Successful Implementation of Integrated Care in Slovenian Primary Care

For the purpose of celebrating the 40th anniversary of Alma Ata declaration, the WHO published a successful model of integrated patient care being performed in Slovenia. After two years, the WHO experts evaluated the success in practise during a visit to the Slovenian primary care environment. This report showed that Slovenia was a notable exception regarding developing effective primary care systems. The country has an impressive primary care which performs very well.     

Organizational Leadership For Building Effective Health Care Teams

The movement toward accountable care organizations and patient-centered medical homes will increase with implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The ACA will therefore give further impetus to the growing importance of teams in health care. Teams typically involve 2 or more people embedded in a larger social system who differentiate their roles, share common goals, interact with each other, and perform tasks affecting others. Multiple team types fit within this definition, and they all need support from leadership to succeed. Teams have been invoked as a necessary tool to address the needs of patients with multiple chronic conditions and to address medical workforce shortages. Invoking teams, however, is much easier than making them function effectively, so we need to consider the implications of the growing emphasis on teams. Although the ACA will spur team development, organizational leadership must use what we know now to train, support, and incentivize team function. Meanwhile, we must also advance research regarding teams in health care to give those leaders more evidence to guide their work.     

新时期军队高级干部医疗保健管理的做法与成效

为确实做好新时期军队军职以上干部医疗保健工作,进一步提高服务质量,本文介绍该院保健工作的改革经验和具体管理方法,包括:上下级管理(系统化管理)、制度化管理和人性化管理.具体讲述组建“院、办、科”三级管理体系、建立、完善各项规章制度、加强宣教实现自我管理,及开展以人为本的文化管理的具体措施.     

我部医疗保健工作的管理

为了以一流的标准做好重点对象医疗保健工作，本介绍了该部开展医疗保健工作的体会。一是强化组织领导，强化保健意识，强化措施到位，强化激励机制，强化硬件建设；二是强化管理，从健全完善制度，加强能级管理，周密科学安排，严格质量把关等方面入手，按万无一失地要求落实保健工作。三是优质服务，通过加强窗口建设，狠抓学习提高，鼓励技术创新，重视保健教育等手段，以一流的标准完成保健工作。     

Improvements in Health Status after Massachusetts Health Care Reform

Context

Massachusetts enacted health care reform in 2006 to expand insurance coverage and improve access to health care. The objective of our study was to compare trends in health status and the use of ambulatory health services before and after the implementation of health reform in Massachusetts relative to that in other New England states.

Methods

We used a quasi-experimental design with data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System from 2001 to 2011 to compare trends associated with health reform in Massachusetts relative to that in other New England states. We compared self-reported health and the use of preventive services using multivariate logistic regression with difference-in-differences analysis to account for temporal trends. We estimated predicted probabilities and changes in these probabilities to gauge the differential effects between Massachusetts and other New England states. Finally, we conducted subgroup analysis to assess the differential changes by income and race/ethnicity.

Findings

The sample included 345,211 adults aged eighteen to sixty-four. In comparing the periods before and after health care reform relative to those in other New England states, we found that Massachusetts residents reported greater improvements in general health (1.7%), physical health (1.3%), and mental health (1.5%). Massachusetts residents also reported significant relative increases in rates of Pap screening (2.3%), colonoscopy (5.5%), and cholesterol testing (1.4%). Adults in Massachusetts households that earned up to 300% of the federal poverty level gained more in health status than did those above that level, with differential changes ranging from 0.2% to 1.3%. Relative gains in health status were comparable among white, black, and Hispanic residents in Massachusetts.

Conclusions

Health care reform in Massachusetts was associated with improved health status and the greater use of some preventive services relative to those in other New England states, particularly among low-income households. These findings may stem from expanded insurance coverage as well as innovations in health care delivery that accelerated after health reform.     

