Eliciting preference for private health services among patients in Iran: evidence from a discrete choice experiment

2022 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Fahimeh Ansari ◽  
Sima Rafiei ◽  
Edris Kakemam ◽  
Mohammad Amerzadeh ◽  
Bahman Ahadinezhad

Purpose The provision of private health-care services by public hospitals is common in Iran. Examining factors associated with patients’ preferences to use private health services and using this knowledge in health planning and policymaking can help expand the use of such services. Thus, this study aims to investigate patients’ preferences for private health services delivered in public hospitals. Design/methodology/approach Based on a discrete choice experiment from a sample of 375 patients in a public training hospital in Qazvin, northwest city of Iran, the authors evaluated participants’ preference over the health-care attributes affecting their choice to use private health-care services delivered in the hospital. The authors also estimated the marginal willingness to pay to determine the maximum amount a patient was willing to pay for the improvement in the level of each health-care attributes. Findings The findings revealed that patients were 2.7 times more likely to choose private hospital services when the waiting time was reduced to less than a week. Furthermore, as patients had complimentary insurance coverage, they were over 60% more likely to receive such services from training hospitals. Finally, continuity of care and reduced health-care tariffs were significant factors that increased patients’ preference to choose private services by 52 and 37%, respectively. Originality/value Examining factors associated with patients’ preferences to use private health services and using this knowledge in policymaking can help expand such services. The findings affirmed that various incentives, including service quality factors, are required to increase the likelihood of patients choosing private services.

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 119-125
Author(s):  
Dlzar Omer ◽  
◽  
Saleem Qader ◽  
Dara Al-Banna ◽  
Ahmed Rasool ◽  
...  

Background and objective: Patient satisfaction is one of the most important factors to de-termine the success of a health care facility. It is a relative phenomenon, which evaluates the patients’ perceived needs, their expectations from a health system, and the experi-ence of health care. Patient satisfaction is the main goal today for most health care organi-zations, from hospitals to physician practices and other health care agencies. This study aimed to compare patient satisfaction with the health care services provided by public and private hospitals in Erbil City. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted using a non-probability purposive sample of 450 patients (225 from public and 225 from private hospitals) who were seeking health care in hospitals in Erbil City. The data were collected between the 7th of January and 15th of November 2016 by direct interviews and filling of the standardized questionnaires (Patient Satisfaction Questionnaire-18). Results and Discussion: Most of the patients in public hospitals expressed a neutral level of satisfaction with received health services (80.9%) while 10.7% were dissatisfied and only 8.4% were satisfied with the provided health care. On the contrary, most of the patients in private hospitals (80%) were satisfied with their care, with only 20% expressing a neutral level of satisfaction with private health care services. These findings show that there is a very high statistical difference between patient satisfaction in the governmental and pri-vate hospitals in Erbil City (Mean ± Standard Deviation 45.35 ± 3.520), (56.42 ± 5.696) (p-value= <0.001). Conclusion: Most of the patients were satisfied with private health care services but not with public hospitals health services in selected hospitals in Erbil City in Iraq.


2018 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 17-32 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susanna Hihnala ◽  
Lilja Kettunen ◽  
Marjo Suhonen ◽  
Hanna Tiirinki

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to discuss health services managers’ experiences of management in a special health-care unit and development efforts from the point of view of the Lean method. Additionally, the aim is to deepen the knowledge of the managers’ work and nature of the Lean method development processes in the workplace. The research focuses on those aspects and results of Lean method that are currently being used in health-care environments. Design/methodology/approach These data were collected through a number of thematic interviews. The participants were nurse managers (n = 7) and medical managers (n = 7) who applied Lean management in their work at the University Hospital in the Northern Ostrobothnia Health Care District. The data were analysed with a qualitative content analysis. Findings A common set of values in specialized health-care services, development of activities and challenges for management in the use of the Lean manager development model to improve personal management skills. Practical implications Managers in specialized health-care services can develop and systematically manage with the help of the Lean method. This emphasizes assumptions, from the point of view of management, about systems development when the organization uses the Lean method. The research outcomes originate from specialized health-care settings in Finland in which the Lean method and its associated management principles have been implemented and applied to the delivery of health care. Originality/value The study shows that the research results and in-depth knowledge on Lean method principles can be applied to health-care management and development processes. The research also describes health services managers’ experiences of using the Lean method. In the future, these results can be used to improve Lean management skills, identify personal professional competencies and develop skills required in development processes. Also, the research findings can be used in the training of health services managers in the health-care industry worldwide and to help them survive the pressure to change repeatedly.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rimantas Stašys ◽  
Gintautas Virketis ◽  
Daiva Labanauskaitė

