Thesis (M.S.)--University of Michigan, 1995.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Illinois State University, 2001. / Title from title page screen, viewed March 10, 2006. Dissertation Committee: Rodney P. Riegle (chair), J. Christopher Eisele, George Padavil, John H. Bantham, Thomas J. Bierma. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 124-128) and abstract. Also available in print.

Thesis (Ed.D.)--University of West Florida, 2005. / Title from title page of source document. Document formatted into pages; contains 208 pages. Includes bibliographical references.

M.Comm. / Health care is recognised as a basic human right. The current position of private health care in South Africa is of great concern. Not only is health care almost unaffordable but the future quality of health care also causes great concern. With this in mind it is obvious that alternatives to conventional medical aids and health insurance are necessary to guarantee the continued availability of quality medical care to the South African public. Most people would agree that our private sector health care system is characterised by a depressing history of inadequate planning, control and management. It is for this reason that amendments to the Medical Schemes Act were considered necessary. Certain of these amendments will extend the role played by medical schemes in the management of health care resources. This will result in the traditional boundaries and relationships between the public, health professionals and health care facilities, and the financiers in our private health care system being altered. A new philosophy will evolve based on open and participative practices, as well as increased coordination, integration and cooperation (Veliotes et al, 1993: 12). Internationally, the health care objectives of most countries are to provide access to highquality care for all the people, and to provide this care efficiently and effectively. In the last decade the task of achieving these potentially conflicting objectives has become more difficult. At present, private health care is funded by medical schemes, health insurance companies, employers and individuals themselves. Neither medical aids nor health insurance companies are able to contain the rise in health care cost, which has led to the emergence of a new method of finding, namely Managed Health Care (MHC). Health care cost has accelerated at a rate far above the consumer price index(CPI). Rising health care costs in the private sector have been blamed on structural inefficiencies in the medical aid system. While patients have little incentive to minimise care expenditure, providers have an incentive to overuse the system.

M.Com. (Business Management) / The purpose of the present study was to investigate the perceptions of medical practitioners towards managed health care and its implications for patient care. The study population was the medical practitioners in the northern suburbs of Johannesburg. A questionnaire was distributed to 224 medical practitioners in the northern suburbs of Johannesburg. The total number of the respondents was 81 with 53% being general practitioners and 47% being specialists. The findings of the study indicated that the majority of respondents perceived managed healthcare to have a negative impact on doctor-patient relationship, the ability to carry out their ethical obligations towards the patients, and that the limitations implemented by managed health care have a negative impact on the quality of care. The respondents also perceived managed healthcare to be consistent in reducing unnecessary procedures and reducing the expenditure. Recommendations made to remedy the situation include introducing a topic of managed health care as part of undergraduate studies to empower practitioners before they start a private practice. It would be advisable to include medical practitioners to help reform the strategies that will enable medical practitioners to carry out their ethical obligations towards the patients and to deliver quality care to the patients. The study concluded that medical practitioners hold negative perceptions towards managed health care and perceive managed health care to impact the quality of care negatively.

Please read the abstract in the section 00front of this document / Dissertation (MA (Publishing))--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Information Science / unrestricted

Please read the abstract in the front of this document. / Dissertation (MMed)--University of Pretoria, 2004. / School of Health Systems and Public Health (SHSPH) / Unrestricted

