Satisfaction and attrition in the UK healthcare sector over the past decade.

Existing literature has highlighted concerns over working conditions in the UK National Health Service (NHS), with healthcare workers frequently citing work-life balance issues and stress as being drivers of attrition and burnout. However, we do not know whether these problems have become worse over time, particularly over the past decade, during which there have been multiple shocks to the UK healthcare system. To investigate this, we analysed data from NHS monthly workforce statistics and the UK Household Longitudinal Study. Three times as many workers left the NHS in 2021 for work-life balance reasons than in 2011, while estimated satisfaction with one's amount of leisure time for healthcare workers fell by three times the amount that it fell for non-healthcare workers. Both satisfaction with amount of leisure time and satisfaction with income have remained lower for healthcare workers than for other public sector workers. By 2020, a worker that had low satisfaction with their amount of leisure time was as much as 22 percentage points less likely than in 2010 to remain in healthcare in the following year. Overall, working conditions in UK healthcare have deteriorated between 2010 and 2020, especially relative to the private sector. However, overall job satisfaction has fallen faster in other areas of the public sector than it has in healthcare, which may indicate wider issues within the UK public sector as a whole.

Analyzing the Prospects of Blockchain in Healthcare Industry.

Deployment of secured healthcare information is a major challenge in a web-based environment. eHealth services are subjected to same security threats as other services. The purpose of blockchain is to provide a structure and security to the organization data. Healthcare data deals with confidential information. The medical records can be well organized and empower their propagation in a secured manner through the usage of blockchain technology. The study throws light on providing security of health services through blockchain technology. The authors have analyzed the various aspects of role of blockchain in healthcare through an extensive literature review. The application of blockchain in COVID-19 has also been analyzed and discussed in the study. Further application of blockchain in Indian healthcare has been highlighted in the paper. The study provides suggestions for strengthening the healthcare system by blending machine learning, artificial intelligence, big data, and IoT with blockchain.

Eastern Mediterranean Health Journal [2023; Vol.29, Issue 3]

Eastern Mediterranean Health Journal is the official health journal published by the Eastern Mediterranean Regional Office of the World Health Organization. It is a forum for the presentation and promotion of new policies and initiatives in health services; and for the exchange of ideas concepts epidemiological data research findings and other information with special reference to the Eastern Mediterranean Region. It addresses all members of the health profession medical and other health educational institutes interested NGOs WHO Collaborating Centres and individuals within and outside the Region

المجلة الصحية لشرق المتوسط هى المجلة الرسمية التى تصدرعن المكتب الاقليمى لشرق المتوسط بمنظمة الصحة العالمية. وهى منبر لتقديم السياسات والمبادرات الجديدة فى الصحة العامة والخدمات الصحية والترويج لها، و لتبادل الاراء و المفاهيم والمعطيات الوبائية ونتائج الابحاث وغير ذلك من المعلومات، و خاصة ما يتعلق منها باقليم شرق المتوسط. وهى موجهة الى كل اعضاء المهن الصحية، والكليات الطبية وسائر المعاهد التعليمية، و كذا المنظمات غير الحكومية المعنية، والمراكز المتعاونة مع منظمة الصحة العالمية والافراد المهتمين بالصحة فى الاقليم و خارجه

La Revue de Santé de la Méditerranée Orientale est une revue de santé officielle publiée par le Bureau régional de l’Organisation mondiale de la Santé pour la Méditerranée orientale. Elle offre une tribune pour la présentation et la promotion de nouvelles politiques et initiatives dans le domaine de la santé publique et des services de santé ainsi qu’à l’échange d’idées de concepts de données épidémiologiques de résultats de recherches et d’autres informations se rapportant plus particulièrement à la Région de la Méditerranée orientale. Elle s’adresse à tous les professionnels de la santé aux membres des instituts médicaux et autres instituts de formation médico-sanitaire aux ONG Centres collaborateurs de l’OMS et personnes concernés au sein et hors de la Région

Uncovering the potential of innovation ecosystems in the healthcare sector after the COVID-19 crisis.

