Yoga has recently been a subject of some media attention, both positive and negative. Some people advocate it for its mental and physical benefits, but others are also concerned that it might cause or lead to injury, particularly in the Western world where it's commonly seen primarily as a form of exercise. Yoga therapy emerged in part because of such concerns. Though people have used yoga to aid in health and wellness for as long as the practice has existed, the idea of yoga therapy being its own specialized field is relatively new. Yoga therapists hope to personalize the experience of yoga by working with people with various mental and physical conditions and giving them customized programs. Using quotes from professionals and people with personal yoga experience, this article explores the roots of yoga therapy, yoga itself: its praises, criticisms, science and a small sample of its plentiful history. It also addresses the definition of yoga therapy, specialties in the field, its professional organization and possibilities for the future. The question of whether yoga therapy can gain credibility and become a reliable healthcare resource has not yet been answered, though there are those who say their own personal experiences are enough to convince them one way or the other. In any case, yoga and all its various forms of practice likely won't disappear anytime soon. / text

The graduation thesis focuses on the economics of health, particularly for medical factor -- the availability of healthcare. The aim of this thesis is to determine regional differences in availability of healthcare in the regions of the Czech Republic. The availability has been analyzed from a geographical point of view, therefore, on the basis of density of the network of health facilities. The objective is achieved by using statistical processing of data provided by ÚZIS ČR and ČSÚ. The thesis has been performed using the methods of statistical analysis, synthesis, comparison and deduction. In the provision of hospital care there were not found any more significant regional disparities. The availability of outpatient care was found that the availability of primary health care was from the 90th years pushed by ordination of professional specialists. In the availability of general practitioners there appeared some interregional differences. The worst availability was analyzed in the regions Středočeský and Ústecký.

The purpose of this study is to examine whether there is a change in physician's behavior because of increased competition in the primary care market. The hypothesis is that increased competition in the healthcare market increases the physician's tendency to prescribe drugs in order to attract patients. Therefore, this paper aims to examine whether the number of opioids prescribed has increased due to a Swedish reform known as the System of Choice that was implemented between 2007-2010, whose target was to increase the competition in the healthcare market. A difference-in-difference method is applied to examine the causal relationship between the reform and the number of prescriptions of opioids. This method is applicable since the counties introduced the reform at different points in time. The result is not statistically significant but the estimate is positive which corresponds to previous literature. However, the result could indicate that the System of Choice has had no effect on the number of opioids prescribed.

Key drivers for care coordination programs may include reducing inflated health care cost and improving the quality of care for high-risk populations. However, health care leaders lack methods to support financial investment in care coordination programs. The purpose of this single case study was to explore the strategies that health care leaders use to improve corporate financial investment in care coordination programs that include the triple aim of reducing cost, improving population health, and increasing patient satisfaction. The triple aim model provided the conceptual framework for the study in which 6 health care leaders from Southern California with experience garnering financial support for care coordination programs were interviewed. Data from semistructured interviews were analyzed and compared with company documents to establish methodological triangulation. The 4 themes that emerged included reflecting a reduction in health care cost; focusing on high-need, high-cost populations; partnering with primary care practices; and providing patient-centered care. The implications for positive social change included the potential to provide health care leaders the tools needed to garner financial investment in care coordination programs that improve population health and influence the health of high-risk populations.

Healthcare professionals who practice while impaired by alcohol or drugs endanger the well-being of patients. In the workplace, the substance-impaired healthcare professional poses challenges for healthcare leaders who are responsible for the provision of safe patient care and safe work environments. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore management strategies used by some healthcare organizational leaders to address the substance-impaired healthcare professional in the workplace. The conceptual framework for this study drew upon the legal and ethical concepts of due diligence. Data collection consisted of surveys of 40 managers and supervisors, and 3 senior leaders, semi structured interviews of executive leaders from one large hospital, and a review of company documents. A software program was used to organize the data for analysis. Five themes emerged that yielded 6 possible strategies that leaders could use to address the substance-impaired healthcare professional in the workplace: an affective healthcare business model, healthcare leader training, monitoring and surveillance systems, synergistic integration of work and life balance, and legal and ethical incident reporting. These research findings may contribute to positive organizational and social change by reducing the risk patients have from substance-impaired healthcare professionals.

Although predictions for the supply of registered nurses (RNs) is projected to increase to 3,849,000 by 2025, the demand for RNs is projected to grow to 3,509,000. The purpose of this single case study was to explore the strategies some recruiters in a nonprofit health care facility used to recruit RNs. The conceptual lens used for this study was general systems theory. Through a purposeful sample of 3 recruiters at a nonprofit health care facility located in New York, data collection occurred through semistructured interviews, reviewing job boards and the company website, and taking field notes the day of the interviews. Data analysis involved a process of organizing, coding, arranging data into common themes relevant to the research question, and interpreting the data. Member checking was used to enhance the credibility and validity of the data. Through thematic analysis, 4 themes emerged: partnering with colleges, strategies in recruiting RNs, partnering with professional organizations to recruit RNs, and updating the website. Using multiple job boards to promote available RN positions was also identified as a strategy to recruit RNs. Identifying strategies to recruit RNs may assist human resource leaders in a challenging business environment in which the supply of qualified RNs is low. The study findings have implications for positive social change for recruiters in a nonprofit health care facility and in the community. Recruiters in a nonprofit health care facility that recruit qualified RNs may assist with improving the nonprofit mission, identifying sickness or disease, and assisting with proper treatment for patients.