Thesis (MBA)--Stellenbosch University, 2005. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This thesis researches World Class Manufacturing Techniques (WCMT) and their applicability in a Non-Production Environment such as an inbound call centre in the financial services sector. These WCMT involve a set of innovative techniques and principles, which are applied by foremost manufacturing companies. These techniques however, are not sacred and one always needs to refer back to the objectives of World Class Manufacturing, namely to (a) Eliminate waste, (b) Improve quality, (c) Shorten lead times, (d) Reduce costs, and (e) Improve morale and seek other improvements. The importance lies in attaining the objectives in the context of the necessary manufacturing tasks. Companies applying these techniques demonstrate significant productivity gains, production synergies, reduced rework and more reliable on-time delivery. In the highly competitive global market, these offer a competitive advantage for such companies. A critical and essential element of a company's strategic vision is a clearly defined and healthy competitive advantage. It is imperative that a company's vision is clearly aligned to its business objectives and goals. The WCMT is a tool that aligns the business vision and strategic objectives to realize its competitive advantage. By aligning the vision to its competitive advantage, it is crucial that the company challenge its existing production processes and the way in which it operates. Existing production processes need to be continuously reviewed and adjusted where necessary to sustain the competitive advantage. This paper is a practical example of how a non-production organisation can apply these WCMT to sustain its competitive advantage. The WCMT such as Theory of Constraints (TOC), Just in Time (JIT) and Total Quality Management (TQM) are discussed and applied in the inbound call centre of a medical aid administration company. In a relatively short time span, some remarkable sustainable productivity improvements were achieved. This would imply that these WCMT could be applied in traditional non-production environments. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie navorsings werkstuk ondersoek Wêreld Klas Vervaardigings Tegnieke (WCMT) en die moontlike toepassing daarvan in 'n nie-vervaardigings omgewing, soos 'n inbeldienssentrum in die finansiële dienste sektor. Hierdie WCMT omsluit 'n groep innoverende tegnieke wat huidiglik aangewend en toegepas word in die meeste vervaardigings ondernemings. Hierdie tegnieke is nie beperk nie en verwys altyd terug na die doelstellings van WCMT naamlik (a) Vermindering van afval, (b) Verbetering van kwaliteit, (c) Verkorting van wag periodes, (d) Verlaging van kostes, en (e) Verbeterende personeel moraal en die voortdurende soeke na ander verbeteringe. Die belangrikheid van WCMT lê in die bereiking van hierdie bogenoemde doelwitte binne die konteks van die noodsaaklike vervaardigings metodes. Ondernemings wat hierdie tegnieke toepas vind groot produksiekapasiteit verbeteringe, produksie sinergie, 'n verlaging in die oordoen van foutiewe werk en ondervind ook grotendeels meer gereelde op-tyd aflewering. In die hoogs kompeterende globale mark bied die WCMT die broodnodige mededingende voordeel aan hierdie ondernemings. Die kritieke en belangrike bestanddeel van 'n onderneming se strategie en visie is die onderneming se vermoë om 'n deeglike en gesonde mededingende voordeel bo sy mededingers te hê. Dit is van kardinale belang dat die onderneming se visie behoorlik in lyn is met die onderneming se strategiese doelwitte. Hierdie WCMT is 'n instrument wat die onderneming kan aanwend ten einde sy visie en strategiese doelwitte, asook sy kompeterende voordeel, te bereik. Dit is krities belangrik dat 'n onderneming se visie en sy kompeterende doelwitte gesinkroniseer en gelykgestel is en verder dat die onderneming ook sy huidige produksie prosesse herevalueer, asook die manier waarop die onderneming opereer. Huidige produksie prosesse moet voortdurend geherevalueer en aangepas word waar nodig, ten einde die onderneming se voortdurende kompeterende voordeel te behou. Hierdie navorsings stuk is 'n voorbeeld van die praktiese toepassing van WGMT en hoe hierdie tegnieke 'n onderneming behulpsaam kan wees ten einde sy kompeterende voordeel te behou. Die WGMT soos die Teorie van Beperkings (TOC), Net Betyds (JIT) en Totale Kwaliteit Beheer (TQM) word deeglik ondersoek en bespreek. Die navorser ondersoek voorts die moontlikheid om hierdie tegnieke toe te pas in 'n in beldienssentrum by 'n administrateur van mediese fondse. In 'n relatiewe kort periode het die navorser noemenswaardige en voortdurende produksie verbetering teweeg gebring deur die toepassing van WGMT. Die navorser het afgelei dat hierdie WGMT nie net beperk is tot die vervaardigings sektor nie, maar dat dit ook in die nie-vervaardigings sektor doeltreffend aangewend kan word.

The purpose of this project is to develop a self-administered developmental care program that will be utilized by the staff of the neonatal ICU at Arrowhead Regional Medical Center, Colton, CA.

Improvement of patient care in any hospital depends primarily on the quality of nursing care. Nursing care is enhanced by the nursing process, which outlines the nursing activities to be provided for a patient. The purpose of this study was to determine to what extent the nursing process could improve the quality of nursing care, and to explore the knowledge limitations of nursing staff in implementing the nursing process, nursing care planning and proper documentation. Quantitative research, making use of an exploratory, descriptive and contextual design was conducted, utilising a structured questionnaire for data collection. Registered nurses (n=120) employed at a Referral Hospital in Tanzania served as the respondents. The findings revealed a lack of knowledge in understanding and applying the concepts of the nursing process, especially in formulating the nursing diagnosis. Recommendations pertaining to a focused in-service training programme, integrating theory and practice, were made to enhance the effective implementation of the nursing process. / Health Studies / MA (Health Studies)