twenty-seven hospitals in 15 provinces (municipalities directly beneath the central government were selected for our survey; we sent out 1,589 questionnaires, of which 1,520 were collected (response rate 95.65% and 1,303 were valid (85.72% effective recovery rate. Paired t-tests were used to analyze whether there were significant differences between patients' expectations and perceived service quality. A binary logistic regression analysis was used to determine whether there were significant differences in the gap between expectation and perception of service quality according to patients' demographic characteristics.There was a significant difference between the expected and perceived service quality (p < 0.05 according to patients both before and after receiving medical services. Furthermore, the service quality gap of each service dimension was negative. Specifically, the gaps in service quality were as follows: economy, responsiveness, empathy, assurance, reliability, and tangibles. Overall, we can conclude that patients' perceptions of service quality are lower than their expectations.According to the study results, the quality of health care services as perceived by patients was lower than expected. Hospitals should make adjustments according to the actual situation and should strive to constantly improve the quality of medical services for patients.

  13. Service quality, patient satisfaction and loyalty in the Bangladesh healthcare sector.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ahmed, Selim; Tarique, Kazi Md; Arif, Ishtiaque

    2017-06-12

    Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate service quality, patient satisfaction and loyalty in Bangladesh's healthcare sector. It identifies healthcare quality conformance, patient satisfaction and loyalty based on demographics such as gender, age and marital status. It examines the differences between public and private healthcare sectors regarding service quality, patient satisfaction and loyalty. Design/methodology/approach The authors distributed 450 self-administered questionnaires to hospital patients resulting in 204 useful responses (45.3 per cent response rate). Data were analysed based on reliability analysis, exploratory factor analysis, independent samples t-tests, ANOVA and discriminant analysis using SPSS version 23. Findings Findings indicate that single patients perceive tangibles, reliability, empathy and loyalty higher compared to married patients. Young patients (⩽20 years) have a higher tangibles, empathy and loyalty scores compared to other age groups. The authors observed that private hospital patients perceive healthcare service quality performance higher compared to patients in public hospitals. Research limitations/implications The authors focussed solely on the Bangladesh health sector, so the results might not be applicable to other countries. Originality/value The findings provide guidelines for enhancing service quality, patient satisfaction and loyalty in the Bangladesh healthcare sector and other countries.

  14. Patients' perceptions of service quality in China: An investigation using the SERVQUAL model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fan, Li-Hua; Gao, Lei; Liu, Xin; Zhao, Shi-Hong; Mu, Hui-Tong; Li, Zhe; Shi, Lei; Wang, Ling-Ling; Jia, Xiao-Li; Ha, Min; Lou, Feng-Ge

    2017-01-01

    The doctor-patient relationship has been a major focus of society. Hospitals' efforts to improve the quality of their medical services have been to reduce the probability of doctor-patient conflicts. In this study, we aimed to determine the gap between expectations and perceptions of service quality according to patients to provide reference data for creating strategies to improve health care quality. Twenty-seven hospitals in 15 provinces (municipalities directly beneath the central government) were selected for our survey; we sent out 1,589 questionnaires, of which 1,520 were collected (response rate 95.65%) and 1,303 were valid (85.72% effective recovery rate). Paired t-tests were used to analyze whether there were significant differences between patients' expectations and perceived service quality. A binary logistic regression analysis was used to determine whether there were significant differences in the gap between expectation and perception of service quality according to patients' demographic characteristics. There was a significant difference between the expected and perceived service quality (p services. Furthermore, the service quality gap of each service dimension was negative. Specifically, the gaps in service quality were as follows: economy, responsiveness, empathy, assurance, reliability, and tangibles. Overall, we can conclude that patients' perceptions of service quality are lower than their expectations. According to the study results, the quality of health care services as perceived by patients was lower than expected. Hospitals should make adjustments according to the actual situation and should strive to constantly improve the quality of medical services for patients.

  15. Triage in an adult emergency service: patient satisfaction

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pollyane Liliane Silva

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available Abstract OBJECTIVE Assess the degree of patient satisfaction with triage in the adult emergency service of a public hospital. METHOD Exploratory, descriptive, cross-sectional study with a quantitative approach. Three hundred patients were interviewed and the data were analyzed using descriptive statistics based on sociodemographic variables and those related to patient satisfaction. RESULTS There was a predominance of women, with elementary education and a mean age of 41 years. Most of the interviewees reported being satisfied in regard to the following items: timely service, embracement, trust, environment (comfort, cleanliness and signage, humanization (courtesy, respect, and interest, timely referral/scheduling of appointments and care expectations. CONCLUSION There was a high level of patient satisfaction, evidenced by the strong association of user satisfaction with the items investigated.

  16. Relationship of Services Utility with Patients Tending to Hospitals

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. A. Nasiripour

    2013-09-01

    Full Text Available Background & purpose: In the health sector, in addition to the important consequence of treatment, health system should meet the expectations regarding the desirability of services. Expectations and perceptions of patients about the desirability of services play an important role in selecting hospitals, their loyalty to the organization & replanning to purchase. Thus the present study has been done with the aim to determine the relationship between services desirability and patients’ tendency to public or private hospitals in Sari. Materials & Methods: This study is a descriptive and analytical type done in 2012 in four private and public hospitals located in Sari. The study population consists of hospitalized patients that have been subjected to inquiry by using 361stratified random samples. The survey tool was questionnaire that its validity was judged and approved by the teachers and its reliability was obtained by alpha Cronbach as 0.972. The collected data was analyzed by SPSS software, independent t-test, t-sample test and descriptive statistics. Results: Findings show that in services cost indexes, there are not any significant differences between public and private hospitals while in the other services desirability indexes such as accessibility, availability, speed, quality, and complete package of services and …, there is a significant difference between public and private hospitals. Conclusion: In patients’ tendency to hospitals, utility service indicators satisfy a significant impact. So, codified planning to improve these indexes in order to absorb more patients by authorities is required.

  17. Transformative service design

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sørensen, Kirsten Bonde

    2014-01-01

    -behaviour’. These handmade, artistic strategies turned out to be highly self-persuasive: the majority of the participants changed their perception and behaviour in relation to money. - See more at: http://www.service-design-network.org/products-page/article/tp05-3p54/#sthash.3MX79Wx6.dpuf...

  18. Integration of outpatient infectious diseases clinic pharmacy services and specialty pharmacy services for patients with HIV infection.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gilbert, Elise M; Gerzenshtein, Lana

    2016-06-01

    The integration of specialty pharmacy services and existing outpatient clinical pharmacy services within an infectious diseases (ID) clinic to optimize the care of patients with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection is described. The management of HIV-infected patients is a highly specialized area of practice, often requiring use of complex medication regimens for reduction of HIV-associated morbidity and mortality prophylaxis and treatment of opportunistic infections, and prevention of HIV transmission. To maximize the effectiveness and safety of treatment with antiretroviral agents and associated pharmacotherapies, an interdisciplinary team is often involved in patient care. At Chicago-based Northwestern Medicine (NM), the outpatient ID clinic has long worked with an interdisciplinary care team including physicians, clinical pharmacists, nurses, and social workers to care for patients with HIV infection. In April 2014, specialty pharmacy services for patients with HIV infection were added to the NM ID clinic's care model to help maintain continuity of care and enhance patient follow-up. The care model includes well-defined roles for clinical pharmacists, pharmacy residents and students on rotation, and licensed pharmacy technicians. Specialty pharmacy services, including medication education, prescription fulfillment, assistance with medication access (e.g., navigation of financial assistance programs, completion of prior-authorization requests), and treatment monitoring, allow for closed-loop medication management of the HIV-infected patient population. Integration of specialty pharmacy services with the interdisciplinary care provided in the outpatient NM ID clinic has enhanced continuity of care for patients with HIV infection in terms of prescription filling, medication counseling, and adherence monitoring. Copyright © 2016 by the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, Inc. All rights reserved.

  19. Safety and Efficacy of a Pharmacist-Managed Patient-Controlled Analgesia Service in Postsurgical Patients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McGonigal, Katrina H; Giuliano, Christopher A; Hurren, Jeff

    2017-09-01

    To compare the safety and efficacy of a pharmacist-managed patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) service with physician/midlevel provider-managed (standard) PCA services in postsurgical patients. This was a multicenter, retrospective cohort study performed at 3 major hospitals in the Detroit, Michigan, metropolitan area. Postsurgical patients from October 2012 to December 2013 were included. The primary outcome compared the pain area under the curve adjusted for time on PCA (AUC/T) of patients receiving pharmacist-managed PCA services vs. standard care, up to 72 hours after initiation of PCA. Secondary outcomes included initial opioid selection, programmed PCA settings, duration of PCA use, frequency of adjunct analgesia utilization, and frequency of breakthrough analgesia utilization. Safety outcomes were assessed as a composite safety endpoint and individually. Total pain AUC/T scores did not differ between the pharmacist-managed and standard-managed groups (3.25 vs. 3.25, respectively; P = 0.98). Adjunct pain medications were given with similar frequency in the 2 groups; however, significantly fewer patients required breakthrough pain medication in the pharmacist-managed group (11% vs. 36%, respectively; P patients requiring antiemetic use (46% vs. 32%; P = 0.04). A pharmacist-managed PCA service provided no difference in pain control compared to standard management. The requirement for breakthrough analgesia was decreased in the pharmacist group, while the need for antiemetic use was increased. Further research should be conducted to evaluate different PCA management strategies. © 2016 World Institute of Pain.

  20. The effect of new links on Google PageRank

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Avrachenkov, Konstatin; Litvak, Nelli

    2004-01-01

    PageRank is one of the principle criteria according to which Google ranks Web pages. PageRank can be interpreted as a frequency of visiting a Web page by a random surfer and thus it reflects the popularity of a Web page. We study the effect of newly created links on Google PageRank. We discuss to

  1. Importance of intrinsic and non-network contribution in PageRank centrality and its effect on PageRank localization

    OpenAIRE

    Deyasi, Krishanu

    2016-01-01

    PageRank centrality is used by Google for ranking web-pages to present search result for a user query. Here, we have shown that PageRank value of a vertex also depends on its intrinsic, non-network contribution. If the intrinsic, non-network contributions of the vertices are proportional to their degrees or zeros, then their PageRank centralities become proportion to their degrees. Some simulations and empirical data are used to support our study. In addition, we have shown that localization ...

  2. Positioning patient-perceived medical services to develop a marketing strategy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jung, Minsoo; Hong, Myung-Sun

    2012-01-01

    In today's medical market, marketing philosophy is being rapidly transformed from customer searching to patient satisfaction and service improvement. The principal objective of this study was to contribute to the establishment of a desirable medical marketing strategy, through the factors of customer satisfaction and the positioning of patients' perceptions by marketing institutions. The data were collected from 282 students of the College of Public Health and Medicine in Seoul. The survey tools were developed using the SERVQUAL scale. Analysis in this study involved both statistical and network analysis. The former was used to verify the determinants of service satisfaction as perceived by respondents, via factor analysis and multiple regression analysis. The latter was obtained using a positioning map and 2-mode network analysis with the matrix data converted from raw data. The determining factors for patient satisfaction were identified as facilities, accessibility, process, physicians, and medical staff. The regression equation was significant (R = 0.606), and the most influential variable was the service quality of physicians (β = .569). According to multidimensional scaling, the positioning of medical institutions indicated that patients' perceptions were affected by hospital size and specialization. By recognizing and managing patient satisfaction, medical institutions are able to foster customer loyalty and, in turn, to enhance service quality. It is necessary to develop an adequate marketing mix to provide better medical services and to overcome medical competition among institutions.

  3. Community pharmacy-based medication therapy management services: financial impact for patients

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ruisinger JF

    2012-09-01

    Full Text Available Objective: To determine the direct financial impact for patients resulting from Medication Therapy Management (MTM interventions made by community pharmacists. Secondary objectives include evaluating the patient and physician acceptance rates of the community pharmacists’ recommended MTM interventions.Methods: This was a retrospective observational study conducted at 20 Price Chopper and Hen House grocery store chain pharmacies in the Kansas City metro area from January 1, 2010 to December 31, 2010. Study patients were Medicare Part D beneficiaries eligible for MTM services. The primary outcome was the change in patient out-of-pocket prescription medication expense as a result of MTM services.Results: Of 128 patients included in this study, 68% experienced no out-of-pocket financial impact on their medication expenses as a result of MTM services. A total of 27% of the patients realized a cost-savings (USD440.50 per year, (SD=289.69 while another 5% of patients saw a cost increase in out-of-pocket expense (USD255.66 per year, (SD=324.48. The net financial impact for all 128 patients who participated in MTM services was an average savings of USD102.83 per patient per year (SD=269.18, p<0.0001. Pharmacists attempted a total of 732 recommendations; 391 (53% were accepted by both the patient and their prescriber. A total of 341 (47% recommendations were not accepted because of patient refusal (290, 85% or prescriber refusal (51, 15%.Conclusions: Patient participation in MTM services reduces patient out-of-pocket medication expense. However, this savings is driven by only 32% of subjects who are experiencing a financial impact on out-of-pocket medication expense. Additionally, the majority of the pharmacists’ recommended interventions (53% were accepted by patients and prescribers.

  4. Designing testing service at baristand industri Medan’s liquid waste laboratory

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kusumawaty, Dewi; Napitupulu, Humala L.; Sembiring, Meilita T.

    2018-03-01

    Baristand Industri Medan is a technical implementation unit under the Industrial and Research and Development Agency, the Ministry of Industry. One of the services often used in Baristand Industri Medan is liquid waste testing service. The company set the standard of service is nine working days for testing services. At 2015, 89.66% on testing services liquid waste does not meet the specified standard of services company because of many samples accumulated. The purpose of this research is designing online services to schedule the coming the liquid waste sample. The method used is designing an information system that consists of model design, output design, input design, database design and technology design. The results of designing information system of testing liquid waste online consist of three pages are pages to the customer, the recipient samples and laboratory. From the simulation results with scheduled samples, then the standard services a minimum of nine working days can be reached.

  5. Documentation Service

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Charnay, J.; Chosson, L.; Croize, M.; Ducloux, A.; Flores, S.; Jarroux, D.; Melka, J.; Morgue, D.; Mottin, C.

    1998-01-01

    This service assures the treatment and diffusion of the scientific information and the management of the scientific production of the institute as well as the secretariat operation for the groups and services of the institute. The report on documentation-library section mentions: the management of the documentation funds, search in international databases (INIS, Current Contents, Inspects), Pret-Inter service which allows accessing documents through DEMOCRITE network of IN2P3. As realizations also mentioned are: the setup of a video, photo database, the Web home page of the institute's library, follow-up of digitizing the document funds by integrating the CD-ROMs and diskettes, electronic archiving of the scientific production, etc

  6. Social support and responsiveness in online patient communities: impact on service quality perceptions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nambisan, Priya; Gustafson, David H; Hawkins, Robert; Pingree, Suzanne

    2016-02-01

    Hospitals frequently evaluate their service quality based on the care and services provided to patients by their clinical and non-clinical staff.(1,2) However, such evaluations do not take into consideration the many interactions that patients have in online patient communities with the health-care organization (HCO) as well as with peer patients. Patients' interactions in these online communities could impact their perceptions regarding the HCO's service quality. The objective of this pilot study was to evaluate the impact of social support and responsiveness that patients experience in an HCO's online community on patients' perceptions regarding the HCO's service quality. The study data are collected from CHESS, a health-care programme (Comprehensive Health Enhancement Support System) run by the Centre for Health Enhancement System Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Findings show that the social support and the responsiveness received from peer patients in the online patient communities will impact patients' perceptions regarding the service quality of the HCO even when the organizational members themselves do not participate in the online discussions. The results indicate that interactions in such HCO-provided online patient communities should not be ignored as they could translate into patients' perceptions regarding HCOs' service quality. Ways to improve responsiveness and social support in an HCO's online patient community are discussed. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  7. Library and information services: impact on patient care quality.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marshall, Joanne Gard; Morgan, Jennifer Craft; Thompson, Cheryl A; Wells, Amber L

    2014-01-01

    The purpose of this paper is to explore library and information service impact on patient care quality. A large-scale critical incident survey of physicians and residents at 56 library sites serving 118 hospitals in the USA and Canada. Respondents were asked to base their answers on a recent incident in which they had used library resources to search for information related to a specific clinical case. Of 4,520 respondents, 75 percent said that they definitely or probably handled patient care differently using information obtained through the library. In a multivariate analysis, three summary clinical outcome measures were used as value and impact indicators: first, time saved; second, patient care changes; and third, adverse events avoided. The outcomes were examined in relation to four information access methods: first, asking librarian for assistance; second, performing search in a physical library; third, searching library's web site; or fourth, searching library resources on an institutional intranet. All library access methods had consistently positive relationships with the clinical outcomes, providing evidence that library services have a positive impact on patient care quality. Electronic collections and services provided by the library and the librarian contribute to patient care quality.

  8. Universal emergence of PageRank

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Frahm, K M; Georgeot, B; Shepelyansky, D L, E-mail: frahm@irsamc.ups-tlse.fr, E-mail: georgeot@irsamc.ups-tlse.fr, E-mail: dima@irsamc.ups-tlse.fr [Laboratoire de Physique Theorique du CNRS, IRSAMC, Universite de Toulouse, UPS, 31062 Toulouse (France)

    2011-11-18

    The PageRank algorithm enables us to rank the nodes of a network through a specific eigenvector of the Google matrix, using a damping parameter {alpha} Element-Of ]0, 1[. Using extensive numerical simulations of large web networks, with a special accent on British University networks, we determine numerically and analytically the universal features of the PageRank vector at its emergence when {alpha} {yields} 1. The whole network can be divided into a core part and a group of invariant subspaces. For {alpha} {yields} 1, PageRank converges to a universal power-law distribution on the invariant subspaces whose size distribution also follows a universal power law. The convergence of PageRank at {alpha} {yields} 1 is controlled by eigenvalues of the core part of the Google matrix, which are extremely close to unity, leading to large relaxation times as, for example, in spin glasses. (paper)

  9. Universal emergence of PageRank

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Frahm, K M; Georgeot, B; Shepelyansky, D L

    2011-01-01

    The PageRank algorithm enables us to rank the nodes of a network through a specific eigenvector of the Google matrix, using a damping parameter α ∈ ]0, 1[. Using extensive numerical simulations of large web networks, with a special accent on British University networks, we determine numerically and analytically the universal features of the PageRank vector at its emergence when α → 1. The whole network can be divided into a core part and a group of invariant subspaces. For α → 1, PageRank converges to a universal power-law distribution on the invariant subspaces whose size distribution also follows a universal power law. The convergence of PageRank at α → 1 is controlled by eigenvalues of the core part of the Google matrix, which are extremely close to unity, leading to large relaxation times as, for example, in spin glasses. (paper)

  10. Data Extraction Based on Page Structure Analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ren Yichao

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available The information we need has some confusing problems such as dispersion and different organizational structure. In addition, because of the existence of unstructured data like natural language and images, extracting local content pages is extremely difficult. In the light of of the problems above, this article will apply a method combined with page structure analysis algorithm and page data extraction algorithm to accomplish the gathering of network data. In this way, the problem that traditional complex extraction model behave poorly when dealing with large-scale data is perfectly solved and the page data extraction efficiency is also boosted to a new level. In the meantime, the article will also make a comparison about pages and content of different types between the methods of DOM structure based on the page and HTML regularities of distribution. After all of those, we may find a more efficient extract method.

  11. Quantum production. Visual Media Services at Fermilab

    CERN Multimedia

    Klapow, S

    2003-01-01

    Visual Media Services, a department of eight full-time employees at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, is responsible for translating the laboratories research into accessible and engaging media (1 page)

  12. Page 5

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    ezra

    Page 5. Stress Management By Library And Information Science Professionals In Nigerian University Libraries. BY ... relationships, and other considerations that can be ... Building a dynamic ... and maintaining current awareness of emerging.

  13. Probabilistic relation between In-Degree and PageRank

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Litvak, Nelli; Scheinhardt, Willem R.W.; Volkovich, Y.

    2008-01-01

    This paper presents a novel stochastic model that explains the relation between power laws of In-Degree and PageRank. PageRank is a popularity measure designed by Google to rank Web pages. We model the relation between PageRank and In-Degree through a stochastic equation, which is inspired by the

  14. Redesigning an intensive insulin service for patients with type 1 diabetes: a patient consultation exercise

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ozcan S

    2013-06-01

    Full Text Available Seyda Ozcan,1–3 Helen Rogers,3 Pratik Choudhary,3 Stephanie A Amiel,3 Alison Cox,3 Angus Forbes2,3 1Department of Medical Nursing, Florence Nightingale Nursing Faculty, Istanbul University, Istanbul, Turkey; 2Department of Primary and Intermediate Care, Florence Nightingale School of Nursing and Midwifery, King’s College London, London, United Kingdom; 3Department of Diabetes, King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, London, United Kingdom Context: Providing effective support for patients in using insulin effectively is essential for good diabetes care. For that support to be effective it must reflect and attend to the needs of patients. Purpose: To explore the perspectives of adult type 1 diabetes patients on their current diabetes care in order to generate ideas for creating a new patient centered intensive insulin clinic. Methods: A multi-method approach was used, comprising: an observational exercise of current clinical care; three focus groups (n = 17; and a survey of service users (n = 419 to test the ideas generated from the observational exercise and focus groups (rating 1 to 5 in terms of importance. The ideas generated by the multi-method approach were organized thematically and mapped onto the Chronic Care Model (CCM. Results: The themes and preferences for service redesign in relation to CCM components were: health care organization, there was an interest in having enhanced systems for sharing clinical information; self-management support, patients would like more flexible and easy to access resources and more help with diabetes technology and psychosocial support; delivery system design and clinical information systems, the need for greater integration of care and better use of clinic time; productive relationships, participants would like more continuity; access to health professionals, patient involvement and care planning. The findings from the patient survey indicate high preferences for most of the areas for service

  15. Patient involvement in rheumatology outpatient service design and delivery: a case study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    de Souza, Savia; Galloway, James; Simpson, Carol; Chura, Radka; Dobson, Joanne; Gullick, Nicola J; Steer, Sophia; Lempp, Heidi

    2017-06-01

    Patient involvement is increasingly recognized as important within the UK National Health Service to ensure that services delivered are relevant to users' needs. Organizations are encouraged to work with service users to achieve excellence in care. Patient education can improve health outcomes and reduce health-care costs. Mobile technologies could play a vital role in this. Patient-centred development of innovative strategies to improve the experience of rheumatology outpatients. The Group Rheumatology Initiative Involving Patients (GRIIP) project was set up in 2013 as a joint venture between patients, clinicians, academics and management at a London hospital. The project saw (i) the formation of an independent patient group which provided suggestions for service improvement - outcomes included clearer signs in the outpatient waiting area, extended phlebotomy opening hours and better access to podiatry; (ii) a rolling patient educational evening programme initiated in 2014 with topics chosen by patient experts - feedback has been positive and attendance continues to grow; and (iii) a mobile application (app) co-designed with patients launched in 2015 which provides relevant information for outpatient clinic attendees and data capture for clinicians - downloads have steadily increased as users adopt this new technology. Patients can effectively contribute to service improvement provided they are supported, respected as equals, and the organization is willing to undergo a cultural change. © 2016 The Authors. Health Expectations Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  16. Rapid Response Team activation for pediatric patients on the acute pain service.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Teets, Maxwell; Tumin, Dmitry; Walia, Hina; Stevens, Jenna; Wrona, Sharon; Martin, David; Bhalla, Tarun; Tobias, Joseph D

    2017-11-01

    Untreated pain or overly aggressive pain management may lead to adverse physiologic consequences and activation of the hospital's Rapid Response Team. This study is a quality improvement initiative that attempts to identify patient demographics and patterns associated with Rapid Response Team consultations for patients on the acute pain service. A retrospective review of all patients on the acute pain service from February 2011 until June 2015 was cross-referenced with inpatients requiring consultation from the Rapid Response Team. Two independent practitioners reviewed electronic medical records to determine which events were likely associated with pain management interventions. Over a 4-year period, 4872 patients were admitted to the acute pain service of whom 135 unique patients required Rapid Response Team consults. There were 159 unique Rapid Response Team activations among 6538 unique acute pain service consults. A subset of 27 pain management-related Rapid Response Team consultations was identified. The largest percentage of patients on the acute pain service were adolescents aged 12-17 (36%). Compared to this age group, the odds of Rapid Response Team activation were higher among infants Team consultations may help to identify patients at risk for clinical decompensation. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  17. The impact of health care professionals' service orientation on patients' innovative behavior.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Henrike, Hannemann-Weber; Schultz, Carsten

    2014-01-01

    The increasing availability of medical information and the rising relevance of patient communities drive the active role of health consumers in health care processes. Patients become experts on their disease and provide valuable stimuli for novel care solutions. Medical encounters evolve toward a more collaborative health care service process, where patients are accepted as equal partners. However, the patient's active role depends on the interaction with the involved health care professionals. The aim of this article is to examine whether the service orientation of health care professionals and their proactive and adaptive work behavior and the extent of shared goals within the necessary interdisciplinary health professional team influence patients' innovative behavior. We address six rare diseases and use interview and survey data to test theoretically derived hypotheses. The sample consists of 86 patients and their 160 health care professionals. Sixty patients provided additional information via interviews. Patients' innovative behavior is reflected by the number of generated ideas as well as the variety of ideas. The service orientation of work teams plays an important role in the innovation process of patients. As hypothesized, the extent of shared goals within the health care teams has a direct effect on patients' idea generation. Work adaptivity and proactivity and shared goals both reinforce the positive effect of service orientation. Furthermore, significant associations between the three independent variables and the second outcome variable of patient's idea variety are confirmed. The study underlines (1) the important role of patients within health care service innovation processes, (2) the necessity of a service-oriented working climate to foster the development of innovative care solutions for rare diseases, and (3) the need for an efficient cooperation and open mindset of health care professionals to motivate and support patient innovation.

  18. Directing Improvements in Primary Care Patient Experience through Analysis of Service Quality.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hudson Smith, Mel; Smith, David

    2018-06-03

    To examine the influence of dimensions of service quality on patient experience of primary care. Data from the national GP Patient Survey in England 2014/15, with responses from 858,351 patients registered at 7,918 practices. Expert panel and principal component analysis helped identify relevant dimensions of service quality. Regression was then used to examine the relationships between these dimensions and reported patient experience. Aggregated scores for each practice were used, comprising the proportion of positive responses to each element of the study. Of eight service quality dimensions identified, six have statistically significant impacts on patient experience but only two have large effects. Patient experience is highly influenced by practice responsiveness and the interactions with the physician. Other dimensions have small or even slightly negative influence. Service quality provided by nurses has negligible effect on patient experience. To improve patient experience in primary health care, efforts should focus on practice responsiveness and interactions with the physician. Other areas have little influence over patient experience. This suggests a gap in patients' perspectives on health care, which has policy implications for patient education. © Health Research and Educational Trust.

  19. Evaluation of Patients' Satisfaction with Services Accessed under ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Background: The evaluation of patient satisfaction provides an indicator of quality of care and contributes to strategies towards improvement of healthcare delivery. Objective: To assess patient satisfaction with services accessed under the National Health Insurance Scheme at a tertiary health facility in North central, Nigeria.

  20. Perceived service quality's effect on patient satisfaction and behavioural compliance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mohamed, Bahari; Azizan, Noor Azlinna

    2015-01-01

    The purpose of this paper is to advance healthcare service quality research using hierarchical component models. This study used a quantitative approach with cross-sectional design as a survey method, combining cluster and convenience sampling and partial least square structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) to validate the research model and test the hypotheses. The study extends health service quality literature by showing that: patient satisfaction (PS) is dominant, significant and indirect determinant of behavioural compliance (BC); perceived service quality has the strongest effect on BC via PS. Only one hospital was evaluated. The study provides managers with a service quality model for conducting integrated service delivery systems analysis and design. Overall, the study makes a significant contribution to healthcare organizations, better health outcomes for patients and better quality of life for the community.

  1. A Runtime System for Interactive Web Services

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Brabrand, Claus; Møller, Anders; Sandholm, Anders

    1999-01-01

    Interactive web services are increasingly replacing traditional static web pages. Producing web services seems to require a tremendous amount of laborious low-level coding due to the primitive nature of CGI programming. We present ideas for an improved runtime system for interactive web services...... built on top of CGI running on virtually every combination of browser and HTTP/CGI server. The runtime system has been implemented and used extensively in , a tool for producing interactive web services....

  2. Personal and Public Start Pages in a library setting

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kieft-Wondergem, Dorine

    Personal and Public Start Pages are web-based resources. With these kind of tools it is possible to make your own free start page. A Start Page allows you to put all your web resources into one page, including blogs, email, podcasts, RSSfeeds. It is possible to share the content of the page with

  3. Evaluating sociodemographic and medical conditions of patients under home care service

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tolga Önder

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available Objective: In our study, we aimed to reveal medical conditions and the sociodemographic conditions of patients under home care service. Methods: Our study is planned on 52 patients who are under home care service at Sarıkamış State Hospital between June 2013 and May 2014. Patients' sex, education, social security status, comorbid diseases and general health status were recorded. Results: Fifty-two patients enrolled. 21 of them (40.4% were men, 31 of them (59.6 % were women. It is revealed that In 36 patients (69.2% did not receive formal education throughout their lives, while16 (30.8% of them had only primary education. All female patients were housewives. The most frequent diseases in home care patients were cerebrovascular disease in 18 (34.6% subjects, Alzheimer's disease in 9 (17.3%, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in 4 (7.7% d. 38 patients (73.1% needed routine follow-up. Most of the patients (61.5% had green card health insurance. Only 6 patients (11.5% were in need of narcotic analgesics. Thirteen patients had pressure ulcers due to immobilization. Evaluating the exercise capacity of the patients; 43 (82.7% could not dressed themselves, 38 (73.1% could not use phone. Thirty-two patients had urinary incontinence and 31 had fecal incontinence. Conclusion: Today, population of patients who need home care service is increasing due to ease access to home care service and increase in survival. For a better care of patients, home care providers should be well educated and differences on features of patients and medical conditions it should be taken into consideration.

  4. Monte Carlo methods of PageRank computation

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Litvak, Nelli

    2004-01-01

    We describe and analyze an on-line Monte Carlo method of PageRank computation. The PageRank is being estimated basing on results of a large number of short independent simulation runs initiated from each page that contains outgoing hyperlinks. The method does not require any storage of the hyperlink

  5. An exploration of chronic pain patients' perceptions of home telerehabilitation services.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cranen, Karlijn; Drossaert, Constance H C; Brinkman, Evelien S; Braakman-Jansen, Annemarie L M; Ijzerman, Maarten J; Vollenbroek-Hutten, Miriam M R

    2012-12-01

    To explore patients' perceptions regarding prospective telerehabilitation services and the factors that facilitate or impede patients' intentions to use these services. Using semi-structured interviews, patients reflected on the pros and cons of various scenarios of prospective telerehabilitation services. Patients' arguments were first arranged according to the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT). Next, using inductive analysis, the data for each UTAUT component were analysed and arranged into subthemes. Twenty-five chronic pain patients were selected from a rehabilitation centre in the Netherlands. Overall, participants considered telerehabilitation helpful as a complementary or follow-up treatment, rather than an autonomous treatment. Arguments mainly related to the UTAUT constructs of 'performance expectancy' and 'facilitating conditions'. Patients valued the benefits such as reduced transportation barriers, flexible exercise hours and the possibility to better integrate skills into daily life. However, many patients feared a loss of treatment motivation and expressed concerns about both reduced fellow sufferer contact and reduced face-to-face therapist contact. Few arguments related to 'social norms' and 'effort expectancy'. The effect of telerehabilitation on healthcare strongly depends on patients' willingness to use. Our study showed that chronic pain patients valued the benefits of telerehabilitation but hesitate to use it as an autonomous treatment. Therefore, future initiatives should maintain traditional care to some degree and focus on patients' attitudes as well. Either by giving information to increase patients' confidence in telerehabilitation or by addressing reported drawbacks into the future design of these services. Further quantitative studies are needed to explore patients' intentions to use telerehabilitation. © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

  6. Patients' value of asthma services in Australian pharmacies: the way ahead for asthma care.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Naik-Panvelkar, Pradnya; Armour, Carol; Rose, John; Saini, Bandana

    2012-04-01

    Long-term sustainability of health services requires an understanding of patients' values and preferences. The aim of this study was to evaluate patients' preferences as well as their willingness-to-pay (WTP) for a community pharmacy-delivered specialized asthma service using a discrete choice experiment (DCE). Patients with asthma in New South Wales, Australia, who had recently experienced a specialized asthma management service at their pharmacy were mailed DCE questionnaires. Patients were asked to choose between two hypothetical service models with varying attributes. Multinomial logit models estimated patients' marginal WTP. The study had a response rate of 47%. Patients greatly valued various aspects of the pharmacy-based specialized service and had marginal WTP values of AUD$18.00 for a private area, AUD$44.50 for lung function testing, AUD$9.18 for appointments with pharmacists, and AUD$22.80 for provision of comprehensive advice on asthma and its medications. The marginal WTP for the overall service was AUD$94.86. The findings of the study indicate that patients greatly value and are willing to pay for asthma services in pharmacies. The study results will help pharmacists and policy advisors in the development of individualized asthma services that patients will use, are willing to pay for, and thus are economically viable in the future.

  7. Agency ownership, patient payment source, and length of service in home care, 1992 2000.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Han, Beth; McAuley, William J; Remsburg, Robin E

    2007-08-01

    Little is known about whether an association exists between agency ownership and length of service among home care patients with different payment sources. This study investigated how for-profit and not-for-profit agencies responded to policy changes in the 1990s with respect to length of service. We examined length of service among 37,364 home care patients using the 1992, 1994, 1996, 1998, and 2000 National Home and Hospice Care Surveys. We used Kaplan-Meier methods and Cox regression models. After we adjusted for patient and agency characteristics, our results revealed that agency ownership was not associated with length of service for patients with private insurance, Medicare, Medicaid, Medicare plus Medicaid, or Medicare plus private insurance. This finding was consistent from 1992 through 2000. Length of service among patients with Medicare decreased significantly from 1998 through 2000, but length of service among patients with Medicaid did not change significantly from 1992 through 2000. Agency ownership is not associated with patient length of service in home care. Regardless of the policy changes in the home care arena in the 1990s, for-profit and not-for-profit home health agencies behaved similarly with regard to length of service among patients within differently structured payment systems.

  8. Patients' satisfaction with reproductive health services at Gogo ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Patient satisfaction is an individual's state of being content with the care provided in the health system. It is important for reproductive health care providers to get feedback from women regarding satisfaction with reproductive health services. There is a dearth of knowledge about patient satisfaction in Malawi. Aim

  9. Services to patients with dual diagnoses: findings from Washington's mental health service system.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ouimette, Paige; Jemelka, Ron; Hall, Judy; Brimner, Karl; Krupski, Antoinette; Stark, Kenneth

    2007-01-01

    This study examined how Washington State's (WA) mental health treatment system provided services to patients with substance use disorders or dual diagnoses at several stages of care: crisis commitment, hospitalization, and outpatient treatment. A total of 30 key informants from urban and rural areas were surveyed between February and July 2004 using semi-structured interviews. Key informants represented direct service providers to chief operating officers. Themes, consensus, and disagreements were summarized. Results indicated that best practices are not consistently implemented and administrative and provider barriers hinder provision of more effective care. Findings highlight that work on how to best implement evidence-based practices is critical to improving care of dual diagnosis patients. Limitations of the study are noted as well as future research directions.

  10. PageRank in scale-free random graphs

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Chen, Ningyuan; Litvak, Nelli; Olvera-Cravioto, Mariana; Bonata, Anthony; Chung, Fan; Pralat, Paweł

    2014-01-01

    We analyze the distribution of PageRank on a directed configuration model and show that as the size of the graph grows to infinity, the PageRank of a randomly chosen node can be closely approximated by the PageRank of the root node of an appropriately constructed tree. This tree approximation is in

  11. The detectability of the origin of the inferior phrenic artery by paging method on multidetector-row CT angiography

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Terayama, Koshi

    2005-01-01

    We evaluated the ability to detect the origin of the inferior phrenic artery (IPA) by paging method on multidetector-row computed tomography (CT) angiography. In 104 patients who underwent multidetector-row CT, detectability of the origin of the IPA was assessed. In addition, in 30 patients in whom arteriographic study was performed, the IPA findings on multidetector-row CT were compared with those on arteriography. In 100 patients (96%) the origin of the right IPA was demonstrated with multidetector-row CT and in 93 patients (89%) the origin of the left IPA was demonstrated. CT angiographic findings concurred with arteriographic findings in all 30 patients (100%) who underwent arteriographic study. In conclusion, paging method on multidetector-row CT angiography provides valuable anatomical information regarding IPA. (author)

  12. Patient-perceived hospital service quality: an empirical assessment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pai, Yogesh P; Chary, Satyanarayana T; Pai, Rashmi Yogesh

    2018-02-12

    Purpose The purpose of this paper is to appraise Pai and Chary's (2016) conceptual framework for measuring patient-perceived hospital service quality (HSQ). Design/methodology/approach A structured questionnaire was used to obtain data from teaching, public and corporate hospital patients. Several tests were conducted to assess the instrument's reliability and validity. Pai and Chary's (2016) nine dimensions for measuring HSQ were examined in this paper. Findings The tests confirm that Pai and Chary's (2016) conceptual framework is reliable and valid. The study also establishes that the nine dimensions measure HSQ. Practical implications The framework empowers managers to assess service quality in any hospital settings, corporate, public and teaching, using an approach that is superior to the existing HSQ scales. Originality/value This paper helps researchers and practitioners to assess HSQ from patient perspectives in any hospital setting.

  13. Evaluation of outpatient service quality in Eastern Saudi Arabia. Patient's expectations and perceptions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Al Fraihi, Khalid J; Latif, Shahid A

    2016-04-01

    To investigate perceptions and expectations of patients regarding hospital outpatient services by using a service quality gap model and factors influencing such gaps. In this cross-sectional descriptive study conducted between October and November 2014 in the outpatient waiting areas of a hospital in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia, a sample of 306 patients was selected by convenience sampling technique. The data was collected through an Arabic version of the service quality (SERVQUAL) questionnaire consisting of 2 parts: patients' demographic characteristics, and 22 items scales of patients' expectations and perceptions of SERVQUAL. The data was analyzed by confirmatory factor analysis, independent, and paired t samples tests and one way analysis of variance test The results showed that the proposed model for service quality dimensions had a good fit by satisfying the recommended values. The patients' expectations exceeded perceptions in all service quality dimensions indicating statistically significant service quality gaps (t=26.3, p less than 0.000). Findings revealed that the empathy dimension contributed most patients' expectations (4.7 ± 0.5) and perceptions (3.7 ± 0.8) scores, and responsiveness contributed least to expectations (4.5 ± 0.6) and perceptions (3.2 ± 0.8) scores. Prompt services showed highest service quality gap, while observation of privacy showed the smallest service quality gap in the statements. The study showed a significant association between gender, age, education, multiple visits, and service quality dimensions. The proposed model is valid and reliable and significant service quality gaps of all 5 dimensions need to be prioritized and addressed by focused improvement efforts of hospital management.

  14. How compliant are dental practice Facebook pages with Australian health care advertising regulations? A Netnographic review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Holden, Acl; Spallek, H

    2018-03-01

    The National Law that regulates the dental and other health care professions in Australia sets out regulations that dictate how dental practices are to advertise. This study examines the extent to which the profession complies with these regulations and the potential impact that advertising may have upon professionalism. A Facebook search of 38 local government areas in Sydney, New South Wales, was carried out to identify dental practices that had pages on this social media site. A framework for assessment of compliance was developed using the regulatory guidelines and was used to conduct a netnographic review. Two hundred and sixty-six practice pages were identified from across the 38 regions. Of these pages, 71.05% were in breach of the National Law in their use of testimonials, 5.26% displayed misleading or false information, 4.14% displayed offers that had no clear terms and conditions or had inexact pricing, 19.55% had pictures or text that was likely to create unrealistic expectations of treatment benefit and 16.92% encouraged the indiscriminate and unnecessary utilization of health services. This study found that compliance with the National Law by the Facebook pages surveyed was poor. © 2017 Australian Dental Association.

  15. Women's Pages or People's Pages: The Production of News for Women in the "Washington Post" in the 1950s.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Mei-ling

    1996-01-01

    Examines the women's pages of the "Washington Post" in the 1950s that were edited by Marie Sauer. States that the newspaper turned down Sauer's request in 1952 to change from traditional women's pages to a unisex "lifestyle" section. Analyzes how women's pages were shaped by factors such as advertising, professional values, and…

  16. 75 FR 13523 - Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services Overview Information; Migrant and...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-03-22

    ... DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services Overview Information; Migrant and Seasonal Farmworkers Program Correction In notice document 2010-5976 beginning on page 13106 in the issue of Thursday, March 18, 2010 make the following correction: On page 13106, in...

  17. Measuring patients' satisfaction with pharmaceutical services at a public hospital in Qatar.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Khudair, Imran Fahmi; Raza, Syed Asif

    2013-01-01

    The aim of this paper is to study pharmacy service impact on patient satisfaction and to determine what factors saliently link with pharmaceutical service performance at Hamad General Hospital. A patient satisfaction questionnaire was designed using the literature and consultation with Hamad General Hospital medical experts. The questionnaire contained 22 items that focused on five influencing factors: promptness; attitude; supply; location; medication education; and respondent demographic aspects. A total of 220 respondents completed the questionnaire. An exploratory factor analysis was used to group items and a structural equation model was developed to test causality between five factors along with their influence on patient satisfaction. The study establishes statistical evidence that patient satisfaction is positively influenced by service promptness, pharmacist attitude, medication counseling, pharmacy location and waiting area. Several socio-demographic characteristics have statistically different effect on satisfaction, notably: gender; marital status; health status; age; educational level; and ethnicity. However, medication supply did not influence patient satisfaction. Pharmaceutical services are recognized as an essential healthcare-system component. Their impact on customer satisfaction has been investigated in many countries; however, there is no such study in Qatar. The findings identify pharmaceutical service performance indicators and provide guidelines to improve Qatari pharmaceutical services.

  18. Patient perceptions and expectations of an anticoagulation service: a quantitative comparison study of clinic-based testers and patient self-testers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Money, Arthur G; Barnett, Julie; Kuljis, Jasna; Duffin, Debbie

    2015-12-01

    Government initiatives see the provision of technology-assisted self-care as one of the key areas in which there is capacity for improving quality of care whilst reducing costs. However, levels of patient engagement in self-testing and management (STM) remain low. Little emphasis has been placed on understanding the patients' perspectives of the reasons for this limited engagement. Typically, patient engagement in STM is achieved via the provision of patient education programmes, which aim to enable patients to make the changes necessary to become competent self-carers. However, placing the onus to change on the individual patient is unrealistic. If levels of patient engagement are to be improved, patient needs and expectations of clinical services must be better understood and service provision must be adapted accordingly. Explore patient perceptions and expectations of clinical service provision and their views of having and making choices about care. Participants [N = 191, 103 patient self-tester managers (PSTMs) and 87 clinic-based testers (CBTs)] completed the SERVQUAL and ChQ instruments to capture perspectives on service quality and choice, respectively. A comparative statistical analysis explored the similarities and differences between PSTMs' and CBTs' responses. Clinic-based testers' perceptions of service quality were significantly more positive than PSTMs', as were their expectations of the 'tangible' aspects of service delivery. PSTMs' expectations of service quality were significantly higher than their perceptions. PSTMs attributed significantly more value to making choices compared with CBTs. To close the gap between PSTMs expectations and perceptions of service quality and better cater for their choice preferences, service providers may benefit from taking into account the following practice considerations: maintain frequent, timely, personalised and direct interactions with PSTMs; prioritise investment in resources to facilitate patient

  19. Bad on the net, or bipolars' lives on the web: analyzing discussion web pages for individuals with bipolar affective disorder.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Latalova, Klara; Prasko, Jan; Kamaradova, Dana; Ivanova, Katerina; Jurickova, Lubica

    2014-01-01

    The main therapeutic approach in the treatment of bipolar affective disorder is the administration of drugs. The effectiveness of this approach can be increased by specific psychotherapeutic interventions. There is not much knowledge about self-help initiatives in this field. Anonymous internet communication may be beneficial, regardless of the fact that it is non-professional. It offers a chance to confide and share symptoms with other patients, to open up for persons with feelings of shame, and to obtain relevant information without having a direct contact with an expert. Qualitative analysis of web discussions used by patients with bipolar disorder in Czech language was performed. Using key words "diskuze" (discussion), "maniodeprese" (manic depression) and "bipolární porucha" (bipolar disorder), 8 discussions were found, but only 3 of them were anonymous and non-professional. Individual discussion entries were analyzed for basic categories or subcategories, and these were subsequently assessed so that their relationships could be better understood. A total of 436 entries from 3 discussion web pages were analyzed. Subsequently, six categories were identified (participant, diagnosis, relationships, communication, topic and treatment), each having 5-12 subcategories. These were analyzed in terms of relationships and patterns. Czech discussion web pages for people suffering from bipolar disorder are a lively community of users supporting each other, that may be characterized as a compact body open to newcomers. They seem to fulfill patients' needs that are not fully met by health care services. It also has a "self-cleaning" ability, effectively dealing with posts that are inappropriate, provocative, criticizing, aggressive or meaningless.

