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1.
Strahlenther Onkol ; 191(2): 113-24, 2015 Feb.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-25245470

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: Developments in radiation oncology in recent years have highlighted the increasing deployment of personnel resources for tasks not directly related to patients. These tasks include patient-related activities such as treatment planning, reviewing files, and administrative duties (e.g., invoicing for services, documentation). The aim of the present study, part of the QUIRO project of the German Society of Radiation Oncology (DEGRO), was to describe, on the basis of valid data, the deployment of personnel resources in radiation oncology centers for "overhead" tasks. METHODS: Questionnaires were used to analyze the percentages of time needed for various tasks. The target group comprised physicians, medical physics experts (MPE), and medical technical radiology assistants (MTRA). A total of 760 personnel from 65 radio-oncology centers in the German inpatient and outpatient sector participated (32 % physicians, 23 % MPE, and 45 % MTRA). RESULTS: High percentages of overhead tasks during working time were measured for each of the three personnel groups considered (physicians, MPE, and MTRA). Patient-related efficiency, i.e., the percentage of working time associated directly or indirectly with the patient, was highest among MTRA and lowest among MPE. Particular features could be seen in the activity profiles of personnel in university clinics. Duties in the areas of research and teaching resulted in a greater percentage of overhead tasks for physicians and MPE. Irrespective of function (physician, MPE, or MTRA), a managerial role resulted in lower patient-related efficiency, as well as a narrower time budget for direct patient care compared with non-managerial employees. CONCLUSION: Using the data gathered, it was possible to systematically investigate the time required for overhead tasks in radio-oncological centers. Overall, relatively high time requirements for a variety of overhead tasks were measured. These time requirements, generated for example by administrative duties or research and teaching, are currently not taken into adequate consideration in terms of remuneration or personnel capacity planning.


Subject(s)
Ancillary Services, Hospital/statistics & numerical data , Health Physics/statistics & numerical data , Physicians/statistics & numerical data , Radiation Oncology/statistics & numerical data , Societies, Medical , Task Performance and Analysis , Technology, Radiologic/statistics & numerical data , Time and Motion Studies , Germany , Humans , Surveys and Questionnaires , Workforce
2.
BMC Health Serv Res ; 10: 120, 2010 May 12.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-20459873

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Subjective parameters such as quality of life or patient satisfaction gain importance as outcome parameters and benchmarks in health care. In many countries hospitals are now undergoing accreditation as mandatory or voluntary measures. It is believed but unproven that accreditations positively influence quality of care and patient satisfaction. The present study aims to assess in a defined specialty (cardiology) the relationship between patient satisfaction (as measured by the recommendation rate) and accreditation status. METHODS: Consecutive patients discharged from 25 cardiology units received a validated patient satisfaction questionnaire. Data from 3,037 patients (response rate > 55%) became available for analysis. Recommendation rate was used as primary endpoint. Different control variables such as staffing level were considered. RESULTS: The 15 accredited units did not differ significantly from the 10 non-accredited units regarding main hospital (i.e. staffing levels, no. of beds) and patient (age, gender) characteristics. The primary endpoint "recommendation rate of a given hospital" for accredited hospitals (65.6%, 95% Confidence Interval (CI) 63.4 - 67.8%) and hospitals without accreditation (65.8%, 95% CI 63.1-68.5%) was not significantly different. CONCLUSION: Our results support the notion that - at least in the field of cardiology - successful accreditation is not linked with measurable better quality of care as perceived by the patient and reflected by the recommendation rate of a given institution. Hospital accreditation may represent a step towards quality management, but does not seem to improve overall patient satisfaction.


Subject(s)
Accreditation , Cardiology Service, Hospital , Hospitals/standards , Patient Satisfaction , Quality of Health Care , Accreditation/statistics & numerical data , Age Factors , Aged , Cardiology Service, Hospital/standards , Cardiology Service, Hospital/statistics & numerical data , Cross-Sectional Studies , Female , Germany , Hospital Bed Capacity , Humans , Inpatients , Length of Stay , Male , Patient Discharge/statistics & numerical data , Patient Discharge/trends , Patient Satisfaction/ethnology , Sex Factors , Surveys and Questionnaires , Workforce
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