BACKGROUND The public healthcare sector in developing countries faces many challenges including weak healthcare systems and under-resourced facilities that deliver poor outcomes relative to total healthcare expenditure. Global references demonstrate that information technology has the ability to assist in this regard through the automation of processes, thus reducing the inefficiencies of manua...

In an effort to improve operational efficiency, healthcare services around the world have adopted process improvement methodologies from the manufacturing sector, such as Lean Production. In this paper we report on four multi-level case studies of the implementation of Lean in the English NHS. Our results show that this generally involves the application of specific Lean ‘tools’, such as ‘kaize...

In an effort to improve operational efficiency, healthcare services around the world have adopted process improvement methodologies from the manufacturing sector, such as Lean Production. In this paper we report on four multi-level case studies of the implementation of Lean in the English NHS. Our results show that this generally involves the application of specific Lean ‘tools’, such as ‘kaize...

This article briefly relates the experience of a clinical coder working in the private healthcare sector in the Australian state of New South Wales and questions whether it is possible to work in this environment while adhering to the Clinical Coders' Creed. Private facilities in Australia that handle acute, psychiatric, respite and rehabilitation cases, rely mainly upon health insurance funds ...

BACKGROUND The purpose of this study was to estimate the incidence and prevalence of hearing loss for noise-exposed U.S. workers by industry sector and 5-year time period, covering 30 years. METHODS Audiograms for 1.8 million workers from 1981-2010 were examined. Incidence and prevalence were estimated by industry sector and time period. The adjusted risk of incident hearing loss within each ...

Medical researches as well as the study of the Earth's surface, better still, geography are interlinked with each other; their relationship dates from antiquity. The science of Geographic Information Systems and, by extension, Geomatics engineering belongs to a discipline which is constantly developing at a global level. This sector has many applications regarding medical / epidemiological rese...

The high burden of asthma on healthcare utilisation and costs warrants economic appraisal of management approaches. The authors previously demonstrated that the efficacy of nurse-led outpatient management of childhood asthma was comparable to management by a paediatrician and now report on the healthcare utilisation and costs of both management approaches. A total of 74 newly referred children ...

52 The General Health Social Security System plays a double function in terms of healthcare and formation of its human talent. A historical relationship exists globally between healthcare systems and systems of higher education in health. In Colombia, this relationship has been regulated by the ministries of National Education and Health and Social Protection, not without articulation difficult...

Although there is limited research and evidence base, it is reasonable to expect that high quality information technology is an integral factor in the success of today’s healthcare sector. However, the healthcare sector is considered to be low level investor in information technology (IT) when compared to other sectors. There are studies that look at the sums spent on health IT as a basis for d...

Background and objectives:   MCDA is a decision-making tool with increasing use in the healthcare sector, including HTA (Health Technology Assessment). By applying multiple criteria, including innovation, in a comprehensive, structured and explicit manner, MCDA fosters a transparent, participative, consistent decision-making process taking into consideration values of all stakeholders. This pap...