Comparative Cost of Stockpiling Various Types of Respiratory Protective Devices to Protect the Health Care Workforce During an Influenza Pandemic

2015 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 313-318 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gio Baracco ◽  
Sheri Eisert ◽  
Aaron Eagan ◽  
Lewis Radonovich
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Health Care Organizations ◽  
Influenza Pandemic ◽  
Health Care Personnel ◽  
Health Care Workforce ◽  
Respiratory Protective Devices ◽  
N95 Respirators ◽  
Potential Interactions ◽  
The Impact ◽  
And Storage

AbstractSpecific guidance on the size and composition of respiratory protective device (RPD) stockpiles for use during a pandemic is lacking. We explore the economic aspects of stockpiling various types and combinations of RPDs by adapting a pandemic model that estimates the impact of a severe pandemic on a defined population, the number of potential interactions between patients and health care personnel, and the potential number of health care personnel needed to fulfill those needs. Our model calculates the number of the different types of RPDs that should be stockpiled and the consequent cost of purchase and storage, prorating this cost over the shelf life of the inventory. Compared with disposable N95 or powered air-purifying respirators, we show that stockpiling reusable elastomeric half-face respirators is the least costly approach. Disposable N95 respirators take up significantly more storage space, which increases relative costs. Reusing or extending the usable period of disposable devices may diminish some of these costs. We conclude that stockpiling a combination of disposable N95 and reusable half-face RPDs is the best approach to preparedness for most health care organizations. We recommend against stockpiling powered air-purifying respirators as they are much more costly than alternative approaches. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2015;9:313-318)

Voices of Nurses During the Covid-19 Pandemic: A Call to Action

2021 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 88-93
Author(s):  
Mary Jo Kreitzer
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Health Care Organizations ◽  
Negative Emotions ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Educational Institutions ◽  
Systemic Racism ◽  
Call To Action ◽  
Long Run ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Bounce Back

The Covid-19 pandemic is having a significant impact on the well-being of nurses and has exacerbated long-standing issues of stress and burnout. Expecting or hoping that nurses will recover quickly or bounce back from the stress and deep trauma of the pandemic is not realistic. Each nurse has a story, and while these stories may have similar themes, they are all different. It is important to reflect on our stories, identify the myriad of emotions we are experiencing, and find ways to work through our feelings. Ignoring, denying, or suppressing feelings does not serve us well in the long run. Stifling negative emotions does not make them go away. A Call to Action is needed to address the impact of the pandemic, clinician burnout, and systemic racism on health-care organizations and educational institutions. Strategies are identified that will support personal and organizational well-being.

scholarly journals A tolerability assessment of new respiratory protective devices developed for health care personnel: A randomized simulated clinical study

PLoS ONE ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. e0209559 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lewis J. Radonovich ◽  
Kerri Wizner ◽  
Sherri L. LaVela ◽  
Martin L. Lee ◽  
Kimberly Findley ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Clinical Study ◽  
Health Care Personnel ◽  
Protective Devices ◽  
Respiratory Protective Devices

scholarly journals Measures of Treatment Workload for Patients With Breast Cancer

2019 ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alex C. Cheng ◽  
Mia A. Levy
Keyword(s):  
Breast Cancer ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Health Care Organizations ◽  
Coordinated Care ◽  
Electronic Health Record Data ◽  
Tumor Registry ◽  
Patients With Cancer ◽  
Record Data ◽  
Chemotherapy Protocol ◽  
The Impact

PURPOSE Patients with breast cancer spend a large amount of time and effort receiving treatment. When the number of health care tasks exceeds a patient’s ability to manage that workload, they could become overburdened, leading to decreased plan adherence. We used electronic health record data to retrospectively assess dimensions of treatment workload related to outpatient encounters, commuting, and admissions. METHODS Using tumor registry and scheduling data, we evaluated the sensitivity of treatment workload measures to detect expected differences in breast cancer treatment burden by stage. We evaluated the impact of the on-body pegfilgrastim injector on the treatment workload of patients undergoing a specific chemotherapy protocol. RESULTS As hypothesized, patients with higher stage cancer experienced higher treatment workload. Over the first 18 months after diagnosis, patients with stage III disease spent a median of 81 hours (interquartile range [IQR], 39 to 113 hours) in outpatient clinics, commuted 61 hours (IQR, 32 to 86 hours), and spent $1,432 (IQR, $690 to $2,552) in commuting costs. In contrast, patients with stage I disease spent a median of 29 hours (IQR, 18 to 46 hours in clinic), commuted for 34 hours (IQR, 19 to 55 hours), and spent $834 (IQR, $389 to $1,649) in commuting costs. In addition, we substantiated claims that the pegfilgrastim on-body injector was effective in reducing some dimensions of workload such as unique appointment days. CONCLUSION Treatment workload measures capture an important dimension in the experience of patients with cancer. Patients and health care organizations can use workload measures to plan and allocate resources, leading to higher quality and better coordinated care.

The Corporatization of Health Care: An Evaluation and An Alternative

1996 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 107-114 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Jacobs ◽  
V. Nilakant
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
Health Care Organizations ◽  
Health Care Systems ◽  
Work Organization ◽  
Corporate Form ◽  
Care Systems ◽  
The Usa ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Medical Task

The corporatization of health care organizations has become a significant international trend. This paper examines that trend, comparing the development of corporate health care in the USA with the impact of the New Zealand health reforms. The paper traces the evolution of the organizations of health care systems and explains the emergence of the corporate form. We argue that the corporate model of work organization is unsuited to the complex and ambiguous nature of the medical task as it ignores inherent interdependencies. An alternative is needed which addresses work practices rather than just participation in decision making and is based on a concept of mutual interdependence and support in the execution of work.

scholarly journals The Impact for Implementing Balanced Scorecard in Health Care Organizations: A Systematic Review

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Faten Amer ◽  
Sahar Hammoud ◽  
Haitham Khatatbeh ◽  
Szimonetta Lohner ◽  
Imre Boncz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Patient Satisfaction ◽  
Financial Performance ◽  
Balanced Scorecard ◽  
Health Care Organizations ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Methodological Approach ◽  
Google Search ◽  
The Impact

Aims: This systematic review aims to assess the impact of Balanced Scorecard (BSC) implementation at Health Care Organizations (HCOs) on Health Care Workers' (HCWs') satisfaction, patient satisfaction, and financial performance. Up to now, no previous systematic reviews have performed a comprehensive and rigorous methodological approach to figure out the impact of BSC implementation in HCOs. Methods: This systematic review was prepared according to PRISMA guidelines. PubMed, Embase, Cochrane, and Google Scholar databases, as well as Google search engine, were inspected to find all BSC implementations at HCOs until 20 September 2020. Then the resulted articles were screened to find the implementations which measured the impact of BSC on HCWs' satisfaction, patient satisfaction, and financial performance. Quality assessment was performed using the Standards for Reporting Implementation Studies: (StaRI) checklist. Results: Out of 4031 records, 20 articles were finally included for measuring one or more of the three impact types. 17 measured the impact of BSC on patient satisfaction, 7 on HCWs' satisfaction, and 12 on financial performance. Studies with higher quality had a higher positive impact. Conclusion: This paper offers evidence to HCOs and policymakers on the benefits of implementing BSC. BSC implementations showed a positive impact on patient satisfaction and financial performance in HCOs. However, less impact was found on HCWs' satisfaction, which should be given better consideration in future BSC implementations. High and medium-quality BSC studies were associated with higher positive impacts than low ones. BSC can be utilized as an effective tool to improve HCOs' performance during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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