Measuring reopening readiness: a universal COVID-19 index for US states

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Eunju Suh ◽  
Mahdi Alhaery
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Health Care Services ◽  
Future Health ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Counter Measures ◽  
Care Services ◽  
Future Health Care ◽  
Pandemic Severity ◽  
Occupancy Rates ◽  
Bed Occupancy Rates

PurposeWhile United States is among countries with the world’s highest coronavirus infections, its approaches and policies to reopen the economy vary by state. A lack of objective criteria and monitoring toward satisfying the criteria can lead to another COVID-19 outbreak and business closures. Considering the pressing need to return to normalcy without a rebound of COVID-19 infections and deaths, an index that provides a data-driven and objective insight is urgently needed. Hence, a method was devised to assess the severity of the COVID-19 pandemic and determine the degree of progress any state has made in containing the spread of COVID-19.Design/methodology/approachUsing measures such as the weekly averages of daily new deaths, ICU bed occupancy rates, positive cases and test positivity rates, two indexes were developed: COVID-19 reopening readiness and severity.FindingsA clear difference in the pandemic severity trends can be observed between states, which is possibly due to the disparity in the state’s response to coronavirus. A sharp upward trend in index values requires caution prior to moving to the next phase of reopening.Originality/valueThe composite indexes advanced in this study will provide a universal, standardized and unbiased view of each state’s readiness to reopen and allow comparisons between states. This in turn can help governments and health-care agencies take counter measures if needed as to the anticipated demand for future health-care services and minimize adverse consequences of opening.

scholarly journals Health and healthcare in the year 2040 – Facts for planning a complex and uncertain future

2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (Supplement_4) ◽  
Author(s):  
T Funk ◽  
B Forsberg
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Burden Of Disease ◽  
Health Care Services ◽  
Disease Burden ◽  
Health Planning ◽  
Health Care Planning ◽  
Care Needs ◽  
Future Health ◽  
Care Services ◽  
Future Health Care

Abstract Background In the Stockholm region, a regional political assembly is responsible for health care services for a population of 2.3 million. In November 2017, the political leadership decided on a programme to project health and healthcare developments in the Stockholm region until 2040 as a basis for a longterm health plan. This presentation aims to describe the methodology used, share some results and raise some questions for further work. Through the presentation we also seek collaboration with European partners involved in similar health planning work. Methodology Six perspectives for analysis were defined and under each a set of areas for deeper analysis identified. It was agreed that the planning should be fact-driven. Under the constraint of availability, data covering the period 2000 to 2017 was collected for around 90 variables. Data was gathered from various publicly available databases and was analysed in Microsoft Excel. Results Stockholm’s population increased continuously since the millennial shift and could increase by another 28% until 2040. Since 2000, life expectancy increased by 2 years for women and 3 years for men. More than 85% of the burden of disease is caused by chronic diseases. However, the overall disease burden per 100 000 population has been decreasing over the years. In 2017, more than 21 million outpatient care visits were done. Extrapolations of these trends show that the disease burden per capita will continue to decrease, but the total burden of disease as well as demand for health care will continue to increase. Discussion A fact-based analysis of future health and healthcare proved to be an efficient base for planning and discussions of future health care services. Results confirmed some well-established perceptions of developments but also pointed to some misconceptions and established “facts” that proved to be false. New digital services make prediction of the future health service mix dynamic and challenging. Key messages To meet future health care needs, future health and health care trends should be planned for and considered in decision making processes. Forecasts and health care planning should be fact-based to have an as accurate picture of future health and health care trends as possible.

Following the Money

2020 ◽  
Vol 48 (3) ◽  
pp. 434-442 ◽  
Author(s):  
William M. Sage ◽  
Timothy M. Westmoreland
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Health Policy ◽  
Health Insurance ◽  
Affordable Care Act ◽  
Health Care Services ◽  
Future Health ◽  
Care Services ◽  
Policies And Procedures ◽  
Future Health Care ◽  
Health Returns

It is no exaggeration to say that American health policy is frequently subordinated to budgetary policies and procedures. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) was undeniably ambitious, reaching health care services and underlying health as well as health insurance. Yet fiscal politics determined the ACA’s design and guided its implementation, as well as sometimes assisting and sometimes constraining efforts to repeal or replace it. In particular, the ACA’s vulnerability to litigation has been the price its drafters paid in exchange for fiscal-political acceptability. Future health care reformers should consider whether the nation is well served by perpetuating such an artificial relationship between financial commitments and health returns.

scholarly journals A profile of professional nursing practice in the private sector in the R.S.A.