Purpose The purpose of this study/paper is to identify the importance of the partnership between the public and private health-care institutions to improve interhospital patient transfers. Scientific research and statistical data show the increased number of interhospital transportation services; therefore, timely and qualified patient transportation between different health-care institutions must be considered, the activity that directly and significantly impacts the patient’s health status and overall quality of the health-care services. The successful patient transportation from the smaller hospitals to the health-care institutions with advanced intensive care or urgent care units can be enhanced through the partnership between private and public health-care institutions. Design/methodology/approach The methodology included quantitative method, statistical data analysis and theoretical data generalization. Both primary and secondary data were collected and analyzed during the research. Expert quantification was performed using the survey research method. The survey was conducted in Lithuania. The respondents were selected to be the general managers of the health-care and urgent care institutions, the chief doctors of the reanimation and intensive care department also the chief doctors of the emergency department. Findings Because of the centralization and regionalization of health-care services, the number of patients transferred between hospitals by the emergency medical services (EMS) and personal health-care institutions has increased. University hospitals are not sufficiently prepared to accept an increasing flow of patients in accordance with the Ministry of Health orders. Not all regional or district hospitals have the right to provide such assistance, which increases transportation time and costs as well as requires additional human resources. The five EMS categories could be used to improve the patient transfer between different levels of health-care institutions. To increase partnership between private and public health-care organizations, incentives should be provided for the development of private health-care organizations, as well as encouraging actions should be taken to increase the demand for private health-care services by Lithuanian patients. Practical implications Five EMS categories identified in this paper could be used to ensure a smooth mechanism for the patient transfer between different levels of the personal health-care institutions. The proposed categories should also be used in the pre-stationary emergency phase (for reducing the interhospital patient transportation amount). Social implications Properly organized secondary and tertiary interhospital patient transfers influence the availability and quality of the EMS and reduce inequalities in the provided services and social exclusion. Originality/value This paper presents the classification of the interhospital transfer issues, determines the main reasons for the patient interhospital transfer, creates the model for the EMS patient process flows and defines five EMS categories for the assessment of patient conditions. Therefore, the research conducted and the results obtained have both theoretical and social-practical value.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Bakhtiar Piroozi ◽  
Farman Zahir Abdullah ◽  
Amjad Mohamadi-Bolbanabad ◽  
Hossein Safari ◽  
Mohammad Amerzadeh ◽  
...  

Purpose The purpose of this study is to investigate the status of perceived need, seeking behavior and utilization of health services in the elderly population of Sanandaj (west of Iran). Design/methodology/approach This is a cross-sectional study conducted on 800 elderly people in Sanandaj. Subjects were selected using multistage sampling and data were collected using self-report questionnaires. A multivariate logistic model with odds ratios (ORs) was used to determine the relationship of independent variables with seeking perceived need. Also, the concentration index was used to measure the inequality in using health services. Findings The perceived need for outpatient (during the last 30 days) and inpatient health-care services (during the past 12 months) was 69.7% and 29.7%, respectively. Among them, the unmet need for outpatient and inpatient health-care services was 46.6% and 17%, respectively. Having health insurance (adjusted OR 12.08; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.04–140.11), middle economic status (adjusted OR 5.18; 95% CI 1.30–20.51) and being in an age group of 65–70 years (adjusted OR 7.60; CI 1.42–40.61) increased the chance of seeking inpatient care. Also, being in an age group of 60–65 years (adjusted OR 0.41; 95% CI 0.18–0.95) reduced the chance of seeking outpatient care. There was also a pro-rich inequality in using outpatient health services. Originality/value The elderly population suffers from unmet health-care needs, especially in outpatient services. The most important reason for not seeking outpatient and inpatient services was financial barriers and self-medication, respectively. So, designing targeted policies and interventions to address barriers in the conversion of need to demand in the elderly population is essential.


2016 ◽  
Vol 29 (8) ◽  
pp. 895-906 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mindaugas Stankunas ◽  
Mark Avery ◽  
Jutta Lindert ◽  
Ian Edwards ◽  
Mirko Di Rosa ◽  
...  