  20. E-TOURISM SERVICES IN POLISH TOURISTS' OPINIONS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Joanna Papińska-Kacperek

    2013-07-01

    Full Text Available E-tourism is most often related only with web pages of travel agencies or aggregators offering many services, where it is possible to make transactions electronically. Whereas many applications and devices are applied in tourism, like the audio guides and mobile guides (sometimes with augmented reality functions, electronic cards in museums, 2D codes systems, web pages for individual tourists, geographic information systems (e.g. Google Street View, social network sites recommendation, and profiles of cities on social networks sites like Facebook. Polish tourists' opinions about mentioned innovative tools will be presented as the report from the survey conducted among students and graduates from three Polish universities. The objectives of the study are: investigating the popularity of e-tourist services in Poland and verifying whether municipal authorities promote e-tourism initiatives.

  1. Assessing Medical Tourism Services Quality Using SERVQUAL Model: A Patient's Perspective.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Qolipour, Mohammad; Torabipour, Amin; Faraji Khiavi, Farzad; Saki Malehi, Amal

    2018-01-01

    Continuous quality improvement of the hospital services is a basic requirement of medical tourism industry. The different dimensions of hospital services quality are assessed constantly to improve the service of medical tourism. The aim of this study was to determine the services quality of medical tourism in private and public hospitals. In this cross-sectional study, the quality of hospital services were assessed in view of 250 Iraqi tourists referred to Ahvaz private and public hospitals in 2015. Data were collected using a valid medical tourism SERVQUAL questionnaire (MTSQ). This questionnaire includes 8 main dimensions with 31 items. Finally, Mann-Whitney, Kruskal-Wallis and Wilcoxon tests were used to analyze the data. The mean of age of patients was 39±2.2 yr. The mean of hospital length of stay was 3.87±1.36 days. The most patients were admitted to Orthopedics, Otorhinolaryngology, Obstetrics, and Gynecology departments, respectively. There was a negative gap in all of the dimensions of service quality in the studied hospitals ( P >0.001). The highest and lowest quality gap was seen in the "exchange and travel facilities" (-2.63) and the "tangibles" (-0.68) dimension, respectively. There was a negative gap in all of the dimensions of service quality in the studied hospitals. Therefore, the hospital services quality is improved to attract the foreign patients.

  2. Do patients discharged from advanced practice physiotherapy-led clinics re-present to specialist medical services?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chang, Angela T; Gavaghan, Belinda; O'Leary, Shaun; McBride, Liza-Jane; Raymer, Maree

    2017-05-15

    Objective The aim of the present study was to determine the rates of re-referral to specialist out-patient clinics for patients previously managed and discharged from an advanced practice physiotherapy-led service in three metropolitan hospitals. Methods A retrospective audit was undertaken of 462 patient cases with non-urgent musculoskeletal conditions discharged between 1 April 2014 and 30 March 2015 from three metropolitan hospitals. These patients had been discharged from the physiotherapy-led service without requiring specialist medical review. Rates and patterns of re-referral to specialist orthopaedic, neurosurgical, chronic pain, or rheumatology services within 12 months of discharge were investigated. Results Forty-six of the 462 patients (10.0%) who were managed by the physiotherapy-led service were re-referred to specialist medical orthopaedic, neurosurgical, chronic pain or rheumatology departments within 12 months of discharge. Only 22 of these patients (4.8%) were re-referred for the same condition as managed previously and discharged. Conclusions Ninety-five per cent of patients with non-urgent musculoskeletal conditions managed by an advanced practice physiotherapy-led service at three metropolitan hospitals did not re-present to access public specialist medical services for the same condition within 12 months of discharge. This is the first time that re-presentation rates have been reported for patients managed in advanced practice physiotherapy services and the findings support the effectiveness of these models of care in managing demand for speciality out-patient services. What is known about the topic? Advanced practice physiotherapy-led services have been implemented to address the needs of patients referred with non-urgent musculoskeletal conditions to hospital specialist out-patient services. Although this model is widely used in Australia, there has been very little information about whether patients managed in these services subsequently re

  3. Using Power-Law Degree Distribution to Accelerate PageRank

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zhaoyan Jin

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available The PageRank vector of a network is very important, for it can reflect the importance of a Web page in the World Wide Web, or of a people in a social network. However, with the growth of the World Wide Web and social networks, it needs more and more time to compute the PageRank vector of a network. In many real-world applications, the degree and PageRank distributions of these complex networks conform to the Power-Law distribution. This paper utilizes the degree distribution of a network to initialize its PageRank vector, and presents a Power-Law degree distribution accelerating algorithm of PageRank computation. Experiments on four real-world datasets show that the proposed algorithm converges more quickly than the original PageRank algorithm.

  4. Patient satisfaction with primary health-care services in Kuwait.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alotaibi, Muhammad; Alazemi, Talal; Alazemi, Fahad; Bakir, Yusif

    2015-06-01

    The study aims to evaluate patient satisfaction with respect to primary health-care services in Kuwait.A total of 245 patients completed the General Practice Assessment Questionnaire postconsultation version 2.0. Two statistically significant differences of patients' satisfaction with sex and level of education were found. Overall satisfaction was higher among men than women (P = 0.002), and it was also higher among those with university degree of education than the other levels of education (P = 0.049). We also found statistically significant differences of patients' responses over sex for three themes, namely: satisfaction with receptionists, satisfaction with access and satisfaction with communication; and over the age for one theme: satisfaction with access. There was no statistically significant differences of patients' responses over nationality for all themes. Satisfaction is a multifactorial and no one factor alone could provide satisfaction with primary health services in Kuwait. © 2014 Wiley Publishing Asia Pty Ltd.

  5. Comparing classical and quantum PageRanks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Loke, T.; Tang, J. W.; Rodriguez, J.; Small, M.; Wang, J. B.

    2017-01-01

    Following recent developments in quantum PageRanking, we present a comparative analysis of discrete-time and continuous-time quantum-walk-based PageRank algorithms. Relative to classical PageRank and to different extents, the quantum measures better highlight secondary hubs and resolve ranking degeneracy among peripheral nodes for all networks we studied in this paper. For the discrete-time case, we investigated the periodic nature of the walker's probability distribution for a wide range of networks and found that the dominant period does not grow with the size of these networks. Based on this observation, we introduce a new quantum measure using the maximum probabilities of the associated walker during the first couple of periods. This is particularly important, since it leads to a quantum PageRanking scheme that is scalable with respect to network size.

  6. Helicopter emergency medical service patient transport safe at night?

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Peters, J.H.; Wageningen, B. van; Hoogerwerf, N.; Biert, J.

    2014-01-01

    OBJECTIVE: Dutch helicopter emergency medical services are available 24/7. Working without daylight brings additional challenges, both in patient care and in-flight operation. We retrospectively evaluated the safety of this nighttime helicopter transportation of patients. METHODS: Our helicopter

  7. Qualitative Study of correspondence between Patient Perception of Service Advertisement and Service Provided from Traditional Health Facilities

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lusi Kristiana

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available background: Attractive adses of traditional health services often promises such as certainty of healing, treatment without side effect, experience personnel, exclusive recipes, and testimony of patients who recovered. Ads that this unsubstantiated allegedly played a role in the tendency of people turn to traditional medicine. The aim of the study is to describe the perception of patients about the correspondence between the advertisement and the services provided qualitatively. Methods: The study was conducted in Surabaya for 5 months in 2012. Informants were selected purposively. results: The result shows that most of the information about traditional health services obtained from either advertisement local and national television. Health complaints predominanly degenerative diseases, and most have been treated to modern medicine but because they do not heal, switch to traditional medicine. conclusion: Informants judge ad featuring attractive because advanced equipment, herbal remedies as well as testimonials of patients who have recovered. Much of the promise of the ads is not evident when patients seek treatment, so they seek other traditional treatments. Most of them are less satisfied, but there is a fraction that satisfied because being cured. Traditional health services responsiveness associated with the non-medical aspects assessed either by informants. recomendation:Competent authorities should enforce and socialize media literacy to encourage community.

  8. Optimizing TLB entries for mixed page size storage in contiguous memory

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Dong; Gara, Alan; Giampapa, Mark E.; Heidelberger, Philip; Kriegel, Jon K.; Ohmacht, Martin; Steinmacher-Burow, Burkhard

    2013-04-30

    A system and method for accessing memory are provided. The system comprises a lookup buffer for storing one or more page table entries, wherein each of the one or more page table entries comprises at least a virtual page number and a physical page number; a logic circuit for receiving a virtual address from said processor, said logic circuit for matching the virtual address to the virtual page number in one of the page table entries to select the physical page number in the same page table entry, said page table entry having one or more bits set to exclude a memory range from a page.

  9. Isolation and Identification of Outer Membrane Proteins of Helicobacter Pylori of Iranian Patient by SDS-PAGE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. Doosty

    1998-04-01

    Full Text Available The function of Helicobacter pylori (H.pylori is confirmed as one of the factors which motivates gastric and duodenal ulcer and gastritis. Various methods are used to diagnose the infection. Serological tests are the easiest and most harmless for the patients. Probably, H.pylori strains in Iran are different from the strains in other countries. Hence, it seems neccessary to design a specific serological test to recognize and identify different strains of bacterial antigenic proteins of Iranian patients."nSince the most manifest and specific to these bacterial antigens are the "Outer Membrane Protein" (OMP, therefore, the first necessary step is to separate and purify H.pylori OMP and then to identify antigenic proteins."nIn this study, we received bacteria colony that belonged to 15 patients with gastric or duodenal ulcer, which had been growed in blood agar or brucella broth. After processing such as washing, freezing and defreezing, sonicating, centrifugation with high speed (10,000 g and treatment with sarcosyl, the sarcosyl insoluble fraction was extracted. Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate - Poly Acrylamide Gel Electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE was preformed. From all 15 OMP specimens, we isolated protein bands."nThe first two bands with higher MW, were major bands and the two lighter bands were the minor bands. Approximate MW of these 4 proteins are equal to 67000, 61000, 30000 and 17000 dalton

  10. Measuring the quality of provided services for patients with chronic kidney disease.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bahadori, Mohammadkarim; Raadabadi, Mehdi; Heidari Jamebozorgi, Majid; Salesi, Mahmood; Ravangard, Ramin

    2014-09-01

    The healthcare organizations need to develop and implement quality improvement plans for their survival and success. Measuring quality in the healthcare competitive environment is an undeniable necessity for these organizations and will lead to improved patient satisfaction. This study aimed to measure the quality of provided services for patients with chronic kidney disease in Kerman in 2014. This cross-sectional, descriptive-analytic study was performed from 23 January 2014 to 14 February 2014 in four hemodialysis centers in Kerman. All of the patients on chronic hemodialysis (n = 195) who were referred to these four centers were selected and studied using census method. The required data were collected using the SERVQUAL questionnaire, consisting of two parts: questions related to the patients' demographic characteristics, and 28 items to measure the patients' expectations and perceptions of the five dimensions of service quality, including tangibility, reliability, responsiveness, assurance, and empathy. The collected data were analyzed using SPSS 21.0 through some statistical tests, including independent-samples t test, one-way ANOVA, and paired-samples t test. The results showed that the means of patients' expectations were more than their perceptions of the quality of provided services in all dimensions, which indicated that there were gaps in all dimensions. The highest and lowest means of negative gaps were related to empathy (-0.52 ± 0.48) and tangibility (-0.29 ± 0.51). In addition, among the studied patients' demographic characteristics and the five dimensions of service quality, only the difference between the patients' income levels and the gap in assurance were statistically significant (P expectations of patients on hemodialysis were more than their perceptions of provided services. The healthcare providers and employees should pay more attention to the patients' opinions and comments and use their feedback to solve the workplace problems and

  11. The Importance of Prior Probabilities for Entry Page Search

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kraaij, W.; Westerveld, T.H.W.; Hiemstra, Djoerd

    An important class of searches on the world-wide-web has the goal to find an entry page (homepage) of an organisation. Entry page search is quite different from Ad Hoc search. Indeed a plain Ad Hoc system performs disappointingly. We explored three non-content features of web pages: page length,

  12. Utilization of In-Patient Physiotherapy Services in a Nigerian ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The aim of this retrospective study was to examine the trend and pattern of utilization of in-patient physiotherapy services in the management and care of patients by various medical specialties at the University of Benin Teaching Hospital, Benin City, Nigeria within a period of 4 years. Medical records of all patients admitted ...

  13. Genetic mental services for retardation. patIents with seve.re

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    1982-01-04

    Jan 4, 1982 ... Care of Mentally Deficient Persons in the RSA (1967) dermed persons with mental .... hensive genetic service for patients with mental retardation and ..... servIces. There are numerous homes and institutions for the mentally.

  14. Patients' perception of the ambulance services at Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anisah, A; Chew, K S; Mohd Shaharuddin Shah, C H; Nik Hisamuddin, N A R

    2008-08-01

    Little is known regarding public opinion of prehospital care in Malaysia. This study was conducted to find out the public's perception and expectations of the ambulance services in one of the university hospitals in Malaysia. A six-month prospective cross-sectional study to look at patients' perception of Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia's (HUSM) ambulance service was conducted from February 2006 to July 2006. Upon arrival at the hospital, patients or their relatives (who used our hospital's ambulances) were interviewed with a set of questions regarding their perception of the ambulance services and were asked to rate the perception on a Likert Scale from 1 to 10. A convenient sampling method was applied. A total of 87 samples were obtained. Despite the many problems faced by the ambulance service in HUSM, the mean score for each of the questions on patient's perception ranged from 9.33 to 9.70 out of 10. The questions with the highest mean score, which were both 9.70 each, were related to staff attentiveness and staff gentleness. Patients' perceptions can be very subjective, but until further similar studies could be carried out in other parts of Malaysia, this set of data merely represents a numerical measure of public perception of the ambulance services from HUSM.

  15. Coming to Life: A Review of Movie Comics: Page to Screen/Screen to Page

    OpenAIRE

    Labarre, Nicolas

    2017-01-01

    This book review provides an overview of 'Movie Comics: Page to Screen/Screen to Page' by Blair Davis (Rutgers University Press, 2017) a book which examines the reciprocal adaptations of film into comics and comics into films from 1930 to 1960. This review argues that 'Movie Comics' provides a useful and finely-textured cultural history of that phenomenon, which help contextualize scholarly studies of contemporary adaptations and transmedia constructions.

  16. An Improved Approach to the PageRank Problems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yue Xie

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available We introduce a partition of the web pages particularly suited to the PageRank problems in which the web link graph has a nested block structure. Based on the partition of the web pages, dangling nodes, common nodes, and general nodes, the hyperlink matrix can be reordered to be a more simple block structure. Then based on the parallel computation method, we propose an algorithm for the PageRank problems. In this algorithm, the dimension of the linear system becomes smaller, and the vector for general nodes in each block can be calculated separately in every iteration. Numerical experiments show that this approach speeds up the computation of PageRank.

  17. Hospitality Services. Curriculum Guide.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Texas Tech Univ., Lubbock. Home Economics Curriculum Center.

    This guide, which was developed as part of Texas' home economics education program, is intended to assist teachers of a hospitality services course focusing on the food and lodging segments of the hospitality and tourism industry. The first 40% of the approximately 600-page guide consists of strategies for teaching each of 29 essential…

  18. The Effect of Service Quality on Patient loyalty: a Study of Private Hospitals in Tehran, Iran.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arab, M; Tabatabaei, Sm Ghazi; Rashidian, A; Forushani, A Rahimi; Zarei, E

    2012-01-01

    Service quality is perceived as an important factor for developing patient's loyalty. The aim of this study was to determine the hospital service quality from the patients' viewpoints and the relative importance of quality dimensions in predicting the patient's loyalty. A cross-sectional study was conducted in 2010. The study sample was composed of 943 patients selected from eight private general hospitals in Tehran. The survey instrument was a questionnaire included 24 items about the service quality and 3 items about the patient's loyalty. Exploratory factor analysis was employed to extracting the dimensions of service quality. Also, regression analysis was performed to determining the relative importance of the service quality dimensions in predicting the patient's loyalty. The mean score of service quality and patient's loyalty was 3.99 and 4.16 out of 5, respectively. About 29% of the loyalty variance was explained by the service quality dimensions. Four quality dimensions (Costing, Process Quality, Interaction Quality and Environment Quality) were found to be key determinants of the patient's loyalty in the private hospitals of Tehran. The patients' experience in relation to the private hospitals' services has strong impact on the outcome variables like willingness to return to the same hospital and reuse its services or recommend them to others. The relationship between the service quality and patient's loyalty proves the strategic importance of improving the service quality for dragging and retaining patients and expanding the market share.

  19. JERHRE's New Web Pages.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2006-06-01

    JERHRE'S WEBSITE, www.csueastbay.edu/JERHRE/ has two new pages. One of those pages is devoted to curriculum that may be used to educate students, investigators and ethics committee members about issues in the ethics of human subjects research, and to evaluate their learning. It appears at www.csueastbay.edu/JERHRE/cur.html. The other is devoted to emailed letters from readers. Appropriate letters will be posted as soon as they are received by the editor. Letters from readers appear at www.csueastbay.edu/JERHRE/let.html.

  20. Google Analytics: Single Page Traffic Reports

    Science.gov (United States)

    These are pages that live outside of Google Analytics (GA) but allow you to view GA data for any individual page on either the public EPA web or EPA intranet. You do need to log in to Google Analytics to view them.

  1. Using the "customer service framework" to successfully implement patient- and family-centered care.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rangachari, Pavani; Bhat, Anita; Seol, Yoon-Ho

    2011-01-01

    Despite the growing momentum toward patient- and family-centered care at the federal policy level, the organizational literature remains divided on its effectiveness, especially in regard to its key dimension of involving patients and families in treatment decisions and safety practices. Although some have argued for the universal adoption of patient involvement, others have questioned both the effectiveness and feasibility of patient involvement. In this article, we apply a well-established theoretical perspective, that is, the Service Quality Model (SQM) (also known as the "customer service framework") to the health care context, to reconcile the debate related to patient involvement. The application helps support the case for universal adoption of patient involvement and also question the arguments against it. A key contribution of the SQM lies in highlighting a set of fundamental service quality determinants emanating from basic consumer service needs. It also provides a simple framework for understanding how gaps between consumer expectations and management perceptions of those expectations can affect the gap between "expected" and "perceived" service quality from a consumer's perspective. Simultaneously, the SQM also outlines "management requirements" for the successful implementation of a customer service strategy. Applying the SQM to the health care context therefore, in addition to reconciling the debate on patient involvement, helps identify specific steps health care managers could take to successfully implement patient- and family-centered care. Correspondingly, the application also provides insights into strategies for the successful implementation of policy recommendations related to patient- and family-centered care in health care organizations.

  2. Rights of patients required in a public service ombudsman

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maristela Santini Martins

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available Objective: analyzing the rights of patients required in a public service ombudsmen. Methods: an exploratory, descriptive study of documentary research. 109 complaint forms coming from the basic network were analyzed, related to 12 Basic Health Units located within the Southern Health Technical Supervision. Results: grouped into four categories of required rights: access to goods and services (62.4% being, access to specialized exams (28.7%, access to consultations (16.6%, referral to a specialist (5.7%, referral for urgent/emergency cases (1.3%, monitoring through home visits (7.6%, guaranteed medications (2.5%. Quality of health services (36.9% divided into: decent, considerate and respectful care (26.8%, guidance/clarification (9.6%, and public disclosure of government programs (0.6% and adequate infrastructure (0.6%. Conclusion: the rights that patients required are related to access, quality, treatment and adequate infrastructure.

  3. Web page classification on child suitability

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    C. Eickhoff (Carsten); P. Serdyukov; A.P. de Vries (Arjen)

    2010-01-01

    htmlabstractChildren spend significant amounts of time on the Internet. Recent studies showed, that during these periods they are often not under adult supervision. This work presents an automatic approach to identifying suitable web pages for children based on topical and non-topical web page

  4. Flexible fiberoptic bronchoscopy service; an aid to patient management

    LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

    Marathe, N

    2016-02-01

    The study illustrates advantages of Fiberoptic Bronchoscopy, a new service started at St. Luke’s General Hospital in patient care since April 2014. Retrospective review of Bronchoscopies and referrals to Tertiary care unit for Bronchoscopy, prior and after initiation of service at St. Luke’s Hospital were studied. In total, 106 procedures were performed out of which 103(98%) were for diagnostic purpose. Common indications for bronchoscopy were functional airway assessment in 38 cases (35%) of chronic cough, 26 cases (24.8%) of suspected malignancy. The average time taken for procedure was 15 + 1 minute with overall rate of complication recorded in 1 case (0.95%). 32(30%) inpatients were referred before bronchoscopy services were started locally. Fifteen (14%) patients were referred for Endobronchial Ultrasound (EBUS) after diagnostic procedure performed at St. Luke’s Hospital. To conclude, Bronchoscopy is a safe procedure used for diagnosis of various Lung conditions. The services offered locally reduced the time and cost involved in referrals. The diagnostic bronchoscopies performed for malignancy at St. Luke’s Hospital have rightly increased references for EBUS at Tertiary care Unit

  5. Coming to Life: A Review of Movie Comics: Page to Screen/Screen to Page

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nicolas Labarre

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available This book review provides an overview of 'Movie Comics: Page to Screen/Screen to Page' by Blair Davis (Rutgers University Press, 2017 a book which examines the reciprocal adaptations of film into comics and comics into films from 1930 to 1960. This review argues that 'Movie Comics' provides a useful and finely-textured cultural history of that phenomenon, which help contextualize scholarly studies of contemporary adaptations and transmedia constructions.

  6. The ICAP (Interactive Course Assignment Pages Publishing System

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kim Griggs

    2008-03-01

    Full Text Available The ICAP publishing system is an open source custom content management system that enables librarians to easily and quickly create and manage library help pages for course assignments (ICAPs, without requiring knowledge of HTML or other web technologies. The system's unique features include an emphasis on collaboration and content reuse and an easy-to-use interface that includes in-line help, simple forms and drag and drop functionality. The system generates dynamic, attractive course assignment pages that blend Web 2.0 features with traditional library resources, and makes the pages easier to find by providing a central web page for the course assignment pages. As of December 2007, the code is available as free, open-source software under the GNU General Public License.

  7. The Influence of Medical Evaluation Board Status on Symptom Reporting Among Service Members with Traumatic Brain Injury

    Science.gov (United States)

    2017-04-21

    MDW/SGVU SUBJECT: Professional Presentation Approvai 11APR 20 17 1. Your paper, entitled The Influence of Medical Evaluation Board Status on... influence o f medical evaluation board status on symptom reporting among service members w ith traumatic brain injury 7. FUNDING RECEIVED FOR THIS STUDY? D...Page 3 of 3 Pages Title: The influence of medical evaluation board status on symptom reporting among service members with traumatic brain injury

  8. Is there a relationship between service integration and differentiation and patient outcomes?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Robin P. Newhouse

    2003-11-01

    Full Text Available Objective: To examine the level of service integration within Maryland hospitals and service differentiation across the hospital system or network and its affect on heart failure patient clinical and economic outcomes. Data sources/Study setting: Maryland Health Services Cost Review Commission Inpatient Data for 1997 and 1998 were used for secondary data analysis. Study design: Retrospective cross sectional. Independent variables were the level of service integration and differentiation created from the 1998 American Hospital Association Annual Survey based on the work of Bazzoli et al. [1]. The primary dependent variables were readmission, in-hospital mortality, length of stay and costs. Data collection/Extraction methods: Patients discharged from Maryland hospitals with a diagnosis that grouped to DRG 127 (heart failure were extracted. Multivariate linear and logistic models clustered by hospital were used to analyse results at the patient level. Principal findings: A higher likelihood of readmission was found as the level of Community Differentiation increased. Although costs were higher as Total Differentiation increased in 1998, these results were not validated by 1997 data. No significant relationship was found between integration of services and outcomes. Conclusions: Similar outcomes were achieved regardless of the level of service integration or differentiation. Community hospitals produce similar patient outcomes at the same cost for this diagnosis.

  9. Discovering author impact: A PageRank perspective

    OpenAIRE

    Yan, Erjia; Ding, Ying

    2010-01-01

    This article provides an alternative perspective for measuring author impact by applying PageRank algorithm to a coauthorship network. A weighted PageRank algorithm considering citation and coauthorship network topology is proposed. We test this algorithm under different damping factors by evaluating author impact in the informetrics research community. In addition, we also compare this weighted PageRank with the h-index, citation, and program committee (PC) membership of the International So...

  10. 76 FR 14034 - Proposed Collection; Comment Request; NCI Cancer Genetics Services Directory Web-Based...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-03-15

    ... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES National Institutes of Health Proposed Collection; Comment Request; NCI Cancer Genetics Services Directory Web-Based Application Form and Update Mailer Summary: In... Cancer Genetics Services Directory Web-based Application Form and Update Mailer. [[Page 14035

  11. SuperAGILE Services at ASDC

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Preger, B.; Verrecchia, F.; Pittori, C.; Antonelli, L. A.; Giommi, P.; Lazzarotto, F.; Evangelista, Y.

    2008-01-01

    The Italian Space Agency Science Data Center (ASDC) is a facility with several responsibilities including support to all the ASI scientific missions as for management and archival of the data, acting as the interface between ASI and the scientific community and providing on-line access to the data hosted. In this poster we describe the services that ASDC provides for SuperAGILE, in particular the ASDC public web pages devoted to the dissemination of SuperAGILE scientific results. SuperAGILE is the X-Ray imager onboard the AGILE mission, and provides the scientific community with orbit-by-orbit information on the observed sources. Crucial source information including position and flux in chosen energy bands will be reported in the SuperAGILE public web page at ASDC. Given their particular interest, another web page will be dedicated entirely to GRBs and other transients, where new event alerts will be notified and where users will find all the available informations on the GRBs detected by SuperAGILE

  12. Processing of next generation weather radar-multisensor precipitation estimates and quantitative precipitation forecast data for the DuPage County streamflow simulation system

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bera, Maitreyee; Ortel, Terry W.

    2018-01-12

    The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with DuPage County Stormwater Management Department, is testing a near real-time streamflow simulation system that assists in the management and operation of reservoirs and other flood-control structures in the Salt Creek and West Branch DuPage River drainage basins in DuPage County, Illinois. As part of this effort, the U.S. Geological Survey maintains a database of hourly meteorological and hydrologic data for use in this near real-time streamflow simulation system. Among these data are next generation weather radar-multisensor precipitation estimates and quantitative precipitation forecast data, which are retrieved from the North Central River Forecasting Center of the National Weather Service. The DuPage County streamflow simulation system uses these quantitative precipitation forecast data to create streamflow predictions for the two simulated drainage basins. This report discusses in detail how these data are processed for inclusion in the Watershed Data Management files used in the streamflow simulation system for the Salt Creek and West Branch DuPage River drainage basins.

  13. Page 28

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    ezra

    7 (2)2007. Page 28. Serials Management In Polytechnic Libraries in Nigeria: A Comparative ... Despite the strategic position of serials publications amongst the materials .... the formulation of routines and procedures for ..... other professional librarian in the section classify ... probably due to dwindling finance given to both.

  14. The (Untold) Drama of the Turning Page: The Role of Page Breaks in Understanding Picture Books

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jacobs, Katrina Emily Bartow

    2016-01-01

    While scholars have recognized the importance of page breaks in both the construction and comprehension of narrative within picture books, there has previously been limited research that focused directly on how children discuss and make sense of these spaces in the text. Yet, because of their nature as dramatic gaps in the narrative, page breaks…

  15. Barriers to mental health service use and preferences for addressing emotional concerns among lung cancer patients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mosher, Catherine E; Winger, Joseph G; Hanna, Nasser; Jalal, Shadia I; Fakiris, Achilles J; Einhorn, Lawrence H; Birdas, Thomas J; Kesler, Kenneth A; Champion, Victoria L

    2014-07-01

    This study examined barriers to mental health service use and preferences for addressing emotional concerns among lung cancer patients (N=165) at two medical centers in the Midwestern United States. Lung cancer patients completed an assessment of anxiety and depressive symptoms, mental health service use, barriers to using these services, and preferences for addressing emotional concerns. Only 45% of distressed patients received mental health care since their lung cancer diagnosis. The most prevalent patient-reported barriers to mental health service use among non-users of these services (n=110) included the desire to independently manage emotional concerns (58%) and inadequate knowledge of services (19%). In addition, 57% of distressed patients who did not access mental health services did not perceive the need for help. Seventy-five percent of respondents (123/164) preferred to talk to a primary care physician if they were to have an emotional concern. Preferences for counseling, psychiatric medication, peer support, spiritual care, or independently managing emotional concerns also were endorsed by many patients (range=40-50%). Older age was associated with a lower likelihood of preferring to see a counselor. Findings suggest that many distressed lung cancer patients underuse mental health services and do not perceive the need for such services. Efforts to increase appropriate use of services should address patients' desire for autonomy and lack of awareness of services. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  16. Improving the patient booking service to reduce the number of missed appointments at East London NHS Foundation Trust Community Musculoskeletal Physiotherapy Service.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tan, Elizabeth; Shah, Amar; De Souza, Warren; Harrison, Mark; Chettur, Chris; Onathukattil, Maimoona; Smart, Michelle; Mata, Marlon; Chitewe, Auzewell; Binley, Emma

    2017-01-01

    The East London National Health Service Foundation Trust (ELFT) Community Musculoskeletal (MSK) Physiotherapy Service had reported a high rate of non-attendance at scheduled appointments. This was leading to delayed access to treatment for patients and a reduced capacity for service users, as well as a waste of clinical resources. The aim of this quality improvement project was therefore to reduce the percentage of missed appointments within this department. This study was undertaken by the ELFT community MSK service, with support from the ELFT Quality Improvement team. To begin with, patient complaints were explored; these indicated that the main reason for missing appointments was due to issues with the patient booking service. Baseline data were initially collected for both new referrals and follow-up patients. The proposed changes were then introduced, which included text message reminders, first via a manual platform and then via an automated system. Ongoing data were recorded to note the effectiveness of these changes. Following the intervention, non-attendance of newly referred patients reduced by 43.35% (23.76%-13.46%) after both cycles. Non-attendance of follow-up patients reduced by 44.14% (23.74%-13.26%) after the second cycle alone. By listening to the opinions of service users, it was possible to improve the patient booking system and the flexibility of appointments. This resulted in a reduction in the percentage of appointments missed. These changes will continue to be monitored within this department to ensure sustainability but there is also now potential for similar interventions to be trialled in other health service departments.

  17. Patients' perceptions of services and preferences for care in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: A review.

    LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

    Foley, Geraldine

    2012-02-01

    Abstract Service providers and service users often have different perspectives on health and social care services. We have undertaken a systematic review of empirical data between 1988 and March 2011 relating to ALS service users\\' perspectives on health and social care services. Forty-seven texts were extracted and a narrative synthesis conducted. Few studies have explored ALS patients\\' experiences in relation to their satisfaction with services. Our review showed that ALS patients expect dignified care but they are often dissatisfied with health care services and have unmet expectations of their care. Most studies of decision-making and preferences for care have focused on end-of-life intervention. Various factors influence preferences for care from the service user perspective and people with ALS may adjust their use of services as they negotiate change. In conclusion, further research on the timeliness of services to meet changing needs of service users is required. The service user experience of allied health care services prior to end-of-life care also warrants investigation. Service providers need to support people with ALS as they negotiate feelings of acceptance and independence. Research to identify the key parameters of the ALS patient experience of services is required.

  18. Patient and family psychoeducation: Service development and implementation in a center in Iran.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mirsepassi, Zahra; Tabatabaee, Maryam; Sharifi, Vandad; Mottaghipour, Yasaman

    2018-02-01

    Family and patient psychoeducation have demonstrated significant improvement in clinical and social outcomes for patients suffering from severe mental disorders and their families. However, these evidence-based practices are not widely implemented at service delivery level and into routine clinical practice, especially in less developed countries. The aim of this article is to report the processes of development and implementation of a psychoeducational service for patients with severe mental illnesses and their families in Iran. The program was developed at Roozbeh Hospital in Tehran, Iran. A group of clinicians worked on the development phase of the program and drafting the manuals. Then, a series of workshops and supervision sessions were held to train group leaders for implementation of the group psychoeducation for patients and families. In the pilot phase, the services were delivered to two groups of patients and families, and then the manual was revised based on the feedback from group leaders and participants. The program consisted of eight 90-minute weekly patient group sessions and 6 weekly multiple family group sessions. Two manuals for patient education (schizophrenia and bipolar disorder) were developed. Several information sheets were developed and distributed during different sessions of family and patient psychoeducation related to the content of each session. Despite providing the hospital clinicians with the information regarding these new services, less than 10% of the admitted patients were referred by their clinicians. Feasibility and sustainability of the program are affected by a number of factors. Low referral rate of clinicians, limited resources of the hospital, issues related to stigma and logistic issues are barriers in implementation of these services. Administrators' and clinicians' understanding of the importance of patient and family psychoeducation seems to be crucial in sustainability of such programs in routine service delivery.

  19. [Medical Service Information Seeking Behaviors in Rural and Urban Patients in Sichuan Province].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Wen-Jie; Xue, Li; Chen, Rao; Duan, Zhan-Qi; Liu, Dan-Ping

    2018-03-01

    To understand how rural and urban patients seek medical service information in Sichuan province. A self-designed questionnaire was distributed randomly to patients who visited primary,secondary and tertiary health facilities in Chengdu,Yibin and Suining,collecting data in relation to their sources of medical service information,as well as the contents and credibility of the information. The major sources of medical service information came from friends,past experiences and television programs,which were consistent with the most desirable access channels. The urban patients were more likely to trust (5.3%) and use (10.6%) the Internet to obtain medical service information compared with their rural counterparts (3.4% and 5.5%,respectively, P marketing strategies for urban and rural patients should be developed to channel patients to appropriate health facilities. Copyright© by Editorial Board of Journal of Sichuan University (Medical Science Edition).

  20. Cancer patients, emergencies service and provision of palliative care

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bruno Miranda

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available SUMMARY Objective: To describe the clinical and sociodemographic profile of cancer patients admitted to the Emergency Center for High Complexity Oncologic Assistance, observing the coverage of palliative and home care. Method: Cross sectional study including adult cancer patients admitted to the emergency service (September-December/2011 with a minimum length of hospital stay of two hours. Student’s t-test and Pearson chi-square test were used to compare the means. Results: 191 patients were enrolled, 47.6% elderly, 64.4% women, 75.4% from the city of Recife and greater area. The symptom prevalent at admission was pain (46.6%. 4.2% of patients were linked to palliative care and 2.1% to home care. The most prevalent cancers: cervix (18.3%, breast (13.6% and prostate (10.5%; 70.7% were in advanced stages (IV, 47.1%; 39.4% without any cancer therapy. Conclusion: Patients sought the emergency service on account of pain, probably due to the incipient coverage of palliative and home care. These actions should be included to oncologic therapy as soon as possible to minimize the suffering of the patient/family and integrate the skills of oncologists and emergency professionals.

  1. Tinnitus services in the United Kingdom: a survey of patient experiences.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McFerran, Don; Hoare, Derek J; Carr, Simon; Ray, Jaydip; Stockdale, David

    2018-02-13

    Tinnitus service provision in the United Kingdom has been investigated from the healthcare provider's perspective demonstrating considerable regional variation particularly regarding availability of psychological treatments. An audiological-based tinnitus service, however, was reportedly available for all tinnitus patients in the UK. The aim of the current study was to define and evaluate nationwide tinnitus healthcare services from the patients' viewpoint. Secondary analyses were performed on data from a 33-item questionnaire provided by the British Tinnitus Association. The questionnaire had been distributed via email and social media. Responses from 937 participants who had or had previously experienced tinnitus were analysed. All but one person had at some time consulted their GP. About one in five received medication in primary care. The majority were referred to secondary care, generally an ENT surgeon or audiovestibular physician; some were referred directly to audiological services. In secondary care the majority underwent audiometric testing and over half underwent MRI scanning. Drugs were prescribed less frequently in secondary care. About one third of patients were referred onwards from diagnostic services in secondary care to receive therapeutic interventions for tinnitus. Therapy was generally delivered by an audiologist or hearing therapist. Just under two fifths of people discharged from secondary care returned to their GP, with most returning within one year. Over a third of this group were re-referred to secondary care. Few patients saw a psychologist (2.6%) though some psychological treatments were delivered by appropriately trained audiologists. Negative counselling from healthcare professionals in both primary and secondary care settings was reported. Although the UK has developed a national service for patients with tinnitus many people find it difficult to access, being blocked at the primary care level or after secondary care diagnostic

  2. Patient satisfaction in outpatient healthcare services at secondary level vs. tertiary level

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Velikj-Stefanovska Vesna

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Introduction. Patients satisfaction is a very important part of any clinical practice both for evaluation and improvement of healthcare services. Objective. The aim of this study was to determine patient satisfaction with public outpatient healthcare services at secondary and tertiary level and to assess possible differences between the two levels. Methods. In a quantitative cross-sectional study, a convenient sample of 646 patients who experienced public outpatient healthcare services at the secondary and tertiary level during the last two months were interviewed. Patient satisfaction questionnaires, with statements regarding various aspects of satisfaction, were completed during face-to-face interviews (response rate 84.6%. The research instrument was tested for internal consistency using the Cronbach’s coefficient alpha estimate. Results. The patients were significantly more satisfied in tertiary than in secondary outpatient healthcare facilities in almost all aspects of assessment related to general settings, nurse/administrative staff performance and physician performance (p<0.001. The patients in the secondary healthcare services (SHCS were more satisfied than in the tertiary healthcare services (THCS but only regarding the information on location (83.9% vs.78.3% and possibilities to enter and move inside the department (88.8% vs. 83.3%. Analysis of data for SHCS and THCS showed that there was no significant difference between the mean overall satisfaction scores with regard to patients’ gender, age, marital status, educational level, employment and number of visits. Conclusion. There is a need to improve the current level of patient-provider relationship and communication, as well as that of hospital environment, while special efforts should be made to address the problem of patient waiting time and hospital bureaucracy.

  3. 75 FR 65404 - Rehabilitation Research and Development Service Scientific Merit Review Board; Notice of Meeting

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-22

    ... DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS Rehabilitation Research and Development Service Scientific Merit... & Regenerative Medicine Subcommittee of the Rehabilitation Research and Development Service Scientific Merit..., examination, reference to, [[Page 65405

  4. Metadata Schema Used in OCLC Sampled Web Pages

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fei Yu

    2005-12-01

    Full Text Available The tremendous growth of Web resources has made information organization and retrieval more and more difficult. As one approach to this problem, metadata schemas have been developed to characterize Web resources. However, many questions have been raised about the use of metadata schemas such as which metadata schemas have been used on the Web? How did they describe Web accessible information? What is the distribution of these metadata schemas among Web pages? Do certain schemas dominate the others? To address these issues, this study analyzed 16,383 Web pages with meta tags extracted from 200,000 OCLC sampled Web pages in 2000. It found that only 8.19% Web pages used meta tags; description tags, keyword tags, and Dublin Core tags were the only three schemas used in the Web pages. This article revealed the use of meta tags in terms of their function distribution, syntax characteristics, granularity of the Web pages, and the length distribution and word number distribution of both description and keywords tags.

  5. A Soup Service for Advanced Digestive Cancer Patients with Severe Anorexia in Palliative Care.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kawabata, Hideaki; Kakihara, Naoki; Nishitani, Yoko; Asano, Kota; Nose, Mariko; Takanashi, Asami; Kanda, Eiichiro; Nishimura, Masako; Tokunaga, Eiko; Matsurugi, Ayako; Fujimura, Keiko; Nishikawa, Masanori; Taga, Chiaki; Ikawa, Osamu; Yamaguchi, Makiko; Masuda, Katsuhiko

    2018-03-01

    The palliative care team (PCT), nutrition support team (NST), and department of nutrition in our hospital developed a special soup service for patients with terminal cancer. We evaluated the usefulness of this soup service for improving the mood in patients with advanced digestive cancer with severe anorexia. We retrospectively reviewed the clinical data of 18 patients with advanced cancer originating in digestive organs who received soup service at our institution between 2015 and 2016. Members of the PCT, NST, and a licensed cook visited the bedside of each patient and served them a cup of soup twice a week. Fifteen patients (83%) were able to taste the soup with no adverse events, and 11 (73%) of them enjoyed the taste of the soup. In the five patients who died in our hospital during the service, the time between their last soup intake and death ranged from two to seven days (median three days). Even terminally ill patients suffering from advanced digestive cancer with severe anorexia were able to enjoy the taste of the soup served to them. The establishment of special meal service, such as this soup service, may not only relieve their stress but also support the strength of living and help improve their spiritual quality of life.

  6. Initial 10-year Experience of Sperm Cryopreservation Services for Cancer Patients

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hong-Chiang Chang

    2006-01-01

    Full Text Available Offering sperm cryopreservation to preserve the fertility of male cancer patients is a relatively recent service in Asia. This study analyzed the types of cancer, timing of collection, sperm quality, and utilization for reproductive services by patients during a 10-year period at a medical center in Taiwan. A total of 75 oncology patients elected to freeze sperm for fertility preservation at our medical center during the initial 10 years of the availability of this service. The mean age of the patients was 25.7 years. Storage was discontinued in 13 (17% patients and their survival duration was 13.1 ±11.1 months. The utilization rate of sperm cryo-preservation was 2.8% (75/2642. The types of cancer varied, with leukemia (35%, lymphoma (25%, and testicular cancer (13% comprising the largest groups. A significantly lower sperm count was found in patients with chronic myelogenous leukemia, suggesting the need for earlier sperm collection after initiation of cancer treatment. Only three (4% patients utilized their specimens for reproductive purposes. There was no clinical pregnancy during the study period, although one biochemical pregnancy was achieved. The low rates of sperm cryostorage for fertility preservation in cancer patients in this study suggest that there is a need for greater emphasis of this option for male oncology patients whose fertility is likely to be affected by chemotherapeutic treatment.

  7. Mediation analysis of severity of needs, service performance and outcomes for patients with mental disorders.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roux, Paul; Passerieux, Christine; Fleury, Marie-Josée

    2016-12-01

    Needs and service performance assessment are key components in improving recovery among individuals with mental disorders. To test the role of service performance as a mediating factor between severity of patients' needs and outcomes. A total of 339 adults with mental disorders were interviewed. A mediation analysis between severity of needs, service performance (adequacy of help, continuity of care and recovery orientation of services) and outcomes (personal recovery and quality of life) was carried out using structural equation modelling. The structural equation model provided a good fit with the data. An increase in needs was associated with lower service performance and worse outcomes, whereas higher service performance was associated with better outcomes. Service performance partially mediated the effect of patient needs on outcomes. Poorer service performance has a negative impact on outcomes for patients with the highest needs. Ensuring more efficient services for patients with high needs may help improve their recovery and quality of life. © The Royal College of Psychiatrists 2016.

  8. 40 CFR 1502.7 - Page limits.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 32 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Page limits. 1502.7 Section 1502.7 Protection of Environment COUNCIL ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT § 1502.7 Page limits. The text of final environmental impact statements (e.g., paragraphs (d) through (g) of § 1502.10...

  9. Barriers to mental health service use among distressed family caregivers of lung cancer patients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mosher, C E; Given, B A; Ostroff, J S

    2015-01-01

    Although family caregivers of patients with lung and other cancers show high rates of psychological distress, they underuse mental health services. This qualitative study aimed to identify barriers to mental health service use among 21 distressed family caregivers of lung cancer patients. Caregivers had not received mental health services during the patient's initial months of care at a comprehensive cancer centre in New York City. Thematic analysis of interview data was framed by Andersen's model of health service use and Corrigan's stigma theory. Results of our analysis expand Andersen's model by providing a description of need variables (e.g. psychiatric symptoms), enabling factors (e.g. finances), and psychosocial factors associated with caregivers' non-use of mental health services. Regarding psychosocial factors, caregivers expressed negative perceptions of mental health professionals and a desire for independent management of emotional concerns. Additionally, caregivers perceived a conflict between mental health service use and the caregiving role (e.g. prioritising the patient's needs). Although caregivers denied stigma associated with service use, their anticipated negative self-perceptions if they were to use services suggest that stigma may have influenced their decision to not seek services. Findings suggest that interventions to improve caregivers' uptake of mental health services should address perceived barriers. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  10. Mock Pages Are a Valid Construct for Assessment of Clinical Decision Making and Interprofessional Communication.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boehler, Margaret L; Schwind, Cathy J; Markwell, Stephen J; Minter, Rebecca M

    2017-01-01

    Answering pages from nurses about patients in need of immediate attention is one of the most difficult challenges a resident faces during their first days as a physician. A Mock Page program has been developed and adopted into a national surgical resident preparatory curriculum to prepare senior medical students for this important skill. The purpose of this study is to assess standardized mock page cases as a valid construct to assess clinical decision making and interprofessional communication skills. Mock page cases (n = 16) were administered to 213 senior medical students from 12 medical schools participating in a national surgical resident preparatory curriculum in 2013 and 2014. Clinical decision making and interprofessional communication were measured by case-specific assessments evaluating these skills which have undergone rigorous standard-setting to determine pass/fail cut points. Students' performance improved in general for both communication and clinical decision making over the 4-week course. Cases have been identified that seem to be best suited for differentiating high- from low-performing students. Chest pain, pulmonary embolus, and mental status change cases posed the greatest difficulty for student learners. Simulated mock pages demonstrate an innovative technique for training students in both effective interprofessional communication and management of common postoperative conditions they will encounter as new surgical interns.