Curationis ◽  
1988 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Pera
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Private Sector ◽  
Health Care Services ◽  
Registered Nurse ◽  
Nursing Practice ◽  
Future Health ◽  
Care Services ◽  
Professional Nursing Practice ◽  
Health Centres ◽  
Future Health Care

The purpose of this study was to develop a profile of professional nursing practice in private enterprise health care services in the Republic of South Africa. In the light of the future health care needs and the relationship between the private and public sector health care establishments, information about the role and task of the I professional nurse was needed. Information would provide a data base about the registered nurse and so facilitate future health care planning. An exploratory field study was undertaken to locate the various work environments of the registered nurse in four statistical urban regions. Questionnaires were handed out and collected from a proportional stratified sample of professional nurses who were working in thirteen types of health care environments in the period between I June 1983 and 30 September 1983. A return rate of 68 percent yielded 340 completed questionnaires from 501 registered nurses. The study revealed that the majority of nurses in the private sector were relatively young. White, female, English-speaking professionals who were practising in four broad areas of health care: • Custodial care environments such as residential homes for the aged, institutions for the chronic sick and frail aged, homes for children and homes for the adult handicapped. • Hospitals and related special health centres catering for drug addicts, alcoholics and patients suffering from psychiatric/nervous disorders. • Institutions for child and adult education which included crèches/nursery schools, primary and secondary hoarding schools, special schools for the handicapped, and university based student health centres. • Medical and dental consulting room practices. • Other entrepreneurial employment settings such as business and industrial occupational health care services, nursing service agencies, and mobile emergency care units.

Impact of restricting access to health care services on Syrian refugees in Jordan: evidence from cross-sectional surveys

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ibraheem Khaled Abu Siam ◽  
María Rubio Gómez
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Health Care Access ◽  
Access To Health Care ◽  
Health Care Services ◽  
Health Care Cost ◽  
Syrian Refugees ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Care Access ◽  
Care Services

Purpose Access to health-care services for refugees are always impacted by many factors and strongly associated with population profile, nature of crisis and capacities of hosing countries. Throughout refugee’s crisis, the Jordanian Government has adopted several healthcare access policies to meet the health needs of Syrian refugees while maintaining the stability of the health-care system. The adopted health-care provision policies ranged from enabling to restricting and from affordable to unaffordable. The purpose of this paper is to identify the influence of restricted level of access to essential health services among Syrian refugees in Jordan. Design/methodology/approach This paper used findings of a cross-sectional surveys conducted over urban Syrian refugees in Jordan in 2017 and 2018 over two different health-care access policies. The first were inclusive and affordable, whereas the other considered very restricting policy owing to high inflation in health-care cost. Access indicators from four main thematic areas were selected including maternal health, family planning, child health and monthly access of household. A comparison between both years’ access indicators was conducted to understand access barriers and its impact. Findings The comparison between findings of both surveys shows a sudden shift in health-care access and utilization behaviors with increased barriers level thus increased health vulnerabilities. Additionally, the finding during implementation of restricted access policy proves the tendency among some refugees groups to adopt negative adaptation strategies to reduce health-care cost. The participants shifted to use a fragmented health-care, reduced or delayed care seeking and use drugs irrationally weather by self-medication or reduce drug intake. Originality/value Understanding access barriers to health services and its negative short-term and long-term impact on refugees’ health status as well as the extended risks to the host communities will help states that hosting refugees building rational access policy to protect whole community and save public health gains during and post crisis. Additionally, it will support donors to better mobilize resources according to the needs while the humanitarian actors and service providers will better contribute to the public health stability during refugee’s crisis.