医疗之家及其对我国卫生管理的借鉴意义

扩大基本卫生服务是改善群体健康、减低医疗花费的重要举措.介绍了美国当前被广泛推崇的—种基本卫生服务理念——医疗之家（patient centered medical home,PCMH）,详细分析了其特点及实施过程,并探讨了PCMH在我国基本卫生管理中的应用前景.     

Managed Care Organizational Characteristics and Health Care Use among Children with Special Health Care Needs

Objective. To examine the relationship between features of managed care organizations (MCOs) and health care use patterns by children.
Data Sources. Telephone survey data from 2,223 parents of children with special health care needs, MCO-administrator interview data, and health care claims data.
Study Design. Cross-sectional survey data from families about the number of consequences of their children's conditions and from MCO administrators about their plans' organizational features were used. Indices reflecting the MCO characteristics were developed using data reduction techniques. Hierarchical models were developed to examine the relationship between child sociodemographic and health characteristics and the MCO indices labeled: Pediatrician Focused (PF) Index, Specialist Focused (SF) Index, and Fee-for-Service (FFS) Index, and outpatient use rates and charges, inpatient admissions, emergency room (ER) visits, and specialty consultations.
Data Collection/Extraction Methods. The telephone and MCO-administrator survey data were linked to the enrollment and claims files.
Principal Findings. The child's age, gender, and condition consequences were consistent predictor variables related to health care use and charges. The PF Index was associated with decreased outpatient use rates and charges and decreased inpatient admissions. The SF Index was associated with increased ER visits and decreased specialty consultations, while the FFS Index was associated with increased outpatient use rates and charges.
Conclusion. After controlling for sociodemographic and health characteristics, the PF, SF, and FFS indices were significantly associated with children's health care use patterns.     

居民就医选择与基层医疗机构的竞争性分析

目的探索影响城乡居民选择基层医疗机构就诊的影响因素,并为基层医疗机构发展提出建议。方法采用Logistic回归对中国健康与营养调查2009年截面数据进行分析。结果疾病严重程度、医疗保险状况、有无工作以及户籍是影响居民选择基层医疗机构就诊的关键因素。结论应当针对这些方面对目前政策做出调整以增强基层医疗机构竞争力。     

The Analysis of Slovenian Political Party Programs Regarding Doctors and Health Workers from 1992 to 2014

Introduction

The study focuses on the programmatic bases of Slovenian political parties since independence. It presents an analysis of party programs and their preferences regarding doctors and other health workers, as well as the contents most commonly related to them. At the same time, the study also highlights the intensity of the presence of doctors on the policy agenda through time.

Methods

In the study, 83 program documents of political parties have been analysed. The study includes programmes of political parties that have occurred in parliamentary elections in Slovenia between 1992 and 2014 and have exceeded the parliamentary threshold. The data were analysed using the content analysis method, which is suitable for analysing policy texts. The analysis was performed using ATLAS.ti, the premier software tool for qualitative data analysis.

Results

The results showed that doctors and other health workers are an important political topic in non-crisis periods. At that time, the parties in the context of doctors mostly dealt with efficiency and the quality of services in the health system. They often criticize doctors and expose the need for their control. In times of economic crisis, doctors and other health workers are less important in normative commitments of parties.

Conclusions

Slovenian political parties and their platforms cannot be distinguished ideologically, but primarily on the principle of access to government. It seems reasonable to conclude that parties do not engage in dialogue with doctors, and perceive the latter aspassive recipients of government decisions—politics.     

计量管理是保障医疗质量的重要环节

本文概述了医院加强计量管理的意义和目前医院计量管理的现状,并提出了相应的解决问题的对策。     

Paternalistic Leadership,Ethical Climate and Performance in Health Staff

Abstract

The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between paternalistic leadership, ethical climate and performance among health staff. The implementation part of the study has been carried out on the health staff working in a public hospital taking place in the city of K?r?kkale (Turkey).The data attained from 460 participants have been assessed. As a result of the analyses; relationships between paternalistic leadership and dimensions of ethical climate (egoism, benevolence, principle climate) were positive and significance. In addition to, both the relationship between ethical climate dimensions and performance and between paternalist leadership and performance was significance.     

