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Biomedical subjects

N K Roberts

Publications and source records attributed to N K Roberts.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1999

Business quality control in issuing life insurance.

Fraud investigation and fraud control are entirely different processes. Similarly the auditing of a life insurance company and the issuing of life insurance policies and business quality control are not the same. Business quality control and fraud control have much in common. In this article, these similarities are explored and a case is made that companies issuing life insurance policies should consider the business quality control approach rather than the more traditional investigatory methods.

Commerce↗
PubMed1996

Optimized and corrected peak power output during friction-braked cycle ergometry.

Assessments of maximal intensity exercise which determine peak power output on friction-baked cycle ergometers have fallen into two categories: correction procedures which account for changes in momentum of the ergometer's flywheel and optimization procedures which attempt to satisfy muscle force-velocity relationships. The aim of this study was to compare performance in each procedure and so investigate assumptions which underpin the tests. Nineteen males aged 20.9 +/- 0.4 years and 18 females aged 22.2 +/- 0.7 years (mean +/- S.E.M.), who were fully accustomed to the procedures, participated in a single experimental protocol. After a 5 min warm-up, the subjects performed four bouts of all-out exercise on a Monark 814E cycle ergometer against randomly assigned loads. The loads were selected to produce peak pedalling rates in the range 100-200 rev min-1 and each bout lasted 10 s. From the inverse linear relationship between applied load and peak pedalling rate, optimized peak power output (PPopt) and the accompanying pedalling rate (RPMopt) were calculated. One of the bouts used a loading equivalent to 7.5% of body weight and for this bout corrected peak power output (PPcorr) and its corresponding pedalling rate (RPMcorr) were calculated. The PPopt was less than PPcorr in the males (915 +/- 35 vs 1005 +/- 32 W) and females (673 +/- 33 vs 777 +/- 39 W) (both P < 0.001). Similarly, RPMopt was less than RPMcorr (111 +/- 1 vs 128 +/- 2 rev min-1 and 101 +/- 1 vs 111 +/- 2 rev min-1 in the males and females, respectively; P < 0.001). The results demonstrate that optimization and correction procedures produce different values of performance. These differences are probably attributable to the mechanical principles which underpin the tests.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

Without the denominator where is the quality improvement paradigm in the nation's health care reform?

This paper will argue that there is room for improvement in the quality of health care delivered in the United States. A quality improvement paradigm requires an assessment, inventory and prioritization of areas for improvement. It further nurtures the imperative of process improvement for the achievement of a targeted outcome. The dual obligations of reduction in outcome variability, and resource management, provide an exciting milieu for the integration of clinical practice, the numerator, with population based medicine, the denominator.

Health Care Reform↗
PubMed1995

The selective approach to successful stomal management at home.

Practical aspects of caring for a patient's tracheal stoma at home are reviewed, based on our experience with 1,000 head and neck cancer and/or laryngotracheal stenosis patients treated at a large, multidisciplinary medical center. Successful management depends on understanding the various types of stomas and relating basic principles of hygiene to the fundamental concepts of wound healing and inflammation. There is no standard formula. Each case requires individual attention and planning.

Home Care Services↗