Outpatient Waiting Times

The report reviews a range of policies that countries have used to tackle waiting times for different services, including elective surgery and primary care consultations, but also cancer care and mental health services, with a focus on identifying the most successful ones.

The GCBME Book Series aims to promote the quality and methodical reach of the Global Conference on Business Management & Entrepreneurship, which is intended as a high-quality scientific contribution to the science of business management and entrepreneurship. The Contributions are expected to be the main reference articles on the topic of each book and have been subject to a strict peer review process conducted by experts in the fields. The conference provided opportunities for the delegates to exchange new ideas and implementation of experiences, to establish business or research connections and to find Global Partners for future collaboration. The conference and resulting volume in the book series is expected to be held and appear annually. The year 2019 theme of book and conference is "Transforming Sustainable Business In The Era Of Society 5.0". The ultimate goal of GCBME is to provide a medium forum for educators, researchers, scholars, managers, graduate students and professional business persons from the diverse cultural backgrounds, to present and discuss their research, knowledge and innovation within the fields of business, management and entrepreneurship. The GCBME conferences cover major thematic groups, yet opens to other relevant topics: Organizational Behavior, Innovation, Marketing Management, Financial Management and Accounting, Strategic Management, Entrepreneurship and Green Business.

According to Transforming Health Care Scheduling and Access, long waits for treatment are a function of the disjointed manner in which most health systems have evolved to accommodate the needs and the desires of doctors and administrators, rather than those of patients. The result is a health care system that deploys its most valuable resource--highly trained personnel--inefficiently, leading to an unnecessary imbalance between the demand for appointments and the supply of open appointments. This study makes the case that by using the techniques of systems engineering, new approaches to management, and increased patient and family involvement, the current health care system can move forward to one with greater focus on the preferences of patients to provide convenient, efficient, and excellent health care without the need for costly investment. Transforming Health Care Scheduling and Access identifies best practices for making significant improvements in access and system-level change. This report makes recommendations for principles and practices to improve access by promoting efficient scheduling. This study will be a valuable resource for practitioners to progress toward a more patient-focused "How can we help you today?" culture.

In 2005-06 some £259 million was spent on outpatient services in Northern Ireland. A perennial cause of inefficiency in the provision of these services has been patients' failure to attend appointments and the cancellation of clinics by Trusts. In September 2006 almost 15,000 consultant-led clinic sessions were cancelled and there were 200,000 cases of patients not attending. A survey found that some 10 per cent of outpatients are "not seen" through cancellation or non-attendance, an opportunity cost of £11.6 million. Health service managers and clinicians need to monitor non-attendance/cancellation rates closely, in order to clarify the factors influencing them, and to allow planning of effective strategies aimed at minimising any loss of time and resources. The report also notes that outpatient services run by healthcare professionals other than consultants are not covered in the weekly statistical management information currently collected: if these are included outpatient activity levels are twice that officially reported. Changes to the way in which patients and general practitioners access outpatient services are being implemented and they should reduce waiting times and have an impact on cancelled clinics and missed appointments.

This guide is designed to help medical outpatient clinics provide a more user friendly service and support the staff involved in making those decisions.

Total Quality is a practical, proven approach to management that is successfully being applied throughout American industry-and more recently in health care organizations. Total Quality in Radiology: A Guide to Implementation is designed to be used by the neophyte or experienced quality improvement practitioner. Written by two authors with extensive experience in departmental leadership, problem solving, and improvement programs, this new book provides the reader with a step-by-step, practical approach for implementing total quality in a radiology department. The book covers all the principles of total quality and provides the basic tools necessary to begin and implement a detailed QI program. For the administrator, there are examples of actual radiology improvement projects that have been implemented in U.S. hospitals-including successes and setbacks. Lessons learned and pitfalls are openly discussed. For the radiologist, there is a fresh new look at quality from the "customer's" perspective-the patient and referring physician. Examples of programs "in operation" are provided as well as suggestions for other areas where radiology-initiated quality programs may have a positive impact on patient outcome. This book has something for those who want relief from crisis management and wish to maintain an abiding commitment to an improved health care workplace.

This book constitutes the thoroughly refereed proceedings of the 3rd Andalas International Public Health Conference on Advancing Health Promotion & Disease Prevention to Improve the Quality of Life for Achieving SDGs, held in Padang, Indonesia, in October 2019. The 50 full papers presented were carefully reviewed and selected from 67 submissions. The papers reflect the conference sessions as follows: Community Nutrition, Environmental and Occupational Health, Health Promotion, Health Service, Health Policy and Information System, Reproductive and Sociocultural Health, and Communicable and Non Communicable Disease.