建立病人择医机制促进医院科学管理

国家提出病人择医改革意见,其目的是引起竞争机制,提高医疗机构的医疗质量和效果,方便群众就医。但在执行过程中,择医面过宽过乱,要尽快建立病人择医机制,提高管理水平。     

High-Tech Home Health Care

This study examines staff perspectives and personnel issues related to the delivery of high-tech home health care services to older adults. Data were collected from a national sample of 154 agency directors and 92 local agency staff. Agency staff and directors consistently report an increase in high-tech service delivery over the past five years. Both agency directors and local staff agree that a variety of staff may be involved in the delivery of high-tech services, including both professional and paraprofessional staff. Although agency directors report providing training to at least one or more type of direct care staff, agency staff are less likely to report being required to participate in training programs. The provision of high-tech services impacts the agency, the staff, and the patient in various ways. Most staff feel that high-tech care enhances the quality of life of older patients, although high-tech care may be somewhat difficult to define and even more difficult to deliver. Challenges related to the provision of high-tech care, including providing adequate staff training, and developing appropriate quality assurance measures, are discussed.     

军队干部保健工作在医院全面建设中的地位与作用

指出军队干部保健工作在医院全面建设中处于首要地位,是一切工作的出发点和落脚点。根据“社会反应”原理,以科学的发展观,认为保健工作对医院思想政治建设、学科技术建设、人才队伍建设、医德医风建设等具有主导作用、稳定作用、促进作用、监督作用。医院管理者要处理好医院全面建设和干部保健工作的关系,使两者互动双赢,以利于军队医院可持续发展。     

Child Care Health Consultation Programs: Barriers and Recommendations

Objectives: While many studies describe the need for health services in early care and education (ECE) settings and the role of child care health consultants (CCHCs), little information exists about the challenges to developing health consultation programs. The goal of this paper is to provide insight for the development of current and future child care health consultation programs by describing the barriers identified by CCHCs related to program implementation in 20 California counties. Methods: Forty-four child care health consultants participated in nine focus groups during their health consultation training at the California Training Institute. Participants were asked to discuss the barriers they encountered while establishing new county-wide child care health consultation programs. Themes were assigned to each response, and frequency and percentage of each theme were documented and trends were identified. Results: The four general themes describing barriers to program implementation were: Program Management, Child Care Culture, Geography and Community Services. Twenty additional sub-themes, including Multi-agency involvement, Chaos, Travel time, and Fragmentation, were assigned to each response. The most frequent general theme was Program Management. The most frequent sub-theme was Professional Support. Conclusions: The barriers identified by the child care health consultants can be valuable for administrators and clinicians establishing or developing child care health consultation programs. Program managers should be prepared for the unique challenges of child care health consultation and provide flexibility and support for child care health consultants.     

Health and Health Care Disparities Among Homeless Women

While disparities in health and health care between vulnerable (e.g., minorities, low-income) and majority populations are well documented, less is known about disparities within these special populations that are large and diverse. Such knowledge is essential to determine the neediest within these generally needy populations, and to plan interventions to reduce their health and health care disparities. With data from 1,331 women residing in Los Angeles County California, in one of the largest, most comprehensive studies of the health of homeless women to date, this study examined the health and health care disparities among homeless African American, Latina, and white women. This study further explored if race/ethnicity and other factors that predispose homeless women to poor health, or enable them to obtain better health care, were associated with their unmet need for medical care. The study found that white, non-Latina women were more likely to report unmet need than African Americans and Latinas, and women suffering from drug abuse, violence, or depression were most in need of care. These findings should be considered in targeting and addressing the special needs of homeless women of different racial/ethnic groups.