Industry 4.0 technologies are expected to enhance healthcare quality at the minimum cost feasible by using innovative solutions based on a fruitful exchange of knowledge and resources among institutions, firms and academia. These collaborative mechanisms are likely to occur in an innovation ecosystem where different stakeholders and resources interact to provide ground-breaking solutions to the market. The paper proposes a framework for studying the creation and development of innovation ecosystems in the healthcare sector by using a set of interrelated dimensions including, technology, value, and capabilities within a Triple-Helix model guided by focal actors. The model is applied to an exemplary Italian innovation ecosystem providing cloud and artificial intelligence-based solutions to general practitioners (GPs) under the focal role of the Italian association of GPs. Primary and secondary data are examined starting from the innovation ecosystem's origins and continuing until the COVID-19 crisis. The findings show that the pandemic represented the turning point that altered the ecosystem's dimensions in order to find immediate solutions for monitoring health conditions and organizing the booking of swabs and vaccines. The data triangulation points out the technical, organizational, and administrative barriers hindering the widespread adoption of these solutions at the national and regional levels, revealing several implications for health policy.

COVID-19, jobs and skills-Exploratory analysis of the job postings in the US and UK healthcare job market.

The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly affected all spheres of life, including the healthcare workforce. While the COVID-19 pandemic has started driving organizational and societal shifts, it is vital for healthcare organizations and decision-makers to analyze patterns in the changing workforce. In this study, we aim to identify patterns in healthcare job postings during the pandemic to understand which jobs and associated skills are trending after the advent of COVID-19. Content analysis of job postings was conducted using data-driven approaches over two-time intervals in the pandemic. The proposed framework utilizes Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) for topic modeling to evaluate the patterns in job postings in the US and the UK. The most demanded jobs, skills and tasks for the US job postings are presented based on job posting data from popular job posting websites. This is obtained by mapping the job postings to the jobs, skills and tasks defined in the O*NET database for the healthcare occupations in the US. The topic modeling results clearly show increased hiring for telehealth services in both the US and UK. This study also presents an increase in demand for specific occupations and skills in the USA healthcare industry. The results and methods used in the study can help monitor rapid changes in the job market due to pandemics and guide decision-makers to make organizational shifts in a timely manner.

Multiple jobholding and part-time work among nurses in long-term care homes compared to other healthcare sectors: Evidence from Ontario.

About two-thirds of Canadian COVID-19 related deaths occurred in long-term care homes (LTCHs). Multiple jobholding and excessive part-time work among staff have been discussed as vectors of transmission. Using an administrative census of registered nurses (RNs) and registered practical nurses (RPNs) in the Canadian province of Ontario, this paper contrasts the prevalence of multiple jobholding, part-time/casual work, and other job and worker characteristics across health sectors in 2019 and 2020 to establish whether the LTCH sector deviates from the norms in Ontario healthcare. Prior to COVID-19, about 19% of RNs and 21% of RPNs in LTCHs held multiple jobs. For RPNs, this was almost identical to the RPN provincial average, while for RNs this was 2.5 percentage points above the RN provincial average. In 2020, multiple jobholding fell significantly in LTCHs after the province passed a single site order to reduce COVD-19 transmission. Although there are many similarities across sectors, nurses, especially RNs, in LTCHs differ on some dimensions. They are more likely to be internationally educated and, together with nurses in hospitals, those who work part- time/casual are more likely to prefer full-time hours (involuntary part-time/casual). Overall, while multiple jobholding and part-time work among nurses are problematic for infection prevention and control, these employment practices in LTCHs did not substantially deviate from the norms in the rest of healthcare in Ontario.

Principles of ideal diagnostic regulation and the IVDR.

This article discusses principles and concepts for ideal regulatory frameworks for diagnostics, and the expression of those principles in the EU IVDR. The authors present the benefits of regulatory frameworks and implementation approaches for diagnostics that are risk-based, globally convergent, connected, nimble and efficient, under the IVDR and with a future outlook. While many expressions of these principles can already be found in the EU IVDR text, and in its implementation approaches, their further embrace is needed in future EU diagnostic regulation. In the long term outlook, risk-based approaches can be extended to comprise entity-based excellence appraisals. Globally convergent approaches can be more explicit in e.g. qualification and classification of products. This will also help further reliance models. Better connections and cooperation between regulators across the healthcare spectrum including pharmaceuticals should be fostered. Nimble approaches such as Emergency Use Authorisations for pandemics are essential in highly regulated schemes like the IVDR and beyond. Finally, regulatory efficiency as in timely availability of IT infrastructure and oversight mechanisms is a distinguishing attribute of globally competitive diagnostic regulatory schemes. All the above needs consideration in the long term efforts to modernize the EU regulatory system, so that diagnostics can play their important role in clinical research as well as along the entire care continuum in the EU.

