Methods The MarketScan Commercial Claims and Encounters (CCAE) data from Truven Health Analytics contains annual beneficiary enrollment information and inpatient admissions, outpatient encounters, and outpatient pharmacy dispensing claims from approximately 100 employee-sponsored private insurance plans. The 2012 CCAE contains 1.1 billion inpatient and outpatient claims records for 53 million e...

OBJECTIVE To establish the level of satisfaction and dissatisfaction with the service received by patients attending the Outpatient Pharmacy regarding the care received. METHOD Two-month long cross-sectional study. The study included all patients who had attended the Outpatient Pharmacy (OP) and had given their consent. Satisfaction was measured using a previously validated survey (Likert-typ...

BACKGROUND Patient referrals to outpatient health services may affect both health outcomes and health expenditures. General practitioners (GP) have a crucial role in driving the use of outpatient services and recognizing factors which affect referrals is important for health managers and planners. OBJECTIVES We investigated patient- and physician-related determinants of patient referrals in a...

INTRODUCTION This paper aims to illustrate the use of computer simulation in evaluating the impact of a prototype automated dispensing system on waiting time in an outpatient pharmacy and its potential as a routine tool in pharmacy management. MATERIALS AND METHODS A discrete event simulation model was developed to investigate the impact of a prototype automated dispensing system on operation...

Stereo matching, i.e., the matching by the visual system of corresponding parts of the images seen by the two eyes, is inherently a 2D problem. To gain insights into how this operation is carried out by the visual system, we measured, in human subjects, the reflexive vergence eye movements elicited by the sudden presentation of stereo plaids. We found compelling evidence that the 2D pattern dis...

OBJECTIVE General surgeons' approaches to breast masses in their daily practices and their perspectives for issues on breast diseases and breast surgery are investigated through a survey. MATERIALS AND METHODS Answers of 524 general surgeons for the survey "Approach to breast diseases and breast surgery" between November 2012 and February 2013 were assessed. Demographic features, approaches t...

INTRODUCTION Public knowledge and attitudes towards antibiotics play a vital role in the success of the treatment process. This study aimed to assess public knowledge and attitudes toward antibiotic usage which could serve as baseline data for future studies within a government hospital setting in Malaysia. METHODOLOGY A self-administered cross-sectional survey involving 408 respondents was c...

BACKGROUND Compared with the traditional ways of gaining health-related information from newspapers, magazines, radio, and television, the Internet is inexpensive, accessible, and conveys diverse opinions. Several studies on how increasing Internet use affected outpatient clinic visits were inconclusive. OBJECTIVE The objective of this study was to examine the role of Internet use on ambulato...

Interest in nephrology careers continues to remain low in the USA. Educational innovations that enhance interest in nephrology among medical trainees are being actively studied. While internal medicine (IM) residency programs commonly offer the inpatient nephrology elective to the resident, outpatient nephrology experience is lacking. Understanding the provision of care in outpatient and home d...

Data regarding risk factors for hospitalization among children with influenza B infection are limited. We conducted a retrospective study of 184 children with influenza B infection during October 2011 - September 2012 seen at Bamrasnaradura Infectious Diseases Institute, Thailand; clinical and laboratory data were compared between hospitalized and outpatient children. The numbers of hospitalize...