scholarly journals Measures of Treatment Workload for Patients With Breast Cancer

2019 ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alex C. Cheng ◽  
Mia A. Levy
Keyword(s):  
Breast Cancer ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Health Care Organizations ◽  
Coordinated Care ◽  
Electronic Health Record Data ◽  
Tumor Registry ◽  
Patients With Cancer ◽  
Record Data ◽  
Chemotherapy Protocol ◽  
The Impact

PURPOSE Patients with breast cancer spend a large amount of time and effort receiving treatment. When the number of health care tasks exceeds a patient’s ability to manage that workload, they could become overburdened, leading to decreased plan adherence. We used electronic health record data to retrospectively assess dimensions of treatment workload related to outpatient encounters, commuting, and admissions. METHODS Using tumor registry and scheduling data, we evaluated the sensitivity of treatment workload measures to detect expected differences in breast cancer treatment burden by stage. We evaluated the impact of the on-body pegfilgrastim injector on the treatment workload of patients undergoing a specific chemotherapy protocol. RESULTS As hypothesized, patients with higher stage cancer experienced higher treatment workload. Over the first 18 months after diagnosis, patients with stage III disease spent a median of 81 hours (interquartile range [IQR], 39 to 113 hours) in outpatient clinics, commuted 61 hours (IQR, 32 to 86 hours), and spent $1,432 (IQR, $690 to $2,552) in commuting costs. In contrast, patients with stage I disease spent a median of 29 hours (IQR, 18 to 46 hours in clinic), commuted for 34 hours (IQR, 19 to 55 hours), and spent $834 (IQR, $389 to $1,649) in commuting costs. In addition, we substantiated claims that the pegfilgrastim on-body injector was effective in reducing some dimensions of workload such as unique appointment days. CONCLUSION Treatment workload measures capture an important dimension in the experience of patients with cancer. Patients and health care organizations can use workload measures to plan and allocate resources, leading to higher quality and better coordinated care.

Voices of Nurses During the Covid-19 Pandemic: A Call to Action

2021 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 88-93
Author(s):  
Mary Jo Kreitzer
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Health Care Organizations ◽  
Negative Emotions ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Educational Institutions ◽  
Systemic Racism ◽  
Call To Action ◽  
Long Run ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Bounce Back

The Covid-19 pandemic is having a significant impact on the well-being of nurses and has exacerbated long-standing issues of stress and burnout. Expecting or hoping that nurses will recover quickly or bounce back from the stress and deep trauma of the pandemic is not realistic. Each nurse has a story, and while these stories may have similar themes, they are all different. It is important to reflect on our stories, identify the myriad of emotions we are experiencing, and find ways to work through our feelings. Ignoring, denying, or suppressing feelings does not serve us well in the long run. Stifling negative emotions does not make them go away. A Call to Action is needed to address the impact of the pandemic, clinician burnout, and systemic racism on health-care organizations and educational institutions. Strategies are identified that will support personal and organizational well-being.

Cost of cancer care: The impact of disclosure on willingness to pay and treatment preferences.

2012 ◽  
Vol 30 (34_suppl) ◽  
pp. 15-15
Author(s):  
Rebecca Howe ◽  
Michael J. Hassett ◽  
Alyse Wheelock ◽  
Cristina M. Thorsen ◽  
Celia Kaplan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Breast Cancer ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Willingness To Pay ◽  
Cancer Care ◽  
Conflicts Of Interest ◽  
Data Communication ◽  
Treatment Preferences ◽  
Total Cost ◽  
Chemotherapy Drugs ◽  
The Impact

15 Background: Little is known about patients’ views regarding the costs of cancer care and its effect on treatment selection. Even less is known about how patients view information about conflicts of interest, such as disclosure of a clinic’s profit from cancer therapy. In the setting of health care reform and rising costs, we sought to understand how out-of-pocket costs and disclosure of profit impact patient treatment preferences. Methods: Previous breast cancer patients were invited to complete a web-based survey that presented four scenarios outlining cancer care treatment benefits and risks (MRI, pegfilgrastim, cold cap, and chemotherapy drugs). Initially, respondents were asked their preference for each treatment over a standard of care alternative and their out-of-pocket willingness to pay. After providing information about first, the total cost per treatment and second, the profit to the clinic, respondents were asked if their preference changed. Results: 40 women responded, all whom had previous diagnoses of breast cancer. In each of the four scenarios, respondents were less interested in the treatment option after being informed about cost or disclosure of a clinic profit. While 45.5% of respondents said they consider costs all or most of the time, only 9.1% considered clinic profit. However, 66.7% of respondents said they would be less interested in a treatment if they knew their provider received a profit from the treatment. Conclusions: Patients are less likely to prefer treatments after disclosure of total cost and clinic profit data. Communication about the costs and profits associated with cancer care may be an essential component of informed decision making in an era of growing patient involvement and escalating health care costs. [Table: see text]

