study of the problems between basic insurance organizations and teaching hospitals of Shiraz University of Medical Sciences as viewed by the staff of income hospitals and representative of the insurer's organization in 2013

Introduction: In Iran health insurance is a significant tool in healthcare costs, financing health care and equal access to health services for people. Problems between hospitals and insurance organizations impose extra cost to the patient, leading to financial losses they will infringe upon the rights of patients. This study aimed to determine the issues between hospitals and basic insurance organizations and proposed practical solutions to solve problems in Shiraz University of Medical Sciences

Method: This research was a qualitative study [content analysis], which was conducted in 2013. The research population consisted of teaching hospitals of Shiraz University of Medical Sciences; Purposeful sampling was used and continued until data saturation. The representative of the insurers and staff of income hospitals were asked questions using a semi-structured interview. In this study, we used NVIVO for data analysis

Results: The results of this study showed that the most common problems between basic insurance organizations and teaching hospitals include the lack of prompt payment of hospital bills and imposing deduction on the hospitals

Conclusion: Based on the results of this study, it seems that cooperation between hospitals and insurance organizations could be improved by timely payment of hospital bills and codifying appropriate rules and regulations by basic insurance organizations and, on the other hand, with timely completion of bills and training of hospital staff by the hospital authorities

Executive and financial manager's awareness of economic issues in private and public hospitals in Shiraz

Introduction: Managers, as the members of decision making team in hospitals, are required to understand economic issues In order to increase their knowledge, make better decisions making, and bring about economic growth in hospitals. Thus by measuring the managers' level of economic knowledge and understanding their weaknesses at this field, we can take an important step in line with this transcendental target

Method: This was an analytical– descriptive study conducted in 2013. In this study, the views of 30 hospital executives and financial managers about various aspects of hospital economy including payment methods, techniques of economic evaluation, hospital income, and cost and subtractions were studied using questionnaires and interviews. SPSS 18 was used to analyze the collected data. P<0.05 was considered statistically significant

Results: None of the studied managers had a good level of knowledge and most managers [80.7%] had an undesirable level of knowledge, and few of them had a moderate level of knowledge. The administrators' average knowledge of the ways to reduce the cost and increase the income of private hospitals was more than that of hospital administrators; as to the economic evaluation techniques and methods of payment, hospital administrators had more knowledge than managers of private hospitals

Conclusion: The managers' low level of economic knowledge can be enhanced by more selective appointment of individuals for these sensitive positions and also increased by their participation in workshops and training courses