  11. Assessing the impact of heart failure specialist services on patient populations

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lyratzopoulos Georgios

    2004-05-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The assessment of the impact of healthcare interventions may help commissioners of healthcare services to make optimal decisions. This can be particularly the case if the impact assessment relates to specific patient populations and uses timely local data. We examined the potential impact on readmissions and mortality of specialist heart failure services capable of delivering treatments such as b-blockers and Nurse-Led Educational Intervention (N-LEI. Methods Statistical modelling of prevented or postponed events among previously hospitalised patients, using estimates of: treatment uptake and contraindications (based on local audit data; treatment effectiveness and intolerance (based on literature; and annual number of hospitalization per patient and annual risk of death (based on routine data. Results Optimal treatment uptake among eligible but untreated patients would over one year prevent or postpone 11% of all expected readmissions and 18% of all expected deaths for spironolactone, 13% of all expected readmisisons and 22% of all expected deaths for b-blockers (carvedilol and 20% of all expected readmissions and an uncertain number of deaths for N-LEI. Optimal combined treatment uptake for all three interventions during one year among all eligible but untreated patients would prevent or postpone 37% of all expected readmissions and a minimum of 36% of all expected deaths. Conclusion In a population of previously hospitalised patients with low previous uptake of b-blockers and no uptake of N-LEI, optimal combined uptake of interventions through specialist heart failure services can potentially help prevent or postpone approximately four times as many readmissions and a minimum of twice as many deaths compared with simply optimising uptake of spironolactone (not necessarily requiring specialist services. Examination of the impact of different heart failure interventions can inform rational planning of relevant healthcare

  12. Assessing the impact of heart failure specialist services on patient populations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lyratzopoulos, Georgios; Cook, Gary A; McElduff, Patrick; Havely, Daniel; Edwards, Richard; Heller, Richard F

    2004-05-24

    The assessment of the impact of healthcare interventions may help commissioners of healthcare services to make optimal decisions. This can be particularly the case if the impact assessment relates to specific patient populations and uses timely local data. We examined the potential impact on readmissions and mortality of specialist heart failure services capable of delivering treatments such as b-blockers and Nurse-Led Educational Intervention (N-LEI). Statistical modelling of prevented or postponed events among previously hospitalised patients, using estimates of: treatment uptake and contraindications (based on local audit data); treatment effectiveness and intolerance (based on literature); and annual number of hospitalization per patient and annual risk of death (based on routine data). Optimal treatment uptake among eligible but untreated patients would over one year prevent or postpone 11% of all expected readmissions and 18% of all expected deaths for spironolactone, 13% of all expected readmisisons and 22% of all expected deaths for b-blockers (carvedilol) and 20% of all expected readmissions and an uncertain number of deaths for N-LEI. Optimal combined treatment uptake for all three interventions during one year among all eligible but untreated patients would prevent or postpone 37% of all expected readmissions and a minimum of 36% of all expected deaths. In a population of previously hospitalised patients with low previous uptake of b-blockers and no uptake of N-LEI, optimal combined uptake of interventions through specialist heart failure services can potentially help prevent or postpone approximately four times as many readmissions and a minimum of twice as many deaths compared with simply optimising uptake of spironolactone (not necessarily requiring specialist services). Examination of the impact of different heart failure interventions can inform rational planning of relevant healthcare services.

  13. Page Recognition: Quantum Leap In Recognition Technology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miller, Larry

    1989-07-01

    No milestone has proven as elusive as the always-approaching "year of the LAN," but the "year of the scanner" might claim the silver medal. Desktop scanners have been around almost as long as personal computers. And everyone thinks they are used for obvious desktop-publishing and business tasks like scanning business documents, magazine articles and other pages, and translating those words into files your computer understands. But, until now, the reality fell far short of the promise. Because it's true that scanners deliver an accurate image of the page to your computer, but the software to recognize this text has been woefully disappointing. Old optical-character recognition (OCR) software recognized such a limited range of pages as to be virtually useless to real users. (For example, one OCR vendor specified 12-point Courier font from an IBM Selectric typewriter: the same font in 10-point, or from a Diablo printer, was unrecognizable!) Computer dealers have told me the chasm between OCR expectations and reality is so broad and deep that nine out of ten prospects leave their stores in disgust when they learn the limitations. And this is a very important, very unfortunate gap. Because the promise of recognition -- what people want it to do -- carries with it tremendous improvements in our productivity and ability to get tons of written documents into our computers where we can do real work with it. The good news is that a revolutionary new development effort has led to the new technology of "page recognition," which actually does deliver the promise we've always wanted from OCR. I'm sure every reader appreciates the breakthrough represented by the laser printer and page-makeup software, a combination so powerful it created new reasons for buying a computer. A similar breakthrough is happening right now in page recognition: the Macintosh (and, I must admit, other personal computers) equipped with a moderately priced scanner and OmniPage software (from Caere

  14. Improving patient access to videofluoroscopy services: Role of the practitioner-led clinic

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Newman, Roger D., E-mail: Roger.Newman@lthtr.nhs.uk [Dept. of Speech and Language Therapy, Lancashire Teaching Hospitals, Sharoe Green lane, Fulwood, Preston PR2 9HT (United Kingdom); University of Salford (United Kingdom); Nightingale, Julie [University of Salford (United Kingdom)

    2011-11-15

    Quality Issue: Although costly and time consuming, videofluoroscopic swallowing (VFS) examinations are the gold standard for imaging of oro-pharyngeal dysphagia, and demand is likely to increase with an ageing population. Traditional radiologist-led VFS services in the UK are gradually being replaced by practitioner-led clinics undertaken jointly by speech and language therapists and radiographers. This article explores the impact on patient access of a practitioner-led VFS clinic at a large teaching hospital. Initial Assessment: Specific information pertaining to VFS patient waiting times and service quality was collected for a twelve month period both pre- and post-clinic formation. Choice of Solution: Additional capacity was achieved with the introduction of the practitioner-led clinic, with overall patient access improving by 111%. Mean waiting times for in-patients reduced by 75%, many of whom had the procedure on the same day as referral, with out-patients waiting times reducing by 62.5%. Evaluation: The data demonstrates that patient access and report turnaround times are significantly improved, with no adverse effects as measured by inadequate studies, incorrect reports, complaints and documented radiation dose levels. Lessons Learnt: Practitioner-led VFS services can be recommended as a safe and efficient method of improving service provision.

  15. Improving patient access to videofluoroscopy services: Role of the practitioner-led clinic

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Newman, Roger D.; Nightingale, Julie

    2011-01-01

    Quality Issue: Although costly and time consuming, videofluoroscopic swallowing (VFS) examinations are the gold standard for imaging of oro-pharyngeal dysphagia, and demand is likely to increase with an ageing population. Traditional radiologist-led VFS services in the UK are gradually being replaced by practitioner-led clinics undertaken jointly by speech and language therapists and radiographers. This article explores the impact on patient access of a practitioner-led VFS clinic at a large teaching hospital. Initial Assessment: Specific information pertaining to VFS patient waiting times and service quality was collected for a twelve month period both pre- and post-clinic formation. Choice of Solution: Additional capacity was achieved with the introduction of the practitioner-led clinic, with overall patient access improving by 111%. Mean waiting times for in-patients reduced by 75%, many of whom had the procedure on the same day as referral, with out-patients waiting times reducing by 62.5%. Evaluation: The data demonstrates that patient access and report turnaround times are significantly improved, with no adverse effects as measured by inadequate studies, incorrect reports, complaints and documented radiation dose levels. Lessons Learnt: Practitioner-led VFS services can be recommended as a safe and efficient method of improving service provision.

  16. Instant PageSpeed optimization

    CERN Document Server

    Jaiswal, Sanjeev

    2013-01-01

    Filled with practical, step-by-step instructions and clear explanations for the most important and useful tasks. Instant PageSpeed Optimization is a hands-on guide that provides a number of clear, step-by-step exercises for optimizing your websites for better performance and improving their efficiency.Instant PageSpeed Optimization is aimed at website developers and administrators who wish to make their websites load faster without any errors and consume less bandwidth. It's assumed that you will have some experience in basic web technologies like HTML, CSS3, JavaScript, and the basics of netw

  17. An Efficient PageRank Approach for Urban Traffic Optimization

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Florin Pop

    2012-01-01

    to determine optimal decisions for each traffic light, based on the solution given by Larry Page for page ranking in Web environment (Page et al. (1999. Our approach is similar with work presented by Sheng-Chung et al. (2009 and Yousef et al. (2010. We consider that the traffic lights are controlled by servers and a score for each road is computed based on efficient PageRank approach and is used in cost function to determine optimal decisions. We demonstrate that the cumulative contribution of each car in the traffic respects the main constrain of PageRank approach, preserving all the properties of matrix consider in our model.

  18. Educational use of World Wide Web pages on CD-ROM.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Engel, Thomas P; Smith, Michael

    2002-01-01

    The World Wide Web is increasingly important for medical education. Internet served pages may also be used on a local hard disk or CD-ROM without a network or server. This allows authors to reuse existing content and provide access to users without a network connection. CD-ROM offers several advantages over network delivery of Web pages for several applications. However, creating Web pages for CD-ROM requires careful planning. Issues include file names, relative links, directory names, default pages, server created content, image maps, other file types and embedded programming. With care, it is possible to create server based pages that can be copied directly to CD-ROM. In addition, Web pages on CD-ROM may reference Internet served pages to provide the best features of both methods.

  19. Acute coronary syndrome patients admitted to a cardiology vs non-cardiology service: variations in treatment & outcome.

    Science.gov (United States)

    O'Neill, Deirdre E; Southern, Danielle A; Norris, Colleen M; O'Neill, Blair J; Curran, Helen J; Graham, Michelle M

    2017-05-16

    Specialized cardiology services have contributed to reduced mortality in acute coronary syndromes (ACS).  We sought to evaluate the outcomes of ACS patients admitted to non-cardiology services in Southern Alberta. Retrospective chart review performed on all troponin-positive patients in the Calgary Health Region identified those diagnosed with ACS by their attending team. Patients admitted to non-cardiology and cardiology services were compared, using linked data from the Alberta Provincial Project for Outcomes Assessment in Coronary Heart Disease (APPROACH) registry and the Strategic Clinical Network for Cardiovascular Health and Stroke. From January 1, 2007 to December 31, 2008, 2105 ACS patients were identified, with 1636 (77.7%) admitted to cardiology and 469 (22.3%) to non-cardiology services. Patients admitted to non-cardiology services were older, had more comorbidities, and rarely received cardiology consultation (5.1%). Cardiac catheterization was underutilized (5.1% vs 86.4% in cardiology patients (p cardiology vs. cardiology services (49.1% vs. 11.0% respectively at 4-years, p cardiology services. These patients had worse outcomes, despite adjustment for baseline risk factor differences. Although many patients were appropriately admitted to non-cardiology services, the low use of investigations and secondary prevention medications may contribute to poorer patient outcome. Further research is required to identify process of care strategies to improve outcomes and lessen the burden of illness for patients and the health care system.

  20. Assessment of private hospital portals: A conceptual model

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mehdi Alipour-Hafezi

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Introduction: Hospital portals, as the first virtual entry, play an important role in connecting people with hospital and also presenting hospital virtual services. The main purpose of this article was to suggest a conceptual model to improve Tehran private hospital portals. The suggested model can be used by all the health portals that are in the same circumstances and all the health portals which are in progress. Method: This is a practical research, using evaluative survey research method. Research population includes all the private hospital portals in Tehran, 34 portals, and ten top international hospital portals. Data gathering tool used in this research was a researcher-made checklist including 14 criteria and 77 sub-criteria with their weight score. In fact, objective observation with the mentioned checklist was used to gather information. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data and tables and graphs were used to present the organized data. Also, data were analyzed using independent t-test. Conceptual modeling technique was used to design the model and demonstration method was used to evaluate the proposed model. In this regard, SPSS statistical software was used to perform the tests. Results:The comparative study between the two groups of portals, TPH and WTH, in the 14 main criteria showed that the value of t-test in contact information criteria was 0.862, portal page specification was -1.378, page design criteria -1.527, updating pages -0.322, general information and access roads -3.161, public services -7.302, patient services -4.154, patient data -8.703, research and education -9.155, public relationship -3.009, page technical specifications -4.726, telemedicine -7.488, pharmaceutical services -6.183, and financial services -2.782. Finally, the findings demonstrated that Tehran private hospital portals in criterion of contact information were favorable; page design criteria were relatively favorable; page technical

  1. Trends in diagnostic patterns and mortality in emergency ambulance service patients in 2007-2014

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Christensen, Erika Frischknecht; Bendtsen, Mette Dahl; Larsen, Thomas Mulvad

    2017-01-01

    ) to allow comparison by year, with 2007 as reference year. RESULTS: The annual number of emergency ambulance service patients increased from 24.3 in 2007 to 40.2 in 2014 per 1000 inhabitants. The proportions of women increased from 43.1% to 46.4% and of patients aged 60+ years from 39.9% to 48......: Population-based cohort study with linkage of Danish national registries. SETTING: The North Denmark Region in 2007-2014. PARTICIPANTS: Cohort of 148 757 patients transported to hospital by ambulance after calling emergency services. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The number of emergency ambulance service patients......, the incidence of emergency ambulance service patients, the proportion of women, elderly, and non-specific diagnoses increased. The level of comorbidity increased substantially, whereas the 1-day and 30-day mortality decreased....

  2. Trends in diagnostic patterns and mortality in emergency ambulance service patients in 2007-2014

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Christensen, Erika Frischknecht; Bendtsen, Mette Dahl; Larsen, Thomas Mulvad

    ) to allow comparison by year, with 2007 as reference year. RESULTS: The annual number of emergency ambulance service patients increased from 24.3 in 2007 to 40.2 in 2014 per 1000 inhabitants. The proportions of women increased from 43.1% to 46.4% and of patients aged 60+ years from 39.9% to 48......: Population-based cohort study with linkage of Danish national registries. SETTING: The North Denmark Region in 2007-2014. PARTICIPANTS: Cohort of 148 757 patients transported to hospital by ambulance after calling emergency services. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The number of emergency ambulance service patients......, the incidence of emergency ambulance service patients, the proportion of women, elderly, and non-specific diagnoses increased. The level of comorbidity increased substantially, whereas the 1-day and 30-day mortality decreased....

  3. A Platform for e-Health Control and Location Services for Wandering Patients

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Samantha Yasivee Carrizales-Villagómez

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Wandering patients frequently have diseases that demand continuous health control, such as taking pills at specific times, constant blood pressure and heart rate monitoring, temperature and stress level checkups, and so on. These could be jeopardized by their wandering behavior. Mobile applications that focus on health care have received special interest from medical specialists. These applications have been widely accepted, due to the availability of smart devices that include sensors. However, sensor-based applications are highly energy demanding and as such, they can be unaffordable in mobile e-health control due to battery constraints. This paper presents the design and implementation of a platform aimed at providing support in e-health control and provision of location services for wandering patients through real-time medical and mobility information analysis. The platform includes a configurable mobile application for heart rate and stress level monitoring based on Bluetooth Low Energy technology (BLE, and a web service for monitoring and control of the wandering patients. Due to battery limitations of smart devices with sensors, the mobile application includes energy-efficient handling and transmission policies to make more efficient the transmission of medical information from the sensor-based smart device to the web service. In turn, the web service provides e-health control services for patients and caregivers. Through the platform functionality, caregivers (and patients can receive notifications and suggestions in response to emergency, contingency situations, or deviations from health and mobility patterns of the wandering patients. This paper describes a platform that conceals continuous monitoring with energy-efficient applications in favor of e-health control of wandering patients.

  4. Room Service Improves Nutritional Intake and Increases Patient Satisfaction While Decreasing Food Waste and Cost.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McCray, Sally; Maunder, Kirsty; Krikowa, Renee; MacKenzie-Shalders, Kristen

    2018-02-01

    Room service is a foodservice model that has been increasingly implemented across health care facilities in an effort to improve patient satisfaction and reduce food waste. In 2013, Mater Private Hospital Brisbane, Australia, was the first hospital in Australia to implement room service, with the aim of improving patient nutrition care and reducing costs. The aim of this study was to comprehensively evaluate the nutritional intake, plate waste, patient satisfaction, and patient meal costs of room service compared to a traditional foodservice model. A retrospective analysis of quality-assurance data audits was undertaken to assess patient nutritional intake between a facility utilizing a traditional foodservice model and a facility utilizing room service and in a pre-post study design to assess plate waste, patient satisfaction, and patient meal costs before and after the room service implementation. Audit data were collected for eligible adult inpatients in Mater Private Hospital Brisbane and Mater Hospital Brisbane, Australia, between July 2012 and May 2015. The primary outcome measures were nutritional intake, plate waste, patient satisfaction, and patient meal costs. Independent samples t-tests and χ 2 analyses were conducted between pre and post data for continuous data and categorical data, respectively. Pearson χ 2 analysis of count data for sex and reasons for plate waste for data with counts more than five was used to determine asymptotic (two-sided) significance and n-1 χ 2 used for the plate waste analysis. Significance was assessed at P<0.05. This study reported an increased nutritional intake, improved patient satisfaction, and reduced plate waste and patient meal costs with room service compared to a traditional foodservice model. Comparison of nutritional intake between a traditional foodservice model (n=85) and room service (n=63) showed statistically significant increases with room service in both energy (1,306 kcal/day vs 1,588 kcal/day; P=0

  5. Migrating Multi-page Web Applications to Single-page AJAX Interfaces

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Mesbah, A.; Van Deursen, A.

    2006-01-01

    Recently, a new web development technique for creating interactive web applications, dubbed AJAX, has emerged. In this new model, the single-page web interface is composed of individual components which can be updated/replaced independently. With the rise of AJAX web applications classical

  6. Microbial air quality and bacterial surface contamination in ambulances during patient services.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Luksamijarulkul, Pipat; Pipitsangjan, Sirikun

    2015-03-01

    We sought to assess microbial air quality and bacterial surface contamination on medical instruments and the surrounding areas among 30 ambulance runs during service. We performed a cross-sectional study of 106 air samples collected from 30 ambulances before patient services and 212 air samples collected during patient services to assess the bacterial and fungal counts at the two time points. Additionally, 226 surface swab samples were collected from medical instrument surfaces and the surrounding areas before and after ambulance runs. Groups or genus of isolated bacteria and fungi were preliminarily identified by Gram's stain and lactophenol cotton blue. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, t-test, and Pearson's correlation coefficient with a p-value of less than 0.050 considered significant. The mean and standard deviation of bacterial and fungal counts at the start of ambulance runs were 318±485cfu/m(3) and 522±581cfu/m(3), respectively. Bacterial counts during patient services were 468±607cfu/m(3) and fungal counts were 656±612cfu/m(3). Mean bacterial and fungal counts during patient services were significantly higher than those at the start of ambulance runs, p=0.005 and p=0.030, respectively. For surface contamination, the overall bacterial counts before and after patient services were 0.8±0.7cfu/cm(2) and 1.3±1.1cfu/cm(2), respectively (pair samples and bacterial counts on medical instruments and allocated areas. This study revealed high microbial contamination (bacterial and fungal) in ambulance air during services and higher bacterial contamination on medical instrument surfaces and allocated areas after ambulance services compared to the start of ambulance runs. Additionally, bacterial and fungal counts in ambulance air showed a significantly positive correlation with the bacterial surface contamination on medical instruments and allocated areas. Further studies should be conducted to determine the optimal intervention to reduce

  7. 76 FR 27914 - Television Broadcasting Services; Kalispell, MT

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-05-13

    ... FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION 47 CFR Part 73 [MB Docket No. 11-20; RM-11619, DA 11-750] Television Broadcasting Services; Kalispell, MT AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission. ACTION: Final rule... U.S.C. 801(a)(1)(A). [[Page 27915

  8. [Patient-centered medicine for tuberculosis medical services].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fujita, Akira; Narita, Tomoyo

    2012-12-01

    The 2011 edition of Specific Guiding Principles for Tuberculosis Prevention calls for a streamlined medical services system capable of providing medical care that is customized to the patient's needs. The new 21st Century Japanese version of the Directly Observed Treatment Short Course (DOTS) expands the indication of DOTS to all tuberculosis (TB) patients in need of treatment. Hospital DOTS consists of comprehensive, patient-centered support provided by a DOTS care team. For DOTS in the field, health care providers should select optimal administration support based on patient profiles and local circumstances. In accordance with medical fee revisions for 2012, basic inpatient fees have been raised and new standards for TB hospitals have been established, the result of efforts made by the Japanese Society for Tuberculosis and other associated groups. It is important that the medical care system be improved so that patients can actively engage themselves as a member of the team, for the ultimate goal of practicing patient-centered medicine. We have organized this symposium to explore the best ways for practicing patient-centered medicine in treating TB. It is our sincere hope that this symposium will lead to improved medical treatment for TB patients. 1. Providing patient-centered TB service via utilization of collaborative care pathway: Akiko MATSUOKA (Hiroshima Prefectural Tobu Public Health Center) We have been using two types of collaborative care pathway as one of the means of providing patient-centered TB services since 2008. The first is the clinical pathway, which is mainly used by TB specialist doctors to communicate with local practitioners on future treatment plan (e.g. medication and treatment duration) of patients. The clinical pathway was first piloted in Onomichi district and its use was later expanded to the whole of Hiroshima prefecture. The second is the regional care pathway, which is used to share treatment progress, test results and other

  9. Monte Carlo methods in PageRank computation: When one iteration is sufficient

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Avrachenkov, K.; Litvak, Nelli; Nemirovsky, D.; Osipova, N.

    2005-01-01

    PageRank is one of the principle criteria according to which Google ranks Web pages. PageRank can be interpreted as a frequency of visiting a Web page by a random surfer and thus it reflects the popularity of a Web page. Google computes the PageRank using the power iteration method which requires

  10. Monte Carlo methods in PageRank computation: When one iteration is sufficient

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Avrachenkov, K.; Litvak, Nelli; Nemirovsky, D.; Osipova, N.

    PageRank is one of the principle criteria according to which Google ranks Web pages. PageRank can be interpreted as a frequency of visiting a Web page by a random surfer, and thus it reflects the popularity of a Web page. Google computes the PageRank using the power iteration method, which requires

  11. Assessing Patients' Preference for Integrating Herbal Medicine Within Primary Care Services in Saudi Arabia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Allam, Safaa; Moharam, Maha; Alarfaj, Gada

    2014-07-01

    Family physician advice and follow-up may be important to reduce the negative aspects of locally marketed herbal remedies and improve the patient outcome. There is a lack of studies assessing the preference of Saudi patients for the integration of herbal medicine into primary care services. To examine the knowledge, attitudes, and practice of Saudi patients toward herbal medicine and its integration into primary care services. A cross-sectional study was conducted between February and March 2013 among adult patients attending the family medicine clinics at a primary care center in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. A self-administered questionnaire (27 items) was developed and administered to all patients. A total of 240 patients were included in the current analysis. The average age was 33.5 ± 9.9 years, and 61% of the patients were women. Approximately 60% of the patients were aware of herbal medicine use and its possible side effects. More than 85% of the patients believed that herbal containers should be labeled with safety information. Approximately 71% of the patients had a favorable attitude toward integrated services. Approximately 65% of the patients used herbal remedies for themselves, and 42% used them for their children. Preference for integrated services was significantly associated with female sex, better knowledge, positive attitudes toward safety and regulations, and higher level of practice. A good knowledge and a very favorable attitude toward integrating herbal medicine into primary care services were found among a group of patients attending a primary care center in Saudi Arabia. © The Author(s) 2014.

  12. Telecommunications and Universal Service: International ...

    International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

    Out of print. 104 pages. e-ISBN : 1552503216. Téléchargez le PDF · Téléchargez le cyberlivre. The services delivered over telecommunications networks can provide enormous ... Amnisties pour la paix dans le delta du Niger - évaluation critique de la contribution à une paix durable du pardon de crimes du passé.

  13. Identifying medication-related needs of HIV patients: foundation for community pharmacist-based services

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yardlee Kauffman

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Background: Patients living with HIV/AIDS have complex medication regimens. Pharmacists within community pharmacy settings can have a role managing patients living with HIV/AIDS. Patients' perspectives surrounding implementation about community pharmacist-based services is needed as limited information is available. Objective: To identify medication-related needs of HIV-infected patients who receive prescriptions from a community pharmacy. To determine patient perspectives and knowledge of community pharmacist-based services. Methods: A qualitative research study involving in-depth, semi-structured interviews with patients was conducted. Inclusion criteria included: HIV positive men and women at least 18 years of age who receive care at a HIV clinic, currently take medication(s and use a community pharmacy for all prescription fills. Patients were recruited from one urban and one rural health center. Patients answered questions about their perceptions and knowledge about the role and value of pharmacy services and completed a demographic survey. The recordings of the interviews were transcribed verbatim and were analyzed using principles of Grounded Theory. Results: Twenty-nine interviews were conducted: 15 participants from the urban site and 14 from the rural site. Five main themes emerged including: patients experience ongoing and varying medication-related needs; patients desire a pharmacist who is caring, knowledgeable and integrated with health care providers; patients expect ready access to drug therapy; patients value an individualized patient encounter, and patients need to be informed that a pharmacist-service exists. Conclusion: Patients with HIV value individualized and personal encounters with pharmacists at time intervals that are convenient for the patient. Patients felt that a one-on-one encounter with a pharmacist would be most valuable when initiating or modifying medication therapy. These patient perspectives can be useful for

  14. Patient satisfaction with a chronic kidney disease risk assessment service in community pharmacies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gheewala, Pankti A; Peterson, Gregory M; Zaidi, Syed Tabish R; Jose, Matthew D; Castelino, Ronald L

    2018-04-01

    Patient satisfaction is an important determinant of the feasibility and sustainability of community pharmacy screening services. However, few studies have evaluated this, with no such study performed for a chronic kidney disease risk assessment service. The aim was to determine patient satisfaction with a chronic kidney disease risk assessment service performed in community pharmacies. Community pharmacies in the state of Tasmania, Australia. An anonymous nine-item satisfaction survey, with Likert-type scales, was developed following a literature review of existing surveys. Reliability of the nine-item scale was determined using Cronbach's alpha. Patients were asked an additional question on willingness to pay, with choices of amount from $5 to $25. The satisfaction survey was mailed to 389 patients who participated in the chronic kidney disease risk assessment study. Patient level of satisfaction with and willingness to pay for the chronic kidney disease service. Responses from 143 participants were included in the final analysis. Cronbach's alpha for the nine-item satisfaction scale was 0.87. The majority of participants agreed that the time required to undergo the risk assessment process was justified (90.2%); overall, they were satisfied with the chronic kidney disease risk assessment service (90.0%) and they felt comfortable with the pharmacist referring their results to their doctor (88.9%). Of 136 participants who answered the question on willingness to pay, 62.9% indicated that they would pay for the chronic kidney disease service. Of these, 29.2, 25.8 and 19.1% were willing to pay $20, $10 and $5, respectively. Patient satisfaction with the community pharmacy-based chronic kidney disease risk assessment was high. These findings provide support for the implementation of the service within community pharmacy practice.

  15. THE EFFECT OF OUTPATIENT SERVICE QUALITY ON PATIENT SATISFACTION IN TEACHING HOSPITALS IN IRAN.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pouragha, Behrouz; Zarei, Ehsan

    2016-02-01

    The quality of services plays a primary role in achieving patient satisfaction. The main purpose of this study was to explore the effect of outpatient service quality on patient satisfaction in teaching hospitals in Iran. this cross-sectional study was conducted in 2014. The study sample included 500 patients were selected with systematic random method from the outpatient departments (clinics) of four teaching hospitals in Tehran. The survey instrument was a questionnaire consisted of 44 items, which were confirmed its reliability and validity. The data were analyzed by using descriptive statistics, Pearson's correlation, and multivariate regression methods with the SPSS.18 software. According to the findings of this study, the majority of patients had a positive experience in the outpatient departments of the teaching hospitals and thus evaluated the services as good. Perceived service costs, physician consultation, physical environment, and information to patient were found to be the most important determinants of outpatient satisfaction. The results suggest that improving the quality of consultation, providing information to the patients during examination and consultation, creating value for patients by reducing costs or improving service quality, and enhancing the physical environment quality of the clinic can be regarded as effective strategies for the management of teaching hospitals toward increasing outpatient satisfaction.

  16. Banking Services, Business Education: 7713.15.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Griffee, Alice

    This course in banking intends to give students an insight into the personal and business services that banks provide. It includes instruction on savings and checking accounts, loans, trusts, and safety deposit facilities. Also included are the performance objectives, five pages of an outline on course content, suggested teaching and learning…

  17. MICROSOFT CLOUD SERVICES IN DISTANCE LEARNING SYSTEM “KHERSON VIRTUAL UNIVERSITY”

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    H. Kravtsov

    2014-07-01

    Full Text Available E-learning with using spreadsheets requires the implementation of Excel-documents into the distance learning system. Simple and convenient solution of the problem of Excel-documents implementation is the use of cloud services. Using cloud services, you can access to information resources of any level and any type with division of the rights of various groups of users to resources, using only an Internet connection and a Web browser. Subject of research is the Microsoft cloud services. The purpose of research is development and implementation of software module «ExcelReader» to use Excel spreadsheets on the Web pages of distance learning systems. In this paper we solve the following tasks: 1 analyze the known software solutions to display Excel-documents in the WEB-based applications; 2 select an efficient software technology of processing Excel-documents; 3 design the access system and use of Web services of processing Excel-documents in distance learning system; 4 develop software module «ExcelReader» for correct display and edit Excel-documents on Web pages in distance learning; 5 implement software module «ExcelReader» in the distance learning system “Kherson Virtual University”. Processes of creating, editing and implementation of MS Office documents into electronic resources of distance learning systems were modeled. In particular, the software module «ExcelReader» for usage Excel spreadsheets on Web pages of distance learning system “Kherson Virtual University” using "cloud" service Excel Web App from Microsoft was developed and implemented in the educational process.

  18. 40 CFR 27.26 - Form, filing and service of papers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Form, filing and service of papers. 27... CIVIL REMEDIES § 27.26 Form, filing and service of papers. (a) Form. (1) Documents filed with the hearing clerk shall include an original and two copies. (2) The first page of every pleading and paper...

  19. MacSelfService online tutorial

    CERN Multimedia

    CERN. Geneva

    2016-01-01

    Mac Self-Service is a functionality within the Mac Desktop Service built and maintained to empower CERN users by giving them easy access to applications and configurations through the Self-Service application. This tutorial (text attached to the event page) explains how to install Mac Self-Service and how to use it to install applications and printers. Content owner: Vincent Nicolas Bippus Presenter: Pedro Augusto de Freitas Batista Tell us what you think via e-learning.support at cern.ch More tutorials in the e-learning collection of the CERN Document Server (CDS) https://cds.cern.ch/collection/E-learning%20modules?ln=en All info about the CERN rapid e-learning project is linked from http://twiki.cern.ch/ELearning  

  20. An exploration of chronic pain patients perceptions of home telerehabilitation services

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Cranen, Karlijn; Cranen, Karlijn; Drossaert, Constance H.C.; Brinkman, Evelien S.; Braakman-Jansen, Louise Marie Antoinette; IJzerman, Maarten Joost; Vollenbroek-Hutten, Miriam Marie Rosé

    2011-01-01

    Objectives  To explore patients’ perceptions regarding prospective telerehabilitation services and the factors that facilitate or impede patients’ intentions to use these services. Design  Using semi-structured interviews, patients reflected on the pros and cons of various scenarios of prospective

  1. Discrete event simulation modelling of patient service management with Arena

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guseva, Elena; Varfolomeyeva, Tatyana; Efimova, Irina; Movchan, Irina

    2018-05-01

    This paper describes the simulation modeling methodology aimed to aid in solving the practical problems of the research and analysing the complex systems. The paper gives the review of a simulation platform sand example of simulation model development with Arena 15.0 (Rockwell Automation).The provided example of the simulation model for the patient service management helps to evaluate the workload of the clinic doctors, determine the number of the general practitioners, surgeons, traumatologists and other specialized doctors required for the patient service and develop recommendations to ensure timely delivery of medical care and improve the efficiency of the clinic operation.

  2. The effect on patient loyalty of service quality, patient visit experience and perceived switching costs: lessons from one Taiwan university hospital.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Hsiu-Ling; Huang, Jun-Ying; Howng, Shen-Long

    2011-02-01

    The reimbursement system changed from fee-for-service to fixed prospective payments in Taiwan, the effect on the physician-patient's relationship is worth being studied. We examined the relationship between patient visit experience, cost perceptions and the two important aspects of quality of care, curing and interpersonal performance, and patients' loyalty to the hospital physicians. A total of 404 patients from an acute care hospital in Taiwan, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital (KMUH), were investigated using a self-administered mailing survey. All measures including patient loyalty (PL), curing service quality (CSQ), interpersonal service quality (ISQ), visit experience (VE) and perceived switching costs (PSC), were adapted and modified from existing scales. Our results showed that the physician's CSQ and ISQ positively affected patients' loyalty to KMUH. The interaction between the main effects of service quality, patients' VE and three types of switching visit costs, yielded additional insights into the importance of service quality for patient retention. The CSQ of physicians becomes a more important determinant of loyalty than ISQ as patients' VE increases. The importance of CSQ and ISQ increases in relation to PL as the perceived procedural and relational costs of changing care providers increases. Neither CSQ nor ISQ has a reduced relationship with PL as the perceived financial costs of switching hospitals increase. Our study indicates that the impact of CSQ and ISQ on loyalty varies according to the perceived visit costs of changing hospitals and the patients' VE.

  3. Information from the Dosimetry Service

    CERN Multimedia

    2006-01-01

    CERN Staff and Users can now consult their dose records for an individual or an organizational unit with HRT. Please see more information on our web page http://cern.ch/rp-dosimetry. The Dosimetry Service is open every morning from 8.30 - 12.00, and closed in the afternoons. We would like to remind you that dosimeters cannot be sent to customers by internal mail. Short-term dosimeters (VCT's) must always be returned to the Service after use and must not be left on the racks in the experimental areas or in the secretariats.

  4. The effect of pharmacist-provided non-dispensing services on patient outcomes, health service utilisation and costs in low- and middle-income countries.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pande, Sami; Hiller, Janet E; Nkansah, Nancy; Bero, Lisa

    2013-02-28

    The role of pharmacists has expanded beyond dispensing and packaging over the past two decades, and now includes ensuring rational use of drugs, improving clinical outcomes and promoting health status by working with the public and other healthcare professionals. To examine the effect of pharmacist-provided non-dispensing services on patient outcomes, health service utilisation and costs in low- and middle-income countries. Studies were identified by electronically searching the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) in The Cochrane Library (February 2010), MEDLINE (1949 to February 2010), Scopus (1960 to March 2010) and International Pharmaceutical Abstracts (1970 to January 2010) databases. An update of this review is currently ongoing. The search was re-run September 2012 and the potentially relevant studies are awaiting classification. Randomised controlled trials, non-randomised controlled trials, controlled before-after studies and interrupted time series analyses comparing 1. pharmacist-provided non-dispensing services targeted at patients versus (a) the same services provided by other healthcare professionals, (b) the same services provided by untrained health workers, and (c) usual care; and 2. pharmacist-provided non-dispensing services targeted at healthcare professionals versus (a) the same services provided by other healthcare professionals, (b) the same services provided by untrained health workers, and (c) usual care in low- and middle-income countries. The research sites must have been located in low or middle income countries according to World Bank Group 2009 at the time of the study, regardless of the location or the origin of the researchers. Two authors independently reviewed studies for inclusion in the review. Two review authors independently extracted data for each study. Risk of bias of the included studies was also assessed independently by two authors. Twelve studies comparing pharmacist-provided services versus usual

  5. Improving Acceptance, Integration, and Health Among LGBT Service Members

    Science.gov (United States)

    2016-10-01

    Military, LGBT, health disparities, minority stress , social networks 16. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION OF: 17. LIMITATION OF ABSTRACT 18. NUMBER OF PAGES 19a...physical and mental health needs of this community. This project includes LGBT service members from all four services, Army, Air Force, Navy and...acceptance and integration of sexual minorities into traditional heterosexual work environments. Further, the findings will address possible health

  6. Measuring patient satisfaction with medical services using social media generated data.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Geletta, Simon

    2018-03-12

    Purpose The purpose of this paper is to discuss the results of an effort to use social media generated data for measuring patient satisfaction with medical care services. Traditionally, scientifically designed patient satisfaction surveys are used to provide such measurements. The goal here is to evaluate the possibility of supplementing patient satisfaction surveys with social media generated patient satisfaction measurements such that the later can be used either as validation or replacement for the former. Although surveys are scientifically designed to yield dependable results, recent studies have revealed multiple factors relating to the methods currently used for survey data collection, that may be contributing to the limitations of many survey results. In light of such criticisms, this study explored the possibility of using the increasing popular and proactively generated consumer ratings through the pervasive social media as data source for satisfaction measurement. The average satisfaction scores created from such data are then used to compare levels of satisfaction among five types of health service businesses. Design/methodology/approach The data used in this research are garnered from the consumer review social media site called "Yelp!". Ratings and reviews that are related to health and medical services were extracted from the "Yelp!" The types of services that are identified by consumers are standardized to typologies that are traditionally used in health service research. Five types of services were targeted - general practice physician offices, physician specialty services, dentists, hospitals and physical therapy services. The "five-star" rating systems were re-coded to form a five-point ordinal scale variable to represent "satisfaction score". Findings The Yelp! data-based measurement of patient satisfaction produced an overall satisfaction score of 3.8 (SD=1.7) for the sampled services. The average satisfaction score per type of service ranged

  7. Clinical and demographic profile of cancer patients in a consultation-liaison psychiatric service

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vanessa de Albuquerque Citero

    Full Text Available ABSTRACT CONTEXT: An almost 50% prevalence of psychiatric disorders among cancer patients has prompted a series of studies on consultation-liaison psychiatry. Nonetheless, there are few reports on the epidemiological factors involving comorbidity between cancer and psychiatric disorders. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the epidemiological profile of cancer inpatients referred to the consultation-liaison psychiatric service in an oncology hospital during its first year of activity. TYPE OF STUDY: Descriptive study. SETTING: Tertiary-care teaching hospital. PARTICIPANTS: 319 patients referred 412 times to the consultation-liaison psychiatry service. PROCEDURES: From August 97 to July 98, an appraisal was made of data on all admissions registered at the Hospital do Câncer, and also all referrals registered at the consultation-liaison psychiatry service. MAIN MEASUREMENTS: The demographics and patients' clinical data, the type and flow of the request, and the evaluation conducted by the service were analyzed and comparisons with the hospital data were made. The distribution of the number of referrals was used to construct a profile of patients who had repeatedly used the service. RESULTS: Psychiatric diagnoses were found in 59% of the cases. Forty-three percent of these required medication, 18.3% needed psychotherapy, 22.1% family intervention and 20.5% guidance from the staff. Over 22.8% of the consultations were reevaluations, mainly involving younger male patients with worst prognoses. These patients required lengthier and more elaborate intervention, and had higher prevalence of depressive and behavioral disorders. CONCLUSION: A younger and mainly male population of non-surgical oncological cases was referred to the consultation-liaison psychiatric service during its first year of activity. The psychiatric disorder prevalence was higher than expected, and consisted predominantly of mood disorders. We detected a priority group, namely the reevaluated

  8. A Note on the PageRank of Undirected Graphs

    OpenAIRE

    Grolmusz, Vince

    2012-01-01

    The PageRank is a widely used scoring function of networks in general and of the World Wide Web graph in particular. The PageRank is defined for directed graphs, but in some special cases applications for undirected graphs occur. In the literature it is widely noted that the PageRank for undirected graphs are proportional to the degrees of the vertices of the graph. We prove that statement for a particular personalization vector in the definition of the PageRank, and we also show that in gene...

  9. Digital Ethnography: Library Web Page Redesign among Digital Natives

    Science.gov (United States)

    Klare, Diane; Hobbs, Kendall

    2011-01-01

    Presented with an opportunity to improve Wesleyan University's dated library home page, a team of librarians employed ethnographic techniques to explore how its users interacted with Wesleyan's current library home page and web pages in general. Based on the data that emerged, a group of library staff and members of the campus' information…

  10. Web page sorting algorithm based on query keyword distance relation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Han; Cui, Hong Gang; Tang, Hao

    2017-08-01

    In order to optimize the problem of page sorting, according to the search keywords in the web page in the relationship between the characteristics of the proposed query keywords clustering ideas. And it is converted into the degree of aggregation of the search keywords in the web page. Based on the PageRank algorithm, the clustering degree factor of the query keyword is added to make it possible to participate in the quantitative calculation. This paper proposes an improved algorithm for PageRank based on the distance relation between search keywords. The experimental results show the feasibility and effectiveness of the method.

  11. Patients' perspective of the design of provider-patients electronic communication services.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Silhavy, Petr; Silhavy, Radek; Prokopova, Zdenka

    2014-06-12

    Information Delivery is one the most important tasks in healthcare practice. This article discusses patient's tasks and perspectives, which are then used to design a new Effective Electronic Methodology. The system design methods applicable to electronic communication in the healthcare sector are also described. The architecture and the methodology for the healthcare service portal are set out in the proposed system design.

  12. Improving patient experience in a pediatric ambulatory clinic: a mixed method appraisal of service delivery

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Soeteman M

    2015-03-01

    Full Text Available Marijn Soeteman,1 Vera Peters,2 Jamiu O Busari1,3 1Department of Pediatrics, Atrium Medical Center, Heerlen, 2Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences, 3Department of Educational Development and Research, Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences, University of Maastricht, Maastricht, the Netherlands Objective: In 2013, customer satisfaction surveys showed that patients were unhappy with the services provided at our ambulatory clinic. In response, we performed an appraisal of our services, which resulted in the development of a strategy to reduce waiting time and improve quality of service. Infrastructural changes to our clinic’s waiting room, consultation rooms, and back offices were performed, and schedules were redesigned to reduce wait time to 10 minutes and increase consultation time to 20 minutes. Our objective was to identify if this would improve 1 accessibility to caregivers and 2 quality of service and available amenities. Design: We conducted a multi-method survey using 1 a patient flow analysis to analyze the flow of service and understand the impact of our interventions on patient flow and 2 specially designed questionnaires to investigate patients’ perceptions of our wait time and how to improve our services. Results: The results showed that 79% of our respondents were called in to see a doctor within 20 minutes upon arrival. More patients (55% felt that 10–20 minutes was an acceptable wait time. We also observed a perceived increase in satisfaction with wait time (94%. Finally, a large number of patients (97% were satisfied with the quality of service and with the accessibility to caregivers (94%. Conclusion: The majority of our patients were satisfied with the accessibility to our ambulatory clinics and with the quality of services provided. The appraisal of our operational processes using a patient flow analysis also demonstrated how this strategy could effectively be applied to investigate and improve quality of

  13. CrazyEgg Reports for Single Page Analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    CrazyEgg provides an in depth look at visitor behavior on one page. While you can use GA to do trend analysis of your web area, CrazyEgg helps diagnose the design of a single Web page by visually displaying all visitor clicks during a specified time.

  14. An Adaptive Reordered Method for Computing PageRank

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yi-Ming Bu

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available We propose an adaptive reordered method to deal with the PageRank problem. It has been shown that one can reorder the hyperlink matrix of PageRank problem to calculate a reduced system and get the full PageRank vector through forward substitutions. This method can provide a speedup for calculating the PageRank vector. We observe that in the existing reordered method, the cost of the recursively reordering procedure could offset the computational reduction brought by minimizing the dimension of linear system. With this observation, we introduce an adaptive reordered method to accelerate the total calculation, in which we terminate the reordering procedure appropriately instead of reordering to the end. Numerical experiments show the effectiveness of this adaptive reordered method.