The Corporatization of Health Care: An Evaluation and An Alternative

1996 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 107-114 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Jacobs ◽  
V. Nilakant
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
Health Care Organizations ◽  
Health Care Systems ◽  
Work Organization ◽  
Corporate Form ◽  
Care Systems ◽  
The Usa ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Medical Task

The corporatization of health care organizations has become a significant international trend. This paper examines that trend, comparing the development of corporate health care in the USA with the impact of the New Zealand health reforms. The paper traces the evolution of the organizations of health care systems and explains the emergence of the corporate form. We argue that the corporate model of work organization is unsuited to the complex and ambiguous nature of the medical task as it ignores inherent interdependencies. An alternative is needed which addresses work practices rather than just participation in decision making and is based on a concept of mutual interdependence and support in the execution of work.

scholarly journals Measuring Staff Empowerment Regarding Health Care for Clients with Intellectual Disabilities

2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 ◽  
pp. 1-6
Author(s):  
Joanne Wilkinson ◽  
Nechama W. Greenwood ◽  
Claire Tienwey Wang ◽  
Laura F. White ◽  
Larry Culpepper
Keyword(s):  
Breast Cancer ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Intellectual Disabilities ◽  
Health Care Access ◽  
Breast Cancer Mortality ◽  
Care Access ◽  
Direct Support ◽  
Reliable Instrument ◽  
Tool Set ◽  
The Impact

Background. Women with intellectual disabilities (ID) contract breast cancer at the same rate as the general population but have higher breast cancer mortality and lower rates of breast cancer screening. Many women with ID live in group homes or supported residences where they are cared for by direct support workers. While direct support workers are thought to influence client health, this effect is underresearched, and we lack tools for measuring staff empowerment and perceptions regarding client health. Methods. We developed and validated an instrument, the staff empowerment tool (SET), to measure staff empowerment as related to supporting clients in preventive health. Results. The SET was found to be a reliable instrument for measuring staff activation and empowerment in helping clients access mammography screening. Discussion. Quantifying staff empowerment and perspectives is important in studying and reducing disparities among adults with ID, a vulnerable population. Further research to determine the impact of staff empowerment levels on their clients’ health and health care access is suggested. The SET is a valuable tool for measuring the construct of staff empowerment, evaluating interventions, and collecting data regarding variation in staff empowerment.

scholarly journals The Impact for Implementing Balanced Scorecard in Health Care Organizations: A Systematic Review

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Faten Amer ◽  
Sahar Hammoud ◽  
Haitham Khatatbeh ◽  
Szimonetta Lohner ◽  
Imre Boncz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Patient Satisfaction ◽  
Financial Performance ◽  
Balanced Scorecard ◽  
Health Care Organizations ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Methodological Approach ◽  
Google Search ◽  
The Impact

Aims: This systematic review aims to assess the impact of Balanced Scorecard (BSC) implementation at Health Care Organizations (HCOs) on Health Care Workers' (HCWs') satisfaction, patient satisfaction, and financial performance. Up to now, no previous systematic reviews have performed a comprehensive and rigorous methodological approach to figure out the impact of BSC implementation in HCOs. Methods: This systematic review was prepared according to PRISMA guidelines. PubMed, Embase, Cochrane, and Google Scholar databases, as well as Google search engine, were inspected to find all BSC implementations at HCOs until 20 September 2020. Then the resulted articles were screened to find the implementations which measured the impact of BSC on HCWs' satisfaction, patient satisfaction, and financial performance. Quality assessment was performed using the Standards for Reporting Implementation Studies: (StaRI) checklist. Results: Out of 4031 records, 20 articles were finally included for measuring one or more of the three impact types. 17 measured the impact of BSC on patient satisfaction, 7 on HCWs' satisfaction, and 12 on financial performance. Studies with higher quality had a higher positive impact. Conclusion: This paper offers evidence to HCOs and policymakers on the benefits of implementing BSC. BSC implementations showed a positive impact on patient satisfaction and financial performance in HCOs. However, less impact was found on HCWs' satisfaction, which should be given better consideration in future BSC implementations. High and medium-quality BSC studies were associated with higher positive impacts than low ones. BSC can be utilized as an effective tool to improve HCOs' performance during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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