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to evaluate socio-economic inequalities in the use, accessibility and satisfaction with health services amongst 60-84 year old people from seven European urban communities. Design/methodology/approach Data for this study were collected in 2009. The target population was people aged 60-84 years from Stuttgart (Germany), Athens (Greece), Ancona (Italy), Kaunas (Lithuania), Porto (Portugal), Granada (Spain) and Stockholm (Sweden). The total sample comprised 4,467 respondents with a mean response rate across these countries of 45.2 per cent. Findings The study demonstrated that the majority of respondents had contact with a health care provider within the last 12 months. The highest percentages were reported by respondents from Spain (97.8 per cent) and Portugal (97.7 per cent). The results suggest that 13.0 per cent of respondents had refrained from seeking care services. The highest rates were amongst seniors from Lithuania (24.0 per cent), Germany (16.2 per cent) and Portugal (15.4 per cent). Logistic regression suggests that seniors who refrained from seeking health care was statistically significant associated with those with higher levels of education (odds ratios (OR)=1.21; 95 per cent confidence intervals (CI)=1.01-1.25) and financial strain (OR=1.26; 95 per cent CI=1.16-1.37). Furthermore, the majority of respondents were satisfied with health care services. Originality/value The findings from the “Elder Abuse: a multinational prevalence survey” study indicate the existence of significant variations in use, accessibility and satisfaction with health services by country and for socio-economic factors related to organizing and financing of care systems.


Author(s):  
Vijay K. Yalanchmanchili ◽  
N. Partha Sarathy ◽  
U. Vijaya Kumar ◽  
M. Ravi Kiran ◽  
Kalapala Abhilash

2021 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 444-453
Author(s):  
Arturo Cervantes Trejo ◽  
Sophie Domenge Treuille ◽  
Isaac Castañeda Alcántara

AbstractThe Institute for Security and Social Services for State Workers (ISSSTE) is a large public provider of health care services that serve around 13.2 million Mexican government workers and their families. To attain process efficiencies, cost reductions, and improvement of the quality of diagnostic and imaging services, ISSSTE was set out in 2019 to create a digital filmless medical image and report management system. A large-scale clinical information system (CIS), including radiology information system (RIS), picture archiving and communication system (PACS), and clinical data warehouse (CDW) components, was implemented at ISSSTE’s network of forty secondary- and tertiary-level public hospitals, applying global HL-7 and Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine (DICOM) standards. In just 5 months, 40 hospitals had their endoscopy, radiology, and pathology services functionally interconnected within a national CIS and RIS/PACS on secure private local area networks (LANs) and a secure national wide area network (WAN). More than 2 million yearly studies and reports are now in digital form in a CDW, securely stored and always available. Benefits include increased productivity, reduced turnaround times, reduced need for duplicate exams, and reduced costs. Functional IT solutions allow ISSSTE hospitals to leave behind the use of radiographic film and printed medical reports with important cost reductions, as well as social and environmental impacts, leading to direct improvement in the quality of health care services rendered.


Author(s):  
Fatemeh Rahmanian ◽  
Soheila Nazarpour ◽  
Masoumeh Simbar ◽  
Ali Ramezankhani ◽  
Farid Zayeri

AbstractBackgroundA dimension of reproductive health services that should be gender sensitive is reproductive health services for adolescents.ObjectiveThis study aims to assess needs for gender sensitive reproductive health care services for adolescents.MethodsThis was a descriptive cross-sectional study on 341 of health care providers for adolescents in health centers and hospitals affiliated to Shiraz University of Medical Sciences in Iran in 2016. The subjects of the study were recruited using a convenience sampling method. The tools for data collection were: (1) a demographic information questionnaire and; (2) a valid and reliable questionnaire to Assess the Needs of Gender-Sensitive Adolescents Reproductive Health Care Services (ANQ-GSARHS) including three sections; process, structure and policy making for the services. Data were analyzed using SPSS 21.ResultsThree hundred and forty-one health providers with an average working experience of 8.77 ± 5.39 [mean ± standard deviation (SD)] years participated in the study. The results demonstrated the highest scores for educational needs (92.96% ± 11.49%), supportive policies (92.71% ± 11.70%) and then care needs (92.37% ± 14.34%) of the services.ConclusionsProviding gender sensitive reproductive health care services for adolescents needs to be reformed as regards processes, structure and policies of the services. However, the gender appropriate educational and care needs as well as supportive policies are the priorities for reform of the services.


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