  15. Discovery and Selection of Semantic Web Services

    CERN Document Server

    Wang, Xia

    2013-01-01

    For advanced web search engines to be able not only to search for semantically related information dispersed over different web pages, but also for semantic services providing certain functionalities, discovering semantic services is the key issue. Addressing four problems of current solution, this book presents the following contributions. A novel service model independent of semantic service description models is proposed, which clearly defines all elements necessary for service discovery and selection. It takes service selection as its gist and improves efficiency. Corresponding selection algorithms and their implementation as components of the extended Semantically Enabled Service-oriented Architecture in the Web Service Modeling Environment are detailed. Many applications of semantic web services, e.g. discovery, composition and mediation, can benefit from a general approach for building application ontologies. With application ontologies thus built, services are discovered in the same way as with single...

  16. Using shadow page cache to improve isolated drivers performance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zheng, Hao; Dong, Xiaoshe; Wang, Endong; Chen, Baoke; Zhu, Zhengdong; Liu, Chengzhe

    2015-01-01

    With the advantage of the reusability property of the virtualization technology, users can reuse various types and versions of existing operating systems and drivers in a virtual machine, so as to customize their application environment. In order to prevent users' virtualization environments being impacted by driver faults in virtual machine, Chariot examines the correctness of driver's write operations by the method of combining a driver's write operation capture and a driver's private access control table. However, this method needs to keep the write permission of shadow page table as read-only, so as to capture isolated driver's write operations through page faults, which adversely affect the performance of the driver. Based on delaying setting frequently used shadow pages' write permissions to read-only, this paper proposes an algorithm using shadow page cache to improve the performance of isolated drivers and carefully study the relationship between the performance of drivers and the size of shadow page cache. Experimental results show that, through the shadow page cache, the performance of isolated drivers can be greatly improved without impacting Chariot's reliability too much.

  17. Patient satisfaction regarding eye care services at tertiary hospital of central India

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anand Sudhan

    2011-01-01

    Study Design : Descriptive study. Materials and Methods : This study was conducted between September 2005 and June 2006. Patients attending the eye clinic of Sadguru Netra Chikitsalaya, Chitrakoot, Madhya Pradesh, India, and admitted as in-patients in this hospital were our study population. Randomly selected patients were interviewed by trained staff. Close-ended questionnaire was used to conduct these structured interviews. Their responses were grouped into one of five categories and evaluated to determine satisfaction for different components of eye care services. Results : Three hundred and twenty persons were interviewed. The satisfaction was of excellent grade among 77 (48.1% patients attending clinic and 156 (97.5% patients who were admitted in the hospital. The participants expressed dissatisfaction for the long waiting period in clinics, poor cleanliness, and insufficient toilet facilities. Those admitted in the hospital felt that food facilities were less than the expected quality. Child-friendly facilities received high satisfaction scores. Conclusion : Although eye care services both in clinics and in the wards were satisfactory according to the end-users, there are scopes for improvement. Patient satisfaction surveys should be encouraged in hospitals for better accountability and also for strengthening the quality of eye care services.

  18. stage/page/play

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    context. Contributors: Per Brask, Dario Fo, Jette Barnholdt Hansen, Pil Hansen, Sven Åke Heed, Ulla Kallenbach, Sofie Kluge, Annelis Kuhlmann, Kela Kvam, Anna Lawaetz, Bent Flemming Nielsen, Franco Perrelli, Magnus Tessing Schneider, Antonio Scuderi. stage/page/play is published as a festschrift...

  19. 76 FR 64428 - Senior Executive Service; Combined Performance Review Board (PRB)

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-10-18

    ... Greiner, Chief Financial Officer, United States Mint. John J. Manfreda, Administrator, TTB. Diane K. Wade... of Engraving and Printing (BEP), the Financial Management Service (FMS), the United [[Page 64429

  20. Give your feedback on the new Users’ page

    CERN Multimedia

    CERN Bulletin

    If you haven't already done so, visit the new Users’ page and provide the Communications group with your feedback. You can do this quickly and easily via an online form. A dedicated web steering group will design the future page on the basis of your comments. As a first step towards reforming the CERN website, the Communications group is proposing a ‘beta’ version of the Users’ pages. The primary aim of this version is to improve the visibility of key news items, events and announcements to the CERN community. The beta version is very much work in progress: your input is needed to make sure that the final site meets the needs of CERN’s wide and mixed community. The Communications group will read all your comments and suggestions, and will establish a web steering group that will make sure that the future CERN web pages match the needs of the community. More information on this process, including the gradual 'retirement' of the grey Users' pages we are a...

  1. Classroom Web Pages: A "How-To" Guide for Educators.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fehling, Eric E.

    This manual provides teachers, with very little or no technology experience, with a step-by-step guide for developing the necessary skills for creating a class Web Page. The first part of the manual is devoted to the thought processes preceding the actual creation of the Web Page. These include looking at other Web Pages, deciding what should be…

  2. OnlineMin: A Fast Strongly Competitive Randomized Paging Algorithm

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Brodal, Gerth Stølting; Moruz, Gabriel; Negoescu, Andrei

    2012-01-01

    approach that both has optimal competitiveness and selects victim pages in subquadratic time. In fact, if k pages fit in internal memory the best previous solution required O(k 2) time per request and O(k) space, whereas our approach takes also O(k) space, but only O(logk) time in the worst case per page...

  3. Functional Multiplex PageRank

    Science.gov (United States)

    Iacovacci, Jacopo; Rahmede, Christoph; Arenas, Alex; Bianconi, Ginestra

    2016-10-01

    Recently it has been recognized that many complex social, technological and biological networks have a multilayer nature and can be described by multiplex networks. Multiplex networks are formed by a set of nodes connected by links having different connotations forming the different layers of the multiplex. Characterizing the centrality of the nodes in a multiplex network is a challenging task since the centrality of the node naturally depends on the importance associated to links of a certain type. Here we propose to assign to each node of a multiplex network a centrality called Functional Multiplex PageRank that is a function of the weights given to every different pattern of connections (multilinks) existent in the multiplex network between any two nodes. Since multilinks distinguish all the possible ways in which the links in different layers can overlap, the Functional Multiplex PageRank can describe important non-linear effects when large relevance or small relevance is assigned to multilinks with overlap. Here we apply the Functional Page Rank to the multiplex airport networks, to the neuronal network of the nematode C. elegans, and to social collaboration and citation networks between scientists. This analysis reveals important differences existing between the most central nodes of these networks, and the correlations between their so-called pattern to success.

  4. Requirements analysis of information services for patients on a general practitioner's website--patient and general practitioner's perspectives

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Prins, A. H.; Abu-Hanna, A.

    2007-01-01

    OBJECTIVE: To elicit and analyze information needs of patients and primary care physicians (GPs) regarding the information services (static and functional) that a GP's practice website should provide. METHODS: To find candidate information services, we conducted a literature search and examined

  5. Recognition of pornographic web pages by classifying texts and images.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hu, Weiming; Wu, Ou; Chen, Zhouyao; Fu, Zhouyu; Maybank, Steve

    2007-06-01

    With the rapid development of the World Wide Web, people benefit more and more from the sharing of information. However, Web pages with obscene, harmful, or illegal content can be easily accessed. It is important to recognize such unsuitable, offensive, or pornographic Web pages. In this paper, a novel framework for recognizing pornographic Web pages is described. A C4.5 decision tree is used to divide Web pages, according to content representations, into continuous text pages, discrete text pages, and image pages. These three categories of Web pages are handled, respectively, by a continuous text classifier, a discrete text classifier, and an algorithm that fuses the results from the image classifier and the discrete text classifier. In the continuous text classifier, statistical and semantic features are used to recognize pornographic texts. In the discrete text classifier, the naive Bayes rule is used to calculate the probability that a discrete text is pornographic. In the image classifier, the object's contour-based features are extracted to recognize pornographic images. In the text and image fusion algorithm, the Bayes theory is used to combine the recognition results from images and texts. Experimental results demonstrate that the continuous text classifier outperforms the traditional keyword-statistics-based classifier, the contour-based image classifier outperforms the traditional skin-region-based image classifier, the results obtained by our fusion algorithm outperform those by either of the individual classifiers, and our framework can be adapted to different categories of Web pages.

  6. Patients' satisfaction towards radiological service and associated factors in Hawassa University Teaching and referral hospital, Southern Ethiopia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mulisa, Teshome; Tessema, Fasil; Merga, Hailu

    2017-06-26

    Patient satisfaction, one of the main components of quality of care, is a crucial phenomenon for the overall health care delivery system. Even though a number of studies have been conducted about patient satisfaction in different health services, studies in radiology services are flimsy in Ethiopia. This study aimed at assessing patient satisfaction towards radiological service and associated factors in Hawassa University Teaching and Referral hospital. An institution based cross-sectional study was conducted among 321 adult patients presented for radiological service in the study area using stratified sampling technique. Patient satisfaction was measured using SERVQUAL (Service Quality) tool that consisted of seven items: accessibility, quality of radiological service, courtesy of radiology staff, existence of good communication with service provider and desk worker, physical environment and privacy technique. Exit interviews of patients were conducted using a structured and pretested questionnaire. Data was collected by three grade ten completed trained data collectors from May 12 to May 28, 2016. Multiple logistic regressions were used to identify independent factors associated with patient satisfaction on radiological services using SPSS version 21. The overall patient satisfaction towards radiological service was 71.6%. Satisfaction to accessibility of the service was 84.5% while it was 80.6% to courtesy of the staff. Similarly, 81.6% reported satisfied with quality of the service and 59.4% and 71% of reported satisfied with physical environment and radiological service provider respectively. On the other hand, 99.7% of the respondents were dissatisfied with privacy of the service. The study revealed that patients who attended primary school (AOR = 0.317, 95% CI: 0.11-0.88), unemployed patients (AOR = 0.067, 95% CI: 0.007-0.622) and patients who had short waiting time to enter into examination room less than one hour (AOR = 4.12, 95% CI: 1.4-11.62) were

  7. WebScore: An Effective Page Scoring Approach for Uncertain Web Social Networks

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shaojie Qiao

    2011-10-01

    Full Text Available To effectively score pages with uncertainty in web social networks, we first proposed a new concept called transition probability matrix and formally defined the uncertainty in web social networks. Second, we proposed a hybrid page scoring algorithm, called WebScore, based on the PageRank algorithm and three centrality measures including degree, betweenness, and closeness. Particularly,WebScore takes into a full consideration of the uncertainty of web social networks by computing the transition probability from one page to another. The basic idea ofWebScore is to: (1 integrate uncertainty into PageRank in order to accurately rank pages, and (2 apply the centrality measures to calculate the importance of pages in web social networks. In order to verify the performance of WebScore, we developed a web social network analysis system which can partition web pages into distinct groups and score them in an effective fashion. Finally, we conducted extensive experiments on real data and the results show that WebScore is effective at scoring uncertain pages with less time deficiency than PageRank and centrality measures based page scoring algorithms.

  8. Assessing the possibilities and challenges of patient involvement in sexual, reproductive and HIV/AIDS services.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meyrick, Jane; Gray, Debra; Jones, Abigail

    2016-06-01

    Patient and public involvement (PPI) is a key feature of healthcare services in the UK. Sexual and reproductive health and HIV (SRHH) services face unique PPI challenges, as the anonymity and confidentiality required by service users can be a barrier to attracting patient input. PPI could improve sexual health services, through increased trust in services and the ability to tackle sexual health inequalities. However, specific practical guidance on how to address PPI in sexual health and the evidence to support it is sparse. This research aims to begin building an evidence base for PPI in sexual health services through: 1) an audit of PPI in SRHH in the Bristol region; and 2) a parallel survey of potential users of sexual health services about their experiences of PPI. For the audit, 18 SRHH organisations from all those in the region invited complete a short online survey, representing a range of different service providers. For the survey, participants, through a convenience sample via the University of the West of England and social media, were invited to complete an anonymous online survey of their experiences of PPI in SSRHs; 96 people responded. Reliance on customer satisfaction approaches and patients not being asked for feedback or what PP is for are reported. Services cite under-resourcing and a lack of time as barriers. Improving the use of patient's voice in SRHH could be supported through clarity of purpose (measured against outcomes), better communication with patients, and the need for flexible methods.

  9. The new Service Desk

    CERN Multimedia

    2011-01-01

    The Service Desk as single point of contact will replace the IT Help Desk and the SEM Support Help Desk as of the 15 February. In a joint effort to improve the services provided by IT and GS Departments, the following changes will be introduced as of the 15 February: One phone number to remember: 77777;   You will be provided access to a Service Portal from the CERN Home page under the heading “Services”. This Service Portal allows ‘google like’ searching as well as the creation of service requests (such as: painting) and incident tickets (such as: printing);   A service counter will welcome you on the 2nd floor of Building 55 and help you between 7h30 and 18h30 during CERN working days;   Emails to computing.helpdesk@cern.ch, sem.support@cern.ch or to similar ‘support-line’ email addresses will be handled as before. Below the surface a lot is changing (new tool including a service portal, ne...

  10. Buying a Constant Competitive Ratio for Paging

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Csirik, János; Imreh, Csanád; Noga, John; Seiden, Steve S.; Woeginger, Gerhard; Meyer auf der Heide, Friedhelm

    2001-01-01

    We consider a variant of the online paging problem where the online algorithm may buy additional cache slots at a certain cost. The overall cost incurred equals the total cost for the cache plus the number of page faults. This problem and our results are a generalization of both, the classical

  11. Buying a constant competitive ratio for paging

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Csirik, J.; Imreh, Cs.; Noga, J.; Seiden, S.S.; Woeginger, G.J.; Meyer auf der Heide, F.

    2001-01-01

    We consider a variant of the online paging problem where the online algorithm may buy additional cache slots at a certain cost. The overall cost incurred equals the total cost for the cache plus the number of page faults. This problem and our results are a generalization of both, the classical

  12. Service line structure and decision-maker attention in three health systems: Implications for patient-centered care.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Louis, Christopher J; Clark, Jonathan R; Gray, Barbara; Brannon, Diane; Parker, Victoria

    2017-06-15

    Scholars have noted a disconnect between the level at which structure is typically examined (the organization) and the level at which the relevant coordination takes place (service delivery). Accordingly, our understanding of the role structure plays in care coordination is limited. In this article, we explore service line structure, with an aim of advancing our understanding of the role service line structure plays in producing coordinated, patient-centered care. We do so by giving special attention to the cognitive roots of patient-centeredness. Our exploratory study relied on comparative case studies of the breast cancer service lines in three health systems. Nonprobability discriminative snowball sampling was used to identify the final sample of key informants. We employed a grounded approach to analyzing and interpreting the data. We found substantial variation across the three service lines in terms of their structure. We also found corresponding variation across the three case sites in terms of where informant attention was primarily focused in the process of coordinating care. Drawing on the attention-based view of the firm, our results draw a clear connection between structural characteristics and the dominant focus of attention (operational tactics, provider roles and relationships, or patient needs and engagement) in health care service lines. Our exploratory results suggest that service line structures influence attention in two ways: (a) by regulating the type and intensity of the problems facing service line participants and (b) by encouraging (or discouraging) a shared purpose around patient needs. Patient-centered attention-a precursor to coordinated, patient-centered care-depends on the internal choices organizations make around service line structure. Moreover, a key task for organizational and service line leaders is to structure service lines to create a context that minimizes distractions and enables care providers to focus their attention on

  13. An empirical study of the impact of service quality on patient satisfaction in private hospitals, Iran.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zarei, Ehsan; Daneshkohan, Abbas; Pouragha, Behrouz; Marzban, Sima; Arab, Mohammad

    2014-07-29

    Perceived service quality is the most important predictor of patient satisfaction. The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of the service quality on the overall satisfaction of patients in private hospitals of Tehran, Iran. This cross-sectional study was conducted in the year 2010. The study's sample consisted of 969 patients who were recruited from eight private general hospitals in Tehran, Iran using consecutive sampling. A questionnaire was used for data collection; contacting 21 items (17 items about service quality and 4 items about overall satisfaction) and its validity and reliability were confirmed. Data analysis was performed using t-test, ANOVA and multivariate regression. this study found a strong relationship between service quality and patient satisfaction. About 45% of the variance in overall satisfaction was explained by four dimensions of perceived service quality. The cost of services, the quality of the process and the quality of interaction had the greatest effects on the overall satisfaction of patients, but not found a significant effect on the quality of the physical environment on patient satisfaction. Constructs related to costs, delivery of service and interpersonal aspect of care had the most positive impact on overall satisfaction of patients. Managers and owners of private hospitals should set reasonable prices compared to the quality of service. In terms of process quality, waiting time for visits, admissions, and surgeries must be declined and services provided at the fastest possible time. It should be emphasized to strengthen of interpersonal aspects of care and communication skills of care providers.

  14. 76 FR 2144 - Quest Diagnostics, Inc. Information Technology Help Desk Services Including On-Site Leased...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-01-12

    .... Information Technology Help Desk Services Including On-Site Leased Workers From Modis, West Norriton, PA..., applicable to workers of Quest Diagnostics, Inc., Information Technology Help Desk Services, West Norriton... Quest Diagnostics, Inc., Information Technology Help Desk [[Page 2145

  15. Patient Satisfaction with Food Services in Teaching Hospitals of Tabriz; 2012

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Massumeh gholizadeh

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available Background and Objectives : Results of the previous studies indicate that nutrition as one of the basic elements in patient safety is neglected or plays a minor role in treatment process. This study aimed to assess patient satisfaction with food services in teaching hospitals of Tabriz University of medical sciences. Materials and Methods : This cross-sectional study was conducted in teaching hospitals of Tabriz University of medical sciences. A total 314 number of available beds were selected. Data gathering tool was a LIKERT-based researcher–made questionnaire with 15 questions. Validity and reliability of the tool were verified by Delphi method and Cronbach’s alpha test of 0.91. Sample t-test and ANOVA were used to analyze data. Results: This study’s findings declared the minimum satisfaction about hospitals’ food services include: patients’ demands, assistance while eating, the effect of food on improving health conditions, clean appearance of meal services, observing health standards and respect by distributors .The findings revealed a significant difference among different nutritional services in studied hospitals. However, there was not a meaningful relationship between the level of satisfaction and gender, occupation, education and place of residence.  Conclusion : Based on the results of this study, hospital managers are recommended to carry out activities to promote awareness of food services staff regarding food safety programs, employing more nutritionists and their active presence at the patient’s bedside and providing freedom of choice for patients. ​

  16. Home delivery of medication - the role of a patient information leaflet on maximising service uptake.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Watson, L; Ahmed, N; Mccall, H; Minton, J; Benn, P; Edwards, S; Waters, L

    2014-12-01

    There are currently over 30,000 HIV-positive individuals in London and over 25,000 on anti-retroviral therapy. In 2009/2010, this equated to £170m spent by London's NHS on anti-retroviral drugs. Ways employed to reduce this cost include standardising the drugs patients are on and delivering medication to patients at home. Home delivery (HD) medication is exempt from value-added tax. The savings made from 10 patients using the home delivery service would free up resources to provide anti-retroviral therapy to one further patient. Studies have shown that concerns surrounding potential breaches of confidentiality are a potential barrier to some people using the home delivery service. In order to challenge these concerns, a leaflet was devised highlighting the major benefits to both the patient and the NHS of home delivery and addressing concerns over confidentiality. The leaflet was handed out to patients at the Mortimer Market Centre who were currently on anti-retroviral medication but not on home delivery. They were asked to complete a survey on their views of the service before and after reading the leaflet, whether they had been previously aware of the service and whether their concerns had been addressed. Some 79% felt that the patient information leaflet addressed all of their concerns, and it helped 11% decide whether to consider using home delivery. However, as more patients were opposed to the service after reading the patient information leaflet than those considering it, more work needs to be done to explore patients' concerns and other factors influencing home delivery service uptake. © The Author(s) 2014 Reprints and permissions: sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav.

  17. Exploring the use of a Facebook page in anatomy education.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jaffar, Akram Abood

    2014-01-01

    Facebook is the most popular social media site visited by university students on a daily basis. Consequently, Facebook is the logical place to start with for integrating social media technologies into education. This study explores how a faculty-administered Facebook Page can be used to supplement anatomy education beyond the traditional classroom. Observations were made on students' perceptions and effectiveness of using the Page, potential benefits and challenges of such use, and which Insights metrics best reflect user's engagement. The Human Anatomy Education Page was launched on Facebook and incorporated into anatomy resources for 157 medical students during two academic years. Students' use of Facebook and their perceptions of the Page were surveyed. Facebook's "Insights" tool was also used to evaluate Page performance during a period of 600 days. The majority of in-class students had a Facebook account which they adopted in education. Most students perceived Human Anatomy Education Page as effective in contributing to learning and favored "self-assessment" posts. The majority of students agreed that Facebook could be a suitable learning environment. The "Insights" tool revealed globally distributed fans with considerable Page interactions. The use of a faculty-administered Facebook Page provided a venue to enhance classroom teaching without intruding into students' social life. A wider educational use of Facebook should be adopted not only because students are embracing its use, but for its inherent potentials in boosting learning. The "Insights" metrics analyzed in this study might be helpful when establishing and evaluating the performance of education-oriented Facebook Pages. © 2013 American Association of Anatomists.

  18. Patient Views on Three Key Service Areas within Hospital COPD Care

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roberts, C. Michael; Seiger, Anil; Ingham, Jane

    2009-01-01

    Objective: The views of patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) about three key services (non-invasive ventilation [NIV], early discharge schemes and rehabilitation) were sought in order to inform recommendations for the delivery of optimum care within a national programme of hospital COPD service development. Design: Four focus…

  19. [Quality of service provided to heart surgery patients of the Unified Health System-SUS].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Borges, Juliana Bassalobre Carvalho; Carvalho, Sebastião Marcos Ribeiro de; Silva, Marcos Augusto de Moraes

    2010-01-01

    To evaluate the service quality provided to heart surgery patients during their hospital stay, identifying the patient's expectations and perceptions. To associate service quality with: gender, age and the use of extracorporeal circulation. We studied 82 elective heart surgery patients (52.4% females and 47.6% males), operated by midsternal thoracotomy, age: 31 to 83 years (60.4 +/- 13.2 years); period: March to September 2006. Service quality was evaluated in two instances: the expectations at pre-operative and the perceptions of the service received on the 6th post-operative; through the application of the modified SERVQUAL scale (SERVQUAL-Card). The result was obtained by the difference of the sum of the scores on perception minus those of the expectations, and through statistical analysis. The SERVQUAL-Card scale was statistically validated, showing adequate level of internal consistency. We found a higher frequency of myocardial revascularization 55 (67.0%); first heart surgery 72 (87.8%) and the use of ECC 69 (84.1%). We noticed high mean values for expectations and perceptions with significant results (Pquality of service with: gender, in empathy (P= 0.04) and age, in reliability (P = 0.02). There was no significant association between ECC and quality of service. Service quality was satisfactory. The patient demonstrated a high expectation to hospital medical service. Women present a higher perception of quality in empathy and younger people in reliability. The use of ECC is not related to service quality in this sample. The data obtained in this study suggest that the quality of this health service can be monitored through the periodical application of the SERVQUAL scale.

  20. Three results on the PageRank vector: eigenstructure, sensitivity, and the derivative

    OpenAIRE

    Gleich, David; Glynn, Peter; Golub, Gene; Greif, Chen

    2007-01-01

    The three results on the PageRank vector are preliminary but shed light on the eigenstructure of a PageRank modified Markov chain and what happens when changing the teleportation parameter in the PageRank model. Computations with the derivative of the PageRank vector with respect to the teleportation parameter show predictive ability and identify an interesting set of pages from Wikipedia.

  1. A structured patient identification model for medication therapy management services in a community pharmacy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pagano, Gina M; Groves, Brigid K; Kuhn, Catherine H; Porter, Kyle; Mehta, Bella H

    To describe the development and implementation of a structured patient identification model for medication therapy management (MTM) services within traditional dispensing activities of a community pharmacy to facilitate pharmacist-provided completion of MTM services. A daily clinical opportunity report was developed as a structured model to identify MTM opportunities daily for all MTM-eligible patients expecting to pick up a prescription. Pharmacy staff was trained and the standardized model was implemented at study sites. One hundred nineteen grocery store-based community pharmacies throughout Ohio, West Virginia, and Michigan. A structured patient identification model in a community pharmacy consists of reviewing a clinical opportunity report, identifying interventions for MTM-eligible patients, and possibly collaborating with an interdisciplinary team. This model allows pharmacists to increase MTM cases performed by providing a structured process for identifying MTM-eligible patients and completing MTM services. The development and implementation of a structured patient identification model in the community pharmacy was completed and consists of pharmacists reviewing a clinical opportunity report to identify MTM opportunities and perform clinical interventions for patients. In a 3-month pre- and post-implementation comparison, there was a 49% increase in the number of MTM services provided by pharmacists (P < 0.001). A structured patient identification model in the community pharmacy was associated with an increase in the amount of MTM services provided by pharmacists. This method could be a useful tool at a variety of community pharmacies to solve challenges associated with MTM completion. Copyright © 2017 American Pharmacists Association®. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  2. Main characteristics of patients of primary health care services in Brazil

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ione Aquemi Guibu

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available ABSTRACT OBJECTIVE To characterize patients of primary health care services according to demographic and socioeconomic aspects, habits and lifestyle, health condition, and demand for health services and medicines. METHODS This study is part of the Pesquisa Nacional sobre Acesso, Utilização e Promoção do Uso Racional de Medicamentos – Serviços (PNAUM – National Survey on Access, Use and Promotion of Rational Use of Medicines – Services, a cross-sectional study carried out between 2014 and 2015. Interviews were conducted with patients over the age of 17 years, with a standardized questionnaire, in primary health care services of a representative sample of cities, stratified by regions of Brazil. The analysis was performed for complex samples and weighted according to the population size of each region. RESULTS A total of 8,676 patients were interviewed, being 75.8% women, most of them aged from 18 to 39 years; 24.2% men, most of them aged from 40 to 59 years; 53.7% with elementary school; 50.5% reported to be of mixed race ethnicity, 39.7%, white, and 7.8%, black. Half of patients were classified as class C and 24.8% received the Bolsa Familia benefit. Only 9.8% had health insurance, with higher proportion in the South and lower in the North and Midwest. The proportion of men who consumed alcohol was higher than among women, as well as smokers. The self-assessment of health showed that 57% believed it to be very good or good, with lower proportion in the Northeast. The prevalence of chronic diseases/conditions, such as hypertension (38.6%, dyslipidemia (22.7%, arthritis/rheumatism (19.4%, depression (18.5%, diabetes (13.6%, and others are higher in these patients them among the general population. Medicines were predominantly sought in the health care service or in pharmacies of the Brazilian Unified Health System. CONCLUSIONS It was possible to characterize the profile of patients of Primary Health Care, but the originality of the

  3. PageRank tracker: from ranking to tracking.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gong, Chen; Fu, Keren; Loza, Artur; Wu, Qiang; Liu, Jia; Yang, Jie

    2014-06-01

    Video object tracking is widely used in many real-world applications, and it has been extensively studied for over two decades. However, tracking robustness is still an issue in most existing methods, due to the difficulties with adaptation to environmental or target changes. In order to improve adaptability, this paper formulates the tracking process as a ranking problem, and the PageRank algorithm, which is a well-known webpage ranking algorithm used by Google, is applied. Labeled and unlabeled samples in tracking application are analogous to query webpages and the webpages to be ranked, respectively. Therefore, determining the target is equivalent to finding the unlabeled sample that is the most associated with existing labeled set. We modify the conventional PageRank algorithm in three aspects for tracking application, including graph construction, PageRank vector acquisition and target filtering. Our simulations with the use of various challenging public-domain video sequences reveal that the proposed PageRank tracker outperforms mean-shift tracker, co-tracker, semiboosting and beyond semiboosting trackers in terms of accuracy, robustness and stability.

  4. Upgrade of CERN OP Webtools IRRAD Page

    CERN Document Server

    Vik, Magnus Bjerke

    2017-01-01

    CERN Beams Department maintains a website with various tools for the Operations Group, with one of them being specific for the Proton Irradiation Facility (IRRAD). The IRRAD team use the tool to follow up and optimize the operation of the facility. The original version of the tool was difficult to maintain and adding new features to the page was challenging. Thus this summer student project is aimed to upgrade the web page by rewriting the web page with maintainability and flexibility in mind. The new application uses a server--client architecture with a REST API on the back end which is used by the front end to request data for visualization. PHP is used on the back end to implement the API's and Swagger is used to document them. Vue, Semantic UI, Webpack, Node and ECMAScript 5 is used on the fronted to visualize and administrate the data. The result is a new IRRAD operations web application with extended functionality, improved structure and an improved user interface. It includes a new Status Panel page th...

  5. No Hawking-Page phase transition in three dimensions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Myung, Y.S.

    2005-01-01

    We investigate whether or not the Hawking-Page phase transition is possible to occur in three dimensions. Starting with the simplest class of Lanczos-Lovelock action, thermodynamic behavior of all AdS-type black holes without charge falls into two classes: Schwarzschild-AdS black holes in even dimensions and Chern-Simons black holes in odd dimensions. The former class can provide the Hawking-Page transition between Schwarzschild-AdS black holes and thermal AdS space. On the other hand, the latter class is exceptional and thus the Hawking-Page transition is hard to occur. In three dimensions, a second-order phase transition might occur between the non-rotating BTZ black hole and the massless BTZ black hole (thermal AdS space), instead of the first-order Hawking-Page transition between the non-rotating BTZ black hole and thermal AdS space

  6. Modeling user navigation behavior in web by colored Petri nets to determine the user's interest in recommending web pages

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mehdi Sadeghzadeh

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available One of existing challenges in personalization of the web is increasing the efficiency of a web in meeting the users' requirements for the contents they require in an optimal state. All the information associated with the current user behavior following in web and data obtained from pervious users’ interaction in web can provide some necessary keys to recommend presentation of services, productions, and the required information of the users. This study aims at presenting a formal model based on colored Petri nets to identify the present user's interest, which is utilized to recommend the most appropriate pages ahead. In the proposed design, recommendation of the pages is considered with respect to information obtained from pervious users' profile as well as the current session of the present user. This model offers the updated proposed pages to the user by clicking on the web pages. Moreover, an example of web is modeled using CPN Tools. The results of the simulation show that this design improves the precision factor. We explain, through evaluation where the results of this method are more objective and the dynamic recommendations demonstrate that the results of the recommended method improve the precision criterion 15% more than the static method.

  7. Information from the Dosimetry Service

    CERN Multimedia

    2006-01-01

    CERN Staff and Users can now consult their dose records for an individual or an organizational unit with HRT. Please see more information on our web page: http://cern.ch/rp-dosimetry. The Dosimetry Service is open every morning from 8.30 to 12.00 and is closed in the afternoons. We would like to remind you that dosimeters cannot be sent to customers by internal mail. Short-term dosimeters (VCT's) must always be returned to the Service after use and must not be left on the racks in the experimental areas or in the secretariats.

  8. The impact of Arizona Highways Magazine's facebook page.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2014-02-01

    This project examined the relationship between use of the Arizona Highways magazine (AHM) Facebook Page and the decision to : travel to or within Arizona. Key purposes were to: (1) provide a thorough understanding of AHM Facebook Page users, includin...

  9. Customisation of Indico pages - Layout and Menus

    CERN Multimedia

    CERN. Geneva; Ferreira, Pedro

    2017-01-01

    In this tutorial you are going to learn how to customize the layout of your Indico pages (for example you can change the color of the background images or change the logo) and the menus on your Indico pages  (for example you can add or hide certain blocks, or change their name and order).  

  10. Costs of stroke and stroke services: Determinants of patient costs and a comparison of costs of regular care and care organised in stroke services

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Koopmanschap Marc A

    2003-02-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Stroke is a major cause of death and long-term disability in Western societies and constitutes a major claim on health care budgets. Organising stroke care in a stroke service has recently been demonstrated to result in better health effects for patients. This paper discusses patient costs after stroke and compares costs between regular and stroke service care. Methods Costs were calculated within the framework of the evaluation of three experiments with stroke services in the Netherlands. Cost calculations are base on medical consumption data and actual costs. Results 598 patients were consecutively admitted to hospital after stroke. The average total costs of care per patient for the 6 month follow-up are estimated at €16,000. Costs are dominated by institutional and accommodation costs. Patients who die after stroke incur less costs. For patients that survive the acute phase, the most important determinants of costs are disability status and having a partner – as they influence patients' stroke careers. These determinants also interact. The most efficient stroke service experiment was most successful in co-ordinating patient flow from hospital to (nursing home, through capacity planning and efficient discharge procedures. In this region the costs of stroke service care are the same as for regular stroke care. The other experiments suffered from waiting lists for nursing homes and home care, leading to "blocked beds" in hospitals and nursing homes and higher costs of care. Costs of co-ordination are estimated at about 3% of total costs of care. Conclusion This paper demonstrates that by organising care for stroke patients in a stroke service, better health effects can be achieved with the same budget. In addition, it provides insight in need, predisposing and enabling factors that determine costs of care after stroke.

  11. Co-production of healthcare services with immigrant patients

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Radl-Karimi, Christina Mathilde; Nicolaisen, Anne; Sodemann, Morten

    2018-01-01

    ’s methodology for scoping reviews. The data will stem from the following databases: PubMed, Scopus, Ovid EMBASE, EBSCO CINAHL, EBSCO PsycINFO, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science. We will also screen the websites of national authorities and research organisations for publications and review the literature...... a new perspective on how to collaboratively create the highest possible value for both the patient and the healthcare system. The concept acknowledges that all services are co-produced and directs attention to the relationship between patient and care provider. Co-production is still a new concept...

  12. Counseling Spanish-speaking patients: Atlanta pharmacists' cultural sensitivity, use of language-assistance services, and attitudes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Muzyk, Andrew J; Muzyk, Tara L; Barnett, Candace W

    2004-01-01

    To document the types of language-assistance services available in pharmacies and the perceptions of pharmacists regarding the effectiveness of these services, and to measure the attitudes toward counseling Spanish-speaking patients and cultural sensitivity of pharmacists. Cross-sectional assessment. Metropolitan Atlanta, Ga. Registered Georgia pharmacists residing in metropolitan Atlanta. Mailed survey, with repeat mailing 2 weeks later. 38 survey items measuring demographic and practice-site characteristics, types of language-assistance services available with an assessment of the effectiveness of each measured on a nominal scale, and attitudinal items concerning counseling of Spanish-speaking patients and pharmacists' cultural sensitivity using a 5-point Likert-type response scale. Of 1,975 questionnaires mailed, 608 were returned, a 30.8% response rate. Nearly two thirds of the pharmacists had recently counseled a Spanish-speaking patient, but only one fourth of those respondents considered their interactions effective. Nearly all pharmacists, 88.0%, worked in pharmacies with language-assistance services. Of seven types of these services, a mean of 2.19 were available in pharmacies, and the majority of pharmacists (84.4% or more) identifying a service considered it to be effective. The pharmacists were neutral about counseling Spanish-speaking patients (mean = 2.94) and indifferent toward other cultures (mean = 3.28); however, they agreed they had a responsibility to counsel Spanish-speaking patients, and they believed that use of language-assistance services would constitute a reasonable effort to counsel these patients. Pharmacists have an opportunity to address barriers to communication with the Spanish-speaking population through use of language-assistance services and educational measures within the profession.

  13. Primary care physicians' knowledge of and confidence in their referrals for special education services in 3- to 5-year-old children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hastings, Elizabeth A; Lumeng, Julie C; Clark, Sarah J

    2014-02-01

    Children 3 to 5 years old with developmental delays are eligible for special education services. To assess primary care physicians' (PCPs) knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding their referrals to the special education system on behalf of children 3 to 5 years old. Mail survey of 400 office-based general pediatricians and 414 family physicians in Michigan, fielded in fall 2012 and winter 2013, with a response rate of 44%. The 4-page survey included knowledge questions about special education eligibility, PCPs' role in accessing school-based services, and self-confidence in ability to help patients access these services. PCPs neither fully understood requirements for special education services nor were they very confident in identifying 3- to 5-year-old children eligible for special education services. PCPs recognize interacting with special education as a relative weakness, and they may be accepting of interventions to improve their knowledge and skills.

  14. EDUCATIONAL PAGES IN FACEBOOK - A STUDY

    OpenAIRE

    Dr.N.Ramakrishnan; Mrs. R.PrasithaIndhumathy

    2017-01-01

    Facebook Pages are a great resource for educational technology professionals to find companies, thought leaders, groups and organizations to share ideas and experiences with peers while expanding industry knowledge and increasing connections. Like most Facebook users, many educators use Facebook to connect with friends new and old, but the Internet's most popular site can also be a great learning and teaching tool. There are many Facebook pages that have been created as a resource to collect,...

  15. The use of patient experience survey data by out-of-hours primary care services: a qualitative interview study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barry, Heather E; Campbell, John L; Asprey, Anthea; Richards, Suzanne H

    2016-11-01

    English National Quality Requirements mandate out-of-hours primary care services to routinely audit patient experience, but do not state how it should be done. We explored how providers collect patient feedback data and use it to inform service provision. We also explored staff views on the utility of out-of-hours questions from the English General Practice Patient Survey (GPPS). A qualitative study was conducted with 31 staff (comprising service managers, general practitioners and administrators) from 11 out-of-hours primary care providers in England, UK. Staff responsible for patient experience audits within their service were sampled and data collected via face-to-face semistructured interviews. Although most providers regularly audited their patients' experiences by using patient surveys, many participants expressed a strong preference for additional qualitative feedback. Staff provided examples of small changes to service delivery resulting from patient feedback, but service-wide changes were not instigated. Perceptions that patients lacked sufficient understanding of the urgent care system in which out-of-hours primary care services operate were common and a barrier to using feedback to enable change. Participants recognised the value of using patient experience feedback to benchmark services, but perceived weaknesses in the out-of-hours items from the GPPS led them to question the validity of using these data for benchmarking in its current form. The lack of clarity around how out-of-hours providers should audit patient experience hinders the utility of the National Quality Requirements. Although surveys were common, patient feedback data had only a limited role in service change. Data derived from the GPPS may be used to benchmark service providers, but refinement of the out-of-hours items is needed. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/.

  16. Evaluation of Service Station Attendant-Auto Care Project.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cress, Ronald J.

    The project described offers an approach to providing occupational skills to socially and educationally handicapped youth, specifically the skills necessary for a service station attendant in driveway salesmanship and auto care. The 10-page evaluation report presents project goals and objectives with evaluation data (represented graphically) and…

  17. 77 FR 64093 - Hours of Service of Drivers

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-10-18

    ... public listening session to solicit information, concepts, ideas, and information on hours-of- service..., the Agency would like to know what factors, issues, and data it should consider as it determines..., please include a self- addressed, stamped envelope or postcard or print the acknowledgement page that...

  18. 77 FR 67396 - Importer of Controlled Substances; Notice of Application, Fisher Clinical Services, Inc.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-11-09

    ... DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE Drug Enforcement Administration Importer of Controlled Substances; Notice of Application, Fisher Clinical Services, Inc. Pursuant to Title 21 Code of Federal Regulations 1301.34(a), this is notice that on August 20, 2012, Fisher Clinical Services, Inc., 7554 Schantz Road, [[Page 67397...

  19. Customer satisfaction in medical service encounters -- a comparison between obstetrics and gynecology patients and general medical patients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chang, Ching-Sheng; Weng, Hui-Ching; Chang, Hsin-Hsin; Hsu, Tsuen-Ho

    2006-03-01

    This study is concerned with the "service encounter", and seeks to describe, by use of the Service Encounter Evaluation Model, how the processes involved in the service encounter affect customer satisfaction. Its findings have implications for management practice and research directions, and recommendations are made. With the implementation of a national health insurance scheme, an ever-prospering economy and continually improving educational levels in Taiwan, demand among citizens for good health and medical care is ever increasing. Obstetrics and gynecology patients often differ greatly from general patients, in terms of their moods and emotions. This research involved an empirical study, whose subjects were 590 customers of general clinics and 339 customers of gynecology clinics, in various medical centers in southern Taiwan. By factor analysis, the study established four influencing factors, which were "Medical professionals", "Nursing professionals", "Service personnel" and "Space and facilities". Using the Linear Structural Relation Model (LISREL), it found that medical professionals, nursing professionals, service personnel and space and facilities were effective predictors of medical treatment satisfaction. We also found that the greatest positive impact on overall medical treatment satisfaction resulted from rises in satisfaction with medical professionals, but that the least impact was achieved in relation to service personnel in the general and gynecology clinics.

  20. Service Quality and Patient Satisfaction: An Exploratory Study of Pathology Laboratories in Jaipur.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Agarwal, Anuradha; Singh, Maithili R P

    2016-01-01

    One of the most important parts of healthcare system is diagnostics. Nowadays, Indians have become more aware of their health, due to improved and better availability of health related information, increase in medical tourism, and expanding health insurance. The demand for better diagnostic facilities have increased with the increase in lifestyle related diseases, excesses use of chemicals in agriculture practices and change in food habits. It is expected that the Indian diagnostic market will grow from USD $5 billion in the year 2012 to USD $32 billion by the year 2020 with 20% CAGR (India Brand Equity Foundation 2015 ). Today patients have easy access of information regarding the health services and they have become more concerned about it as they look forward to receiving the maximum value for their money. To win the confidence of the patients and to maintain that trust, it is required to deliver the right services to the right person at the right time. The purpose of this study was to develop a scale to measure the service quality at pathology laboratory. A thorough review of literature revealed that there are studies related to healthcare service quality but there is no such established scale to measure service quality of pathology laboratory. Thus, the authors strived to develop a reliable and valid instrument to measure the patients' perception toward pathology laboratory service quality. For this exploratory study was conducted on the sample of 80 patients of the laboratories in Jaipur city. The reliability and factor structures were tested to purify the scale. The findings revealed 13 items, comprising of three dimensions of service quality: responsiveness, tangibility, and reliability.

  1. Evaluation of Patient and Medical Staff Satisfaction regarding Healthcare Services in Wuhan Public Hospitals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meng, Runtang; Li, Jingjing; Zhang, Yunquan; Yu, Yong; Luo, Yi; Liu, Xiaohan; Zhao, Yanxia; Hao, Yuantao; Hu, Ying; Yu, Chuanhua

    2018-04-17

    Satisfaction evaluation is widely used in healthcare systems to improve healthcare service quality to obtain better health outcomes. The aim of this study was to measure employee work satisfaction and patient satisfaction status in Wuhan, China. A cross-sectional study was conducted in 14 medical institutions. The final valid sample comprised a total of 696 medical staff and 668 patients. The overall satisfaction levels of medical staff and patients were 58.28 ± 14.60 (10.47–100.00) and 65.82 ± 14.66 (8.62–100.00), respectively. The factors affecting medical staff satisfaction, ranking in sequence from most to least satisfied, were: the work itself, working environment and atmosphere, hospital management, practicing environment, and job rewards. Patient satisfaction factors, from most to least affecting, were ranked as follows: physician-patient relationship and communication, service organization and facilities, continuity and collaboration of medical care, access to relevant information and support, and healthcare and related services, respectively. The overall satisfaction evaluation of medical staff was average. Healthcare policy makers and medical institution management staff should focus on job rewards and working environment. This would allow them to increase their work happiness and sense of belonging, which in turn would allow them to provide better medical services to patients. The overall patient evaluation was satisfactory, with patients satisfied at all levels of the satisfaction evaluation.

  2. Evaluation of Patient and Medical Staff Satisfaction regarding Healthcare Services in Wuhan Public Hospitals

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Jingjing; Yu, Yong; Liu, Xiaohan; Zhao, Yanxia; Hao, Yuantao; Hu, Ying

    2018-01-01

    Satisfaction evaluation is widely used in healthcare systems to improve healthcare service quality to obtain better health outcomes. The aim of this study was to measure employee work satisfaction and patient satisfaction status in Wuhan, China. A cross-sectional study was conducted in 14 medical institutions. The final valid sample comprised a total of 696 medical staff and 668 patients. The overall satisfaction levels of medical staff and patients were 58.28 ± 14.60 (10.47–100.00) and 65.82 ± 14.66 (8.62–100.00), respectively. The factors affecting medical staff satisfaction, ranking in sequence from most to least satisfied, were: the work itself, working environment and atmosphere, hospital management, practicing environment, and job rewards. Patient satisfaction factors, from most to least affecting, were ranked as follows: physician-patient relationship and communication, service organization and facilities, continuity and collaboration of medical care, access to relevant information and support, and healthcare and related services, respectively. The overall satisfaction evaluation of medical staff was average. Healthcare policy makers and medical institution management staff should focus on job rewards and working environment. This would allow them to increase their work happiness and sense of belonging, which in turn would allow them to provide better medical services to patients. The overall patient evaluation was satisfactory, with patients satisfied at all levels of the satisfaction evaluation. PMID:29673134

  3. DETERMINANTS OF PATIENT SATISFACTION (PS IN PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE ORGANIZATIONS (PHSO IN EASTERN PROVINCE OF SRI LANKA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Thirunavukkarasu VELNAMPY

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available Satisfaction is satisfying the needs and desires of the consumer (Besterfield, 1994. In case of public health service organizations, patient satisfaction is vital. Research attempts to determine factors affecting patient satisfaction in PHSOs; know the reliability and validity of items & factors of patient satisfaction and create a mathematical equation model for factors of patient satisfaction. Researcher selected 100 employees from only 3 government hospitals in Addalaichenai Divisional Secretariat of Ampara District. Data have been collected during the period of first quarter of 2013. Collected questionnaires have been analysed by a factor analysis and regression analysis. Core services, human element, non- human element and servicescape factors have been factors have been identified as determinants of patient satisfaction in public health service organizations. Cronbach alpha for core service, human element of the service, nonhuman element of the service and servicescapes are 0.819, 0.626, 0.965 and 0.783 respectively. Most of the items in factors have higher validity. Values of KMO for items of core service, human element of the service, non- human element of the service and servicescapes are 0.500, 0.554, 0.697 and 0.610 respectively. These values indicate that content and convergent validity are higher. Discriminant validity are lower statistically. In this study, Log log model is the best fitted model than linear models since core services, human element of the service and non- human of the service factors in the model explain 94% of total variation for patient satisfaction.

