Search PubMed⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

H L Smith

Publications and source records attributed to H L Smith.

At least 235 records · Page 13Linked to original sources
PubMedDate not supplied

The new obstetrics: strategic implications for hospitals.

In brief, Obstetrics, like many other medical specialties, is experiencing the convergence of a number of diverse medical, social and economic trends. As a result there is increasingly intense turmoil in how these services are clinically delivered and in how they are managed--with a profound shift from basically inpatient, institutional care to outpatient care. Hospital executives must be alert to these changes if they expect their clinics and inpatient facilities to remain competitive and to deliver the best possible care under a rapidly changing set of expectations. If executives fail to recognize these pressures and thereby fail to create timely strategic reactions, their organizations may subsequently experience poor long run performance. The issue in obstetrics is not merely one of determining how best to manage obstetrics-related clinics, programs or departments; although this is a significant hospital management problem, it is important to recognize the changes and prevalent patterns, and to begin devising responsive management strategies. See strategies below.

Ambulatory Care↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Substance abuse among nurses: types of drugs.

Substance abuse among nurses can have significant ramifications for patient care, productivity, and personal well-being. Existing evidence suggests that critical care nurses are especially vulnerable to pressures that induce substance abuse. Consequently, critical care leaders and nurses need to be prepared to help their impaired colleagues. This paper provides several valuable guidelines for addressing substance abuse based on an exploratory study of the types of drugs or substances most frequently abused among nurses.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Nurses' quality of working life in an HMO: a comparative study.

Three dimensions of the quality of nurses' working life in a health maintenance organization--job satisfaction, job tension, and organizational commitment--were studied. Subjects included 50 licensed vocational nurses, 47 registered nurses, and 14 nurse practitioners. Nurse practitioners registered a statistically significant higher level of job satisfaction than RNs and LVNs; RNs registered a statistically significant higher level than LVNs. Nurse practitioners reported more job tension than RNs or LVNs, and RNs reported more than LVNs, but the differences were not significant. Differences among the groups were not significant for organizational commitment, but NPs expressed the highest level of commitment.

Health Maintenance Organizations↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Toward improvements in parenting: a description of prenatal and postpartum classes with teaching guide.

A pilot program was developed at an urban community hospital in an attempt to enhance the educational preparation of new and expectant parents and to provide them with the opportunity to examine their values and expectations relating to parenthood. Forty-one couples attended prenatal and postpartum classes. Child development and parenting issues were the main topics of discussion. The effectiveness of the educational program and instructor performance were evaluated through questionnaires measuring parenting knowledge and emotional support. Also, a teaching guide was developed and published.

Curriculum↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Medical groups at the crossroads.

Medical groups and physicians have arrived at the crossroads of an uncertain future. The purpose of this paper is to explore how both can collaborate to win over the long-run. Evolving group practice imperatives are analyzed, including reinventing the group practice concept, achieving productivity from providers, intensifying medical management without raising costs and demonstrating the value of products and services. These imperatives define the deliverables required from medical groups and physicians in order to establish a promising fit with managed care plans. Responses to these imperatives enable medical groups to offer precisely the sort of distinctive competitiveness that managed care plans seek and that lead to long-run viability.

Consumer Behavior↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Medical groups and the metaphor of manufacturing.

Medical groups are vitally interested in achieving better operating margins in view of diminishing revenues and cost increases. The answer to this dilemma is heightened productivity. However, raising the productivity of medical care providers does not just automatically happen. It requires innovative thinking and the courage to instill change in the face of resistance. This article examines several medical manufacturing strategies that might be used by medical groups to improve productivity. These strategies are based on proven approaches in business that have been translated for the health care context.

Delivery of Health Care, Integrated↗
PubMedDate not supplied

For-profit and nonprofit mergers: concerns and outcomes.

This article examines whether merger with an investor-owned chain is beneficial to nonprofit hospitals. Drawing on the experience of Lovelace Medical Foundation, a hospital-based group practice in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in its merger with the Hospital Corporation of America, this article describes the uncertainty that accompanies a merger, elucidates specific concerns of nonprofit hospitals about loss of autonomy to a large corporation, and sets guidelines for making sure most anticipated fears fail to materialize as a result of premerger planning.

Capital Financing↗