Toward an economy of wellbeing: The economic impact of the Welsh healthcare sector.

Population health and wellbeing is both a result, as well as a driver, of economic development and prosperity on global, European, national and sub-national (local) levels. Wales, one of the four United Kingdom (UK) nations, has shown a long-term commitment to sustainable development and achieving prosperity for all, providing a good example of both national and sub-national level, which can be useful for other European countries and regions. In this paper, the economic importance of the healthcare sector to the Welsh economy is explored. We use a large number of data sources for the UK and Welsh economy to derive an economic model for 2017. We estimate output, income, employment, value-added, and import multipliers of the healthcare sector. Results suggest that the healthcare sector has an above average contribution in four explored economic aspects of the Welsh economy (output, income, employment, value-added), according to its impact on the surrounding economic ecosystem. Also, it is below average regarding leaking through imports. The multipliers' values offer empirical evidence when deciding on alternative policy actions. Such actions can be used as a stimulus for encouraging regional development and post-COVID economic recovery. Our study refers to the Welsh healthcare sector's economic impact as a whole. Therefore, we suggest investigating the economic impact of individual healthcare providers in the future.

Application of Metaverse Service to Healthcare Industry: A Strategic Perspective.

This study is to explore a state of the art in metaverse service that is an emerging issue in applying it to the healthcare industry. The purpose of this study is to provide applicable strategic scenarios for effective metaverse service planning and implementation in healthcare settings. This study is focused on metaverse service as a business model. Thus, related literatures of metaverse service are reviewed in various aspects in healthcare industry. An exploratory approach is used to analyze current qualitative data characterizing healthcare metaverse service business positions and derive applicable strategies from business trends of current metaverse services. Several cases are examined based on the data obtained from various sources of healthcare and other related industries. This study synthesizes finding results and suggests applicable strategies of metaverse service in the healthcare industry. This study will facilitate strategic decision-making and policy-making processes to pursue a business opportunity development through an application of a metaverse service in healthcare and similar settings.

Eastern Mediterranean Health Journal [2022; Vol.28, Issue 9]

Eastern Mediterranean Health Journal is the official health journal published by the Eastern Mediterranean Regional Office of the World Health Organization. It is a forum for the presentation and promotion of new policies and initiatives in health services; and for the exchange of ideas concepts epidemiological data research findings and other information with special reference to the Eastern Mediterranean Region. It addresses all members of the health profession medical and other health educational institutes interested NGOs WHO Collaborating Centres and individuals within and outside the Region

المجلة الصحية لشرق المتوسط هى المجلة الرسمية التى تصدرعن المكتب الاقليمى لشرق المتوسط بمنظمة الصحة العالمية. وهى منبر لتقديم السياسات والمبادرات الجديدة فى الصحة العامة والخدمات الصحية والترويج لها، و لتبادل الاراء و المفاهيم والمعطيات الوبائية ونتائج الابحاث وغير ذلك من المعلومات، و خاصة ما يتعلق منها باقليم شرق المتوسط. وهى موجهة الى كل اعضاء المهن الصحية، والكليات الطبية وسائر المعاهد التعليمية، و كذا المنظمات غير الحكومية المعنية، والمراكز المتعاونة مع منظمة الصحة العالمية والافراد المهتمين بالصحة فى الاقليم و خارجه

La Revue de Santé de la Méditerranée Orientale est une revue de santé officielle publiée par le Bureau régional de l’Organisation mondiale de la Santé pour la Méditerranée orientale. Elle offre une tribune pour la présentation et la promotion de nouvelles politiques et initiatives dans le domaine de la santé publique et des services de santé ainsi qu’à l’échange d’idées de concepts de données épidémiologiques de résultats de recherches et d’autres informations se rapportant plus particulièrement à la Région de la Méditerranée orientale. Elle s’adresse à tous les professionnels de la santé aux membres des instituts médicaux et autres instituts de formation médico-sanitaire aux ONG Centres collaborateurs de l’OMS et personnes concernés au sein et hors de la Région

Digital Health Care Industry Ecosystem: Network Analysis.