  4. Required Discussion Web Pages in Psychology Courses and Student Outcomes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pettijohn, Terry F., II; Pettijohn, Terry F.

    2007-01-01

    We conducted 2 studies that investigated student outcomes when using discussion Web pages in psychology classes. In Study 1, we assigned 213 students enrolled in Introduction to Psychology courses to either a mandatory or an optional Web page discussion condition. Students used the discussion Web page significantly more often and performed…

  5. Factors associated with emergency services use in Taiwanese advanced cancer patients receiving palliative home care services during out-of-hours periods: a retrospective medical record study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kao, Yee-Hsin; Liu, Yao-Ting; Koo, Malcolm; Chiang, Jui-Kun

    2018-03-12

    For patients receiving palliative home care, the need to visit the emergency department is considered to be an indicator of poor quality care. The situation can be particularly distressing when it occurs outside of normal hours of palliative home care service. The aim of this study was to investigate the factors for emergency department use during out-of-hours periods of palliative home care service among advanced cancer patients in Taiwan. This case-control study was based on a retrospective medical chart review (January 2010 to December 2012) of advanced cancer patients who were receiving palliative home care in a community hospital in south Taiwan. The use of emergency medical services by these patients was dichotomized into either normal hours (8 a.m. to midnight, Monday to Friday, excluding public holidays) of palliative home care or outside normal hours. Logistic regression analyses were performed to evaluate factors associated with emergency services use during out-of-hours period of palliative home care. Of the 94 patients receiving palliative home care, 65 had used emergency services at least once during the 3-year study period. Of these 65 patients, 40% used emergency services during out-of-hours of palliative home care. Patients with distressing conditions (defined as the occurrence of any two conditions of dyspnea, change of consciousness, or gastrointestinal bleeding) were significantly more likely to use emergency services during out-of-hours of palliative home care. Patients at risk of developing dyspnea, change of consciousness, or gastrointestinal bleeding should be provided with relevant information regarding these symptoms and signs.

  6. Assessment of satisfaction with pharmaceutical services in patients receiving antiretroviral therapy in outpatient HIV treatment setting.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Agu, Kenneth Anene; Oqua, Dorothy; Agada, Peter; Ohiaeri, Samuel I; Adesina, Afusat; Abdulkareem, Mohammed Habeeb; King, Rosalyn C; Wutoh, Anthony K

    2014-06-01

    The patient's perception and satisfaction are increasingly considered as a useful factor in the assessment of competency of health care providers and quality of care. However, these patient focused assessments are largely ignored when assessing health care outcomes. The study assessed the perception and satisfaction of patients receiving antiretroviral therapy (ART) with pharmaceutical services received in outpatient HIV treatment settings. Seventeen HIV treatment centres in Nigeria. This cross-sectional survey included 2,700 patients randomly selected from 26,319 HIV patients on ART, who received pharmaceutical services in the study setting. A study-specific Likert-type instrument was administered to the participants at point of exit from the pharmacy. Midpoint of the 5-point scale was computed and scores above it were regarded as positive while below as negative. Chi-square was used for inferential statistics. All reported p values were 2-sided at 95 % confidence interval (CI). Patient satisfaction with pharmaceutical services. Of 2,700 patients sampled, data from 1,617 (59.9 %) were valid for analysis; 62.3 % were aged 26-40 years and 65.4 % were females. The participants had received pharmaceutical services for a mean duration of 25.2 (95 % CI 24.3-26.1) months. Perception of participants regarding the appearance of pharmacy was positive while that regarding the pharmacists' efforts to solve patients' medication related problems was negative. The participants' rating of satisfaction with the waiting time to access pharmaceutical services was negative; the satisfaction decreases with increasing waiting time. However, the satisfaction with the overall quality of pharmaceutical services received was rated as positive; 90.0 % reported that they got the kind of pharmaceutical services they wanted; 98.2 % would come back to the pharmacy if they were to seek help again and would recommend services to others. The level of satisfaction was found to be associated with

  7. Advertising sexual health services that provide sexually transmissible infection screening for rural young people - what works and what doesn't.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gamage, Deepa G; Fuller, Candice A; Cummings, Rosey; Tomnay, Jane E; Chung, Mark; Chen, Marcus; Garrett, Cameryn C; Hocking, Jane S; Bradshaw, Catriona S; Fairley, Christopher K

    2011-09-01

    'TESTme' is a sexually transmissible infection (STI) screening service for Victorian young people living in rural areas. We evaluated the effectiveness of advertising for this service over an 11-month pilot period. The advertising that was used included websites, a Facebook page, posters, flyers, business cards, wrist bands and professional development sessions for health nurses that occurred throughout the pilot period. We also used once-off methods including advertisements in newspapers, student diaries and short messages to mobile phones. Twenty-eight clients had a consultation through TESTme. Twenty found the service through health professionals, six through the Melbourne Sexual Health Centre (MSHC) web page, one through the Facebook page and one through the student diary. The total direct costs incurred by the centre for advertising were $20850. The advertising cost per client reached for each advertising method was $26 for health professionals, $80 for the MSHC web advertisement, $1408 for Facebook and $790 for the student diary. Other advertising methods cost $12248 and did not attract any clients. Advertising STI health services for rural young people would be best to focus on referrals from other health services or health care websites.

  8. Can Appealing to Patient Altruism Reduce Overuse of Health Care Services? An Experimental Survey.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Riggs, Kevin R; Ubel, Peter A; Saloner, Brendan

    2017-07-01

    A challenge to reducing overuse of health services is communicating recommendations against unnecessary health services to patients. The predominant approach has been to highlight the limited benefit and potential harm of such services for that patient, but the prudent use of health resources can also benefit others. Whether appealing to patient altruism can reduce overuse is unknown. To determine whether altruistic appeals reduce hypothetical requests for overused services and affect physician ratings. Experimental survey using hypothetical vignettes describing three overused health services (antibiotics for acute sinusitis, imaging for acute low back pain, and annual exams for healthy adults). U.S. adults recruited from Research Now, an online panel of individuals compensated for performing academic and marketing research surveys. In the control version of the vignettes, the physician's rationale for recommending against the service was the minimal benefit and potential for harm. In the altruism version, the rationale additionally included potential benefit to others by forgoing that service. Differences in requests for overused services and physician ratings between participants randomized to the control and altruism versions of the vignettes. A total of 1001 participants were included in the final analyses. There were no significant differences in requests for overused services for any of the clinical scenarios (P values ranged from 0.183 to 0.547). Physician ratings were lower in the altruism version for the acute sinusitis (6.68 vs. 7.03, P = 0.012) and back pain scenarios (6.14 vs. 6.83, P < 0.001), and marginally lower for the healthy adult scenario (5.27 vs. 5.57, P = 0.084). In this experimental survey, altruistic appeals delivered by physicians did not reduce requests for overused services, and resulted in more negative physician ratings. Further studies are warranted to determine whether alternative methods of appealing to patient altruism

  9. Characteristics of Patients Accepting and Declining Participation in a Transition of Care Service Provided by a Community Pharmacy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Julianne M Kowalski, PharmD

    2017-02-01

    Full Text Available Objectives: To identify characteristics of patients who accepted or declined an appointment for a transition of care service provided by an independent community pharmacist and identify the most common reasons patients declined the service. Methods: A transition of care service was offered by a community pharmacy to patients discharged to home from the cardiac unit of a local hospital. The community pharmacist approached patients prior to discharge for recruitment into the service. Outcomes included service acceptance rate, LACE score at discharge, readmission risk category, age, gender, geographic home location, and reason for refusing the service. Descriptive statistics and logistic regression were used to compare characteristics between those who accepted or declined the service. Reasons for decline were assessed using content analysis. Results: Of the 87 patients that were included in the analysis, 21 patients received the transitions of care service (24.1%. None of the characteristics were found to be statistically significant between patients who received or declined the service. Patients at a moderate risk for readmission seemed more likely to accept the pharmacist-run appointment than those at high risk (27.9% vs 15.3%; P = 0.29. Of the 66 patients who declined, 51 gave a reason (77.3%. Thirty-nine patients saw no benefit (76.5%, five patients had perceived barriers (10%, and seven patients gave reasons that fell into both categories (13.5%. Conclusions: This evaluation did not find a statistically significant difference in characteristics between those patients who accepted or declined participation in a pharmacist-run transition of care service. Patients may be less likely to accept pharmacist-run transition of care appointments primarily due to no perceived benefits. To increase participation, we need to understand the patient’s health beliefs, educate patients on pharmacy services, and implement changes to recruit potential

  10. Identifying barriers and improving communication between cancer service providers and Aboriginal patients and their families: the perspective of service providers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shahid, Shaouli; Durey, Angela; Bessarab, Dawn; Aoun, Samar M; Thompson, Sandra C

    2013-11-04

    Aboriginal Australians experience poorer outcomes from cancer compared to the non-Aboriginal population. Some progress has been made in understanding Aboriginal Australians' perspectives about cancer and their experiences with cancer services. However, little is known of cancer service providers' (CSPs) thoughts and perceptions regarding Aboriginal patients and their experiences providing optimal cancer care to Aboriginal people. Communication between Aboriginal patients and non-Aboriginal health service providers has been identified as an impediment to good Aboriginal health outcomes. This paper reports on CSPs' views about the factors impairing communication and offers practical strategies for promoting effective communication with Aboriginal patients in Western Australia (WA). A qualitative study involving in-depth interviews with 62 Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal CSPs from across WA was conducted between March 2006-September 2007 and April-October 2011. CSPs were asked to share their experiences with Aboriginal patients and families experiencing cancer. Thematic analysis was carried out. Our analysis was primarily underpinned by the socio-ecological model, but concepts of Whiteness and privilege, and cultural security also guided our analysis. CSPs' lack of knowledge about the needs of Aboriginal people with cancer and Aboriginal patients' limited understanding of the Western medical system were identified as the two major impediments to communication. For effective patient-provider communication, attention is needed to language, communication style, knowledge and use of medical terminology and cross-cultural differences in the concept of time. Aboriginal marginalization within mainstream society and Aboriginal people's distrust of the health system were also key issues impacting on communication. Potential solutions to effective Aboriginal patient-provider communication included recruiting more Aboriginal staff, providing appropriate cultural training for CSPs

  11. Automatically annotating web pages using Google Rich Snippets

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hogenboom, F.P.; Frasincar, F.; Vandic, D.; Meer, van der J.; Boon, F.; Kaymak, U.

    2011-01-01

    We propose the Automatic Review Recognition and annO- tation of Web pages (ARROW) framework, a framework for Web page review identification and annotation using RDFa Google Rich Snippets. The ARROW framework consists of four steps: hotspot identification, subjectivity analysis, in- formation

  12. A research on motion design for APP's loading pages based on time perception

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cao, Huai; Hu, Xiaoyun

    2018-04-01

    Due to restrictions caused by objective reasons like network bandwidth, hardware performance and etc., waiting is still an inevitable phenomenon that appears in our using mobile-terminal products. Relevant researches show that users' feelings in a waiting scenario can affect their evaluations on the whole product and services the product provides. With the development of user experience and inter-facial design subjects, the role of motion effect in the interface design has attracted more and more scholars' attention. In the current studies, the research theory of motion design in a waiting scenario is imperfect. This article will use the basic theory and experimental research methods of cognitive psychology to explore the motion design's impact on user's time perception when users are waiting for loading APP pages. Firstly, the article analyzes the factors that affect waiting experience of loading APP pages based on the theory of time perception, and then discusses motion design's impact on the level of time-perception when loading pages and its design strategy. Moreover, by the operation analysis of existing loading motion designs, the article classifies the existing loading motions and designs an experiment to verify the impact of different types of motions on the user's time perception. The result shows that the waiting time perception of mobile's terminals' APPs is related to the loading motion types, the combination type of loading motions can effectively shorten the waiting time perception as it scores a higher mean value in the length of time perception.

  13. 76 FR 6827 - Public Availability of the National Aeronautic and Space Administration FY 2010 Service Contract...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-02-08

    ... NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION Public Availability of the National Aeronautic and Space Administration FY 2010 Service Contract Inventory AGENCY: National Aeronautic and Space Administration. ACTION: Notice of public availability of FY 2010 Service Contract Inventories. [[Page 6828...

  14. Medicare annual preventive care visits: use increased among fee-for-service patients, but many do not participate.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chung, Sukyung; Lesser, Lenard I; Lauderdale, Diane S; Johns, Nicole E; Palaniappan, Latha P; Luft, Harold S

    2015-01-01

    Under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), Medicare coverage expanded in 2011 to fully cover annual preventive care visits. We assessed the impact of coverage expansion, using 2007-13 data from primary care patients of Medicare-eligible age at the Palo Alto Medical Foundation (204,388 patient-years), which serves people in four counties near San Francisco, California. We compared trends in preventive visits and recommended preventive services among Medicare fee-for-service and Medicare health maintenance organization (HMO) patients as well as non-Medicare patients ages 65-75 who were covered by private fee-for-service and private HMO plans. Among Medicare fee-for-service patients, the annual use of preventive visits rose from 1.4 percent before the implementation of the ACA to 27.5 percent afterward. This increase was significantly larger than was seen for patients in the other insurance groups. Nevertheless, rates of annual preventive care visit use among Medicare fee-for-service patients remained 10-20 percentage points lower than was the case for people with private coverage (43-44 percent) or those in a Medicare HMO (53 percent). ACA policy changes led to increased preventive service use by Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries, which suggests that Medicare coverage expansion is an effective way to increase seniors' use of preventive services. Project HOPE—The People-to-People Health Foundation, Inc.

  15. Patients' perceptions of service quality dimensions: an empirical examination of health care in New Zealand.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Clemes, M D; Ozanne, L K; Laurensen, W L

    2001-01-01

    The 1984 liberalization of the New Zealand economy has resulted in a health care sector that has become very competitive (Zwier and Clarke, 1999). The private sector is now able to supply health care services and, as a result, a greater value is being placed on patient satisfaction (Zwier and Clarke, 1999). However, despite the increasing focus on customer satisfaction, research into health care patients' perceptions of the dimensions of service quality is scarce. This can be problematic, as quality of care is an essential issue in the strategic marketing of health care services (Turner and Pol, 1995). This study takes a step towards addressing this deficiency by identifying patients' perceptions of the dimensions of service quality in health care. The findings of this study are based on the empirical analysis of a sample of 389 respondents interviewed by telephone. The findings indicate that the service quality dimensions identified in this health care specific study differ in number and dimensional structure from the widely adopted service quality dimensions first identified by Parasuraman, Berry and Zeithaml (1988): reliability, responsiveness, assurance, empathy and tangibles. The service quality dimensions identified in this study were: reliability, tangibles, assurance, empathy, food, access, outcome, admission, discharge and responsiveness. In addition, health care patients perceive the service quality dimensions relating to the core product in health care delivery (for example, outcome and reliability) as more important than the service quality dimensions relating to the peripheral product in health care delivery (for example, food, access and tangibles). Finally, the results of this study suggest that patients with different geographic, demographic, and behavioristic characteristics have different needs and wants during health care delivery and therefore perceive different service quality dimensions as important.

  16. PATIENT'S PERCEPTION ON THE QUALITY OF RADIOTHERAPY SERVICES IN TWO TEACHING HOSPITALS IN NIGERIA.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sowunmi, Anthonia C; Fatiregun, Omolara Amina; Alabi, Adewumi O; Zaccheus, Ibitoye A; Kingsley, Irurhe A; Oyedeji, S A

    2015-01-01

    Patient satisfaction is an important and commonly used indicator for measuring the quality in health care. Patient satisfaction affects clinical outcomes, patient retention, and medical malpractice claims. It affects the timely, efficient, and patient-centered delivery of quality health care. A review of quality of services from the patient's perspective could be a method of assessing in order to improve services and achieve total quality management. This study was designed to assess patients' perception on the quality of Radiotherapy services in Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) Lagos and University College Hospital (UCH) Ibadan. This study is a cross-sectional study. This research lasted for a period of two months and all patients receiving radiotherapy within is period were included in this study. A total of 246 questionnaires were completed (152 and 94 in LUTH and UCH respectively) and the data collection was by semi-structured questionnaire. Data obtained were collected and analyzed using SPSS statistics [Social Sciences Statistical Package] 17.0 version. The findings of this research indicated that 68.4% in LUTH and 53.2% in UCH of the patients experienced good care. It also revealed that there is good interaction between the staff and the patient. Most of the patients spent more than 3 hours before receiving treatment and also the reason for such delay were not explained to them. The rate of preferential treatment was noted to be high. This study will contribute positively towards achieving effective and qualitative radiotherapy services by creating awareness for the need to minimize patient waiting time as well as the need to explain the reason for such delays. The department should adopt better ways of appointment system so that treatment will be on first come first serve basis. This study will contribute positively towards achieving effective and qualitative radiotherapy services by creating awareness for the need to minimize patient waiting time

  17. Effects of compensation methods and physician group structure on physicians' perceived incentives to alter services to patients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reschovsky, James D; Hadley, Jack; Landon, Bruce E

    2006-08-01

    To examine how health plan payment, group ownership, compensation methods, and other practice management tools affect physician perceptions of whether their overall financial incentives tilt toward increasing or decreasing services to patients. Nationally representative data on physicians are from the 2000-2001 Community Tracking Study Physician Survey (N=12,406). Ordered and multinomial logistic regression were used to explore how physician, group, and market characteristics are associated with physician reports of whether overall financial incentives are to increase services, decrease services, or neither. Seven percent of physicians report financial incentives are to reduce services to patients, whereas 23 percent report incentives to increase services. Reported incentives to reduce services were associated with reports of lower ability to provide quality care. Group revenue in the form of capitation was associated with incentives to reduce services whereas practice ownership and variable compensation and bonuses for employee physicians were mostly associated with incentives to increase services to patients. Full ownership of groups, productivity incentives, and perceived competitive markets for patients were associated with incentives to both increase and reduce services. Practice ownership and the ways physicians are compensated affect their perceived incentives to increase or decrease services to patients. In the latter case, this adversely affects perceived quality of care and satisfaction, although incentives to increase services may also have adverse implications for quality, cost, and insurance coverage.

  18. Web Page Recommendation Using Web Mining

    OpenAIRE

    Modraj Bhavsar; Mrs. P. M. Chavan

    2014-01-01

    On World Wide Web various kind of content are generated in huge amount, so to give relevant result to user web recommendation become important part of web application. On web different kind of web recommendation are made available to user every day that includes Image, Video, Audio, query suggestion and web page. In this paper we are aiming at providing framework for web page recommendation. 1) First we describe the basics of web mining, types of web mining. 2) Details of each...

  19. Comparing hospital staff and patient perceptions of customer service: a pilot study utilizing survey and focus group data.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fottler, Myron D; Dickson, Duncan; Ford, Robert C; Bradley, Kenneth; Johnson, Lee

    2006-02-01

    The measurement of patient satisfaction is crucial to enhancing customer service and competitive advantage in the health-care industry. While there are numerous approaches to such measurement, this paper provides a case study which compares and contrasts patient and staff perceptions of customer service using both survey and focus group data. Results indicate that there is a high degree of correlation between staff and patient perceptions of customer service based on both survey and focus group data. However, the staff and patient subgroups also provided complementary information regarding patient perceptions of their service experience. Staff members tended to have more negative perceptions of service attributes than did the patients themselves. The focus group results provide complementary information to survey results in terms of greater detail and more managerially relevant information. While these results are derived from a pilot study, they suggest that diversification of data sources beyond patient surveys may enhance the utility of customer service information. If further research can affirm these findings, they create exciting possibilities for gathering valid, reliable and cost-effective customer service information.

  20. Breast cancer patients' satisfaction with individual therapy goals and treatment in a standardized integrative medicine consultancy service.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hack, Carolin C; Antoniadis, Sophia; Hackl, Janina; Langemann, Hanna; Schwitulla, Judith; Fasching, Peter A; Beckmann, Matthias W; Theuser, Anna-Katharin

    2018-04-27

    Complementary medicine services are nowadays usually quite heterogeneous, and little information is available on standards for running an integrative medicine consultancy service. This study aimed to assess patients' satisfaction with a standardized treatment service on integrative medicine. Using a cross-sectional design, 75 breast cancer patients from the integrative medicine consultancy service at the University Breast Center for Franconia were evaluated between January 2016 and March 2017. At primary consultation, patients answered a standardized questionnaire on their medical history and treatment goals regarding integrative medicine. In a subsequent interview, patients evaluated their satisfaction with the treatment service and individual treatment goals. 72% of the patients (n = 54) reported high satisfaction with the overall approach of the treatment service. 76% of the patients (n = 57) were very satisfied or satisfied with their individual treatment plans. The most frequently reported goals were to slow tumor progression (n = 64, 85.3%), reducing the side effects of conventional cancer treatments (n = 60, 80%), and a desire to participate actively in the treatment of breast cancer (n = 64, 85.3%). Using a standardized procedure in integrative medicine allows a high quality level to be offered to patients. Overall, breast cancer patients report very high satisfaction with the integrative medicine consultancy service and state long-term treatment goals. Hence, long-term treatment with integrative medicine methods should be taken into consideration.

  1. Factors associated with the utilization and costs of health and social services in frail elderly patients

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kehusmaa Sari

    2012-07-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Universal access is one of the major aims in public health and social care. Services should be provided on the basis of individual needs. However, municipal autonomy and the fragmentation of services may jeopardize universal access and lead to variation between municipalities in the delivery of services. This paper aims to identify patient-level characteristics and municipality-level service patterns that may have an influence on the use and costs of health and social services of frail elderly patients. Methods Hierarchical analysis was applied to estimate the effects of patient and municipality-level variables on services utilization. Results The variation in the use of health care services was entirely due to patient-related variables, whereas in the social services, 9% of the variation was explained by the municipality-level and 91% by the patient-level characteristics. Health-related quality of life explained a major part of variation in the costs of health care services. Those who had reported improvement in their health status during the preceding year were more frequent users of social care services. Low informal support, poor functional status and poor instrumental activities of daily living, living at a residential home, and living alone were associated with higher social services expenditure. Conclusions The results of this study showed municipality-level variation in the utilization of social services, whereas health care services provided for frail elderly people seem to be highly equitable across municipalities. Another important finding was that the utilization of social and health services were connected. Those who reported improvement in their health status during the preceding year were more frequently also using social services. This result suggests that if municipalities continue to limit the provision of support services only for those who are in the highest need, this saving in the social sector may, in

  2. SPAX - PAX with Super-Pages

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bößwetter, Daniel

    Much has been written about the pros and cons of column-orientation as a means to speed up read-mostly analytic workloads in relational databases. In this paper we try to dissect the primitive mechanisms of a database that help express the coherence of tuples and present a novel way of organizing relational data in order to exploit the advantages of both, the row-oriented and the column-oriented world. As we go, we break with yet another bad habit of databases, namely the equal granularity of reads and writes which leads us to the introduction of consecutive clusters of disk pages called super-pages.

  3. 75 FR 36071 - Framework for Broadband Internet Service

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-06-24

    ... Internet service. Introduction 3. This Commission exists ``[f]or the purpose of regulating interstate and... news groups, the ability to create a personal Web page, and the ability to retrieve information from... broadband policies. 31. Some have suggested that although the D.C. Circuit rejected the Commission's theory...

  4. 75 FR 27375 - Review of Nonpostal Services Language

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-05-14

    ... Accountability and Enhancement Act, January 14, 2010, at 31, 39 (Order No. 392); appeals docketed, Le Page's 2000..., February 12, 2010). The decision in Phase II regarding the Warranty Repair Program was not appealed and is..., Leasing, Licensing or Other Non-Sale Disposition of Tangible Property; Advertising; Mail Services...

  5. 32 CFR 1900.13 - Fees for record services.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 32 National Defense 6 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Fees for record services. 1900.13 Section 1900.13 National Defense Other Regulations Relating to National Defense CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY PUBLIC...-printed (if available) Per 100 pages 5.00 Published (if available) Per item NTIS (2) Application of...

  6. The role of public relations for image creating in health services: a sample patient satisfaction survey.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kirdar, YalçIn

    2007-01-01

    This study discusses the role of public relations for image creating in health services. Hospitals require public relations activities to distinguish them from competitors, provide bidirectional communication between the society and the hospital, and assist to create of a strong hospital image and culture. A satisfaction survey was conducted on 264 patients who have received health services at Maltepe University Hospital. The research focused on how the Hospital's examination, care, catering and physical services; doctor and nurse politeness towards patients and patient relatives, their attitudes and behaviors; examination, check-in, bedding and discharge operations; public relations activities in and out of the hospital were perceived. Another subject of the study was the degree of recommendation of patients who have been served by the hospital's health services to prospective patients seeking treatment.

  7. What patients think about choice in healthcare? A study on primary care services in Finland.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aalto, Anna-Mari; Elovainio, Marko; Tynkkynen, Liina-Kaisa; Reissell, Eeva; Vehko, Tuulikki; Chydenius, Miisa; Sinervo, Timo

    2017-09-01

    The ongoing Finnish health and social service reform will expand choice by opening the market for competition between public and private service providers. This study examined the attitudes of primary care patients towards choice and which patient-related factors are associated with these attitudes. A sample of attenders during one week in health centres of 12 big cities and municipal consortiums (including seven outsourced local units) and in primary care units of one private company providing outsourced services for municipalities (aged 18-95, n=8128) was used. The questionnaire included questions on choice-related attitudes, sociodemographic factors, health status, use of health services and patient satisfaction. Of the responders, 77% regarded choice to be important, 49% perceived genuine opportunities to make choices and 35% were satisfied with the choice-relevant information. Higher age, low education, having a chronic illness, frequent use of services, having a personal physician and being satisfied with the physician and with waiting times were related to assigning more importance on choice. Younger patients, those with higher education as well as those with chronic illness regarded their opportunities of choosing the service provider and availability of choice-relevant information poorer. The Finnish primary care patients value choice, but they are critical of the availability of choice-relevant information. Choices of patients with complex health care needs should be supported by developing integrated care alternatives and by increasing the availability of information on existing care alternatives to meet their needs.

  8. Household Willingness to Pay for solid Waste Disposal Services in ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Agribotix GCS 077

    implement the sanitation bye-laws and re-institute the sanitation court to deal with cases of improper solid waste ... 8(2), 2016 Pages 1-17 ..... by both private companies and Waste Management Department, KMA) [1 for good quality service;.

  9. Motivating your patients: marketing dental services.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grönroos, C; Masalin, K

    1990-02-01

    In most industrialized countries the issues of unemployment or under-employment are becoming more critical for the members of the dental associations. In some countries this is creating greater competition between the private practitioners and public health dentists as well as between private dental practitioners themselves. Modern marketing, especially service marketing theory and models, can provide dentists and dental associations with tools to improve their position in relation to patients, political decision makers and other public agencies. However, marketing has to be understood correctly as a philosophy providing a means of approaching the establishing, maintaining and enhancing patient or customer relationships and not as a narrowly defined set of tools. As long as marketing is considered to be external campaigns, such as advertising and not much else, it is bound to fail. Other dimensions of marketing, such as interactive marketing and internal marketing, are of much greater importance to dental practitioners.

  10. Decomposition of the Google PageRank and Optimal Linking Strategy

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Avrachenkov, Konstatin; Litvak, Nelli

    We provide the analysis of the Google PageRank from the perspective of the Markov Chain Theory. First we study the Google PageRank for a Web that can be decomposed into several connected components which do not have any links to each other. We show that in order to determine the Google PageRank for

  11. Measuring the three process segments of a customer's service experience for an out-patient surgery center.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wicks, Angela M; Chin, Wynne W

    2008-01-01

    The purpose of this research is to develop an alternative method of measuring out-patient satisfaction where satisfaction is the central construct. The Gap Model operationalized by SERVQUAL is widely used to measure service quality. However, the SERVQUAL instrument only measures expectations (resulting from the pre-process segment of the service experience) and perceptions (resulting from the post-process segment). All three segments should be measured. The lack of proper segmentation and methodological criticisms in the literature motivated this study. A partial least squares (PLS) approach, a form of structural equation modeling, is used to develop a framework to evaluate patient satisfaction in three service process segments: pre-process, process, and post-process service experiences. Results indicate that each process stage mediates subsequent stages, that the process segment is the most important to the patient and that the antecedents have differing impacts on patient satisfaction depending where in the process the antecedent is evaluated. Only one out-patient surgery center was evaluated. Patient satisfaction criteria specific to hospital selection are not included in this study. Results indicate what is important to patients in each service process segment that focus where ambulatory surgery centers should allocate resources. This study is the first to evaluate patient satisfaction with all three process segments.

  12. An Exploration of Underrepresentation of Aboriginal Cancer Patients Attending a Regional Radiotherapy Service in Western Australia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baxi, Siddhartha; Cheetham, Shelley; Shahid, Shaouli

    2018-01-01

    Travel logistics impede Aboriginal patients’ uptake of cancer treatments and is one reason for the poorer outcomes of Aboriginal people with cancer. This research examined benefits of a newly established rurally based radiotherapy unit in southwest Western Australia (WA), and included exploring the experience of Aboriginal patients and possible reasons for Aboriginal people’s underrepresentation in treatment. Semi-structured in-depth interviews with 21 service providers involved in the treatment and care of people with cancer, and 3 Aboriginal patients with cancer who undertook radiotherapy at the Service were undertaken. Data were subject to thematic analysis involving immersion in the data for familiarization, inductive coding, investigator discussion and refining of emerging themes and triangulation of patient and provider interviews. Aboriginal cancer patients were positive about the treatment and support they had received, highlighting the often complex challenges faced by rural Aboriginal cancer patients in accessing and maintaining treatment. Service providers offered suggestions for small numbers presenting to the Service, including late presentation, potential perceptions of cultural insensitivity on the part of service providers, out-of-pocket costs and under-ascertainment of Aboriginal status. The Service has put in place practices and initiatives to support patient health and wellbeing, including making the facility more welcoming towards Aboriginal people and ensuring culturally appropriate care. PMID:29443892

  13. Discharge Processes and 30-Day Readmission Rates of Patients Hospitalized for Heart Failure on General Medicine and Cardiology Services.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Salata, Brian M; Sterling, Madeline R; Beecy, Ashley N; Ullal, Ajayram V; Jones, Erica C; Horn, Evelyn M; Goyal, Parag

    2018-05-01

    Given high rates of heart failure (HF) hospitalizations and widespread adoption of the hospitalist model, patients with HF are often cared for on General Medicine (GM) services. Differences in discharge processes and 30-day readmission rates between patients on GM and those on Cardiology during the contemporary hospitalist era are unknown. The present study compared discharge processes and 30-day readmission rates of patients with HF admitted on GM services and those on Cardiology services. We retrospectively studied 926 patients discharged home after HF hospitalization. The primary outcome was 30-day all-cause readmission after discharge from index hospitalization. Although 60% of patients with HF were admitted to Cardiology services, 40% were admitted to GM services. Prevalence of cardiovascular and noncardiovascular co-morbidities were similar between patients admitted to GM services and Cardiology services. Discharge summaries for patients on GM services were less likely to have reassessments of ejection fraction, new study results, weights, discharge vital signs, discharge physical examinations, and scheduled follow-up cardiologist appointments. In a multivariable regression analysis, patients on GM services were more likely to experience 30-day readmissions compared with those on Cardiology services (odds ratio 1.43 95% confidence interval [1.05 to 1.96], p = 0.02). In conclusion, outcomes are better among those admitted to Cardiology services, signaling the need for studies and interventions focusing on noncardiology hospital providers that care for patients with HF. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  14. Patients' satisfaction with eye care services in a Nigerian teaching ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    2014-03-07

    Mar 7, 2014 ... Background: Understanding the patients' perception of services received is ... The questionnaire asked questions regarding satisfaction with the time spent in the .... corresponding values for the aforementioned studies were.

  15. Enhancing the Ranking of a Web Page in the Ocean of Data

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hitesh KUMAR SHARMA

    2013-10-01

    Full Text Available In today's world, web is considered as ocean of data and information (like text, videos, multimedia etc. consisting of millions and millions of web pages in which web pages are linked with each other like a tree. It is often argued that, especially considering the dynamic of the internet, too much time has passed since the scientific work on PageRank, as that it still could be the basis for the ranking methods of the Google search engine. There is no doubt that within the past years most likely many changes, adjustments and modifications regarding the ranking methods of Google have taken place, but PageRank was absolutely crucial for Google's success, so that at least the fundamental concept behind PageRank should still be constitutive. This paper describes the components which affects the ranking of the web pages and helps in increasing the popularity of web site. By adapting these factors website developers can increase their site's page rank and within the PageRank concept, considering the rank of a document is given by the rank of those documents which link to it. Their rank again is given by the rank of documents which link to them. The PageRank of a document is always determined recursively by the PageRank of other documents.

  16. Service quality from the perspective of myocardial infarction patients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gholipour, Kamal; Tabrizi, Jafar Sadegh; Azimzadeh, Solmaz; Ghafari, Samad; Iezadi, Shabnam

    2018-04-01

    Service quality (SQ) generally refers to the nonclinical aspects of health services and primarily focuses on the relationship between the care provider and the customers, and the environment in which care services are delivered. The aim of this study was to assess the SQ provided for myocardial infarction (MI) from the patients' perspective. A cross-sectional study was conducted with 164 patients with MI at the Tabriz Shahid Madani cardiology clinic. Study participants were selected using convenience sampling. SQ was measured using a validated Comprehensive Quality Measurement in Healthcare SQ questionnaire. The reliability was confirmed based on Cronbach's alpha coefficient (α=0.81). SQ was calculated using the formula SQ=10- (importance × performance), based on the importance and performance of non-health-related aspects from the customers' perspective. Importance scores ranged from 1 to 10 and performance was scored between 0 and 1. Of 164 participants, about 75% were men and almost 44% were between 51 and 65 years of age. From the customers' perspective, the total SQ score was 6.80 (0-10 scale), and the individual scores for all SQ aspects were below an acceptable level. Confidentiality, dignity and continuity were given the highest scores, while availability of support groups had the lowest score. The study findings revealed an opportunity to improve SQ. Patient and provider participation in quality improvement activities could be an effective strategy to improve the aspects of health care quality that were most important to the customers and those with low scores, such as availability of support groups.

  17. Health Policy on the pages of Revista de Saúde Pública

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aylene Bousquat

    Full Text Available ABSTRACT We carried out a narrative review of the scientific production in the area of Policy, Planning and Management in Revista de Saúde Pública (RSP, between 1967 and 2015. All the fascicles of RSP, in the period, were accessed via SciELO platform, which provides all articles online. We selected and classified the articles according to the main topics of scientific production in the area of Policy, Planning and Management. Revista de Saúde Pública has published 343 articles on this subject, with significant growth in the last two decades. The most discussed topics were Health Economics, Primary Health-care, Access and Use of Health Services, and Evaluation of Services and Programs. In the last decade, the topics of Policy and Access to Medicines and Public-Private Relationship, including judicialization, gained importance. The pages of RSP embraced the vast and diverse production of Policy, Planning and Management in its first 50 years, contributing to the consolidation of the area in Brazil.

  18. Automatic Hidden-Web Table Interpretation by Sibling Page Comparison

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tao, Cui; Embley, David W.

    The longstanding problem of automatic table interpretation still illudes us. Its solution would not only be an aid to table processing applications such as large volume table conversion, but would also be an aid in solving related problems such as information extraction and semi-structured data management. In this paper, we offer a conceptual modeling solution for the common special case in which so-called sibling pages are available. The sibling pages we consider are pages on the hidden web, commonly generated from underlying databases. We compare them to identify and connect nonvarying components (category labels) and varying components (data values). We tested our solution using more than 2,000 tables in source pages from three different domains—car advertisements, molecular biology, and geopolitical information. Experimental results show that the system can successfully identify sibling tables, generate structure patterns, interpret tables using the generated patterns, and automatically adjust the structure patterns, if necessary, as it processes a sequence of hidden-web pages. For these activities, the system was able to achieve an overall F-measure of 94.5%.

  19. Multiplex PageRank.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Arda Halu

    Full Text Available Many complex systems can be described as multiplex networks in which the same nodes can interact with one another in different layers, thus forming a set of interacting and co-evolving networks. Examples of such multiplex systems are social networks where people are involved in different types of relationships and interact through various forms of communication media. The ranking of nodes in multiplex networks is one of the most pressing and challenging tasks that research on complex networks is currently facing. When pairs of nodes can be connected through multiple links and in multiple layers, the ranking of nodes should necessarily reflect the importance of nodes in one layer as well as their importance in other interdependent layers. In this paper, we draw on the idea of biased random walks to define the Multiplex PageRank centrality measure in which the effects of the interplay between networks on the centrality of nodes are directly taken into account. In particular, depending on the intensity of the interaction between layers, we define the Additive, Multiplicative, Combined, and Neutral versions of Multiplex PageRank, and show how each version reflects the extent to which the importance of a node in one layer affects the importance the node can gain in another layer. We discuss these measures and apply them to an online multiplex social network. Findings indicate that taking the multiplex nature of the network into account helps uncover the emergence of rankings of nodes that differ from the rankings obtained from one single layer. Results provide support in favor of the salience of multiplex centrality measures, like Multiplex PageRank, for assessing the prominence of nodes embedded in multiple interacting networks, and for shedding a new light on structural properties that would otherwise remain undetected if each of the interacting networks were analyzed in isolation.

  20. Multiplex PageRank.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Halu, Arda; Mondragón, Raúl J; Panzarasa, Pietro; Bianconi, Ginestra

    2013-01-01

    Many complex systems can be described as multiplex networks in which the same nodes can interact with one another in different layers, thus forming a set of interacting and co-evolving networks. Examples of such multiplex systems are social networks where people are involved in different types of relationships and interact through various forms of communication media. The ranking of nodes in multiplex networks is one of the most pressing and challenging tasks that research on complex networks is currently facing. When pairs of nodes can be connected through multiple links and in multiple layers, the ranking of nodes should necessarily reflect the importance of nodes in one layer as well as their importance in other interdependent layers. In this paper, we draw on the idea of biased random walks to define the Multiplex PageRank centrality measure in which the effects of the interplay between networks on the centrality of nodes are directly taken into account. In particular, depending on the intensity of the interaction between layers, we define the Additive, Multiplicative, Combined, and Neutral versions of Multiplex PageRank, and show how each version reflects the extent to which the importance of a node in one layer affects the importance the node can gain in another layer. We discuss these measures and apply them to an online multiplex social network. Findings indicate that taking the multiplex nature of the network into account helps uncover the emergence of rankings of nodes that differ from the rankings obtained from one single layer. Results provide support in favor of the salience of multiplex centrality measures, like Multiplex PageRank, for assessing the prominence of nodes embedded in multiple interacting networks, and for shedding a new light on structural properties that would otherwise remain undetected if each of the interacting networks were analyzed in isolation.

  1. A Consultation Phone Service for Patients With Total Joint Arthroplasty May Reduce Unnecessary Emergency Department Visits.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hällfors, Eerik; Saku, Sami A; Mäkinen, Tatu J; Madanat, Rami

    2018-03-01

    Different measures for reducing costs after total joint arthroplasty (TJA) have gained attention lately. At our institution, a free-of-charge consultation phone service was initiated that targeted patients with TJA. This service aimed at reducing unnecessary emergency department (ED) visits and, thus, potentially improving the cost-effectiveness of TJAs. To our knowledge, a similar consultation service had not been described previously. We aimed at examining the rates and reasons for early postdischarge phone calls and evaluating the efficacy of this consultation service. During a 2-month period, we gathered information on every call received by the consultation phone service from patients with TJAs within 90 days of the index TJA procedure. Patients were followed for 2 weeks after making a call to detect major complications and self-initiated ED visits. Data were collected from electronic medical charts regarding age, gender, type of surgery, date of discharge, and length of hospital stay. We analyzed 288 phone calls. Calls were mostly related to medication (41%), wound complications (17%), and mobilization issues (15%). Most calls were resolved in the phone consultation. Few patients (13%) required further evaluation in the ED. The consultation service failed to detect the need for an ED visit in 2 cases (0.7%) that required further care. The consultation phone service clearly benefitted patients with TJAs. The service reduced the number of unnecessary ED visits and functioned well in detecting patients who required further care. Most postoperative concerns were related to prescribed medications, wound complications, and mobilization issues. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  2. Page: a program for gamma spectra analysis in PC microcomputers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Goncalves, M.A.; Yamaura, M.; Costa, G.J.C.; Carvalho, E.I. de; Matsuda, H.T.; Araujo, B.F. de.

    1991-04-01

    PAGE is a software package, written in BASIC language, to perform gamma spectra analysis. It was developed to be used in a high-purity intrinsic germanium detector-multichannel analyser-PC microcomputer system. The analysis program of PAGE package accomplishes functions as follows: peak location; gamma nuclides identification; activity determination. Standard nuclides sources were used to calibrate the system. To perform the efficiency x energy calibration a logarithmic fit was applied. Analysis of nuclides with overlapping peaks is allowed by PAGE program. PAGE has additional auxiliary programs for: building and list of isotopic nuclear data libraries; data acquisition from multichannel analyser; spectrum display with automatic area and FWHM determinations. This software is to be applied in analytical process control where time response is a very important parameter. PAGE takes ca. 1.5 minutes to analyse a complex spectrum from a 4096 channels MCA. (author)

  3. PageRank, HITS and a unified framework for link analysis

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ding, Chris; He, Xiaofeng; Husbands, Parry; Zha, Hongyuan; Simon, Horst

    2001-10-01

    Two popular webpage ranking algorithms are HITS and PageRank. HITS emphasizes mutual reinforcement between authority and hub webpages, while PageRank emphasizes hyperlink weight normalization and web surfing based on random walk models. We systematically generalize/combine these concepts into a unified framework. The ranking framework contains a large algorithm space; HITS and PageRank are two extreme ends in this space. We study several normalized ranking algorithms which are intermediate between HITS and PageRank, and obtain closed-form solutions. We show that, to first order approximation, all ranking algorithms in this framework, including PageRank and HITS, lead to same ranking which is highly correlated with ranking by indegree. These results support the notion that in web resource ranking indegree and outdegree are of fundamental importance. Rankings of webgraphs of different sizes and queries are presented to illustrate our analysis.

  4. Analysis of Trust-Based Approaches for Web Service Selection

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Dragoni, Nicola; Miotto, Nicola

    2011-01-01

    The basic tenet of Service-Oriented Computing (SOC) is the possibility of building distributed applications on the Web by using Web services as fundamental building blocks. The proliferation of such services is considered the second wave of evolution in the Internet age, moving the Web from...... a collection of pages to a collections of services. Consensus is growing that this Web service revolution wont eventuate until we resolve trust-related issues. Indeed, the intrinsic openness of the SOC vision makes crucial to locate useful services and recognize them as trustworthy. In this paper we review...... the field of trust-based Web service selection, providing a structured classification of current approaches and highlighting the main limitations of each class and of the overall field....

  5. Dynamic Web Pages: Performance Impact on Web Servers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kothari, Bhupesh; Claypool, Mark

    2001-01-01

    Discussion of Web servers and requests for dynamic pages focuses on experimentally measuring and analyzing the performance of the three dynamic Web page generation technologies: CGI, FastCGI, and Servlets. Develops a multivariate linear regression model and predicts Web server performance under some typical dynamic requests. (Author/LRW)

  6. The relative worst order ratio applied to paging

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Boyar, Joan; Favrholdt, Lene Monrad; Larsen, Kim Skak

    2007-01-01

    The relative worst order ratio, a new measure for the quality of on-line algorithms, was recently defined and applied to two bin packing problems. Here, we apply it to the paging problem and obtain the following results: We devise a new deterministic paging algorithm, Retrospective-LRU, and show...

  7. #NoMorePage3

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Glozer, Sarah; McCarthy, Lauren; Whelan, Glen

    2015-01-01

    Fourth wave feminists are currently seeking to bring an end to The Sun’s Page 3, a British institution infamous for featuring a topless female model daily. This paper investigates the No More Page 3 (NMP3) campaign through which feminist activists have sought to disrupt the institutionalized...... the institutional work and political corporate social responsibility literatures, we document the manner in which feminist activists have used The Co- operative’s social media site to publicly disrupt entrenched gender norms. Through identifying symbiotic yet competing discourses we discover themes of disruption...... and maintenance amongst and between interlocutors, facilitated by The Co-operative’s arena of citizenship and its notion of suspended discourse. Our analysis contributes to the institutional work literature by demonstrating the mutual need for disruption to ‘meet’ or contest maintenance work in corporate practice...