scholarly journals Legal Framework for the Training of Health Care Specialists in the Health Care System of Lithuania to Work with the Disabled

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 150-161
Author(s):  
Milda Ratkevičienė
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Health Care Services ◽  
People With Disabilities ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
Equal Rights ◽  
Future Health ◽  
Global Trends ◽  
Care Services ◽  
The World ◽  
The Disabled

AbstractIntroduction:Health care is one of the most important fields not only in individual countries, but globally as well, yet it remains one of the most sensitive topics, too. Global organisations have calculated that one out of seven residents around the world has some sort of disability. It is very likely that due to various processes, the number of people with disabilities will increase. Therefore, the world in general and each country in particular, Lithuania included, faces a great challenge: to ensure suitable and high-quality accessibility to health care services for the disabled. Each country must have clear political guidelines and strategies how to ensure training of health care specialists qualified and able to carry out their tasks when working with the disabled. Therefore, this article analyses global trends of training specialists to work with the disabled and legal basis of such specialist training in Lithuania.Methods:This article features analysis of scientific literary sources and legal documents.Results:International and national Lithuanian documents have clearly established that people with disabilities have equal rights to health care services like the rest of the population without any reservations, so this norm must be established adhering to the principles of accessibility, suitability and universality, and which basically should be ensured by health care specialists. However, document analysis has revealed that documents governing the training of health care specialists in Lithuania and processes related to it pay little attention to the training of future health care specialists to work with the disabled, while descriptions of some specific areas of studies, e.g. dentistry, pharmacy, etc. designed to train health care specialists do no address the work with the disabled at all.Discussion and conclusions:Analysis has revealed that institutions of higher education in Lithuania that train health care specialists are not legally entitled to, other requirements aside, to focus the study process on the work with the disabled. Therefore, it begs the question whether such specialists are actually ready to implement the requirements guiding the provision of health care services and ensure top-quality and proper provision of services to all members of the society, irrespective of their special needs, disabilities, etc. Therefore, this article can serve as a basis for further research related to the training of health care specialists to work with the disabled in order to identify what practice is applied in this area in other countries, as well as to ensure it internationally, what are the options and means required to implement it and how to improve the training of health care specialists as much as possible to work with the disabled ensuring the quality of health care in particular and their life in general.

The Finnish healthcare services lean management

2018 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 17-32 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susanna Hihnala ◽  
Lilja Kettunen ◽  
Marjo Suhonen ◽  
Hanna Tiirinki
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Health Services ◽  
Health Care Services ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Lean Management ◽  
Management Skills ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Care Services ◽  
Development Processes ◽  
Specialized Health Care

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.

Creating a competence profile of a new profession: social service agents in welfare centers

2018 ◽  
Vol 40 (2) ◽  
pp. 362-380
Author(s):  
Riitta Forsten-Astikainen ◽  
Pia Heilmann
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Health Care Services ◽  
Practical Knowledge ◽  
Pilot Project ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Care Services ◽  
The Future ◽  
To Come ◽  
Context Specific

Purpose This study examines in detail how a new occupational group in a field creates and defines its professional competences. The background of the study refers to a new way of organizing social and health care services that requires new type of expertise. The authors examine the professionals of this new sector – service agents and the competences – they need in a multi-professional networking organization. The goal of this organizational pilot project is to gather both experience and practical knowledge of how the “gatekeeper” model can work between the customer and the service provider. The purpose of this paper is to learn the service agents’ perspective on their own work, namely, how they create their work, what their visions of the future are, and what can be learned from the new organizing model. Design/methodology/approach Qualitative data collection and small-scale exploratory study of a new profession: eight service agents and their two supervisors were interviewed to raise awareness of what professional competences these new job contents require, how service agents can influence the content of their work, and what competence needs will emerge in the future. Findings The key findings indicate that service agents lack the courage to modify their own mission. When a new profession is created, they are uncertain about how to create self-content on their own terms. They assume they need a certain degree and to know something more than they already know. They do not dare define their own new professional territory, but rather wait for that definition to come from their organization or society. However, the results also show that some service agents have a hidden willingness to be creative even when there is a lack of courage. There is a need to take more initiative and for agents to think freely outside the box in this new situation. Research limitations/implications The number of interviewees is small and the context specific. However, the study gives an indication of the factors that need to be taken into account when the dissemination of the model starts. Originality/value The paper describes the results of the pilot project of a new profession and a customer-oriented model in the social and health care sector.