Magister Commercii - MCom / The South African democratic government is mandated by the constitution to provide quality healthcare services to the citizens of the country. Therefore, healthcare in South Africa is considered as a basic human right. The existing healthcare system exhibits extreme inequality, which translates into inequity in health outcomes across different demographic factors. Even though quality healthcare is a basic human right, problems related to the quality of healthcare remain, which poses a major challenge for the South African government. This dissertation investigates patient perceptions of the quality of public healthcare in South Africa, using General Household Survey data (2009-2016), with the objective of determining the level and trends of patient satisfaction and complaints reported when accessing public healthcare services in South Africa and identifying the correlates of these perception. This study found that patient satisfaction with public healthcare services in South Africa has increased over time while complaints have decreased over time. This study refrains from drawing conclusion on these findings at face value, since they may be other factors that explain the observed trends. The most common complaint was long waiting time at public healthcare facilities. On average, White individuals, male household heads, individuals residing in rural areas and individuals from smaller household were more likely to report to being satisfied with healthcare services received at public healthcare facilities in South Africa. Therefore, patient satisfaction survey approach should be used in conjunction with other healthcare quality measures such as direct observation, vignettes and standardised or mystery patient.

Practice and law around informed consent in healthcare have undergone a revolution for the better over recent decades. However the way we obtain informed consent remains problematic and is imbued with irreducible but not ineliminable uncertainty. The reasons for this uncertainty are varied. The uncertainty is partly due to the conceptual opacity of important core concepts. The complexity of communication in clinical encounters is another. The role of autonomy, and the changing nature of the clinician patient relationship, have also contributed to this uncertainty remaining. This thesis is not a panacea for these difficulties. However there have been two quite profound revolutions in healthcare over the last decade or so, namely, the introduction of evidence-based medicine into clinical decision making, and the institutionalization of clinical governance and the application of quality improvement philosophy. I have examined ways in which these two “movements” can help in reducing some of the uncertainty in the practice of informed consent.

A vast literature acknowledges that minority groups, particularly African-Americans, receive less, and lower-quality treatment than Caucasians in U.S. health facilities. It remains an open question as to how much of this disparity is a result of poverty, and how much, a result of more overt discrimination. Former empirical studies are far from conclusive given the endogeneity of hospital quality, as minorities are overrepresented in areas served by poor health facilities. To remedy this endogeneity issue, we observe visitors to the state of Florida, as well as travelers within Florida. When an individual experiences a health shock far from home, her hospital assignment becomes random. By contrasting treatment intensity, and patient outcomes of minority visitors with the total population, we find that residence plays a substantial role in the provision of healthcare. Our results indicate that though African-Americans as minority group receive less treatment and experience higher mortality rates, these disparities disappear for African-American visitors.

Due to rapid change of healthcare environment and the awakening consciousness of health service consumers, healthcare quality becomes a major concern of hospital administrators. In 1999, Taiwan Joint Commission on Hospital Accreditation cooperated with Maryland Hospital Association and then implemented Taiwan Quality Indicator Project (TQIP). On the other hand, within the years 1998~ 2000, Taiwan College of Healthcare Executives developed a localized healthcare indicator series (referred to as Taiwan Healthcare Indicator Series, THIS, afterwards) aiming at providing a better system for monitoring medical care quality for the long run. Nevertheless, relevant reports show that so far not many hospitals actively participate in the THIS. The main purpose of this study is to explore those factors which might influence a district hospital¡¦s decision of whether participating in the THIS no not. Hospital administrators were the subjects of this study. Mailing survey was adopted to collect the data. In May, 2004, a total of 436 questionnaires were mailed out. 147 hospitals responded (i.e. a response rate of 33.72%). The key variables of interest may be classified into three groups-- hospital characteristics, perception of THIS, and professional technique related to THIS. Descriptive analyses showed that more than 60% district hospitals did not participate in the THIS; the reasons are listed in order as follows: lack of budget, lack of quality assurance specialists, indicator unable to meet hospital¡¦s requirement, human resource shortage, annual fee too expensive. As for those hospitals participating in THIS, their considerations are showed in order as follows: better reimbersencement, meeting the requirement of assessment, complying with regulation of the authority, and meeting the requirement of hospital policy and patient needs. Besides, a logistic regression analysis indicated that the most important factor influencing hospitals¡¦ participation in THIS is ¡§whether any medical quality related activity is implemented within the hospital.¡¨ With a response rate of 33.72% and with responding hospitals relatively restricted to Kaohsiung-Pingtung area, a careful generalization of results is needed. Further, it is suggested that a qualitative study design along with a higher response rate of quantitative analysis might help enhance the generalization for future study.