  8. Patients' satisfaction of service quality in Saudi hospitals: a SERVQUAL analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Al-Borie, Hussein M; Damanhouri, Amal M Sheikh

    2013-01-01

    Saudi Arabian hospital performance, vis-á-vis patient satisfaction with service provision, has emerged as a key policy and planning concern. Keeping in view public and private hospital service quality, this article seeks to provide guidelines to the on-going Saudi Arabian health service reorganization, which emphasizes decentralization, bed-capacity expansion, research-based policymaking and initiatives in the health insurance sector. The article outlines an empirical study that compares patient satisfaction with service quality in Saudi Arabian public and private sector hospitals. The authors employ a stratified random sample (1,000 inpatients) from five Saudi Arabian public and five private hospitals. Data were collected through questionnaire using the SERVQUAL scale. For reducing the language bias the questionnaire was translated into Arabic. The response rate was 74.9 percent. Data were analyzed using SPSS and appropriate descriptive and inferential statistical techniques. Cronbach's alpha for five service-quality dimensions (tangibles, reliability, responsiveness, safety and empathy) were high and the SERVQUAL instrument proved to be reliable, valid and appropriate. The results showed that sex, education, income and occupation were statistically significant in influencing inpatients' satisfaction, and all the null hypotheses were rejected. Only inpatient age was not significant. The study highlights service quality influence in the design of broader healthcare strategies for Saudi Arabian public and private hospitals. It demands that management researchers and analysts must identify regional service quality consistencies and related inpatient demographic indicators. The study offers some insights into, and guidance for, hospital quality assurance in Saudi Arabia in general and the urban hospital setting in the Middle-East in particular.

  9. The mediating role of facebook fan pages.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chih, Wen-Hai; Hsu, Li-Chun; Wang, Kai-Yu; Lin, Kuan-Yu

    2014-01-01

    Using the dual mediation hypothesis, this study investigates the role of interestingness (the power of attracting or holding one's attention) attitude towards the news, in the formation of Facebook Fan Page users' electronic word-of-mouth intentions. A total of 599 Facebook fan page users in Taiwan were recruited and structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to test the research hypotheses. The results show that both perceived news entertainment and informativeness positively influence interestingness attitude towards the news. Interestingness attitude towards the news subsequently influences hedonism and utilitarianism attitudes towards the Fan Page, which then influence eWOM intentions. Interestingness attitude towards the news plays a more important role than hedonism and utilitarianism attitudes in generating electronic word-of-mouth intentions. Based on the findings, the implications and future research suggestions are provided.

  10. Impact of interventions for patients refusing emergency medical services transport.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alicandro, J; Hollander, J E; Henry, M C; Sciammarella, J; Stapleton, E; Gentile, D

    1995-06-01

    To evaluate the effect of a documentation checklist and on-line medical control contact on ambulance transport of out-of-hospital patients refusing medical assistance. Consecutive patients served by four suburban ambulance services who initially refused emergency medical services (EMS) transport to the hospital were prospectively enrolled. In phase 1 (control phase), all patients who initially refused medical attention or transport had an identifying data card completed. In phase 2 (documentation phase), out-of-hospital providers completed a similar data card that contained a checklist of high-risk criteria for a poor outcome if not transported. In phase 3 (intervention phase), a data card similar to that used in phase 2 was completed, and on-line medical control was contacted for all patients with high-risk criteria who refused transport. The primary endpoint was the percentage of patients transported to the hospital. A total of 361 patients were enrolled. Transport rate varied by phase: control, 17 of 144 (12%); documentation, 11 of 150 (7%); and intervention, 12 of 67 (18%) (chi-square, p = 0.023). Transport of high-risk patients improved with each intervention: control, two of 60 (3%); documentation, seven of 70 (10%); and intervention, 12 of 34 (35%) (chi-square, p = 0.00003). Transport of patients without high-risk criteria decreased with each intervention: control, 15 of 84 (18%); documentation, four of 80 (5%); and intervention, 0 of 33 (0%) (p = 0.0025). Of the 28 patients for whom medical control was contacted, 12 (43%) were transported to the hospital, and only three of these 12 patients (25%) were released from the ED. Contact with on-line medical control increased the likelihood of transport of high-risk patients who initially refused medical assistance. The appropriateness of the decreased transport rate of patients not meeting high-risk criteria needs further evaluation.

  11. Patient satisfaction with health care services: a case study of the ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    BACKGROUND: There are various factors which influence patient satisfaction with healthcare services as documented in the literature but a knowledge gap exists in the study area regarding this. Hence this study tried to determine these factors and how they affect patient satisfaction and to generate policy relevant ...

  12. Hospital process intervals, not EMS time intervals, are the most important predictors of rapid reperfusion in EMS Patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Clark, Carol Lynn; Berman, Aaron D; McHugh, Ann; Roe, Edward Jedd; Boura, Judith; Swor, Robert A

    2012-01-01

    To assess the relationship of emergency medical services (EMS) intervals and internal hospital intervals to the rapid reperfusion of patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). We performed a secondary analysis of a prospectively collected database of STEMI patients transported to a large academic community hospital between January 1, 2004, and December 31, 2009. EMS and hospital data intervals included EMS scene time, transport time, hospital arrival to myocardial infarction (MI) team activation (D2Page), page to catheterization laboratory arrival (P2Lab), and catheterization laboratory arrival to reperfusion (L2B). We used two outcomes: EMS scene arrival to reperfusion (S2B) ≤90 minutes and hospital arrival to reperfusion (D2B) ≤90 minutes. Means and proportions are reported. Pearson chi-square and multivariate regression were used for analysis. During the study period, we included 313 EMS-transported STEMI patients with 298 (95.2%) MI team activations. Of these STEMI patients, 295 (94.2%) were taken to the cardiac catheterization laboratory and 244 (78.0%) underwent percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). For the patients who underwent PCI, 127 (52.5%) had prehospital EMS activation, 202 (82.8%) had D2B ≤90 minutes, and 72 (39%) had S2B ≤90 minutes. In a multivariate analysis, hospital processes EMS activation (OR 7.1, 95% CI 2.7, 18.4], Page to Lab [6.7, 95% CI 2.3, 19.2] and Lab arrival to Reperfusion [18.5, 95% CI 6.1, 55.6]) were the most important predictors of Scene to Balloon ≤ 90 minutes. EMS scene and transport intervals also had a modest association with rapid reperfusion (OR 0.85, 95% CI 0.78, 0.93 and OR 0.89, 95% CI 0.83, 0.95, respectively). In a secondary analysis, Hospital processes (Door to Page [OR 44.8, 95% CI 8.6, 234.4], Page 2 Lab [OR 5.4, 95% CI 1.9, 15.3], and Lab arrival to Reperfusion [OR 14.6 95% CI 2.5, 84.3]), but not EMS scene and transport intervals were the most important predictors D2B ≤90

  13. Barriers to completing TB diagnosis in Yemen: services should respond to patients' needs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anderson de Cuevas, Rachel M; Al-Sonboli, Najla; Al-Aghbari, Nasher; Yassin, Mohammed A; Cuevas, Luis E; Theobald, Sally J

    2014-01-01

    Obtaining a diagnosis of tuberculosis (TB) is a prerequisite for accessing specific treatment, yet one third of estimated new cases are missed worldwide by National Programmes. This study investigated economic, geographical, socio-cultural and health system factors hindering adults' attendance and completion of the TB diagnostic process in Yemen, to inform interventions designed to improve patient access to services. The study employed a mixed methods design comprising a cross-sectional survey and In-Depth-Interviews (IDIs) and Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) among patients abandoning the diagnosis or registering for treatment. Adults with cough of ≥ 2 weeks attending a large governmental referral centre in Sana'a, Yemen, between 2009 and 2010, were eligible to participate. 497 and 446 (89.7%) participants were surveyed the first and second day of attending the services and 48 IDIs and 12 FGDs were also conducted. The majority of patients were disadvantaged and had poor literacy (61% illiterate), had travelled from rural areas (47%) and attended with companions (84%). Key barriers for attendance identified were clinic and transport costs (augmented by companions), distance from home, a preference for private services, strong social stigma and a lack of understanding of the diagnostic process. There were discrepancies between patient- and doctor-reported diagnosis and 46% of patients were unaware that TB treatment is free. Females faced more difficulties to attend than men. The laboratory practice of providing first-day negative smear results and making referrals to the private sector also discouraged patients from returning. Strategies to bring TB diagnostic services closer to communities and address the multiple barriers patients face to attend, will be important to increase access to TB diagnosis and care.

  14. Patients satisfaction with laboratory services at antiretroviral therapy clinics in public hospitals, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mindaye, Tedla; Taye, Bineyam

    2012-07-04

    Despite the fact that Ethiopia has scale up antiretroviral treatment (ART) program, little is known about the patient satisfaction with ART monitoring laboratory services in health facilities. We therefore aimed to assess patient satisfaction with laboratory services at ART clinics in public hospitals. Hospital based, descriptive cross sectional study was conducted from October to November 2010 among clients attending in nine public hospitals ART clinics in Addis Ababa Ethiopia. Patients' satisfaction towards laboratory services was assessed using exit interview structured questionnaire. Data were coded and entered using EPI info 2002 (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Atlanta, GA) and analyzed using SPSS version 15 software (SPSS INC, Chicago, IL, USA). A total of 406 clients were involved in the study. Of these 255(62.8%) were females. The overall satisfaction rate for ART monitoring laboratory services was (85.5%). Patients were satisfied with measures taken by health care providers to keep confidentiality and ability of the person drawing blood to answer question (98.3% and 96.3% respectively). Moreover, the finding of this study revealed, statistical significant associations between the overall patients' satisfaction with waiting time to get blood drawing service, availability of ordered laboratory tests and waiting time to get laboratory result with (p ART monitoring laboratory services compared to those who underwent for more than 30 minutes. Overall, the satisfaction survey showed, most respondents were satisfied with ART monitoring laboratory services. However, factors such as improving accessibility and availability of latrines should be taken into consideration in order to improve the overall satisfaction.

  15. Identify Web-page Content meaning using Knowledge based System for Dual Meaning Words

    OpenAIRE

    Sinha, Sukanta; Dattagupta, Rana; Mukhopadhyay, Debajyoti

    2012-01-01

    Meaning of Web-page content plays a big role while produced a search result from a search engine. Most of the cases Web-page meaning stored in title or meta-tag area but those meanings do not always match with Web-page content. To overcome this situation we need to go through the Web-page content to identify the Web-page meaning. In such cases, where Webpage content holds dual meaning words that time it is really difficult to identify the meaning of the Web-page. In this paper, we are introdu...

  16. A Survey of Client Geolocation Using Wi-Fi Positioning Services

    Science.gov (United States)

    2014-03-01

    38   x THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK xi LIST OF TABLES Table 1.   Characteristics of Commercial WPS Services...Maps, Chrome, Firefox [8] MLE [8] War driving, user submitted via query [15] អm @ 80 percent confidence [8] Navizon Business and...Explorer No Data No Data No Data Apple IOS, OSX, Safari No Data No Data No Data Table 1. Characteristics of commercial WPS services. B. RELATED

  17. Increasing Access to Tuberculosis Services in Ethiopia: Findings From a Patient-Pathway Analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fekadu, Lelisa; Hanson, Christy; Osberg, Mike; Makayova, Julia; Mingkwan, Pia; Chin, Daniel

    2017-11-06

    In Ethiopia, extensive scale-up of the availability of health extension workers (HEWs) at the community level has been credited with increased identification and referral of patients with presumptive tuberculosis, which has contributed to increased tuberculosis case notification and better treatment outcomes. However, nearly 30% of Ethiopia's estimated 191000 patients with tuberculosis remained unnotified in 2015. A better understanding of patient care-seeking practices may inform future government action to reach all patients with tuberculosis. A patient-pathway analysis was completed to assess the alignment between patient care initiation and the availability of diagnostic and treatment services at the national level. More than one third of patients initiated care with HEWs, who refer patients to health centers for diagnosis. An additional one third of patients initiated care at health centers. Of those health centers, >80% had microscopy services, but few had access to Xpert. Despite an extensive microscopy and radiography network at middle levels of the health system, a quarter of all notified patients with tuberculosis had no bacteriological confirmation of disease. While 30% of patients reported receiving some form of care from the private sector, private-sector facilities, especially pharmacies, were not widely accessed for tuberculosis diagnosis. The availability of HEWs can increase access to tuberculosis diagnostic and treatment support services, particularly for rural populations. Continued strengthening of referral systems from HEWs and health posts are needed to enable consistent and timely access to Xpert as an initial diagnostic test and to drug resistance screening. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press for the Infectious Diseases Society of America.

  18. Service quality and patient experiences of ambulatory care in a specialized clinic vs. a general hospital.

    Science.gov (United States)

    De Regge, Melissa; De Groote, Hélène; Trybou, Jeroen; Gemmel, Paul; Brugada, Pedro

    2017-04-01

    Health care organizations are constantly looking for ways to establish a differential advantage to attract customers. To this end, service quality has become an important differentiator in the strategy of health care organizations. In this study, we compared the service quality and patient experience in an ambulatory care setting of a physician-owned specialized facility with that of a general hospital. A comparative case study with a mixed method design was employed. Data were gathered through a survey on health service quality and patient experience, completed with observations, walkthroughs, and photographic material. Service quality and patient experiences are high in both the investigated health care facilities. A significant distinction can be made between the two facilities in terms of interpersonal quality (p = 0.001) and environmental quality (P ≤ 0.001), in favor of the medical center. The difference in environmental quality is also indicated by the scores given by participants who had been in both facilities. Qualitative analysis showed higher administrative quality in the medical center. Environmental quality and patient experience can predict the interpersonal quality; for environmental quality, interpersonal quality and age are significant predictors. Service quality and patient experiences are high in both facilities. The medical center has higher service quality for interpersonal and environmental service quality and is more process-centered.

  19. Perspective of patients, patients' families, and healthcare providers towards designing and delivering hospice care services in a middle income Country.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Azami-Aghdash, Saber; Ghojazadeh, Morteza; Aghaei, Mir Hossein; Naghavi-Behzad, Mohammad; Asgarlo, Zoleikha

    2015-01-01

    In view of the recent surge in chronic disease rates and elderly population in the developing countries, there is an urgent felt need for palliative and hospice care services. The present study investigates the views and attitudes of patients and their families, physicians, nurses, healthcare administrators, and insurers regarding designing and delivering hospice care service in a middle income country. In this qualitative study, the required data was collected using semi structured interviews and was analyzed using thematic analysis. Totally 65 participants from hospitals and Tabriz University of Medical Sciences were selected purposively to achieve data saturation. Analyzing the data, five main themes (barriers, facilitators, strategies, attitudes, and service provider) were extracted. Barriers included financial issues, cultural-religious beliefs, patient and family-related obstacles, and barriers related to healthcare system. Facilitators included family-related issues, cultural-religious beliefs, as well as facilitators associated with patients, healthcare status, and benefits of hospice service. Most participants (79%) had positive attitude towards hospice care service. Participant suggested 10 ways to design and deliver effective and efficient hospice care service. They thought the presence of physicians, nurses, and psychologists and other specialists and clergy were necessary in the hospice care team. Due to lack of experience in hospice care in developing countries, research for identifying probable barriers and appropriate management for reducing unsuccessfulness in designing and delivering hospice care service seems necessary. Input from the facilitators and their suggested solutions can be useful in planning the policy for hospice care system.

  20. Poisson statistics of PageRank probabilities of Twitter and Wikipedia networks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Frahm, Klaus M.; Shepelyansky, Dima L.

    2014-04-01

    We use the methods of quantum chaos and Random Matrix Theory for analysis of statistical fluctuations of PageRank probabilities in directed networks. In this approach the effective energy levels are given by a logarithm of PageRank probability at a given node. After the standard energy level unfolding procedure we establish that the nearest spacing distribution of PageRank probabilities is described by the Poisson law typical for integrable quantum systems. Our studies are done for the Twitter network and three networks of Wikipedia editions in English, French and German. We argue that due to absence of level repulsion the PageRank order of nearby nodes can be easily interchanged. The obtained Poisson law implies that the nearby PageRank probabilities fluctuate as random independent variables.

  1. The use of observation on patients who self-harm: Lessons from a learning disability service

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Peter Thomas Sandy

    2016-12-01

    Conclusion: Observation is a useful practice in in-patient learning disability services, which can be used to prevent or reduce the incidence of self-harm in these settings. This approach should therefore be an integral part of nurses' daily therapeutic activities in in-patient learning disability services.

  2. Using Shadow Page Cache to Improve Isolated Drivers Performance

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hao Zheng

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available With the advantage of the reusability property of the virtualization technology, users can reuse various types and versions of existing operating systems and drivers in a virtual machine, so as to customize their application environment. In order to prevent users’ virtualization environments being impacted by driver faults in virtual machine, Chariot examines the correctness of driver’s write operations by the method of combining a driver’s write operation capture and a driver’s private access control table. However, this method needs to keep the write permission of shadow page table as read-only, so as to capture isolated driver’s write operations through page faults, which adversely affect the performance of the driver. Based on delaying setting frequently used shadow pages’ write permissions to read-only, this paper proposes an algorithm using shadow page cache to improve the performance of isolated drivers and carefully study the relationship between the performance of drivers and the size of shadow page cache. Experimental results show that, through the shadow page cache, the performance of isolated drivers can be greatly improved without impacting Chariot’s reliability too much.

  3. Patient empowerment by increasing the understanding of medical language for lay users.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Topac, V; Stoicu-Tivadar, V

    2013-01-01

    Patient empowerment is important in order to increase the quality of medical care and the life quality of the patients. An important obstacle for empowering patients is the language barrier the lay patient encounter when accessing medical information. To design and develop a service that will help increase the understanding of medical language for lay persons. The service identifies and explains medical terminology from a given text by annotating the terms in the original text with the definition. It is based on an original terminology interpretation engine that uses a fuzzy matching dictionary. The service was implemented in two projects: a) into the server of a tele-care system (TELEASIS) with the purpose of adapting medical text assigned by medical personnel for the assisted patients. b) Into a dedicated web site that can adapt the medical language from raw text or from existing web pages. The output of the service was evaluated by a group of persons, and the results indicate that such a system can increase the understanding of medical texts. Several design decisions were driven from the evaluation, and are being considered for future development. Other tests measuring accuracy and time performance for the fuzzy terminology recognition have been performed. Test results revealed good performance for accuracy and excellent results regarding time performance. The current version of the service increases the accessibility of medical language by explaining terminology with a good accuracy, while allowing the user to easily identify errors, in order to reduce the risk of incorrect terminology recognition.

  4. Automatic comic page image understanding based on edge segment analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Dong; Wang, Yongtao; Tang, Zhi; Li, Luyuan; Gao, Liangcai

    2013-12-01

    Comic page image understanding aims to analyse the layout of the comic page images by detecting the storyboards and identifying the reading order automatically. It is the key technique to produce the digital comic documents suitable for reading on mobile devices. In this paper, we propose a novel comic page image understanding method based on edge segment analysis. First, we propose an efficient edge point chaining method to extract Canny edge segments (i.e., contiguous chains of Canny edge points) from the input comic page image; second, we propose a top-down scheme to detect line segments within each obtained edge segment; third, we develop a novel method to detect the storyboards by selecting the border lines and further identify the reading order of these storyboards. The proposed method is performed on a data set consisting of 2000 comic page images from ten printed comic series. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method achieves satisfactory results on different comics and outperforms the existing methods.

  5. Evaluating health services with point of service feedback: perspectives and experiences of patients, staff and community volunteers in an inpatient rehabilitation facility.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gill, Stephen D; Dolley, Pamela J; Dunning, Trisha L; Hughes, Andrew J

    2015-01-01

    To determine patient, staff and community volunteer opinions and experiences of point of service feedback (POSF) in an inpatient rehabilitation facility. Participants were recruited by purposeful sampling. Two researchers conducted in-depth semi-scripted interviews with patients, staff or volunteers until no new issues emerged. Manually transcribed interview data underwent thematic analysis that grouped information into categories of related information. Twenty patients, 26 staff from 10 different professional groups, and 2 community volunteers were interviewed. Patient and volunteer data were grouped into five main categories: patients wanted their voice heard and acted on; patients could be positively and negatively affected by POSF; patients could be reluctant to evaluate staff; patients preferred POSF to post-discharge mailed questionnaires; and patients' feedback was influenced by the data collector. Staff wanted: feedback to help them improve the patient experience; and feedback that was trustworthy, usable and used. Staff believed that the feedback-collector influenced patients' feedback and affected how feedback could be used. Patients, staff and community volunteers identified issues that determine the appropriateness and usefulness of POSF. Policy and practise should address the preferences, needs and experiences of health service users and providers so that POSF produces maximum benefits for both patients and health services. Implications for Rehabilitation POSF can enhance patients' experiences of inpatient rehabilitation by providing a mechanism to be heard and communicating that patients are valued; care must be exercised with patients who find giving feedback stressful. Collecting POSF is most beneficial when coupled with methods to efficiently and effectively respond to feedback. POSF requires interpretation in light of its limitations including patients' ability to accurately and unreservedly communicate their experiences. Who collects POSF

  6. Orthogeriatric Service Reduces Mortality in Patients With Hip Fracture

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Stenqvist, Charlotte; Madsen, Christian Medom; Riis, Troels

    2016-01-01

    INTRODUCTION: Orthogeriatric service has been shown to improve outcomes in patients with hip fracture. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effect of orthogeriatrics at Bispebjerg University Hospital, Denmark. The primary outcome is mortality inhospital and after 1, 3, and 12 months...... for patients with hip fracture. The secondary outcome is mortality for home dwellers and nursing home inhabitants. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This is a retrospective clinical cohort study with an historic control group including all patients with hip fracture admitted from 2007 to 2011. Patients with hip fracture...... = .009) after orthogeriatrics. However, when adjusting for age, gender, and American Society of Anaesthesiologists (ASA) score in a multivariate analysis, including all patients with hip fracture, we find significantly reduced mortality inhospital (odds ratio [OR] 0.35), after 30 [OR 0.66] and 90 days...

  7. Calculating PageRank in a changing network with added or removed edges

    Science.gov (United States)

    Engström, Christopher; Silvestrov, Sergei

    2017-01-01

    PageRank was initially developed by S. Brinn and L. Page in 1998 to rank homepages on the Internet using the stationary distribution of a Markov chain created using the web graph. Due to the large size of the web graph and many other real world networks fast methods to calculate PageRank is needed and even if the original way of calculating PageRank using a Power iterations is rather fast, many other approaches have been made to improve the speed further. In this paper we will consider the problem of recalculating PageRank of a changing network where the PageRank of a previous version of the network is known. In particular we will consider the special case of adding or removing edges to a single vertex in the graph or graph component.

  8. Turning patients over in bed

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... to Advanced Skills . 9th ed. New York, NY: Pearson; 2017:chap 12. Review Date 11/15/2017 ... Bethesda, MD 20894 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services National Institutes of Health Page last updated: ...

  9. Bathing a patient in bed

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... to Advanced Skills . 9th ed. New York, NY: Pearson; 2017:chap 8. Timby BK. Assisting with basic ... Bethesda, MD 20894 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services National Institutes of Health Page last updated: ...

  10. BOWS (bioinformatics open web services) to centralize bioinformatics tools in web services.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Velloso, Henrique; Vialle, Ricardo A; Ortega, J Miguel

    2015-06-02

    Bioinformaticians face a range of difficulties to get locally-installed tools running and producing results; they would greatly benefit from a system that could centralize most of the tools, using an easy interface for input and output. Web services, due to their universal nature and widely known interface, constitute a very good option to achieve this goal. Bioinformatics open web services (BOWS) is a system based on generic web services produced to allow programmatic access to applications running on high-performance computing (HPC) clusters. BOWS intermediates the access to registered tools by providing front-end and back-end web services. Programmers can install applications in HPC clusters in any programming language and use the back-end service to check for new jobs and their parameters, and then to send the results to BOWS. Programs running in simple computers consume the BOWS front-end service to submit new processes and read results. BOWS compiles Java clients, which encapsulate the front-end web service requisitions, and automatically creates a web page that disposes the registered applications and clients. Bioinformatics open web services registered applications can be accessed from virtually any programming language through web services, or using standard java clients. The back-end can run in HPC clusters, allowing bioinformaticians to remotely run high-processing demand applications directly from their machines.

  11. Age of patient at the extraction of the third molar.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kautto, A; Vehkalahti, M M; Ventä, I

    2018-04-13

    The purpose of this study was to assess the age of patients at the time of extraction of third molars. Our data included all routine and surgical extractions of third molars (n=8199 teeth) performed by general and specialist dentists of the public oral health services of the city of Helsinki over the period 2013-2014. Measurements included patient's age, gender, the identified third molar, the type of anaesthesia, the method of extraction, and the diagnosis at extraction. Patients' ages ranged from 10 to 99years. We found significant differences between younger and older age groups: third molar extractions occurred more often for women than for men below the age of 30years (Page of 40years, but the corresponding prevalences reversed after the age of 40years. Diagnoses at extraction differed between younger and older patients. We conclude that the treatment pattern of third molars at public health services varies greatly over a lifetime, and that a greater variety exists than had been reported previously from oral and maxillofacial units. Copyright © 2018 International Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  12. Antifungal Resistance Patterns in Molds Isolated from Wounds of Combat Related Trauma Patients

    Science.gov (United States)

    2017-10-05

    and co 1S. SUBJECT TERMS 16. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION OF: 17. LIMITATION OF a. REPORT b.ABSTRACT c . THIS PAGE ABSTRACT uu 18. NUMBER OF PAGES...studies on molds Isolated from wounds of US service members treated at San Antonio Military Medlcal Center (SAMMC) were exam ined

  13. Block models and personalized PageRank.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kloumann, Isabel M; Ugander, Johan; Kleinberg, Jon

    2017-01-03

    Methods for ranking the importance of nodes in a network have a rich history in machine learning and across domains that analyze structured data. Recent work has evaluated these methods through the "seed set expansion problem": given a subset [Formula: see text] of nodes from a community of interest in an underlying graph, can we reliably identify the rest of the community? We start from the observation that the most widely used techniques for this problem, personalized PageRank and heat kernel methods, operate in the space of "landing probabilities" of a random walk rooted at the seed set, ranking nodes according to weighted sums of landing probabilities of different length walks. Both schemes, however, lack an a priori relationship to the seed set objective. In this work, we develop a principled framework for evaluating ranking methods by studying seed set expansion applied to the stochastic block model. We derive the optimal gradient for separating the landing probabilities of two classes in a stochastic block model and find, surprisingly, that under reasonable assumptions the gradient is asymptotically equivalent to personalized PageRank for a specific choice of the PageRank parameter [Formula: see text] that depends on the block model parameters. This connection provides a formal motivation for the success of personalized PageRank in seed set expansion and node ranking generally. We use this connection to propose more advanced techniques incorporating higher moments of landing probabilities; our advanced methods exhibit greatly improved performance, despite being simple linear classification rules, and are even competitive with belief propagation.

  14. Identifying Personal Goals of Patients With Long Term Condition: A Service Design Thinking Approach.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Eunji; Gammon, Deede

    2017-01-01

    Care for patients with long term conditions is often characterized as fragmented and ineffective, and fails to engage the resources of patients and their families in the care process. Information and communication technology can potentially help bridge the gap between patients' lives and resources and services provided by professionals. However, there is little attention on how to identify and incorporate the patients' individual needs, values, preferences and care goals into the digitally driven care settings. We conducted a case study with healthcare professionals and patients participated applying a service design thinking approach. The participants could elaborate some personal goals of patients with long term condition which can potentially be incorporated in digitally driven care plans using examples from their own experiences.

  15. Experiences of homosexual patients' access to primary health care services in Umlazi, KwaZulu-Natal.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cele, Nokulunga H; Sibiya, Maureen N; Sokhela, Dudu G

    2015-09-28

    Homosexual patients are affected by social factors in their environment, and as a result may not have easy access to existing health care services. Prejudice against homosexuality and homosexual patients remains a barrier to them seeking appropriate healthcare. The concern is that lesbians and gays might delay or avoid seeking health care when they need it because of past discrimination or perceived homophobia within the health care thereby putting their health at risk. The aim of the study was to explore and describe the experiences of homosexual patients utilising primary health care (PHC) services in Umlazi in the province ofKwaZulu-Natal (KZN). A qualitative, exploratory, descriptive study was conducted which was contextual innature. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 12 participants. The findings of this study were analysed using content analysis. Two major themes emerged from the data analysis, namely, prejudice against homosexual patients by health care providers and other patients at the primary health care facilities, and, homophobic behaviour from primary health care personnel. Participants experienced prejudice and homophobic behaviour in the course of utilising PHC clinics in Umlazi, which created a barrier to their utilisation of health services located there. Nursing education institutions, in collaboration with the National Department of Health, should introduce homosexuality and anti-homophobia education programmes during the pre-service and in-service education period. Such programmes will help to familiarise health care providers with the health care needs of homosexual patients and may decrease homophobic attitudes.

  16. Navigation To and From a Page: Which Links Get Clicked From Where

    Science.gov (United States)

    Use Google Analytics navigation summary data to find out what page users most frequently click your Contact Us link from (Previous Page Path), or which links on your homepage are popular or unpopular (Next Page Path).

  17. When the Web meets the cell: using personalized PageRank for analyzing protein interaction networks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Iván, Gábor; Grolmusz, Vince

    2011-02-01

    Enormous and constantly increasing quantity of biological information is represented in metabolic and in protein interaction network databases. Most of these data are freely accessible through large public depositories. The robust analysis of these resources needs novel technologies, being developed today. Here we demonstrate a technique, originating from the PageRank computation for the World Wide Web, for analyzing large interaction networks. The method is fast, scalable and robust, and its capabilities are demonstrated on metabolic network data of the tuberculosis bacterium and the proteomics analysis of the blood of melanoma patients. The Perl script for computing the personalized PageRank in protein networks is available for non-profit research applications (together with sample input files) at the address: http://uratim.com/pp.zip.

  18. Direct-to-consumer teledermatology services for pediatric patients: Room for improvement.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fogel, Alexander L; Teng, Joyce; Sarin, Kavita Y

    2016-11-01

    Direct-to-consumer teledermatology is radically changing the way some patients obtain dermatologic care. Many direct-to-consumer teledermatology services offer care to patients younger than 18 years, but policies and standards are nonuniform. For pediatric patients, direct-to-consumer teledermatology is a substantial departure from in-person care. More consensus, standards, and guidelines are necessary. Copyright © 2016 American Academy of Dermatology, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  19. Is Domain Highlighting Actually Helpful in Identifying Phishing Web Pages?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xiong, Aiping; Proctor, Robert W; Yang, Weining; Li, Ninghui

    2017-06-01

    To evaluate the effectiveness of domain highlighting in helping users identify whether Web pages are legitimate or spurious. As a component of the URL, a domain name can be overlooked. Consequently, browsers highlight the domain name to help users identify which Web site they are visiting. Nevertheless, few studies have assessed the effectiveness of domain highlighting, and the only formal study confounded highlighting with instructions to look at the address bar. We conducted two phishing detection experiments. Experiment 1 was run online: Participants judged the legitimacy of Web pages in two phases. In Phase 1, participants were to judge the legitimacy based on any information on the Web page, whereas in Phase 2, they were to focus on the address bar. Whether the domain was highlighted was also varied. Experiment 2 was conducted similarly but with participants in a laboratory setting, which allowed tracking of fixations. Participants differentiated the legitimate and fraudulent Web pages better than chance. There was some benefit of attending to the address bar, but domain highlighting did not provide effective protection against phishing attacks. Analysis of eye-gaze fixation measures was in agreement with the task performance, but heat-map results revealed that participants' visual attention was attracted by the highlighted domains. Failure to detect many fraudulent Web pages even when the domain was highlighted implies that users lacked knowledge of Web page security cues or how to use those cues. Potential applications include development of phishing prevention training incorporating domain highlighting with other methods to help users identify phishing Web pages.

  20. Using SERVQUAL and Kano research techniques in a patient service quality survey.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Christoglou, Konstantinos; Vassiliadis, Chris; Sigalas, Ioakim

    2006-01-01

    This article presents the results of a service quality study. After an introduction to the SERVQUAL and the Kano research techniques, a Kano analysis of 75 patients from the General Hospital of Katerini in Greece is presented. The service quality criterion used satisfaction and dissatisfaction indices. The Kano statistical analysis process results strengthened the hypothesis of previous research regarding the importance of personal knowledge, the courtesy of the hospital employees and their ability to convey trust and confidence (assurance dimension). Managerial suggestions are made regarding the best way of acting and approaching hospital patients based on the basic SERVQUAL model.

  1. Empirical Models of Demand for Out-Patient Physician Services and Their Relevance to the Assessment of Patient Payment Policies: A Critical Review of the Literature

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Olga Skriabikova

    2010-06-01

    Full Text Available This paper reviews the existing empirical micro-level models of demand for out-patient physician services where the size of patient payment is included either directly as an independent variable (when a flat-rate co-payment fee or indirectly as a level of deductibles and/or co-insurance defined by the insurance coverage. The paper also discusses the relevance of these models for the assessment of patient payment policies. For this purpose, a systematic literature review is carried out. In total, 46 relevant publications were identified. These publications are classified into categories based on their general approach to demand modeling, specifications of data collection, data analysis, and main empirical findings. The analysis indicates a rising research interest in the empirical micro-level models of demand for out-patient physician services that incorporate the size of patient payment. Overall, the size of patient payments, consumer socio-economic and demographic features, and quality of services provided emerge as important determinants of demand for out-patient physician services. However, there is a great variety in the modeling approaches and inconsistencies in the findings regarding the impact of price on demand for out-patient physician services. Hitherto, the empirical research fails to offer policy-makers a clear strategy on how to develop a country-specific model of demand for out-patient physician services suitable for the assessment of patient payment policies in their countries. In particular, theoretically important factors, such as provider behavior, consumer attitudes, experience and culture, and informal patient payments, are not considered. Although we recognize that it is difficult to measure these factors and to incorporate them in the demand models, it is apparent that there is a gap in research for the construction of effective patient payment schemes.

  2. Empirical models of demand for out-patient physician services and their relevance to the assessment of patient payment policies: a critical review of the literature.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Skriabikova, Olga; Pavlova, Milena; Groot, Wim

    2010-06-01

    This paper reviews the existing empirical micro-level models of demand for out-patient physician services where the size of patient payment is included either directly as an independent variable (when a flat-rate co-payment fee) or indirectly as a level of deductibles and/or co-insurance defined by the insurance coverage. The paper also discusses the relevance of these models for the assessment of patient payment policies. For this purpose, a systematic literature review is carried out. In total, 46 relevant publications were identified. These publications are classified into categories based on their general approach to demand modeling, specifications of data collection, data analysis, and main empirical findings. The analysis indicates a rising research interest in the empirical micro-level models of demand for out-patient physician services that incorporate the size of patient payment. Overall, the size of patient payments, consumer socio-economic and demographic features, and quality of services provided emerge as important determinants of demand for out-patient physician services. However, there is a great variety in the modeling approaches and inconsistencies in the findings regarding the impact of price on demand for out-patient physician services. Hitherto, the empirical research fails to offer policy-makers a clear strategy on how to develop a country-specific model of demand for out-patient physician services suitable for the assessment of patient payment policies in their countries. In particular, theoretically important factors, such as provider behavior, consumer attitudes, experience and culture, and informal patient payments, are not considered. Although we recognize that it is difficult to measure these factors and to incorporate them in the demand models, it is apparent that there is a gap in research for the construction of effective patient payment schemes.

  3. Cost of Treatment of Hospitalized Patients with Diabetes in Prenda Hospital Medicine Service, Angola

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    António Zangulo

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available Introduction: Diabetes has a major impact on morbidity and mortality today. It is estimated that by 2040, about 642 million people are affected worldwide, of which, 34.2 million are from sub-Saharan countries. The direct annual cost of diabetes health care worldwide is estimated at about 153 billion dollars. These patients represent 30% to 40% of all admissions to emergency services, leading to high values of hospital expenditure. We aim to evaluate the cost of treatment of patients with diabetes admitted to Prenda Hospital Medicine Service in 2012. Methods: Retrospective analytical observational study, with data collected from the clinical processes of medical service (age and gender, length of hospitalization, resources consumed, cost of treatment per patient and discharge. Results: Out of 121 patients, the majority was female (n = 70, 57.9%. The age group of 36 to 45 years old was the most frequent among these patients (n = 26, 21.5%. November was the month that recorded the largest number of admissions (n = 17, 14%. About 45.5% were hospitalized during five to eight days, on average for nine days. The majority (76.9% was discharged due to health condition improvement. The price of materials used for treatment of the disease had high variation, and 31 550.15 kwanzas was spent to acquire them. The direct cost per patient per day was 4170.11 kwanzas and the estimated annual cost of care of diabetic patients admitted to Prenda Hospital was 45 525 490.9 kwanzas in 2012. Discussion and Conclusion: These results are in accordance with other studies, indicating a relevant cost of treatment of diabetic patients admitted to Prenda Hospital Medicine Service in 2012.

  4. Targeted doctors, missing patients: obstetric health services and sectarian conflict in northern Pakistan.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Varley, Emma

    2010-01-01

    The spectre of exclusionary medical service provision, restricted clinic access and physician targeting in sectarian-divided Iraq underscores the crucial and timely need for qualitative research into the inter-relationship between conflict, identity and health. In response, this paper provides a critical ethnography of obstetric service provision and patient access during Shia-Sunni hostilities in Gilgit Town, capital of Pakistan's Northern Areas (2005). I analyse how services were embedded in and constrained by sectarian affiliation in ways that detrimentally impacted Sunni women patients and hospital staff, resulting in profoundly diminished clinic access, reduced physician coverage and a higher observed incidence of maternal morbidity and mortality. The paper first situates obstetric medicine at the interstices of contested sectarian terrain and competing historical projects of sectarian identity. Gilgiti Sunnis' high clinical reliance is argued to be a response to and consequence of, inter-sectarian dissonance and the ascendance of biomedicine during three decades of regional development. In 2005, conflict-incurred service deprivations and the enactment and strategic use of sectarian identity in clinical settings were associated with differential treatment and patient-perceived adverse health outcomes, leading Sunnis to generate alternative sect-specific health services. Obstetric morbidity and mortality during sectarian conflict are analyzed as distinctive manifestations of the wide range of direct harms routinely associated with violence and political strife.

  5. PageRank (II): Mathematics

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    maths/stats

    ... GAUSS SEIDEL'S. NUMERICAL ALGORITHMS IN PAGE RANK ANALYSIS. ... The convergence is guaranteed, if the absolute value of the largest eigen ... improved Gauss-Seidel iteration algorithm, based on the decomposition. U. L. D. M. +. +. = ..... This corresponds to determine the eigen vector of T with eigen value 1.

  6. Patient satisfaction with health care services provided at HIV clinics at Amana and Muhimbili hospitals in Dar es Salaam.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kagashe, G A B; Rwebangila, F

    2011-08-01

    Since the establishment of free HIV/AIDS care and treatment services in Tanzania a lot of research has been done to assess how health care providers discharge their duties in these clinics. Little research however has been done regarding satisfaction of HIV patients with free health care services provided. To determine satisfaction of HIV patients with health care services provided at the HIV clinics and specifically, to determine patients' satisfaction with the general physical environment of the clinic and with services offered by doctors, nurses, laboratory, and pharmacy. A cross-sectional study was conducted at Muhimbili National Hospital (MNH) and Amana hospital. A total of 375 patients attending outpatient HIV clinics were selected randomly and interviewed using a questionnaire, after obtaining a verbal consent. Data collected was analyzed using Epi-info program version 6. Patients at Amana Hospital clinic were either very satisfied (44.3%) or satisfied (55.7%) and none were unsatisfied, while at MNH clinic 1.1% patients were very satisfied while (94.7%) were satisfied and (4.2%) were unsatisfied with health care services provided. Lack of privacy when consulting with doctors and the dispenser contributed to patients' unsatisfaction with the services. Most of the participants were satisfied with the services provided at the two clinics. However at MNH, a few patients were unsatisfied due to lack of privacy during consultation with doctors and with the pharmacy services.

  7. Internet resources and web pages for pediatric surgeons.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lugo-Vicente, H

    2000-02-01

    The Internet, the largest network of connected computers, provides immediate, dynamic, and downloadable information. By re-architecturing the work place and becoming familiar with Internet resources, pediatric surgeons have anticipated the informatics capabilities of this computer-based technology creating a new vision of work and organization in such areas as patient care, teaching, and research. This review aims to highlight how Internet navigational technology can be a useful educational resource in pediatric surgery, examines web pages of interest, and defines ideas of network communication. Basic Internet resources are electronic mail, discussion groups, file transfer, and the Worldwide Web (WWW). Electronic mailing is the most useful resource extending the avenue of learning to an international audience through news or list-servers groups. Pediatric Surgery List Server, the most popular discussion group, is a constant forum for exchange of ideas, difficult cases, consensus on management, and development of our specialty. The WWW provides an all-in-one medium of text, image, sound, and video. Associations, departments, educational sites, organizations, peer-reviewed scientific journals and Medline database web pages of prime interest to pediatric surgeons have been developing at an amazing pace. Future developments of technological advance nurturing our specialty will consist of online journals, telemedicine, international chatting, computer-based training for surgical education, and centralization of cyberspace information into database search sites.

  8. Psychiatric patients' satisfaction in the therapeutic residence services: A positive experience of psychiatric deinstitutionalization

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rafael Gustavo Maluf

    Full Text Available This study investigated the satisfaction level of psychiatric patients in the therapeutic residential services of Barbacena-MG. Total population comprised 154 individuals, of which 45 were sampled. Subjects were interviewed with the SATIS-BR scale and a sociodemographic questionnaire. Results showed a high degree of satisfaction with the service for the global score and its three dimensions staff competence and understanding, help received, infrastructure. Results were not related to sociodemographic and clinical variables analyzed individually. Multivariate analysis indicated higher satisfaction for literate patients and for those that underwent some other form of treatment (e.g., hydrogymnastics and fitness activities besides medications or occupational therapy. We conclude that the therapeutic residence services appear to be a viable alternative for mental health public policy, from the patients' perspective.

  9. What words and where? Applying usability testing techniques to name a new live reference service.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Duncan, Vicky; Fichter, Darlene M

    2004-04-01

    A user-focused design approach was taken to develop a new "live reference" service at the Health Sciences Library, University of Saskatchewan. The name of the service, the placement of the links, and the design of a graphical button were seen as key elements in creating service awareness and its subsequent use. To ensure library users recognized and understood the label for the new service, selected library users were given an opportunity to choose a phrase that would best describe the service. The top two preferred phrases were then placed on the library Web pages as text and graphic images for further testing. Some pages had links in multiple locations to determine which placement worked best. Task-based usability testing was carried out with participants who were unaware of the new service. Participants were observed as they completed seven Website tasks arranged in increasing levels of difficulty to see whether they would notice the live reference service and seek assistance. The high level of recognition and use of the service indicate that the label name and link placement were effective with library Website users. Using user-centered design methodology helped ensure that the new live reference service was visible and used and demonstrated the effectiveness of the user-centered design approach for adding new services to an existing Website.

  10. Home Page of Richard Talaga

    Science.gov (United States)

    bottom of the page is a (planned) link to one of my favorite hobbies. Current Experiments MINOS Neutrino Argonne efforts to join this (existing) experiment * Talaga's Presentations Hobbies and Photos Dive Photos

  11. Quality of drug information on the World Wide Web and strategies to improve pages with poor information quality. An intervention study on pages about sildenafil.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martin-Facklam, Meret; Kostrzewa, Michael; Martin, Peter; Haefeli, Walter E

    2004-01-01

    The generally poor quality of health information on the world wide web (WWW) has caused preventable adverse outcomes. Quality management of information on the internet is therefore critical given its widespread use. In order to develop strategies for the safe use of drugs, we scored general and content quality of pages about sildenafil and performed an intervention to improve their quality. The internet was searched with Yahoo and AltaVista for pages about sildenafil and 303 pages were included. For assessment of content quality a score based on accuracy and completeness of essential drug information was assigned. For assessment of general quality, four criteria were evaluated and their association with high content quality was determined by multivariate logistic regression analysis. The pages were randomly allocated to either control or intervention group. Evaluation took place before, as well as 7 and 22 weeks after an intervention which consisted of two letters with individualized feedback information on the respective page which were sent electronically to the address mentioned on the page. Providing references to scientific publications or prescribing information was significantly associated with high content quality (odds ratio: 8.2, 95% CI 3.2, 20.5). The intervention had no influence on general or content quality. To prevent adverse outcomes caused by misinformation on the WWW individualized feedback to the address mentioned on the page was ineffective. It is currently probably the most straight-forward approach to inform lay persons about indicators of high information quality, i.e. the provision of references.