The importance of the partnership between the public and private healthcare institutions to improve interhospital patient transfers

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rimantas Stašys ◽  
Gintautas Virketis ◽  
Daiva Labanauskaitė
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Health Care Services ◽  
Public Health Care ◽  
Urgent Care ◽  
Private Health Care ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Patient Transfers ◽  
Care Services ◽  
Interhospital Transfer ◽  
Health Care Institutions

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.

The making and sustaining of leaders in health care

2019 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 241-262 ◽  
Author(s):  
Terry J. Boyle ◽  
Kieran Mervyn
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Community Health ◽  
Health Care Services ◽  
Health Care Systems ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Healthcare Provision ◽  
Triple Aim ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Care Services ◽  
Care Systems

Purpose Many nations are focussing on health care’s Triple Aim (quality, overall community health and reduced cost) with only moderate success. Traditional leadership learning programmes have been based on a taught curriculum, but the purpose of this paper is to demonstrate more modern approaches through procedures and tools. Design/methodology/approach This study evolved from grounded and activity theory foundations (using semi-structured interviews with ten senior healthcare executives and qualitative analysis) which describe obstructions to progress. The study began with the premise that quality and affordable health care are dependent upon collaborative innovation. The growth of new leaders goes from skills to procedures and tools, and from training to development. Findings This paper makes “frugal innovation” recommendations which while not costly in a financial sense, do have practical and social implications relating to the Triple Aim. The research also revealed largely externally driven health care systems under duress suffering from leadership shortages. Research limitations/implications The study centred primarily on one Canadian community health care services’ organisation. Since healthcare provision is place-based (contextual), the findings may not be universally applicable, maybe not even to an adjacent community. Practical implications The paper dismisses outdated views of the synonymity of leadership and management, while encouraging clinicians to assume leadership roles. Originality/value This paper demonstrates how health care leadership can be developed and sustained.

The perceptions on the recent COVID-19 pandemic: a study on health-care students in Malaysia

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Norhayati Mohd Zain ◽  
Nur Anis Izzati Che Mut
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Demographic Data ◽  
Descriptive Analysis ◽  
Online Questionnaire ◽  
Future Health ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Health Care Students ◽  
Future Challenges ◽  
Future Health Care ◽  
Huge Impact

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to study the perception of health-care students on the recent COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia. There was one study by Caliskhan et al. (2020) conducted among Turkish final-year medical students showed that the students were knowledgeable about and aware of the COVID-19 pandemic. To the authors’ knowledge, there are limited number of studies conducted among health-care students in Malaysia.Design/methodology/approachThe online questionnaire was randomly distributed to the health-care students in Malaysia. The questionnaire consists of socio-demographic data and perceptions on COVID-19. Descriptive analysis was used to analyse the perceptions of the health-care students on COVID-19.FindingsHealth-care students in Malaysia have positive perceptions on COVID-19, and it did not give huge impact of their interest in this health-care field. Thus, it is important that this issue is investigated, and the perceptions of health-care students on COVID-19 can be highlighted.Research limitations/implicationsThe strength of this study was the participation from the health-care students from various institutions, which have different experience and backgrounds. The study was limited on the items of question utilised. Due to the limited time and urgency of the survey, the authors were unable to study their knowledge, attitudes and way they are going to cope with this kind of pandemic as the students and as future health-care workers.Originality/valueThe paper points out the effect on the recent COVID-19 pandemic on health-care students in Malaysia. It also points out the perceptions of health-care students in Malaysia on the current pandemic. It is expected that the results of this research would serve as baseline data for health-care institutions in Malaysia to continue equip the future front liners that can adapt future challenges.

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