BACKGROUND: As the need for digital health care based on mobile devices is increasing, with the rapid development of digital technologies, especially in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, gaining a better understanding of the industrial structure is needed to activate the use of digital health care. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to suggest measures to revitalize the digital health care industry by deriving the stakeholders and major issues with respect to the ecosystem of the industry. METHODS: A total of 1822 newspaper articles were collected using Big Kings, a big data system for news, for a limited period from 2016 to August 2021, when the mobile health care project was promoted in Korea centered on public health centers. The R and NetMiner programs were used for network analysis. RESULTS: The Korean government and the Ministry of Health and Welfare showed the highest centrality and appeared as major stakeholders, and their common major issues were "reviewing the introduction of telemedicine," "concerns about bankruptcy of local clinics," and "building an integrated platform for precision medicine." In addition, the major stakeholders of medical institutions and companies were Seoul National University Hospital, Kangbuk Samsung Hospital, Ajou University Hospital, Samsung, and Vuno Inc. CONCLUSIONS: This analysis confirmed that the issues related to digital health care are largely composed of telemedicine, data, and health care business. For digital health care to develop as a national innovative growth engine and to be institutionalized, the development of a digital health care fee model that can improve the regulatory system and the cost-effectiveness of patient care, centering on the Ministry of Health and Welfare as a key stakeholder, is essential.

Personal Digital Twin: A Close Look into the Present and a Step towards the Future of Personalised Healthcare Industry.

Digital twins (DTs) play a vital role in revolutionising the healthcare industry, leading to more personalised, intelligent, and proactive healthcare. With the evolution of personalised healthcare, there is a significant need to represent a virtual replica for individuals to provide the right type of care in the right way and at the right time. Therefore, in this paper, we surveyed the concept of a personal digital twin (PDT) as an enhanced version of the DT with actionable insight capabilities. In particular, PDT can bring value to patients by enabling more accurate decision making and proper treatment selection and optimisation. Then, we explored the progression of PDT as a revolutionary technology in healthcare research and industry. However, although several research works have been performed for smart healthcare using DT, PDT is still at an early stage. Consequently, we believe that this work can be a step towards smart personalised healthcare industry by guiding the design of industrial personalised healthcare systems. Accordingly, we introduced a reference framework that empowers smart personalised healthcare using PDTs by bringing together existing advanced technologies (i.e., DT, blockchain, and AI). Then, we described some selected use cases, including the mitigation of COVID-19 contagion, COVID-19 survivor follow-up care, personalised COVID-19 medicine, personalised osteoporosis prevention, personalised cancer survivor follow-up care, and personalised nutrition. Finally, we identified further challenges to pave the PDT paradigm toward the smart personalised healthcare industry.

Spanish Healthcare Sector Management in the COVID-19 Crisis Under the Perspective of Austrian Economics and New-Institutional Economics.

This is a study of Political Economy, Law & Economics, and Public Choice, applied to COVID-19 crisis management, and how the Spanish healthcare sector has operated under stressful conditions. Market and state failures are evaluated and some improvements are offered, according to the theories of Austrian Economics and New-Institutional Economics. At the macro level, the premise is the decentralization of the Spanish healthcare system a long time ago, to provide a better service to citizens, according to the idiosyncrasies of the Autonomous Communities (similar to federal states). The crisis has evidenced the failures of the Spanish system and its semi-federal model, without coordination to manage the trouble. Also, the General Government's recentralization attempt has failed too, proving Mises's theorem on the impossibility of economic calculation in intervened and coactive systems, with problems of shortages, lack of coordination, etc.; Buchanan-Tullock's theorem on the unfinished agenda of state interventionist and it suppression of private sector was also proven. At the micro level, health institutions (hospitals and health centers) have fallen into the paradox of media overexposure and the fake-news risk, because the more information they have tried to transmit, the more confusion they have caused, reducing the value of the supposed transparency and accountability, in addition to decreasing citizen wellbeing, giving way to a higher level of dissatisfaction and more risk of a syndemic. To perform the analysis of accountability and wellbeing perceived, this paper has used quantitative contrast techniques on secondary sources, such as the surveys of Centro de Investigaciones Sociológicas (part of the Public Sector) or Merco rankings (independent institution).