  12. How do patients with cancer pain view community pharmacy services? An interview study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Edwards, Zoe; Blenkinsopp, Alison; Ziegler, Lucy; Bennett, Michael I

    2018-02-26

    Pain experienced by many patients with advanced cancer is often not well controlled and community pharmacists are potentially well placed to provide support. The study objective was to explore the views and experiences of patients with advanced cancer about community pharmacies, their services and attitudes towards having a community pharmacist pain medicines consultation. Purposive sampling of GP clinical information systems was used to recruit patients with advanced cancer, living in the community and receiving opioid analgesics in one area of England, UK between January 2015 and July 2016. Thirteen patients had a semi-structured interview which was audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Data were analysed deductively and inductively using Framework analysis and incorporating new themes as they emerged. The framework comprised Pain management, Experiences and expectations, Access to care and Communication. All patients reported using one regular community pharmacy citing convenience, service and staff friendliness as influential factors. The idea of a community pharmacy medicines consultation was acceptable to most patients. The idea of telephone consultations was positively received but electronic media such as Skype was not feasible or acceptable for most. Patients perceived a hierarchy of health professionals with specialist palliative care nurses at the top (due to their combined knowledge of their condition and medicines) followed by GPs then pharmacists. Patients receiving specialist palliative care described pain that was better controlled than those who were not. They thought medicines consultations with a pharmacist could be useful for patients before referral for palliative care. There is a need for pain medicines support for patients with advanced cancer, and unmet need appears greater for those not under the care of specialist services. Medicines consultations, in principle, are acceptable to patients both in person and by telephone, and the latter

  13. Exploring the impact of word-of-mouth about Physicians' service quality on patient choice based on online health communities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lu, Naiji; Wu, Hong

    2016-11-26

    Health care service is a high-credence service and patients may face difficulties ascertaining service quality in order to make choices about their available treatment options. Online health communities (OHCs) provide a convenient channel for patients to search for physicians' information, such as Word-of-Mouth (WOM), particularly on physicians' service quality evaluated by other patients. Existing studies from other service domains have proved that WOM impacts consumer choice. However, how patients make a choice based on physicians' WOM has not been studied, particularly with reference to different patient characteristics and by using real data. One thousand eight hundred fifty three physicians' real data were collected from a Chinese online health community. The data were analyzed using ordinary least squares (OLS) method. The study found that functional quality negatively moderated the relationship between technical quality and patient choice, and disease risk moderated the relationship between physicians' service quality and patient choice. Our study recommends that hospital managers need to consider the roles of both technical quality and functional quality seriously. Physicians should improve their medical skills and bedside manners based on the severity and type of disease to provide better service.

  14. Service quality assessment of a referral hospital in southern Iran with SERVQUAL technique: patients' perspective.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aghamolaei, Teamur; Eftekhaari, Tasnim Eghbal; Rafati, Shideh; Kahnouji, Kobra; Ahangari, Shamsieh; Shahrzad, Mohammad Esmaeil; Kahnouji, Ataollah; Hoseini, Seyedeh Hamideh

    2014-07-27

    Providing services to patients according to their expectations and needs is necessary for the success of an organization in order to remain in the competitive market. Recognizing these needs and expectations is an important step in offering high quality services. This study was designed to determine the service quality gap of the main hospital of Hormozgan province. This cross sectional study was conducted in 2013 in Bandar Abbas ShahidMohammadi Hospital in the south of Iran. All 96 participants of this study were provided by SERVQUAL questionnaire. Data was analyzed by Wilcoxon and Kruskal-Wallis tests. Service quality gaps were seen in all five service quality dimensions and the overall quality of service. The mean of quality perception score and quality expectation score was 3.44 ± 0.693 and 4.736 ± 0.34, respectively. The highest perception was in assurance dimension and the highest expectation was in Responsiveness and assurance dimensions. Also, the lowest perception was in responsiveness dimension and the lowest expectation was about empathy. In this study, 56.1% of participants defined the quality of services as average. According to the results, this hospital was not able to meet patients' expectations completely. Therefore, action must be taken to decrease the gap between the perception and expectation of the patients.

  15. Network and User-Perceived Performance of Web Page Retrievals

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kruse, Hans; Allman, Mark; Mallasch, Paul

    1998-01-01

    The development of the HTTP protocol has been driven by the need to improve the network performance of the protocol by allowing the efficient retrieval of multiple parts of a web page without the need for multiple simultaneous TCP connections between a client and a server. We suggest that the retrieval of multiple page elements sequentially over a single TCP connection may result in a degradation of the perceived performance experienced by the user. We attempt to quantify this perceived degradation through the use of a model which combines a web retrieval simulation and an analytical model of TCP operation. Starting with the current HTTP/l.1 specification, we first suggest a client@side heuristic to improve the perceived transfer performance. We show that the perceived speed of the page retrieval can be increased without sacrificing data transfer efficiency. We then propose a new client/server extension to the HTTP/l.1 protocol to allow for the interleaving of page element retrievals. We finally address the issue of the display of advertisements on web pages, and in particular suggest a number of mechanisms which can make efficient use of IP multicast to send advertisements to a number of clients within the same network.

  16. Hiding in Plain Sight: The Anatomy of Malicious Facebook Pages

    OpenAIRE

    Dewan, Prateek; Kumaraguru, Ponnurangam

    2015-01-01

    Facebook is the world's largest Online Social Network, having more than 1 billion users. Like most other social networks, Facebook is home to various categories of hostile entities who abuse the platform by posting malicious content. In this paper, we identify and characterize Facebook pages that engage in spreading URLs pointing to malicious domains. We used the Web of Trust API to determine domain reputations of URLs published by pages, and identified 627 pages publishing untrustworthy info...

  17. Online plot services for paleomagnetism and rock magnetism

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hatakeyama, T.

    2017-12-01

    In paleomagnetism and rock magnetism, a lot of types of original plots are used for obtained data from measurements. Many researchers in paleomagnetism often use not only general-purpose plotting programs such as Microsoft Excel but also single-purpose tools. A large benefit of using the latter tools is that we can make a beautiful figure for our own data. However, those programs require specific environment for their operation such as type of hardware and platform, type of operation system and its version, libraries for execution and so on. Therefore, it is difficult to share the result and graphics among the collaborators who use different environments on their PCs. Thus, one of the best solution is likely a program operated on popular environment. The most popular is web environment as we all know. Almost all current operating systems have web browsers as standard and all people use them regularly. Now we provide a web-based service plotting paleomagnetic results easily.We develop original programs with a command-line user interface (non-GUI), and we prepared web pages for input of the simple measured data and options and a wrapper script which transfers the entered values to the program. The results, analyzed values and plotted graphs from the program are shown in the HTML page and downloadable. Our plot services are provided in http://mage-p.org/mageplot/. In this talk, we introduce our program and service and discuss the philosophy and efficiency of these services.

  18. A Case Study - On Patient Empowerment and Integration of Telemedicine to National Healthcare Services

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Urazimbetova, Surayya

    Patient empowerment in the digitalized healthcare can be supported by means of telemedicine. As opposed to Electronic Patient Records developed by a few large business suppliers for healthcare professionals, telemedical applications include innovative solutions of small-medium size suppliers...... and are targeted at specific groups of patients (e.g., hip operated or dermatology patients) and their care network. Based on an integration experiment we argue that in order to support the national visions for patient empowerment and connectedness of healthcare at the same time, it is necessary to achieve...... the integration of telemedicine to the national healthcare services on a business logic (functional) integration level. In this paper, (1) we identify the lack of business logic (functional) level integration opportunities for patient oriented telemedical applications with national healthcare services; (2) we...

  19. Social networking services: technologies and applications

    OpenAIRE

    Puzyrnyy, Oleksandr

    2011-01-01

    Puzyrnyy, Oleksandr. 2011. Social networking services: technologies and applications. Bachelor's Thesis. Kemi-Tornio University of Applied Sciences. Business and Culture. Pages 52. The aim of this thesis is to describe the concept of social networking, its technological base, business opportunities and future perspectives. The study discovers how social networks are made and which different purposes they might have. In addition, social networking is viewed as a part of business strategy o...

  20. Banking and Financial Services Series. Duty Task List.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oklahoma State Dept. of Vocational and Technical Education, Stillwater. Curriculum and Instructional Materials Center.

    This document contains the occupational duty/task lists for five occupations in the banking and financial services series. Each occupation is divided into seven or eight duties. A separate page for each duty in the occupation lists the tasks in that duty along with its code number and columns to indicate whether that particular duty has been…

  1. Neuro-Oncology Branch patient emotional support services | Center for Cancer Research

    Science.gov (United States)

    Emotional Support Services The diagnosis of a brain tumor elicits many different and sometimes difficult emotions, not only for the patient, but also for their family members. Patients may encounter changes in cognitive functioning and language, a diminished ability to focus or make decisions, or short-term memory loss, all of which can greatly affect their personal and professional lives. We are dedicated to helping patients and their families deal with the physical and emotional facets of this disease.

  2. Folding worlds between pages

    CERN Multimedia

    Meier, Matthias

    2010-01-01

    "We all remember pop-up books form our childhood. As fascinated as we were back then, we probably never imagined how much engineering know-how went into these books. Pop-up engineer Anton Radevsky has even managed to fold a 27-kilometre particle accelerator into a book" (4 pages)

  3. Building interactive simulations in a Web page design program.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kootsey, J Mailen; Siriphongs, Daniel; McAuley, Grant

    2004-01-01

    A new Web software architecture, NumberLinX (NLX), has been integrated into a commercial Web design program to produce a drag-and-drop environment for building interactive simulations. NLX is a library of reusable objects written in Java, including input, output, calculation, and control objects. The NLX objects were added to the palette of available objects in the Web design program to be selected and dropped on a page. Inserting an object in a Web page is accomplished by adding a template block of HTML code to the page file. HTML parameters in the block must be set to user-supplied values, so the HTML code is generated dynamically, based on user entries in a popup form. Implementing the object inspector for each object permits the user to edit object attributes in a form window. Except for model definition, the combination of the NLX architecture and the Web design program permits construction of interactive simulation pages without writing or inspecting code.

  4. Ranking nodes in growing networks: When PageRank fails.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mariani, Manuel Sebastian; Medo, Matúš; Zhang, Yi-Cheng

    2015-11-10

    PageRank is arguably the most popular ranking algorithm which is being applied in real systems ranging from information to biological and infrastructure networks. Despite its outstanding popularity and broad use in different areas of science, the relation between the algorithm's efficacy and properties of the network on which it acts has not yet been fully understood. We study here PageRank's performance on a network model supported by real data, and show that realistic temporal effects make PageRank fail in individuating the most valuable nodes for a broad range of model parameters. Results on real data are in qualitative agreement with our model-based findings. This failure of PageRank reveals that the static approach to information filtering is inappropriate for a broad class of growing systems, and suggest that time-dependent algorithms that are based on the temporal linking patterns of these systems are needed to better rank the nodes.

  5. Ranking nodes in growing networks: When PageRank fails

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mariani, Manuel Sebastian; Medo, Matúš; Zhang, Yi-Cheng

    2015-11-01

    PageRank is arguably the most popular ranking algorithm which is being applied in real systems ranging from information to biological and infrastructure networks. Despite its outstanding popularity and broad use in different areas of science, the relation between the algorithm’s efficacy and properties of the network on which it acts has not yet been fully understood. We study here PageRank’s performance on a network model supported by real data, and show that realistic temporal effects make PageRank fail in individuating the most valuable nodes for a broad range of model parameters. Results on real data are in qualitative agreement with our model-based findings. This failure of PageRank reveals that the static approach to information filtering is inappropriate for a broad class of growing systems, and suggest that time-dependent algorithms that are based on the temporal linking patterns of these systems are needed to better rank the nodes.

  6. Patients' willingness to pay for cognitive pharmacist services in community pharmacies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lakić, Dragana; Stević, Ivana; Odalović, Marina; Vezmar-Kovačević, Sandra; Tadić, Ivana

    2017-10-31

    To determine the general population willingness to pay for cognitive pharmacist service in community pharmacy, describe the behavior of participants regarding health care issues, and evaluate correlation between participants' sociodemographic characteristics or attitudes and their willingness to pay. A questionnaire-based survey was conducted among general population visiting community pharmacies. The participants were asked about receiving cognitive pharmacist services to identify and resolve potential medication therapy problems after the initiation of a new medicine to optimize health outcomes of the patients. A univariate and multivariate analysis were used to analyze associations between different variables and willingness to pay for pharmacy service. Of 444 respondents, 167 (38%) reported that they were willing to pay for a medication management service provided in the community pharmacy. Univariate analysis showed significant association between the willingness to pay for pharmacist-provided service and respondents' socio-demographic factors, health-related characteristics, and behavior, dilemmas, or need for certain pharmacist-provided service. The logistic regression model was statistically significant (χ2=4.599, Ppay for cognitive pharmacist services, which has not been fully recognized within the health care system. In future, pharmacists should focus on practical implementation of the service and models of funding.

  7. Prevalence and relief of pain in trauma patients in Emergency Medical Services

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Lisette Schoonhoven; T. Meijs; Sivera Berben; A. van Vugt; P. van Grunsven

    2011-01-01

    The aim of this study was to give insight in the prevalence of pain, and the (effect of) pain management according to the national emergency medical services analgesia protocol in trauma patients in the Netherlands. The retrospective document study included adult and alert trauma patients. Data

  8. Patient charges for health services: the opinions of healthcare stakeholders in Bulgaria.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Atanasova, Elka; Pavlova, Milena; Moutafovа, Emanuela; Kostadinova, Todorka; Groot, Wim

    2015-01-01

    The reforms of the Bulgarian healthcare sector have been widely discussed, both nationally and internationally. In spite of the reforms, problems with the efficiency, equity and quality in healthcare provision continue to exist in Bulgaria. Among others, the reforms included the implementation of formal patient charges for the use of healthcare services. These were established in the country in 2000. Formal patient charges are applied to all levels of medical services with the exception of emergency care. The aim of this paper is to describe and analyze the attitudes of Bulgarian healthcare stakeholders toward patient charges. The analysis is based on data collected in focus group discussions and in-depth interviews carried out in Bulgaria in May-June 2009. The paper concludes by recommendations for policies related to patient payments. The social sensitivity of these payments requires broad discussion before policy decisions are implemented. There is also a need of a well-thought communication strategy on the issue of patient payments by the Ministry of Health. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  9. Effect of home care service on the quality of life in patients with gynecological cancer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aktas, Demet; Terzioglu, Fusun

    2015-01-01

    The purpose of the research was to determine the effect of home care service on the quality of life in patients with gynecological cancer. This randomized case control study was carried out in a womans hospital between September 2011 and February 2012. Women undergoing gynecological cancer treatment were separated into intervention and control groups, of 35 patients each. The intervention group was provided with nursing care service through hospital and home visits (1st, 12th weeks) within the framework of a specifically developed nursing care plan. The control group was monitored without any intervention through the hospital routine protocols (1st, 12th weeks). Data were collected using An Interview Form, Home Visit Monitoring Form and Quality of Life Scale/Cancer Survivors. Effects of home care service on the quality of life in gynecological cancer patients were investigated using chi-square tests, McNemar's test, independent t-test and ANOVA. This study found that the intervention group receiving home care service had a moderately high quality of life (average mean: 6.01±0.64), while the control group had comparatively lower quality (average mean: 4.35±0.79) within the 12 week post- discharge period (phome care services to be efficient in improving the quality of life in patients with gynecological cancer.

  10. Determining factors behind the PageRank log-log plot

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Volkovich, Y.; Litvak, Nelli; Donato, D.

    We study the relation between PageRank and other parameters of information networks such as in-degree, out-degree, and the fraction of dangling nodes. We model this relation through a stochastic equation inspired by the original definition of PageRank. Further, we use the theory of regular variation

  11. Project Management - Development of course materiale as WEB pages

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Thorsteinsson, Uffe; Bjergø, Søren

    1997-01-01

    Development of Internet pages with lessons plans, slideshows, links, conference system and interactive student section for communication between students and to teacher as well.......Development of Internet pages with lessons plans, slideshows, links, conference system and interactive student section for communication between students and to teacher as well....

  12. Hormone replacement therapy advertising: sense and nonsense on the web pages of the best-selling pharmaceuticals in Spain.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chilet-Rosell, Elisa; Martín Llaguno, Marta; Ruiz Cantero, María Teresa; Alonso-Coello, Pablo

    2010-03-16

    The balance of the benefits and risks of long term use of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) have been a matter of debate for decades. In Europe, HRT requires medical prescription and its advertising is only permitted when aimed at health professionals (direct to consumer advertising is allowed in some non European countries). The objective of this study is to analyse the appropriateness and quality of Internet advertising about HRT in Spain. A search was carried out on the Internet (January 2009) using the eight best-selling HRT drugs in Spain. The brand name of each drug was entered into Google's search engine. The web sites appearing on the first page of results and the corresponding companies were analysed using the European Code of Good Practice as the reference point. Five corporate web pages: none of them included bibliographic references or measures to ensure that the advertising was only accessible by health professionals. Regarding non-corporate web pages (n = 27): 41% did not include the company name or address, 44% made no distinction between patient and health professional information, 7% contained bibliographic references, 26% provided unspecific information for the use of HRT for osteoporosis and 19% included menstrual cycle regulation or boosting feminity as an indication. Two online pharmacies sold HRT drugs which could be bought online in Spain, did not include the name or contact details of the registered company, nor did they stipulate the need for a medical prescription or differentiate between patient and health professional information. Even though pharmaceutical companies have committed themselves to compliance with codes of good practice, deficiencies were observed regarding the identification, information and promotion of HRT medications on their web pages. Unaffected by legislation, non-corporate web pages are an ideal place for indirect HRT advertising, but they often contain misleading information. HRT can be bought online from Spain

  13. Recommendations service for chronic disease patient in multimodel sensors home environment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hussain, Maqbool; Ali, Taqdir; Khan, Wajahat Ali; Afzal, Muhammad; Lee, Sungyoung; Latif, Khalid

    2015-03-01

    With advanced technologies in hand, there exist potential applications and services built around monitoring activities of daily living (ADL) of elderly people at nursing homes. Most of the elderly people in these facilities are suffering from different chronic diseases such as dementia. Existing technologies are mainly focusing on non-medication interventions and monitoring of ADL for addressing loss of autonomy or well-being. Monitoring and managing ADL related to cognitive behaviors for non-medication intervention are very effective in improving dementia patients' conditions. However, cognitive functions of patients can be improved if appropriate recommendations of medications are delivered at a particular time. Previously we developed the Secured Wireless Sensor Network Integrated Cloud Computing for Ubiquitous-Life Care (SC(3)). SC(3) services were limited to monitoring ADL of elderly people with Alzheimer's disease and providing non-medication recommendations to the patient. In this article, we propose a system called the Smart Clinical Decision Support System (CDSS) as an integral part of the SC(3) platform. Using the Smart CDSS, patients are provided with access to medication recommendations of expert physicians. Physicians are provided with an interface to create clinical knowledge for medication recommendations and to observe the patient's condition. The clinical knowledge created by physicians as the knowledge base of the Smart CDSS produces recommendations to the caregiver for medications based on each patient's symptoms.

  14. 77 FR 22324 - Correction-Solicitation for Nominations for Members of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-04-13

    ... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Correction--Solicitation for Nominations for Members of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) The original date of publication for this Federal Register notice was March 28, 2012, Volume 77, Number 60, pages 18823...

  15. Patient characteristics in relation to dental care payment model: capitation vs fee for service.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hakeberg, M; Wide Boman, U

    2016-12-01

    To analyse patient profiles in two payment models, the capitation (DCH) and the fee-for-service (FFS) systems, in relation to socioeconomic status, self-reported health and health behavior, as well as patient attitudes to and satisfaction with the DCH model in the Public Dental Service (PDS) in Sweden. The present survey included a random national sample of the adult population in Sweden. A telemarketing company, TNS SIFO, was responsible for the sample selection and telephone interviews conducted in May 2013. The 3,500 adults (aged =19 years) included in the sample gave a participation rate of 49.7%. Individuals choosing DCH were younger. FFS patients rated their health as less good, were less physically active, were more often smokers and had a lower household income. The DCH patients were more satisfied with their payment model than the FFS patients (98% vs 85%). A multivariate analysis showed that three of the variables significantly contributed to the model predicting DCH patients: age, with an odds ratio of 0.95, household income (OR=1.85) and importance of oral health for well-being (OR=2.05). There was a pattern of dimensions indicating the choice of payment model among adult patients in the Swedish Public Dental Service. The patients in DCH had higher socioeconomic position, were younger, rated their oral health as better and were more satisfied with the payment model (DCH) than the patients in the FFS system. Copyright© 2016 Dennis Barber Ltd

  16. AUTOMATIC TAGGING OF PERSIAN WEB PAGES BASED ON N-GRAM LANGUAGE MODELS USING MAPREDUCE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Saeed Shahrivari

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available Page tagging is one of the most important facilities for increasing the accuracy of information retrieval in the web. Tags are simple pieces of data that usually consist of one or several words, and briefly describe a page. Tags provide useful information about a page and can be used for boosting the accuracy of searching, document clustering, and result grouping. The most accurate solution to page tagging is using human experts. However, when the number of pages is large, humans cannot be used, and some automatic solutions should be used instead. We propose a solution called PerTag which can automatically tag a set of Persian web pages. PerTag is based on n-gram models and uses the tf-idf method plus some effective Persian language rules to select proper tags for each web page. Since our target is huge sets of web pages, PerTag is built on top of the MapReduce distributed computing framework. We used a set of more than 500 million Persian web pages during our experiments, and extracted tags for each page using a cluster of 40 machines. The experimental results show that PerTag is both fast and accurate

  17. Pulling a patient up in bed

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... to Advanced Skills . 9th ed. New York, NY: Pearson; 2017:chap 12. Review Date 11/15/2017 ... Bethesda, MD 20894 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services National Institutes of Health Page last updated: ...

  18. Measuring patient's expectation and the perception of quality in LASIK services

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bair Alex

    2009-07-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background LASIK is the use of excimer lasers to treat therapeutic and refractive visual disorders, ranging from superficial scars to nearsightedness (myopia, and from astigmatism to farsightedness (hyperopia. The purposes of this study are to checking the applicability and psychometric properties of the SERVQUAL on Lasik surgery population. Second, use SEM methods to investigate the loyalty, perceptions and expectations relationship on LASIK surgery. Methods The method with which this study was conducted was questionnaire development. A total of 463 consecutive patients, attending LASIK surgery affiliated with Chung Shan Medical University Eye Center, enrolled in this study. All participants were asked to complete revised SERVQUAL questionnaires. Student t test, correlation test, and ANOVA and factor analyses were used to identify the characters and factors of service quality. Paired t test were used to test the gap between expectation and perception scores and structural equation modeling was used to examine relationships among satisfaction components. Results The effective response rate was 97.3%. Validity was verified by several methods and internal reliability Cronbach's alpha was > 0.958. The results from patient's scores were very high with an overall score of 6.41(0.66, expectations at 6.68(0.47, and perceptions at 6.51(0.57. The gap between expectations and perceptions was significant, however, (t = 6.08. Furthermore, there were significant differences in the expectation scores among the different jobs. Also, the results showed that the higher the education of the patient, the lower their perception score (r = -0.10. The factor loading results of factor analysis showed 5 factors of the 22 items of the SERVQUAL model. The 5 factors of perception explained 72.94% of the total variance there; and on expectations it explained 77.12% of the total variance of satisfaction scores. The goodness-of-fit summary, of structure equation

  19. Measuring patient's expectation and the perception of quality in LASIK services.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lin, Deng-Juin; Sheu, Ing-Cheau; Pai, Jar-Yuan; Bair, Alex; Hung, Che-Yu; Yeh, Yuan-Hung; Chou, Ming-Jen

    2009-07-10

    LASIK is the use of excimer lasers to treat therapeutic and refractive visual disorders, ranging from superficial scars to nearsightedness (myopia), and from astigmatism to farsightedness (hyperopia). The purposes of this study are to checking the applicability and psychometric properties of the SERVQUAL on Lasik surgery population. Second, use SEM methods to investigate the loyalty, perceptions and expectations relationship on LASIK surgery. The method with which this study was conducted was questionnaire development. A total of 463 consecutive patients, attending LASIK surgery affiliated with Chung Shan Medical University Eye Center, enrolled in this study. All participants were asked to complete revised SERVQUAL questionnaires. Student t test, correlation test, and ANOVA and factor analyses were used to identify the characters and factors of service quality. Paired t test were used to test the gap between expectation and perception scores and structural equation modeling was used to examine relationships among satisfaction components. The effective response rate was 97.3%. Validity was verified by several methods and internal reliability Cronbach's alpha was > 0.958. The results from patient's scores were very high with an overall score of 6.41(0.66), expectations at 6.68(0.47), and perceptions at 6.51(0.57). The gap between expectations and perceptions was significant, however, (t = 6.08). Furthermore, there were significant differences in the expectation scores among the different jobs. Also, the results showed that the higher the education of the patient, the lower their perception score (r = -0.10). The factor loading results of factor analysis showed 5 factors of the 22 items of the SERVQUAL model. The 5 factors of perception explained 72.94% of the total variance there; and on expectations it explained 77.12% of the total variance of satisfaction scores.The goodness-of-fit summary, of structure equation modeling, showed trends in concept on expectations

  20. Practice Audit in Gastroenterology (PAGE) program: A novel approach to continuing professional development

    Science.gov (United States)

    Armstrong, David; Hollingworth, Roger; Gardiner, Tara; Klassen, Michael; Smith, Wendy; Hunt, Richard H; Barkun, Alan; Gould, Michael; Leddin, Desmond

    2006-01-01

    BACKGROUND: Practice audit is an important component of continuing professional development that may more readily be undertaken if it were less complex. This qualitative study assessed the use of personal digital assistants to facilitate data collection and review. METHODS: Personal digital assistants programmed with standard questionnaires related to upper gastrointestinal endoscopies (Practice Audit in Gastroenterology-Endoscopy [‘PAGE-Endo’]) and colonoscopies (PAGE-Colonoscopy [‘PAGE-Colo’]) were provided to Canadian gastroenterologists, surgeons and internists. Over a three-week audit period, participants recorded indications, and the expected (E) and reported (R) findings for each procedure. Thereafter, participants recorded compliance with reporting, the ease of use and value of the PAGE program, and their willingness to perform another audit. RESULTS: Over 15 to 18 months, 173 participants completed PAGE-Endo (6168 procedures) and 111 completed PAGE-Colo (4776 procedures). Most respondents noted that PAGE was easy to use (99%), beneficial (88% to 95%), and that they were willing undertake another audit (92% to 95%). In PAGE-Endo, alarm features were prevalent (55%), but major reported findings were less common than expected: esophagitis (E 29.9%, R 14.8%), esophageal stricture (E 8.3%, R 3.6%), gastric ulcer (E 17.0%, R 4.7%), gastric cancer (E 4.3%, R 1.0%) and duodenal ulcer (E 11.5%, R 5.7%). In PAGE-Colo, more colonoscopies were performed for symptom investigation (55%) than for screening (25%) or surveillance (20%). There were marked interprovincial variations with respect to sedation, biopsies and technical aspects of colonoscopy. CONCLUSION: Secure, real-time data entry with review of aggregate and individual data in the PAGE program provided an acceptable, straightforward methodology for accredited practice audit activities. PAGE has considerable potential for continuing professional development in gastroenterology and other specialties

  1. What causes treatment failure - the patient, primary care, secondary care or inadequate interaction in the health services?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lange Ove

    2011-05-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Optimal treatment gives complete relief of symptoms of many disorders. But even if such treatment is available, some patients have persisting complaints. One disorder, from which the patients should achieve complete relief of symptoms with medical or surgical treatment, is gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD. Despite the fact that such treatment is cheap, safe and easily available; some patients have persistent complaints after contact with the health services. This study evaluates the causes of treatment failure. Methods Twelve patients with GERD and persistent complaints had a semi-structured interview which focused on the patients' evaluation of treatment failure. The interviews were taped, transcribed and evaluated by 18 physicians, (six general practitioners, six gastroenterologists and six gastrointestinal surgeons who completed a questionnaire for each patient. The questionnaires were scored, and the relative responsibility for the failure was attributed to the patient, primary care, secondary care and interaction in the health services. Results Failing interaction in the health services was the most important cause of treatment failure, followed by failure in primary care, secondary care and the patient himself; the relative responsibilities were 35%, 28%, 27% and 10% respectively. There was satisfactory agreement about the causes between doctors with different specialities, but significant inter-individual differences between the doctors. The causes of the failures differed between the patients. Conclusions Treatment failure is a complex problem. Inadequate interaction in the health services seems to be important. Improved communication between parts of the health services and with the patients are areas of improvement.

  2. PERANAN SERVICE QUALITY TERHADAP PATIENT REVISIT INTENTION MELALUI PATIENT SATISFACTION PADA RUMAH SAKIT UMUM DAN RUMAH SAKIT SWASTA TIPE B

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Febry Adhiana

    2008-03-01

    Findin s: There are no differences between private and public hospitals in service quality, patient satisf Um and patient revisit intention. Finally the implications of the results are highlighted for health :are managers.

  3. The Iowa new practice model: Advancing technician roles to increase pharmacists' time to provide patient care services.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Andreski, Michael; Myers, Megan; Gainer, Kate; Pudlo, Anthony

    Determine the effects of an 18-month pilot project using tech-check-tech in 7 community pharmacies on 1) rate of dispensing errors not identified during refill prescription final product verification; 2) pharmacist workday task composition; and 3) amount of patient care services provided and the reimbursement status of those services. Pretest-posttest quasi-experimental study where baseline and study periods were compared. Pharmacists and pharmacy technicians in 7 community pharmacies in Iowa. The outcome measures were 1) percentage of technician verified refill prescriptions where dispensing errors were not identified on final product verification; 2) percentage of time spent by pharmacists in dispensing, management, patient care, practice development, and other activities; 3) the number of pharmacist patient care services provided per pharmacist hours worked; and 4) percentage of time that technician product verification was used. There was no significant difference in overall errors (0.2729% vs. 0.5124%, P = 0.513), patient safety errors (0.0525% vs. 0.0651%, P = 0.837), or administrative errors (0.2204% vs. 0.4784%, P = 0.411). Pharmacist's time in dispensing significantly decreased (67.3% vs. 49.06%, P = 0.005), and time in direct patient care (19.96% vs. 34.72%, P = 0.003), increased significantly. Time in other activities did not significantly change. Reimbursable services per pharmacist hour (0.11 vs. 0.30, P = 0.129), did not significantly change. Non-reimbursable services increased significantly (2.77 vs. 4.80, P = 0.042). Total services significantly increased (2.88 vs. 5.16, P = 0.044). Pharmacy technician product verification of refill prescriptions preserved dispensing safety while significantly increasing the time spent in delivery of pharmacist provided patient care services. The total number of pharmacist services provided per hour also increased significantly, driven primarily by a significant increase in the number of non

  4. NNDC Data Services

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tuli, J.K.; Sonzogni, A.

    2010-01-01

    The National Nuclear Data Center has provided remote access to some of its resources since 1986. The major databases and other resources available currently through NNDC Web site are summarized. The National Nuclear Data Center (NNDC) has provided remote access to the nuclear physics databases it maintains and to other resources since 1986. With considerable innovation access is now mostly through the Web. The NNDC Web pages have been modernized to provide a consistent state-of-the-art style. The improved database services and other resources available from the NNOC site at www.nndc.bnl.gov will be described.

  5. Quality improvement in practice: improving diabetes care and patient outcomes in Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stoneman, Alice; Atkinson, David; Davey, Maureen; Marley, Julia V

    2014-10-07

    Management of chronic disease, including diabetes, is a central focus of most Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services (ACCHSs) in Australia. We have previously demonstrated that diabetes monitoring and outcomes can be improved and maintained over a 10-year period at Derby Aboriginal Health Service (DAHS). While continuous quality improvement (CQI) has been shown to improve service delivery rates and clinical outcome measures, the process of interpreting audit results and developing strategies for improvement is less well described. This paper describes the evaluation of care of patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and features of effective CQI in ACCHSs in the remote Kimberley region of north Western Australia. Retrospective audit of records for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander primary care patients aged ≥15 years with a confirmed diagnosis of T2DM at four Kimberley ACCHSs from 1 July 2011 to 30 June 2012. Interviews with health service staff and focus group discussions with patients post audit. diabetes care related activities, clinical outcome measures and factors influencing good diabetes related care and effective CQI. A total of 348 patients from the four ACCHSs were included in the study. Clinical care activities were generally high across three of the four health services (at least 71% of patients had cholesterol recorded, 89% blood pressure, 84% HbA1c). Patients from DAHS had lower median cholesterol levels (4.4 mmol/L) and the highest proportion of patients meeting clinical targets for HbA1c (31% v 16% ACCHS-3; P = 0.02). Features that facilitated good care included clearly defined staff roles for diabetes management, support and involvement of Aboriginal Health Workers, efficient recall systems, and well-coordinated allied health services. Effective CQI features included seamless and timely data collection, local ownership of the process, openness to admitting deficiencies and willingness to embrace change. Well

  6. THE WAYS OF INCREASING OF QUALITY AND ACCESSIBILITY OF PEDIATRIC MEDICAL SERVICE IN OUT-PATIENT CLINICS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A.A. Baranov

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available The analysis of dynamics of official statistics rates (population size, morbidity, disability, and mortality, and results of special scientific studies (morbidity, physical development, make it possible to show basic tendencies of children’s health state changes in modern conditions. The result of pediatrists from out-patient clinics survey, questioning of parents and adolescents (12–17 years old, on the problem of children’s health service, are presented. Questionnaire poll was held in regions of Central, Privolzhskiy, and Siberian Federal Districts. The complex analysis of obtained results show low quality level and accessibility of prophylactic and treatment medical service in children. This data became the basis of main directions of work of controlling and public health service in the field of increasing of quality and accessibility of pediatric medical service in out-patient clinics.Key words: children, medical service, out-patient clinics, quality, accessibility.(Voprosy sovremennoi pediatrii — Current Pediatrics. 2009;8(4:5-9

  7. Web page of the Ibero-American laboratories network of radioactivity analysis in foods: a tool for inter regional diffusion

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Melo Ferreira, Ana C. de; Osores, Jose M.; Fernandez Gomez, Isis M.; Iglicki, Flora A.; Vazquez Bolanos, Luis R.; Romero, Maria de L.; Aguirre Gomez, Jaime; Flores, Yasmine

    2008-01-01

    One objective of the thematic networks is the exchanges of knowledge among participants, for this reason, actions focused to the diffusion of their respective work are prioritized, evidencing the result of the cooperation among the participant groups and also among different networks. The Ibero-American Laboratories Network of Radioactivity Analysis in Foods (RILARA) was constituted in 2007, and one of the first actions carried out in this framework, was the design and conformation of a web page. The web pages have become a powerful means for diffusion of specialized information. Their power, as well as their continuous upgrading and the specificity of the topics that can develop, allow the user to obtain fast information on a wide range of products, services and organizations at local and world level. The main objective of the RILARA web page is to provide updated relevant information to interested specialists in the subject and also to public in general, about the work developed by the network laboratories regarding the control of radioactive pollutants in foods and related scientific issues. This web has been developed based on a Content Management Systems that helps to eliminate potential barriers to the communication web, reducing the creation costs, contribution and maintenance of the content. The tool used for its design is very effective to be used in the process of teaching, learning and for the organization of the information. This paper describes how was conceived the design of this web page, the information that contains and how can be accessed and/or to include any contribution, the value of this page depends directly on the grade of updating of the available contents so that it can be useful and attractive to the users. (author)

  8. 636 ART-naive patients were enrolled; 361 completed 6 months of ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    First page Back Continue Last page Graphics. 636 ART-naive patients were enrolled; 361 completed 6 months of follow-up (282 received supplements and 79 received standard care). 636 ART-naive patients were enrolled; 361 completed 6 months of follow-up (282 received supplements and 79 received standard care).

  9. Adequacy of Mental Health Services for HIV-Positive Patients with Depression

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Choi, Stephanie K Y; Boyle, Eleanor; Cairney, John

    2016-01-01

    use and antidepressant use, as well as mental health care for depression in accordance with existing Canadian guidelines for HIV-positive patients with depression in Ontario, Canada. METHODS: We conducted a prospective cohort study linking data from the Ontario HIV Treatment Network Cohort Study...... income or educational attainment, or as non-native English speakers or immigrants to Canada were less likely to obtain care. Of 493 patients using mental health services, 250 (51%) received mental health care for depression in accordance with existing Canadian guidelines. CONCLUSIONS: Our results showed......BACKGROUND: Major depression can profoundly impact clinical and quality-of-life outcomes of people living with HIV, and this disease is underdiagnosed and undertreated in many HIV-positive individuals. Here, we describe the prevalence of publicly funded primary and secondary mental health service...

  10. Why and When do Patients Use e-Consultation Services? The Trust and Resource Supplementary Perspectives.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Jia; Liu, Minghui; Liu, Xuan; Ma, Ling

    2018-01-01

    e-Consultation provides a new way to deliver healthcare services online. With the help of e-Consultation services, patients can gain access to nationwide medical expertise that otherwise would not be available to them. As an online delivery approach, e-Consultation also provides a choice for patients to receive medical advice from online doctors immediately, no matter how far away from the hospital they may be or how late in the day it is. However, the adoption and usage of e-Consultation is still far from satisfactory. Therefore, understanding why and when patients use e-Consultation services are important research questions. Considering that the choice of a healthcare provider is a serious decision, this research uses the trust perspective to explain the e-Consultation service adoption phenomenon. Specifically, trust is conceptualized as a second-order construct consisting of two dimensions: competence and integrity. In addition, e-Consultation is viewed as a supplementary resource to traditional off-line consultation services, and disease type as a contextual factor is hypothesized to focus the context where e-Consultation services are more suitable. A scenario-based survey was conducted to test the proposed research model. We obtained a total of 190 valid questionnaires. Our results indicated that trust (p e-Consultation service. Meanwhile, our results also indicated that the higher the disease is in rarity (p e-Consultation service. Trust is the major driving force of an e-Consultation service adoption. When the disease is high in rarity, severity, or urgency, an off-line healthcare provider is less capable of providing meaningful, qualified, and immediate service. Therefore, there is a decreased positive effect of trust on the intention to use an e-Consultation service for those diseases.

  11. Perspectives on providing good access to dental services for elderly people: patient selection, dentists' responsibility and budget management.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grytten, Jostein; Holst, Dorthe

    2013-06-01

    To suggest a model for organizing and financing dental services for elderly people so that they have good access to services. There are few studies on how dental services for elderly people should be organized and financed. This is surprising if we take into consideration the fact that the proportion of elderly people is growing faster than any other group in the population, and that elderly people have more dental diseases and poorer access to dental services than the rest of the adult population. In several countries, dental services are characterized by private providers who often operate in a market with competition and free price-setting. Private dentists have no community responsibility, and they are free to choose which patients they treat. Literature review and critical reasoning. In order to avoid patient selection, a patient list system for elderly people is recommended, with per capita remuneration for the patients that the dentist is given responsibility for. The patient list system means that the dentist assumes responsibility for a well-defined list of elderly people. Our model will lead to greater security in the dentist/patient relationship, and patients with great treatment needs will be ensured access to dental services. © 2012 John Wiley & Sons A/S and The Gerodontology Society. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  12. Patient and environmental service employee satisfaction of using germicidal bleach wipes for patient room cleaning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aronhalt, Kimberly C; McManus, James; Orenstein, Robert; Faller, Rebecca; Link, Mary

    2013-01-01

    More healthcare institutions are using bleach products which are sporicidal to reduce Clostridium difficile infection (CDI). There may be patient and employee concerns about the appearance of bleach residue left on surfaces, odors, and respiratory tract irritation. The intervention used bleach wipes for daily and terminal patient room cleaning to reduce transmission of CDI and was implemented on patient care units with a relatively high incidence of CDI. Both patients and Environmental Services (ES) staff were surveyed to assess their satisfaction of the bleach wipe product used during room cleaning. Patients (n = 94) (91%) continued to be very satisfied with how well their rooms were cleaned every day. Bleach wipes were well tolerated by patients (n = 44) (100%) surveyed on the medical units and less tolerated by patients (n = 50) (22%) on the hematology-oncology units. ES staff (6) reported less satisfaction and more respiratory irritation from using the bleach wipes; however, later their satisfaction improved. © 2012 National Association for Healthcare Quality.

  13. Convenience, quality and choice: Patient and service-provider perspectives for treating primary care complaints in urgent care settings.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sturgeon, David

    2017-11-01

    To investigate why patients chose to attend two, nurse-led, minor injury units (MIUs) to access primary healthcare services rather than attend their GP practice. Since the 1980's, healthcare organisations in the UK and elsewhere have implemented an increasingly consumer-orientated model of healthcare provision. As a result, patients with non-urgent presentations are attending Emergency Departments (EDs) and other urgent care facilities in growing numbers. A comparative case study approach was adopted and between October 2014 and May 2015 the researcher was embedded as a participant observer as part of the emergency nurse practitioner team at two, nurse-led, MIUs (site A and B). During this time, 40 patients, 17 service-providers and 1 senior manager were interviewed. Patients and service-providers at both sites identified convenience and quality of care as the principle reasons patients presented for primary healthcare services at MIUs rather than their GP practice. Service-providers were aware that by providing treatment, they established a precedent and a sense of expectation for future care. Patients are acting rationally and predictably in response to healthcare policy promises regarding choice, expectation created by service-providers, and local demographic factors. Crown Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  14. Flood-inundation maps for the DuPage River from Plainfield to Shorewood, Illinois, 2013

    Science.gov (United States)

    Murphy, Elizabeth A.; Sharpe, Jennifer B.

    2013-01-01

    Digital flood-inundation maps for a 15.5-mi reach of the DuPage River from Plainfield to Shorewood, Illinois, were created by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in cooperation with the Will County Stormwater Management Planning Committee. The inundation maps, which can be accessed through the USGS Flood Inundation Mapping Science Web site at http://water.usgs.gov/osw/flood_inundation/ depict estimates of the areal extent of flooding corresponding to selected water levels (gage heights or stages) at the USGS streamgage at DuPage River at Shorewood, Illinois (sta. no. 05540500). Current conditions at the USGS streamgage may be obtained on the Internet at http://waterdata.usgs.gov/usa/nwis/uv?05540500. In addition, the information has been provided to the National Weather Service (NWS) for incorporation into their Advanced Hydrologic Prediction Service (AHPS) flood warning system (http://water.weather.gov/ahps/). The NWS forecasts flood hydrographs at many places that are often colocated with USGS streamgages. The NWS-forecasted peak-stage information, also shown on the DuPage River at Shorewood inundation Web site, may be used in conjunction with the maps developed in this study to show predicted areas of flood inundation. In this study, flood profiles were computed for the stream reach by means of a one-dimensional step-backwater model. The hydraulic model was then used to determine nine water-surface profiles for flood stages at 1-ft intervals referenced to the streamgage datum and ranging from NWS Action stage of 6 ft to the historic crest of 14.0 ft. The simulated water-surface profiles were then combined with a Digital Elevation Model (DEM) (derived from Light Detection And Ranging (LiDAR) data) by using a Geographic Information System (GIS) in order to delineate the area flooded at each water level. These maps, along with information on the Internet regarding current gage height from USGS streamgages and forecasted stream stages from the NWS, provide emergency

  15. Traumatic Brain Injury service (TBI) Service

    Data.gov (United States)

    Department of Veterans Affairs — This Service provides access to Tramatic Brain injury patient data consult notes. The service also provides one write service method writeNote. The Service supports...

  16. Cloaked Facebook pages: Exploring fake Islamist propaganda in social media

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Farkas, Johan Dam; Schou, Jannick; Neumayer, Christina

    2017-01-01

    This research analyses cloaked Facebook pages that are created to spread political propaganda by cloaking a user profile and imitating the identity of a political opponent in order to spark hateful and aggressive reactions. This inquiry is pursued through a multi-sited online ethnographic case...... study of Danish Facebook pages disguised as radical Islamist pages, which provoked racist and anti-Muslim reactions as well as negative sentiments towards refugees and immigrants in Denmark in general. Drawing on Jessie Daniels’ critical insights into cloaked websites, this research furthermore analyses...

  17. Internet availability and interest in patients at a family medicine residency clinic.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fashner, Julia; Drye, Stephen T

    2011-02-01

    The Internet has affected the day-to-day lives of physicians, hospitals, and patients. The medical information for each is available at a moment's notice. We surveyed patients to see how many have access to the Internet and whether they are interested in using the Internet to communicate about their medical care. An anonymous one-page survey was given to patients over the age of 18 who had an office visit at the Family Medicine Center. A total of 258 of 300 surveys were returned. A majority of these patients have access to the Internet (80.6%). Patients were most interested in being able to receive appointment reminders by e-mail (44.6%), get answers to medical questions (41.9%), and schedule appointments online (41.5%). Patients would like to be active participants in their medical care electronically. We encourage other physicians to investigate what patients in their practice would consider a service to provide electronically.

