Mohammad Khammarnia; Mostafa Peyvand; Fatemeh Setoodehzadeh
Abstract
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Mohammad Khammarnia; Seyed Mohammad Hashemi-Shahri; Alireza Ansari-Moghaddam; Seyed Mehdi Tabatabaei; Ali Naghizadeh; Mohammadhadi Abbasi; Seyed Mohammad Nasiruddin Tabatabaei; Fatemeh Setoodehzadeh; Mehdi Zangane Bayegi; Majid Sartipi
Abstract
Background: COVID-19 has become a global problem. In this case study, the experiences gained from disease control in rural areas are reported. Methods: An observational study was done in 2020 in Sistan and Balochestan, the largest province with most rural areas in the southeast of Iran. Results: After ...
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Background: COVID-19 has become a global problem. In this case study, the experiences gained from disease control in rural areas are reported. Methods: An observational study was done in 2020 in Sistan and Balochestan, the largest province with most rural areas in the southeast of Iran. Results: After identification of the first patient of Covid-19 in a rural area, three measures were taken including: 1. Diagnosis, screening and treatment of the disease (Incident command post was established and the village was completely quarantined, etc.; 2. Intersectoral coordination for epidemiological management (limiting traffic for people and any gathering); and 3. Identification of any Covid-19 positive cases. The results of these measures showed that after quarantining the village and performing the mentioned actions, the number of patients decreased, and the disease was controlled. Conclusion: Quarantine of the contaminated rural area and people’s traffic routes is one of the most important measures in controlling Covid-19.
Mohammad Khammarnia; Mehdi Zanganeh Baygi; Morteza Mooziri; Mohammad Okati; Mostafa Boolaghi; Mehdi Okati; Fatemeh Setoodehzadeh
Abstract
Background: In 2014, Health Transformation Plan (HTP) started in Iranian health system to improve productivity of health organizations. The aim of the present study was to assess the employees’ productivity in health centers after HTP. Methods: This cross-sectional study with analytical approach ...
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Background: In 2014, Health Transformation Plan (HTP) started in Iranian health system to improve productivity of health organizations. The aim of the present study was to assess the employees’ productivity in health centers after HTP. Methods: This cross-sectional study with analytical approach was carried out in Zahedan University of Medical Sciences in 2018. 150 health workers were selected using census method. Data were collected by Hersey & Goldsmith Workforce Productivity Questionnaire. For the data analysis, descriptive and statistical methods such as Pearson correlation 2-tailed, one-way ANOVA, T-tests and regression model were used. Results: Our findings showed that 96% of health workers were female. Mean score of productivity was 63.8±12.7, which is in the moderate level. Besides, we found a significant negative relationship between productivity and job experience of the employees (P = 0.021, F = 2.975). Conclusion: In this study, productivity was at a moderate level. It seems with better motivation of the staff, there might be an improvement in productivity. Introduction Human resources are considered as fundamental resources and the most important factor for developing any organization. Today, due to the effect of the employees’ efficiency on overall function, many organizations preliminarily focus on increasing the employees’ productivity. European Productivity Agency defines productivity as “the level of using each producing factor properly, which first seems an overview that constantly tries to improve the existing condition” (1-3). Today, the most important factor in community development is increased attention to human productivity, and organizations can only reach their achievement via using human resources because human being defines waste or productivity of physical resources or materials (4). To motivate the employees, who provide high quality cares and help the development of a society, we need to invest on human resources management. Despite this global importance, today, health systems ignore the mentioned fact; as a result, decreased human productivity has become a challenge (5). According to the existing reports, health centers and organizations in Iran, in contrast to industry and business ones, have rarely investigated effective ways of improving the employees’ productivity; also, Iranian human productivity index is weaker than the mean East Asian countries (4). Studies have shown that without long-term, thorough, and evidence-based plan, this goal seems unachievable (6). We should also consider that decreased productivity in health area can lead to decreased quality of life and social security in communities (3). According to a study, the costs that are the result of decreased productivity in health care organizations can be many times more than direct costs of medical conditions (7). This is also important that the human resources productivity in health organizations is more significant than other organizations because these organizations, besides doing their routines, have the ability to face the crisis, too. This area of health is considered as one of the most basic parts of economic development in different countries. In health care organizations, in order to get productivity, we need to take a systemic, local, and practical overview. That is, organizational factors like employees’ motivation, working culture, mental health, right choice of workers, effective leadership, occupational function, and other factors cannot improve productivity individually and they must work as a system. We should also pay attention to reciprocal relationship between these factors. Sufficient organizational structure, effective function, proper work equipment, balanced area, and most importantly professional and effective human resource are necessary to reach adequate productivity (3, 6, 8). On May 5, 2014, a series of reforms has been done in Iranian health system under the title of Health Transformation Plan (HTP), with three main approaches of financial protection of patients, fairness in access to health services, and improvement of the quality of services (9). Because there is a special look at health area in this plan, and absence of proper research on this topic, this study seemed necessary to be conducted. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the employees’ productivity in health centers after HTP. The results of this study can provide required information for health policymakers and managers to improve the human resources productivity and in turn can result in increased quality of service delivery.
