ABSTRACT
Background: Business management training is essential for success in the modern era. Health and medical professionals are exposed to knowledge that allows them to treat pathologies. However, their training does not prepare them to manage their practices as businesses and in a sustainable, effective, and efficient manner. Objectives: To investigate the business management training needs of registered South African Biokineticists. Methods: A quantitative and descriptive research design was used. Sixty-nine registered Biokineticists answered the emailed survey. The survey was sent out on two separate days, two weeks apart. Participants could only answer the survey once. The survey was sent out by the Biokinetics Association of South Africa (BASA). The sample in this study consisted of both male and female participants who graduated between the years of 1985-2019. The survey consisted of demographic questions about their study methods. It also included a 5-point Likert Scale where a score of 1 indicated an exceptionally low need and a score of 5 indicated a very high need for corresponding business processes. The business processes included accounting, business sustainability, corporate social responsibility, ethics, financial management, human resource management, leadership and managerial decision-making, marketing, operational management, and strategic management. A final open-ended question on what other business management training the participant needed was asked at the end of the survey. Results: Combined high to very high needs (X≥4 on the Likert Scale) for the business management processes explored were: accounting: 28%, business sustainability: 33%, corporate social responsibility: 23%, ethics: 55%, financial management: 35%, human resource management: 29%, leadership and managerial decision-making: 43%, marketing: 41%, operational management: 39%, and strategic management: 33%. Seventy-one percent of the participants who took part in the study suggested that they needed other business management training needs, providing suggestions in the final question. Of the 71% of participants who answered this question, the most important requests identified included information technology (17%), tax-related management and knowledge (19%) and medical aid training for ICD-10 coding (13%). The other 51% of the participants that answered the final question provided suggestions that could be categorised into the areas of business already reported on in the Likert Scale. Sixty-nine out of a possible ±1600 registered Biokineticists who were BASA members completed the survey. This represents a response rate of about 4%. Conclusion: Business management training needs exist for South African Biokineticists. By addressing these needs, it may lead to improvements in overall patient care, practice management and small business growth which in return can lead to the socioeconomic stimulation of the country.
ABSTRACT
AIMS: Triptorelin is a gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) analogue with enhanced affinity for GnRH receptors and a prolonged half-life due to its resistance to enzymatic degradation. The sustained-release formulation of this molecule is advantageous in conditions requiring chronic hormone suppression. METHODS: This was an open study to determine the pharmacokinetics of a single i.v. bolus dose of 0.5 mg triptorelin acetate in four groups of six male subjects; namely in healthy subjects (Group I), in patients with varying degrees of renal insufficiency (Groups II and III), and in patients with hepatic insufficiency (Group IV). RESULTS: The maximum concentrations of triptorelin were found to be similar for all four study groups (geometric mean Cmax between 41.6 mg ml(-1) and 53.9 mg ml(-1)). The total clearance of triptorelin decreased with increasing renal impairment, and was even lower in patients with hepatic insufficiency (geometric mean CLtot: 210 ml min(-1), 113 ml min(-1), 86.8 ml min(-1) and 57.3 ml min(-1) for Groups I, II, III and IV, respectively). Serum triptorelin concentrations in all four groups were adequately described by a three-compartment model. The elimination half-life for patients with hepatic impairment was similar to that of patients with renal impairment (geometric mean t(1/2, z): 6.6 h, 7.7 h and 7.6 h for Groups II, III and IV, respectively), but significantly longer than in healthy volunteers (2.8 h for Group I). The first and second distribution half-lives were similar for the four groups studied, with geometric mean distribution half-lives of about 0.1 h (6 min) and 0.75 h (45 min), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Although both renal and hepatic function are important for the clearance of triptorelin, the liver plays the predominant role in subjects suffering from some degree of renal impairment.