  18. Service Quality Of Diagnostic Fine Needle Aspiration Cytology In A Tertiary Care Hospital Of Lahore (Process Measure As Patient's Perspective).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rizvi, Zainab; Usmani, Rabia Arshed; Rizvi, Amna; Wazir, Salim; Zahra, Taskeen; Rasool, Hafza

    2017-01-01

    Quality of any service is the most important aspect for the manufacturer as well as the consumer. The primary objective of any nation's health system is to provide supreme quality health care services to its patients. The objective of this study was to assess the quality of diagnostic fine needle aspiration cytology service in a tertiary care hospital. As Patient's perspectives provide valuable information on quality of process, therefore, patient's perception in terms of satisfaction with the service was measured. In this cross sectional analytical study, 291 patients undergoing fine needle aspiration cytology in Mayo Hospital were selected by systematic sampling technique. Information regarding satisfaction of patients with four dimensions of service quality process, namely "procedure, sterilization, conduct and competency of doctor" was collected through interview on questionnaire. The questionnaire was developed on SERVQUAL model, a measurement tool, for quality assessment of services provided to patients. All items were assessed on 2- point likert scale (0=dissatisfied, 1=satisfied). Frequencies and percentages of satisfied and dissatisfied patients were recorded for each item and all items in each dimension were scored. If the percentage of sum of all item scores of a dimension was ≥60, the dimension was 'good quality'. Whereas quality' dimension. Data was analysed using epi-info-3.5.1. Fisher test was applied to check statistical significance. (p-value service quality process, Procedure (48.8%), Sterilization (51.5%) and practitioner conduct (50.9%) were perceived as 'poor' by the patients. Only practitioner competency (67.4%) was perceived as 'good'. Comparison of dimensions of service quality scoring with overall level of patient satisfaction revealed that all 4 dimensions were significantly related to patient dissatisfaction (pservice quality of therapeutic and diagnostic procedures in public hospitals should be routinely monitored from the patients

  19. Sources and Coverage of Medical News on Front Pages of US Newspapers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lai, William Y. Y.; Lane, Trevor; Jones, Alison

    2009-01-01

    Background Medical news that appears on newspaper front pages is intended to reach a wide audience, but how this type of medical news is prepared and distributed has not been systematically researched. We thus quantified the level of visibility achieved by front-page medical stories in the United States and analyzed their news sources. Methodology Using the online resource Newseum, we investigated front-page newspaper coverage of four prominent medical stories, and a high-profile non-medical news story as a control, reported in the US in 2007. Two characteristics were quantified by two raters: which newspaper titles carried each target front-page story (interrater agreement, >96%; kappa, >0.92) and the news sources of each target story (interrater agreement, >94%; kappa, >0.91). National rankings of the top 200 US newspapers by audited circulation were used to quantify the extent of coverage as the proportion of the total circulation of ranked newspapers in Newseum. Findings In total, 1630 front pages were searched. Each medical story appeared on the front pages of 85 to 117 (67.5%–78.7%) ranked newspaper titles that had a cumulative daily circulation of 23.1 to 33.4 million, or 61.8% to 88.4% of all newspapers. In contrast, the non-medical story achieved front-page coverage in 152 (99.3%) newspaper titles with a total circulation of 41.0 million, or 99.8% of all newspapers. Front-page medical stories varied in their sources, but the Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, New York Times and the Associated Press together supplied 61.7% of the total coverage of target front-page medical stories. Conclusion Front-page coverage of medical news from different sources is more accurately revealed by analysis of circulation counts rather than of newspaper titles. Journals wishing to widen knowledge of research news and organizations with important health announcements should target at least the four dominant media organizations identified in this study. PMID:19724643

  20. JavaScript: Convenient Interactivity for the Class Web Page.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gray, Patricia

    This paper shows how JavaScript can be used within HTML pages to add interactive review sessions and quizzes incorporating graphics and sound files. JavaScript has the advantage of providing basic interactive functions without the use of separate software applications and players. Because it can be part of a standard HTML page, it is…

  1. Development of internet service for airborne dust monitor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jakowiuk, A.

    2006-01-01

    During use of the system for acquisition and presentation of measuring data from dust monitors AMIZ-2004G, it became evident that creation of an internet service should be very useful. The task of such a service would be presentation of the idea of dust monitoring system that was put into operation, as well as presentation of measuring results from already existing measuring stations. Such an internet service was created and is accessible now on web page www.amiz.ajaksoft.com.pl. Description of the dust monitoring system, instruction how to operate the program for acquisition of measured data, operating instruction of the monitor AMIZ-2004G, and leaflets of the system can also be found there

  2. The impact of patient participation direct enhanced service on patient reference groups in primary care: a qualitative study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pollard, Lorraine; Agarwal, Shona; Harrad, Fawn; Lester, Louise; Cross, Ainsley; Wray, Paula; Smith, Gordon; Locke, Anthony; Sinfield, Paul

    2014-01-01

    NHS policy documents continue to make a wide-ranging commitment to patient involvement. The Patient Participation Direct Enhanced Service (PP-DES), launched in 2011, aimed to ensure patients are involved in decisions about the range and quality of services provided and commissioned by their practice through patient reference groups (PRGs). The aim of this exploratory study is to review the impact of the PP-DES (2011-13) on a sample of PRGs and assess how far it has facilitated their involvement in decisions about the services of their general practices. A qualitative methods design, using semi- structured interviews and focus groups, was employed to explore the experiences and views of GP practice staff (n = 24), PRG members (n = 80) at 12 GP practices, and other stakeholders (n = 4). Wide variation in the role and remit of the participating PRGs was found, which broadly ranged from activities to improve practice resources to supporting health promotion activities. The majority of PRG members were unfamiliar with the PP-DES scheme and its aims and purpose. Stakeholders and practice staff felt strongly that the main success of the PP-DES was that it had led to an increase in the number of PRGs being established in the locality. The PP-DES scheme has been a catalyst to establish PRGs. However, the picture was mixed in terms of the PRGs involvement in decisions about the services provided at their general practice as there was wide variation in the PRGs role and remit. The financial incentive alone, provided via the DES scheme, did not secure greater depth of PRG activity and power, however, as social factors were identified as playing an important role in PRGs' level of participation in decision making. Many PRGs have to become more firmly established before they are involved as partners in commissioning decisions at their practice.

  3. [The telemedical service centre as an essential element of the conceptual approach for telemonitoring of cardiac patients : Requirements on the service, quality, and technical realization of telemonitoring].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Helms, T M; Müller, A; Perings, C; Köhler, F; Leonhardt, V; Rybak, K; Sack, S; Stockburger, M

    2017-09-01

    Telemonitoring as part of a treatment strategy supports and facilitates the monitoring, disease management and education of patients with heart failure and cardiac arrhythmias. Therefore, telemonitoring affects quality and success of the therapy. Thus, meeting the needs of the patients and of the involved health care professionals is important for the success of the telemonitoring service. Moreover, a high quality of the service has to be ensured. The following article describes several configuration options for telemonitoring services considering technical as well as quality- and service-related aspects.

  4. Measuring consistency of web page design and its effects on performance and satisfaction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ozok, A A; Salvendy, G

    2000-04-01

    This study examines the methods for measuring the consistency levels of web pages and the effect of consistency on the performance and satisfaction of the world-wide web (WWW) user. For clarification, a home page is referred to as a single page that is the default page of a web site on the WWW. A web page refers to a single screen that indicates a specific address on the WWW. This study has tested a series of web pages that were mostly hyperlinked. Therefore, the term 'web page' has been adopted for the nomenclature while referring to the objects of which the features were tested. It was hypothesized that participants would perform better and be more satisfied using web pages that have consistent rather than inconsistent interface design; that the overall consistency level of an interface design would significantly correlate with the three elements of consistency, physical, communicational and conceptual consistency; and that physical and communicational consistencies would interact with each other. The hypotheses were tested in a four-group, between-subject design, with 10 participants in each group. The results partially support the hypothesis regarding error rate, but not regarding satisfaction and performance time. The results also support the hypothesis that each of the three elements of consistency significantly contribute to the overall consistency of a web page, and that physical and communicational consistencies interact with each other, while conceptual consistency does not interact with them.

  5. Code AI Personal Web Pages

    Science.gov (United States)

    Garcia, Joseph A.; Smith, Charles A. (Technical Monitor)

    1998-01-01

    The document consists of a publicly available web site (george.arc.nasa.gov) for Joseph A. Garcia's personal web pages in the AI division. Only general information will be posted and no technical material. All the information is unclassified.

  6. Reporting on post-menopausal hormone therapy: an analysis of gynaecologists' web pages.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bucksch, Jens; Kolip, Petra; Deitermann, Bernhilde

    2004-01-01

    The present study was designed to analyse Web pages of German gynaecologists with regard to postmenopausal hormone therapy (HT). There is a growing body of evidence, that the overall health risks of HT exceed the benefits. Making one's own informed choice has become a central concern for menopausal women. The Internet is an important source of health information, but the quality is often dubious. The study focused on the analysis of basic criteria such as last modification date and quality of the HT information content. The results of the Women's Health Initiative Study (WHI) were used as a benchmark. We searched for relevant Web pages by entering a combination of key words (9 x 13 = 117) into the search engine www.google.de. Each Web page was analysed using a standardized questionnaire. The basic criteria and the quality of content on each Web page were separately categorized by two evaluators. Disagreements were resolved by discussion. Of the 97 websites identified, basic criteria were not met by the majority. For example, the modification date was displayed by only 23 (23.7%) Web pages. The quality of content of most Web pages regarding HT was inaccurate and incomplete. Whilst only nine (9.3%) took up a balanced position, 66 (68%) recommended HT without any restrictions. In 22 cases the recommendation was indistinct and none of the sites refused HT. With regard to basic criteria, there was no difference between HT-recommending Web pages and sites with balanced position. Evidence-based information resulting from the WHI trial was insufficiently represented on gynaecologists' Web pages. Because of the growing number of consumers looking online for health information, the danger of obtaining harmful information has to be minimized. Web pages of gynaecologists do not appear to be recommendable for women because they do not provide recent evidence-based findings about HT.

  7. Key word placing in Web page body text to increase visibility to search engines

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    W. T. Kritzinger

    2007-11-01

    Full Text Available The growth of the World Wide Web has spawned a wide variety of new information sources, which has also left users with the daunting task of determining which sources are valid. Many users rely on the Web as an information source because of the low cost of information retrieval. It is also claimed that the Web has evolved into a powerful business tool. Examples include highly popular business services such as Amazon.com and Kalahari.net. It is estimated that around 80% of users utilize search engines to locate information on the Internet. This, by implication, places emphasis on the underlying importance of Web pages being listed on search engines indices. Empirical evidence that the placement of key words in certain areas of the body text will have an influence on the Web sites' visibility to search engines could not be found in the literature. The result of two experiments indicated that key words should be concentrated towards the top, and diluted towards the bottom of a Web page to increase visibility. However, care should be taken in terms of key word density, to prevent search engine algorithms from raising the spam alarm.

  8. Identifying barriers and improving communication between cancer service providers and Aboriginal patients and their families: the perspective of service providers

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-01-01

    Background Aboriginal Australians experience poorer outcomes from cancer compared to the non-Aboriginal population. Some progress has been made in understanding Aboriginal Australians’ perspectives about cancer and their experiences with cancer services. However, little is known of cancer service providers’ (CSPs) thoughts and perceptions regarding Aboriginal patients and their experiences providing optimal cancer care to Aboriginal people. Communication between Aboriginal patients and non-Aboriginal health service providers has been identified as an impediment to good Aboriginal health outcomes. This paper reports on CSPs’ views about the factors impairing communication and offers practical strategies for promoting effective communication with Aboriginal patients in Western Australia (WA). Methods A qualitative study involving in-depth interviews with 62 Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal CSPs from across WA was conducted between March 2006 - September 2007 and April-October 2011. CSPs were asked to share their experiences with Aboriginal patients and families experiencing cancer. Thematic analysis was carried out. Our analysis was primarily underpinned by the socio-ecological model, but concepts of Whiteness and privilege, and cultural security also guided our analysis. Results CSPs’ lack of knowledge about the needs of Aboriginal people with cancer and Aboriginal patients’ limited understanding of the Western medical system were identified as the two major impediments to communication. For effective patient–provider communication, attention is needed to language, communication style, knowledge and use of medical terminology and cross-cultural differences in the concept of time. Aboriginal marginalization within mainstream society and Aboriginal people’s distrust of the health system were also key issues impacting on communication. Potential solutions to effective Aboriginal patient-provider communication included recruiting more Aboriginal staff

  9. Cost-effectiveness Analysis of an Aftercare Service vs Treatment-As-Usual for Patients with Severe Mental Disorders.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barfar, Eshagh; Sharifi, Vandad; Amini, Homayoun; Mottaghipour, Yasaman; Yunesian, Masud; Tehranidoost, Mehdi; Sobhebidari, Payam; Rashidian, Arash

    2017-09-01

    There have been claims that community mental health principles leads to the maintenance of better health and functioning in patients and can be more economical for patients with severe and chronic mental disorders. Economic evaluation studies have been used to assess the cost-effectiveness of national health programs, or to propose efficient strategies for health care delivery. The current study is intended to test the cost-effectiveness of an Aftercare Service when compared with Treatment-As-Usual for patients with severe mental disorders in Iran. This study was a parallel group randomized controlled trial. A total of 160 post-discharge eligible patients were randomized into two equal patient groups, Aftercare Service (that includes either Home Visiting Care, or Telephone Follow-up for outpatient treatment) vs Treatment-As-Usual, using stratified balanced block randomization method. All patients were followed for 12 months after discharge. The perspective of the present study was the societal perspective. The outcome measures were the rate of readmission at the hospitals after discharge, psychotic symptoms, manic symptoms, depressive symptoms, illness severity, global functioning, quality of life, and patients' satisfaction with the services. The costs included the intervention costs and the patient and family costs in the evaluation period. There was no significant difference in effectiveness measures between the two groups. The Aftercare Service arm was about 66,000 US$ cheaper than Treatment-As-Usual arm. The average total cost per patient in the Treatment-As-Usual group was about 4651 USD, while it was reduced to 3823 US$ in the Aftercare Service group; equivalent to a cost reduction of about 800 USD per patient per year. Given that there was no significant difference in effectiveness measures between the two groups (slightly in favor of the intervention), the Aftercare Service was cost-effective. The most important limitation of the study was the relatively

  10. Creating a Facebook Page for the Seismological Society of America

    Science.gov (United States)

    Newman, S. B.

    2009-12-01

    In August, 2009 I created a Facebook “fan” page for the Seismological Society of America. We had been exploring cost-effective options for providing forums for two-way communication for some months. We knew that a number of larger technical societies had invested significant sums of money to create customized social networking sites but that a small society would need to use existing low-cost software options. The first thing I discovered when I began to set up the fan page was that an unofficial SSA Facebook group already existed, established by Steven J. Gibbons, a member in Norway. Steven had done an excellent job of posting material about SSA. Partly because of the existing group, the official SSA fan page gained fans rapidly. We began by posting information about our own activities and then added links to activities in the broader geoscience community. While much of this material also appeared on our website and in our publication, Seismological Research Letters (SRL), the tone on the FB page is different. It is less formal with more emphasis on photos and links to other sites, including our own. Fans who are active on FB see the posts as part of their social network and do not need to take the initiative to go to the SSA site. Although the goal was to provide a forum for two-way communication, our initial experience was that people were clearly reading the page but not contributing content. This appears to be case with fan pages of sister geoscience societies. FB offers some demographic information to fan site administrators. In an initial review of the demographics it appeared that fans were younger than the overall demographics of the Society. It appeared that a few of the fans are not members or even scientists. Open questions are: what content will be most useful to fans? How will the existence of the page benefit the membership as a whole? Will the page ultimately encourage two-way communication as hoped? Web 2.0 is generating a series of new

  11. Near-Duplicate Web Page Detection: An Efficient Approach Using Clustering, Sentence Feature and Fingerprinting

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    J. Prasanna Kumar

    2013-02-01

    Full Text Available Duplicate and near-duplicate web pages are the chief concerns for web search engines. In reality, they incur enormous space to store the indexes, ultimately slowing down and increasing the cost of serving results. A variety of techniques have been developed to identify pairs of web pages that are aldquo;similarardquo; to each other. The problem of finding near-duplicate web pages has been a subject of research in the database and web-search communities for some years. In order to identify the near duplicate web pages, we make use of sentence level features along with fingerprinting method. When a large number of web documents are in consideration for the detection of web pages, then at first, we use K-mode clustering and subsequently sentence feature and fingerprint comparison is used. Using these steps, we exactly identify the near duplicate web pages in an efficient manner. The experimentation is carried out on the web page collections and the results ensured the efficiency of the proposed approach in detecting the near duplicate web pages.

  12. College clinic service quality and patient satisfaction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Deshwal, Pankaj; Ranjan, Vini; Mittal, Geetika

    2014-01-01

    The purpose of this paper is to identify the service quality dimensions that play an important role in patient satisfaction in campus clinics in Delhi; assess student satisfaction with service; and suggests ways to improve areas of dissatisfaction. A questionnaire was distributed to students who had completed at least two consultations at the college clinic. Convenience sampling was used to approach respondents. The questionnaire uses modified SERVQUAL and other instruments, including original dimensions and those constructed through detailed discussions. Factor analyses, reliability tests and the Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin measure of sampling adequacy were conducted. The final sample had a total of 445 respondents. After factor analysis, the authors found that the dimensions affecting patient satisfaction are: staff professionalism; clinic staff reliability; clinic accessibility and basic facilities; tangibles; cleanliness; awareness of the clinic/diseases and how clinic staff deals with emergencies. Most students were satisfied with the professionalism of the clinic staff. More than 70 percent of the respondents reported that the clinic staff paid good attention to them. The campus clinic was deemed reliable by more than 50 percent of respondents. The students found the clinic's location convenient, with more than 50 percent supporting its location. However, there was dissatisfaction among the students regarding the tangibles of the clinic, with more than 50 percent favoring upgrading. There was satisfaction among the respondents regarding the availability of the doctor after clinic hours, but contact details for the clinic staff were not easily accessible on campus. More than 60 percent of respondents were satisfied with the cleanliness of the campus clinic. More than 50 percent felt that the campus clinic was not equipped to deal with emergencies efficiently. At the same time, 90 percent of respondents reported the availability of referral facilities in case of

  13. The impact of visual layout factors on performance in Web pages: a cross-language study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Parush, Avi; Shwarts, Yonit; Shtub, Avy; Chandra, M Jeya

    2005-01-01

    Visual layout has a strong impact on performance and is a critical factor in the design of graphical user interfaces (GUIs) and Web pages. Many design guidelines employed in Web page design were inherited from human performance literature and GUI design studies and practices. However, few studies have investigated the more specific patterns of performance with Web pages that may reflect some differences between Web page and GUI design. We investigated interactions among four visual layout factors in Web page design (quantity of links, alignment, grouping indications, and density) in two experiments: one with pages in Hebrew, entailing right-to-left reading, and the other with English pages, entailing left-to-right reading. Some performance patterns (measured by search times and eye movements) were similar between languages. Performance was particularly poor in pages with many links and variable densities, but it improved with the presence of uniform density. Alignment was not shown to be a performance-enhancing factor. The findings are discussed in terms of the similarities and differences in the impact of layout factors between GUIs and Web pages. Actual or potential applications of this research include specific guidelines for Web page design.

  14. Rehabilitation Engineering Service Evaluation: A Follow-Up Survey of Device Effectiveness and Patient Acceptance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Caudrey, David J.; Seeger, Barry R.

    1983-01-01

    A study was undertaken to determine the extent to which a rehabilitation engineering service met the needs and expectations of 100 patients (or parents of child patients). The patients were interviewed an average of 16 weeks after a new piece of equipment was supplied. (Author)

  15. A Survey on Trust-Based Web Service Provision Approaches

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Dragoni, Nicola

    2010-01-01

    The basic tenet of Service-Oriented Computing (SOC) is the possibility of building distributed applications on the Web by using Web Services as fundamental building blocks. The proliferation of such services is considered the second wave of evolution in the Internet age, moving the Web from...... a collection of pages to a collections of services. Consensus is growing that this Web Service “revolution” won't eventuate until we resolve trust-related issues. Indeed, the intrinsic openness of the SOC vision makes crucial to locate useful services and recognize them as trustworthy. In this paper we review...... the field of trust-based Web Service selection, providing a structured classification of current approaches and highlighting the main limitations of each class and of the overall field. As a result, we claim that a soft notion of trust lies behind such weaknesses and we advocate the need of a new approach...

  16. Construct validation of an instrument to measure patient satisfaction with pharmacy services in Nigerian hospitals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Afolabi, M O; Afolabi, E R I; Faleye, B A

    2012-12-01

    Patient satisfaction is a multidimensional construct that reflects the type and quality of service provided by healthcare providers, how well it is delivered, and the extent to which the expectations and needs of patients are met. As a performance measure, patient satisfaction has been defined as the personal evaluation of health care services and providers. To develop a patient satisfaction scale, that could be used to assess the quality of pharmacy services provided in Nigerian hospitals and to determine the construct validity of the scale with a view to identifying the factors that may be considered relevant to the target users. The questionnaire was a 35-item inventory titled "Patient Satisfaction Survey (PSS)". This study was carried out in three university teaching hospitals located in Southwestern Nigeria. The patient satisfaction survey instrument (PSS) was administered on 506 clinic outpatients who patronised the hospital pharmacies. Participation in the study was voluntary with appropriate informed consent. Ethical approval was obtained for this study from the Medical and Ethics Committee of Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital Complex (OAUTHC). Patients with post secondary education were in the majority with a frequency of 224 (44.3%) subjects. This was followed by a frequency of 116 (22.9%) for those with secondary education. Eighty-seven (17.2%) of those included in the main study had primary education 64 (12.7%) did not receive any formal education. Fifteen (3%) out of the 506 sampled did not indicate their level of education. This study developed a scale to measure patient satisfaction with pharmaceutical services in selected Nigerian university teaching hospitals. The final 25 item scale presents significant and stable coefficients of correlation and yielded six derived dimensions of patient satisfaction.

  17. The Effect of Service Quality on Patient loyalty: a Study of Pri-vate Hospitals in Tehran, Iran

    OpenAIRE

    E Zarei; A Rahimi Forushani; A Rashidian; SM Ghazi Tabatabaei; M Arab

    2012-01-01

    Background: Service quality is perceived as an important factor for developing patient's loyalty. The aim of this study was to determine the hospital service quality from the patients' viewpoints and the relative importance of quality dimensions in predicting the patient's loyalty. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in 2010.The study sample was composed of 943 patients selected from eight private general hospitals in Tehran. The survey instrument was a questionnaire included 24 it...

  18. The structure of service quality perceptions for multiple-encounter services.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Andaleeb, Syed Saad; Kara, Ali

    2013-01-01

    The objective of this study was to examine a complex service environment-hospitals-to suggest how service quality could be reframed and measured for multiple-encounter service situations more effectively. In this cross-sectional study, a sample of 371 patients completed the survey instrument. Service quality measures were guided by the literature but allowed to flow from the respondents at the preliminary stage. Confirmatory factor analysis, along with structural equation modeling, was used to test the hypothesized relationships among key actors' performance metrics (KAPMs). Patient satisfaction is significantly influenced by perceived service quality based on KAPMs. For multiple-encounter services, service quality dimensions and measures ought to be tied to KAPMs. Primary actors-ie, doctors-need knowledge and skills about patient psychology, negotiation, handling difficult patients, and, importantly, "putting the customer first." Sensitivity training on such matters should be provided. The secondary actors are the nurses who have more frequent contact with the patients. Nurses need to be perceived as "patient advocates." Effective advocacy begins with prompt and caring services to build trust. The tertiary actors in their support role also ought to be integrated into becoming vital part of the service provided.

  19. Implementation of a chest pain management service improves patient care and reduces length of stay.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Scott, Adam C; O'Dwyer, Kristina M; Cullen, Louise; Brown, Anthony; Denaro, Charles; Parsonage, William

    2014-03-01

    Chest pain is one of the most common complaints in patients presenting to an emergency department. Delays in management due to a lack of readily available objective tests to risk stratify patients with possible acute coronary syndromes can lead to an unnecessarily lengthy admission placing pressure on hospital beds or inappropriate discharge. The need for a co-ordinated system of clinical management based on enhanced communication between departments, timely and appropriate triage, clinical investigation, diagnosis, and treatment was identified. An evidence-based Chest Pain Management Service and clinical pathway were developed and implemented, including the introduction of after-hours exercise stress testing. Between November 2005 and March 2013, 5662 patients were managed according to a Chest Pain Management pathway resulting in a reduction of 5181 admission nights by more timely identification of patients at low risk who could then be discharged. In addition, 1360 days were avoided in high-risk patients who received earlier diagnosis and treatment. The creation of a Chest Pain Management pathway and the extended exercise stress testing service resulted in earlier discharge for low-risk patients; and timely treatment for patients with positive and equivocal exercise stress test results. This service demonstrated a significant saving in overnight admissions.

  20. Use of support services in a sample of patients with high-risk primary melanomas in urban, regional and rural Queensland.

    Science.gov (United States)

    von Schuckmann, Lena A; Smithers, Bernhard M; Khosrotehrani, Kiarash; Beesley, Vanessa L; van der Pols, Jolieke C; Hughes, Maria B; Green, Adele C

    2017-06-01

    To characterise use of support services in patients diagnosed with high-risk primary melanoma by their location of residence. In a cross-sectional study of 787 patients with histologically-confirmed clinical stage 1B-2 melanoma, we estimated odds ratios (ORs) using regression models to assess the association of support service use with residence in rural, regional or urban areas. We also evaluated demographic and clinical correlates of support service use. Among 113 rural patients, 33 (29%) used support services around time of diagnosis compared to 88 (39%) of 224 regional participants and 164 of 448 (37%) urban participants. Regional participants more commonly used support services compared to rural participants (OR 1.84; CI 1.09-3.10), but there was no association with urban versus rural residence (OR 1.32; CI 0.82-2.13). As well, females (OR 1.58; CI 1.15-2.18), those <65 years (OR 1.96; CI 1.42-2.71), or with higher education (OR 2.30; CI 1.53-3.44), or those with T-stage 4B (OR 2.69; CI 1.36-5.32) were more likely to use support services than other patients. Use of support services is lower among rural patients and other sub-groups of primary melanoma patients who have poorer prognoses than others. Implications for public health: Appropriate triage to support services is required for rural and other vulnerable patient groups to ensure optimal patient care. © 2017 The Authors.

  1. Patient's perceptions about the service quality of public hospitals located at District Kohat.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aman, Bakhtiar; Abbas, Faisal

    2016-01-01

    To determine patients' perception regarding service and quality of healthcare at public-sector institutions. The descriptive quantitative study was conducted in Kohat district, Pakistan, between July and December 2014, and focussed on 30 variables to assess the participants' perceptions of the actual healthcare service quality delivered. SERVQUAL instrument was used to measure the reliability and cronbach alpha was calculated to measure the reliability and validity of the instrument. A total of 200 questionnaires were distributed and 157(78.5%) were received back fully filled. Of them, 105(67%) were men and 52(33%) were women.The mean value of Assurance parameter was 3.05±0.88, indicating trust in public hospitals was high as they had experienced and capable doctors. On the other hand, the lowest mean value of 2.61±0.84 was for Empathy, highlighting the fact that public hospitals lacked the ability to handle patients' problem properly, services were not offered in time and they were short of staff. Public hospitals were largely seen as failing to deliver quality service.

  2. Does radiography advanced practice improve patient outcomes and health service quality? A systematic review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hardy, Maryann; Johnson, Louise; Sharples, Rachael; Boynes, Stephen; Irving, Donna

    2016-06-01

    To investigate the impact of radiographer advanced practice on patient outcomes and health service quality. Using the World Health Organization definition of quality, this review followed the Centre for Reviews and Dissemination guidance for undertaking reviews in healthcare. A range of databases were searched using a defined search strategy. Included studies were assessed for quality using a tool specifically developed for reviewing studies of diverse designs, and data were systematically extracted using electronic data extraction pro forma. 407 articles were identified and reviewed against the inclusion/exclusion criteria. Nine studies were included in the final review, the majority (n = 7) focusing on advanced radiography practice within the UK. Advanced practice activities considered were radiographer reporting, leading patient review clinics and barium enema examinations. The articles were generally considered to be of low-to-moderate quality, with most evaluating advanced practice within a single centre. With respect to specific quality dimensions, the included studies considered cost reduction, patient morbidity, time to treatment and patient satisfaction. No articles reported data relating to time to diagnosis, time to recovery or patient mortality. Radiographer advanced practice is an established activity both in the UK and internationally. However, evidence of the impact of advanced practice in terms of patient outcomes and service quality is limited. This systematic review is the first to examine the evidence base surrounding advanced radiography practice and its impact on patient outcomes and health service quality.

  3. 77 FR 10958 - International Services Surveys: BE-150, Quarterly Survey of Cross-Border Credit, Debit, and...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-02-24

    ... Emond, Chief, Special Surveys Branch, Balance of Payments Division (BE-50), Bureau of Economic Analysis... the International Investment and Trade in Services Survey Act, 22 U.S.C. 3101- [[Page 10959

  4. Patients' online access to their electronic health records and linked online services: a systematic review in primary care.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mold, Freda; de Lusignan, Simon; Sheikh, Aziz; Majeed, Azeem; Wyatt, Jeremy C; Quinn, Tom; Cavill, Mary; Franco, Christina; Chauhan, Umesh; Blakey, Hannah; Kataria, Neha; Arvanitis, Theodoros N; Ellis, Beverley

    2015-03-01

    Online access to medical records by patients can potentially enhance provision of patient-centred care and improve satisfaction. However, online access and services may also prove to be an additional burden for the healthcare provider. To assess the impact of providing patients with access to their general practice electronic health records (EHR) and other EHR-linked online services on the provision, quality, and safety of health care. A systematic review was conducted that focused on all studies about online record access and transactional services in primary care. Data sources included MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL, Cochrane Library, EPOC, DARE, King's Fund, Nuffield Health, PsycINFO, OpenGrey (1999-2012). The literature was independently screened against detailed inclusion and exclusion criteria; independent dual data extraction was conducted, the risk of bias (RoB) assessed, and a narrative synthesis of the evidence conducted. A total of 176 studies were identified, 17 of which were randomised controlled trials, cohort, or cluster studies. Patients reported improved satisfaction with online access and services compared with standard provision, improved self-care, and better communication and engagement with clinicians. Safety improvements were patient-led through identifying medication errors and facilitating more use of preventive services. Provision of online record access and services resulted in a moderate increase of e-mail, no change on telephone contact, but there were variable effects on face-to-face contact. However, other tasks were necessary to sustain these services, which impacted on clinician time. There were no reports of harm or breaches in privacy. While the RoB scores suggest many of the studies were of low quality, patients using online services reported increased convenience and satisfaction. These services positively impacted on patient safety, although there were variations of record access and use by specific ethnic and socioeconomic groups

  5. 75 FR 28231 - Cotton Classification and Market News Service: Notice of Request for an Extension and Revision of...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-05-20

    ... DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Agricultural Marketing Service [AMS-CN-10-0037; CN-10-003] Cotton....regulations.gov. All comments should reference the docket number and page number of this issue of the Federal... and Market News Service. OMB Number: 0581-0009. Expiration Date of Approval: December 30, 2010. Type...

  6. Use of Psychosocial Services Increases after a Social Worker-Mediated Intervention in Gynecology Oncology Patients

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abbott, Yuko; Shah, Nina R.; Ward, Kristy K.; McHale, Michael T.; Alvarez, Edwin A.; Saenz, Cheryl C.; Plaxe, Steven C.

    2013-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to determine whether the introduction of psychosocial services to gynecologic oncology outpatients by a social worker increases service use. During the initial six weeks (phase I), patients were referred for psychosocial services by clinic staff. During the second six weeks (phase II), a nurse introduced available…

  7. An evaluation of community pharmacy-based services for type 2 diabetes in an Indonesian setting: patient survey

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yosi Wibowo

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Background. Diabetes is an emerging chronic disease in developing countries. Its management in developing countries is mainly hospital/clinic based. The increasing diabetes burden in developing countries provides opportunities for community pharmacists to deliver a range of services. Since the management of diabetes requires the patient’s own involvement, it is important to gain their views in order to develop pharmacy-based diabetes services. Studies on diabetes patients’ views have been limited to developed countries.Objectives. To investigate, within a developing country setting (Indonesia, current use of pharmacy services by type 2 diabetes patients, and to evaluate their views regarding community pharmacists’ roles, and the characteristics that influence their views.Methods. A questionnaire survey was conducted within 10 purposefully selected community pharmacies in Surabaya, Indonesia. Each pharmacy recruited approximately 20 patients seeking antidiabetic medications. Usage of pharmacy services was identified using binary responses (‘yes’/‘no’ and views on pharmacists’ roles were rated using Likert scales; an open-ended question was used to identify patient perceived priority roles. Logistic regression models were used to determine characteristics associated with patients’ views.Results. A total of 196 pharmacy patients with type 2 diabetes responded (58.3% response rate. Most patients used community pharmacies for dispensing (100% and education on how to use medications (79.6%. There were mixed views towards pharmacists providing services beyond dispensing. The highest priorities identified were from the ‘patient education’ domain: education on medications (i.e., directions for use (64.5%, storage (26.6%, common/important adverse effects (25.5%; and the ‘monitoring’ domain: monitoring medication compliance (37.3%. Patients with higher incomes or who were working were less supportive of these expanded services

  8. Analysis and Testing of Ajax-based Single-page Web Applications

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Mesbah, A.

    2009-01-01

    This dissertation has focused on better understanding the shifting web paradigm and the consequences of moving from the classical multi-page model to an Ajax-based single-page style. Specifically to that end, this work has examined this new class of software from three main software engineering

  9. ONLINE PROMOTION OF FINANCIAL INVESTMENT SERVICES COMPANIES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ioana Ancuta Iancu

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available When we think about promotion in financial investment services companies, we have to consider, not only the offline or traditional type of promotion (personal communication, advertising, sales promotion, public relations and organization identity but online promotion as well. Due to the fact that for more and more people, Internet represents the most important mean of communication, financial investment services companies marketing specialists have a variety of tools at hand. In this study we will describe the most important online promotion tools, like: E-mail Marketing, advertising, search engines, networks socialization, M-Marketing and promotion through web pages. Specific methods of online promotion enable real-time knowledge of the investor’s behavior and can also address to them most effectively. The purpose of this theoretical study is to increase the rate of knowledge and usage of online marketing, in a very conservatory sector of the financial market: Financial Investment Services Companies Marketing. By promoting online a company, a product or a service the marketing specialists can target specific customer, segments and quantify results, which is almost impossible on such a scale and with such precision by traditional methods of promotion. Based on the literature and our own experience, methods were taken up and adapted in financial investment services companies. We show the present state of online marketing, make proposals and describe difficulties which can be encountered when an e-marketing strategy is made. The conclusion of our study is that more and more companies use online tools in their marketing strategies. There is a change in attitude by the Financial Investment Services Companies web pages: from a reserved one in 2010 to one open to innovation in 2015; we believe that SSIF Broker is an illustrative example in this regard. Instead, our opinion is that Search Engine Optimization should be used more by SSIF Broker

  10. An Optimization Model for Product Placement on Product Listing Pages

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yan-Kwang Chen

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available The design of product listing pages is a key component of Website design because it has significant influence on the sales volume on a Website. This study focuses on product placement in designing product listing pages. Product placement concerns how venders of online stores place their products over the product listing pages for maximization of profit. This problem is very similar to the offline shelf management problem. Since product information sources on a Web page are typically communicated through the text and image, visual stimuli such as color, shape, size, and spatial arrangement often have an effect on the visual attention of online shoppers and, in turn, influence their eventual purchase decisions. In view of the above, this study synthesizes the visual attention literature and theory of shelf-space allocation to develop a mathematical programming model with genetic algorithms for finding optimal solutions to the focused issue. The validity of the model is illustrated with example problems.

  11. Adult patients' experiences of NHS specialist services for chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS/ME): a qualitative study in England.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Broughton, Jessica; Harris, Sarah; Beasant, Lucy; Crawley, Esther; Collin, Simon M

    2017-06-02

    Few studies have explored patients' experiences of treatment for CFS/ME. This study aims to fill this gap by capturing the perspective of patients who have been treated by NHS specialist CFS/ME services in England. Semi-structured interviews were conducted during the period June-September 2014 with 16 adults who were completing treatment at one of three outpatient NHS specialist CFS/ME services. Interviews were analysed thematically using constant comparison techniques, with particular attention paid to contrasting views. Three themes were identified: 'Journey to specialist services'; 'Things that help or hinder treatment'; and 'Support systems'. Within these themes nine sub-themes were identified. A wide range of factors was evident in forming participants' experiences, including personal characteristics such as perseverance and optimism, and service factors such as flexibility and positive, supportive relationships with clinicians. Participants described how specialist services played a unique role, which was related to the contested nature of the condition. Many participants had experienced a lack of validation and medical and social support before attending a specialist service. Patients' experiences of life before referral, and the concerns that they expressed about being discharged, highlighted the hardship and obstacles which people living with CFS/ME continue to experience in our society. The experiences of CFS/ME patients in our study showed that NHS specialist CFS/ME services played a vital role in patients' journeys towards an improved quality of life. This improvement came about through a process which included validation of patients' experiences, acceptance of change, practical advice and support, and therapeutic outcomes.

  12. 78 FR 50359 - Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Uniformed Services (CHAMPUS); TRICARE Uniform Health...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-08-19

    ... Organization (HMO) Benefit--Prime Enrollment Fee Exemption for Survivors of Active Duty Deceased Sponsors and... Enrollment Fee Exemption for Survivors of Active Duty Deceased Sponsors and Medically Retired Uniformed Services [[Page 50360

  13. An analysis of the economic and patient outcome impact of an integrated COPD service in east London.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Garner, Anna; Hodson, Matthew; Ketsetzis, Georgios; Pulle, Laurence; Yorke, Janelle; Bhowmik, Angshu

    2017-01-01

    Exacerbations of COPD carry a huge burden of morbidity and a significant economic impact. It has been shown that home care may be useful for exacerbations of COPD. This article presents a review of an integrated COPD service in east London. Hospital Episode Statistics, Public Health Mortality Files and clinical data were used to analyze differences in health care usage and COPD patient outcomes, including COPD assessment test (CAT) scores for a subsample, before and after the introduction of the integrated service. There was a significant (30%) reduction in the number of hospital bed days for COPD patients ( P economic model shows that the economic benefits of the service (via impact on place of death and reduction in length of hospital stay) were almost equal to the cost of the service. The increase in proportion of short-stay admissions and the reduction in bed days suggest an impact of the service on early supported discharge and that this along with an improvement in patient clinical outcomes and in quality of end-of-life care shows that an exemplar integrated COPD service can provide benefits that equate to a nearly cost-neutral service.

  14. The CMS dataset bookkeeping service

    Science.gov (United States)

    Afaq, A.; Dolgert, A.; Guo, Y.; Jones, C.; Kosyakov, S.; Kuznetsov, V.; Lueking, L.; Riley, D.; Sekhri, V.

    2008-07-01

    The CMS Dataset Bookkeeping Service (DBS) has been developed to catalog all CMS event data from Monte Carlo and Detector sources. It provides the ability to identify MC or trigger source, track data provenance, construct datasets for analysis, and discover interesting data. CMS requires processing and analysis activities at various service levels and the DBS system provides support for localized processing or private analysis, as well as global access for CMS users at large. Catalog entries can be moved among the various service levels with a simple set of migration tools, thus forming a loose federation of databases. DBS is available to CMS users via a Python API, Command Line, and a Discovery web page interfaces. The system is built as a multi-tier web application with Java servlets running under Tomcat, with connections via JDBC to Oracle or MySQL database backends. Clients connect to the service through HTTP or HTTPS with authentication provided by GRID certificates and authorization through VOMS. DBS is an integral part of the overall CMS Data Management and Workflow Management systems.

  15. The CMS dataset bookkeeping service

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Afaq, A; Guo, Y; Kosyakov, S; Lueking, L; Sekhri, V [Fermilab, Batavia, Illinois 60510 (United States); Dolgert, A; Jones, C; Kuznetsov, V; Riley, D [Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14850 (United States)

    2008-07-15

    The CMS Dataset Bookkeeping Service (DBS) has been developed to catalog all CMS event data from Monte Carlo and Detector sources. It provides the ability to identify MC or trigger source, track data provenance, construct datasets for analysis, and discover interesting data. CMS requires processing and analysis activities at various service levels and the DBS system provides support for localized processing or private analysis, as well as global access for CMS users at large. Catalog entries can be moved among the various service levels with a simple set of migration tools, thus forming a loose federation of databases. DBS is available to CMS users via a Python API, Command Line, and a Discovery web page interfaces. The system is built as a multi-tier web application with Java servlets running under Tomcat, with connections via JDBC to Oracle or MySQL database backends. Clients connect to the service through HTTP or HTTPS with authentication provided by GRID certificates and authorization through VOMS. DBS is an integral part of the overall CMS Data Management and Workflow Management systems.

  16. The CMS dataset bookkeeping service

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Afaq, A; Guo, Y; Kosyakov, S; Lueking, L; Sekhri, V; Dolgert, A; Jones, C; Kuznetsov, V; Riley, D

    2008-01-01

    The CMS Dataset Bookkeeping Service (DBS) has been developed to catalog all CMS event data from Monte Carlo and Detector sources. It provides the ability to identify MC or trigger source, track data provenance, construct datasets for analysis, and discover interesting data. CMS requires processing and analysis activities at various service levels and the DBS system provides support for localized processing or private analysis, as well as global access for CMS users at large. Catalog entries can be moved among the various service levels with a simple set of migration tools, thus forming a loose federation of databases. DBS is available to CMS users via a Python API, Command Line, and a Discovery web page interfaces. The system is built as a multi-tier web application with Java servlets running under Tomcat, with connections via JDBC to Oracle or MySQL database backends. Clients connect to the service through HTTP or HTTPS with authentication provided by GRID certificates and authorization through VOMS. DBS is an integral part of the overall CMS Data Management and Workflow Management systems

  17. The CMS dataset bookkeeping service

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Afaq, Anzar; Dolgert, Andrew; Guo, Yuyi; Jones, Chris; Kosyakov, Sergey; Kuznetsov, Valentin; Lueking, Lee; Riley, Dan; Sekhri, Vijay

    2007-01-01

    The CMS Dataset Bookkeeping Service (DBS) has been developed to catalog all CMS event data from Monte Carlo and Detector sources. It provides the ability to identify MC or trigger source, track data provenance, construct datasets for analysis, and discover interesting data. CMS requires processing and analysis activities at various service levels and the DBS system provides support for localized processing or private analysis, as well as global access for CMS users at large. Catalog entries can be moved among the various service levels with a simple set of migration tools, thus forming a loose federation of databases. DBS is available to CMS users via a Python API, Command Line, and a Discovery web page interfaces. The system is built as a multi-tier web application with Java servlets running under Tomcat, with connections via JDBC to Oracle or MySQL database backends. Clients connect to the service through HTTP or HTTPS with authentication provided by GRID certificates and authorization through VOMS. DBS is an integral part of the overall CMS Data Management and Workflow Management systems

  18. New Snail Mail Scanning Service

    CERN Multimedia

    2012-01-01

    Modernisation does not stop at the CERN postal service (GS/PS). “With more and more digitisation and the prevalence of e-mail throughout the site, we were hoping to provide more timely delivery of letters and make further saving in resources”, said Tueri Datta, head of GS/PS.   Instead of the standard delivery to your P.O. box, the CERN postal service will digitally scan all letters and books up to 100 pages on reception. These scans will subsequently be sent via e-mail to the corresponding recipient as PDF (Portable Data Format - you will need to install “Acrobat Reader” on your PC). Express mail will be handled with priority. Users without a valid CERN mailbox can register at mail.scan.service@cern.ch in order to have their letters read to them via the phone line (we are currently investigating whether we can use the voices of the last five DGs).   This service will start on 1st April 2012 on the Meyrin site and will gradually replace th...

  19. Fiches « En une page » | CRDI - Centre de recherches pour le ...

    International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

    10 nov. 2010 ... Fiche « En une page » de MCP no 1. Un IED sans envergure, une croissance stagnante : le Mercosur peut-il faire mieux ? Fiche « En une page » de MCP no 2. Impôts, taxes et équité entre les sexes : codes, comportements et conséquences, voulues ou non. Fiche « En une page » de MCP no 3.

  20. Student Library Pages: Valuable Resource for the Library Media Center.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Crowther, Eleanor

    1993-01-01

    Describes the use of students as library pages at the Loudoun Country Day School (Virginia). Highlights include student selection procedures, including interviews; parental consent form; library page duties; benefits to students; benefits to the library; and parent attitudes. Copies of the student interview form and parental consent form are…