Fatemeh Setoodehzadeh; Mohammad Khammarnia; Mostafa Peyvand
Abstract
Nowadays, information and communications technology (ICT) has deeply influenced different aspects, especially healthcare sector.(1) Increasing public awareness and expectations has encouraged healthcare providers to use modern technologies to improve service quality.(2) Health technologies provide useful ...
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Nowadays, information and communications technology (ICT) has deeply influenced different aspects, especially healthcare sector.(1) Increasing public awareness and expectations has encouraged healthcare providers to use modern technologies to improve service quality.(2) Health technologies provide useful information for improving planning, implementing, monitoring, and policy making based on evidence (3). In fact, an electronic health record (EHR) is a digital version of a patient’s paper chart. EHRs are real-time, patient-centered records that make information available instantly and securely to authorized users. While an EHR contains the medical and therapeutic histories of patients, an EHR system is built to go beyond standard clinical data collected in a provider’s office and can be inclusive of a broader view of a patient’s care.(4) From the beginning of applying family physician and rural insurance program in Iran, different software packages have been developed for making EHR; however, due to technical and structural constraints and also different personal motivations, it is removed from the registration process and recording data in the early stages .(5) After implementing the health transformation plan (HTP) in 2014, the Ministry of Health and Medical Education (MoHME) launched the health integrated system (SIB) in 2016 with the aim of recording the EHR of households. SIB system follows valuable goals such as applying electronic health record, creating a national health information base, and providing referral systems in the family physician plan. Now, all health workers such as supervisor, general practitioners and dentists, health care providers, midwives, dietitians, mental health and social workers at the first level of service delivery record information on the SIB system. The information that is registered by users on SIB system are as follows: demographic information, disease reporting, physicians' visit, medical history, medications, vaccinations, and radiology and laboratory results. (6) After four years of SIB implementation at the comprehensive health centers, health centers, and health houses, the significant strengths of this system are:(5) • Possibility of supervision and direct and online evaluation by all managers in the health system • Establishment of a comprehensive EHR system for individuals from birth to end of life • Exclusion of the paper and bureaucratic system and quick extraction of health statistics • Application of new care guidelines and instant access of users On the other hand, constraints of the SIB systems are: • Extensive data recording and time-consuming nature of service registration in the system • Absence of proper internet infrastructure, especially in rural areas • Increase in the possibility of unrealistic data entry by compulsion of officials in order to increase service recordings • Incompatibility of certain system information with community needs and local preferences and specific diseases in each region of the country, and also lack of connection of SIB system information between specialized and sub-specialized centers after five years from the establishment of this system in Iran. Therefore, for successfully implementation of the system in the health field, it is recommended that we should provide hardware infrastructure, rationalize the number of required services in the system in the first years and then add other services in the long term, hold regular training courses, encourage family physicians as primary caregivers of services at the first level to accept this system, and record the information(7). E-health not only could increase the wellbeing of user, but also the pressure on the health care system could be somewhat relieved. By introducing the SIB, we have expanded the toolkit of user-centered design methods for e-health development. The method facilitates easy communication with novices about a future e-health technology, the identification of factors that can hinder or support end-user acceptance of a future e-health technology, and early and cheap possibility for testing functional design decisions (8). Keywords: Information, Health transformation plan, family physician Iran Ethics approval and consent to participate: Not applicable Consent for publication: Not applicable Availability of data and material: Not applicable Competing interests: The authors declare that they have no competing interests. Funding: Not applicable Authors' contributions: All authors have contributed in all sections of the manuscript preparation. Acknowledgements: Not applicable Study highlights: Although Integrated Health System has limitations, by taking some measures, it can be useful for health care system of Iran.
Mohammad Khammarnia; Aziz Kassani; Mostafa Peyvand; Fatemeh Setoodezadeh
Volume 4, Issue 1 , January 2016, , Pages 27-31
Abstract
Abstract:Background: Systemic thinking can provide practice in multidisciplinary team working and improve the organizational efficacy. This study aimed to determine the association between systemic thinking and partnership working in the employees of a medical sciences university in the south of Iran.Methods: ...
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Abstract:Background: Systemic thinking can provide practice in multidisciplinary team working and improve the organizational efficacy. This study aimed to determine the association between systemic thinking and partnership working in the employees of a medical sciences university in the south of Iran.Methods: A cross-sectional study was performed in Zahedan University of Medical Sciences (ZAUMS) in 2015. The study population consisted of all employees in ZAUMS; 370 participants were selected through stratified random sampling. Two standard questionnaires were used for data gathering. The data were analyzed in SPSS (v21) using Pearson, One way ANOVA, and logistic regression. The level of significance was considered as 0.05.Results: In this study, 225 participants (60.8%) were female and their mean age was 34.7±8.7. The score of partnership working for 362 participants was higher than the mean standard (40). Systemic thinking had a positive association with partnership working (p=0.001) and married status of the participants (p=0.04). Partnership working in male and older staff was more than others in ZAUMS (p<0.001 and p=0.01, respectively). Conclusion: Systematic thinking had a positive association with the employees’ working partnership. Moreover, the male staff had better systematic thinking. It is recommended that the managers should promote systematic thinking in staff, especially in females, for better partnership and efficacy in organizations.