395 this infrastructure would require a transfer of funds from specialists or hospitals to primary care, and it may be difficult for organizations to unilaterally alter the flow of funds to accomplish these aims. Moreover, although organizations may face strong incentives to control costs, specialist physicians who continue to be paid through the fee-for-service system and hospitals, which cont...

CONTEXT Previous studies indicate that industry-sponsored trials tend to draw proindustry conclusions. OBJECTIVE To explore whether the association between funding and conclusions in randomized drug trials reflects treatment effects or adverse events. DESIGN Observational study of 370 randomized drug trials included in meta-analyses from Cochrane reviews selected from the Cochrane Library, ...

OBJECTIVE To describe the implementation of the European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM) excellence model as a common framework for quality management in a regional health care service. DESIGN Prospective, descriptive observational study. SETTING Thirty-one organizations (hospitals, primary care organizations, mental health institutions, and emergency services) of the Basque Health...

The improvement of the quality of the services is one of the primary sources of competitive advantage in health care organizations. As customers typically search for higher quality of care when choosing treatments, health plans and providers, the health care organizations strive to improve the quality of care and patient safety and satisfaction, as primary goals, with the resources that are ava...

CONTEXT Reported cases of legionellosis more than tripled between 2001 and 2012 in the United States. The disease results primarily from exposure to aerosolized water contaminated with Legionella. OBJECTIVE To identify and describe policies and guidelines for the primary prevention of legionellosis in the US. DESIGN An Internet search for Legionella prevention guidelines in the United State...

The House of Public Participation in Health has been established to attract public participation as one of the principles of primary health care (PHC) and the missing link of socialization of the health system, with the participation of public mediators at both provincial and city levels. Members of the People's Participation Council are representatives of grassroots organizations at the provin...

Accountable care organizations (ACOs) and hospitals are investing in improving "population health," by which they nearly always mean the health of the "population" of patients "attributed" by Medicare, Medicaid, or private health insurers to their organizations. But population health can and should also mean "the health of the entire population in a geographic area." We present arguments for an...

This article discusses the rationale and method of screening for diabetes in a primary care setting. It describes guidelines laid down by international organizations, while adding pragmatic suggestions based upon reality in South Asian and other developing countries.

Many organizations employ marketing initiatives to “assist” in launching new efforts to both internal and external audiences and weave marketing throughout as part of being “market oriented.” The primary motivation behind a market orientation is improvement of market performance, according to the literature (Narver and Slater, 1990; Kohli and Jaworski 1990). There is literature on workforce com...