Public healthcare coverage versus double healthcare coverage: what are the differences?

OBJECTIVE: To identify differences in socioeconomic characteristics, health status, health services' utilization, and satisfaction with health services between the population with public healthcare coverage only and the population with double healthcare coverage through additional affiliation to mutual or private health insurance companies. METHODS: Data from the 2002 Catalan Health Interview Survey with interviews to 8,400 individuals were used. Individuals with public healthcare insurance were differentiated from those who also had private health insurance. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used. RESULTS: A total of 99.2% of the population reported public healthcare coverage and 24.7% also had voluntary mutual or private insurance. Individuals with double coverage were younger, had a high level of education, belonged to advantaged classes, and reported better self-perceived health and fewer chronic diseases and disabilities. No significant differences in the percentage of individuals who reported visiting a health professional in the previous 15 days were observed. Significant differences in the type of professional visited were observed: 65% of individuals with public healthcare coverage only visited primary care settings but 51.1% of those with double coverage visited specialists. The proportion of persons reporting that they were satisfied or very satisfied with professional attitudes, waiting times and administrative procedures was higher in the double coverage group. CONCLUSIONS: Distinct sociodemographic and health profiles were found between persons with public coverage only and those with double coverage. Health services' utilization also differed between the two groups.     

Lean sigma--will it work for healthcare?

The manufacturing industry has been using Lean Sigma for years in pursuit of continuous improvement to obtain a competitive advantage. The objectives of these efforts are to use the Lean techniques for reducing cycle times and the Six Sigma concepts for reducing product defects. The Iowa Business Council with several advocates worked with the University of Iowa Hospital and Clinics (UIHC) and two other Iowa hospitals to determine whether Lean Sigma is adaptable in healthcare. A team of 15 people at UIHC used the Kaizen Breakthrough Methodology over a five-day period in an aggressive identification and elimination of non-value added activities in Radiology CT scanning. The results exceeded the initial project objectives and indicated that Lean Sigma is applicable in healthcare. Overall, the Lean Sigma project increased revenue by approximately $750,000 per year. The Kaizen process proved to be successful and interesting. Within three days, the team installed new work flow processes. This implementation-oriented approach is what differentiates Lean Sigma from other quality improvement processes.     

How do healthcare consumers process and evaluate comparative healthcare information? A qualitative study using cognitive interviews

Background  

To date, online public healthcare reports have not been effectively used by consumers. Therefore, we qualitatively examined how healthcare consumers process and evaluate comparative healthcare information on the Internet.