Search PubMed⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search PubMed

Results for “Voluntary Programs”

Search indexed PubMed citations on genomics, clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health. Explore titles, authors and supplied subject terms, then open the PubMed record.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 289 records · Page 16Linked to original sources
PubMed1988

Proficiency testing. Its role in a voluntary clinical Laboratory Accreditation Program.

The author's long experience as Chairman of the Laboratory Accreditation Program of the College of American Pathologists provides the background for this article. Laboratory accreditation and proficiency testing have now become an established part of the clinical laboratories in the United States. This article attempts to demonstrate the relationship between proficiency testing and accreditation, and highlights some of the current problems and future challenges facing proficiency testing as pertains to accreditation.

Academies and Institutes↗
PubMed1979

Voluntary dental laboratory certification program. Council on Prosthetic Services and Dental Laboratory Relations.

Laboratory certification does not offer concrete guarantees of consistent high quality of products or services. It does, however, identify, for the dental profession, a competency and acceptability factor on which to base a predication of performance by the laboratory. Also, laboratory certification establishes a framework within which the dental laboratory industry can work to continue upgrading its facilities and personnel, demonstrates the concern of certified laboratories for continuing competence, and indicates to government and third-party payers a willingness to develop standards endorsed by the industry.

Certification↗
PubMed1999

Legal audits and investigations: a key component of healthcare corporate compliance programs.

In today's complex legal environment, healthcare organizations are increasingly implementing voluntary compliance programs as a means of avoiding severe penalties for violations of the law. The Office of the Inspector General has identified legal audits and investigations as key components of effective compliance programs. The author demonstrates the applicability of legal audits and investigations to healthcare organizations by examining the audit and investigation process from beginning to end. The author also examines the role of attorneys in legal audits and investigations, and explains how information communicated from the healthcare organization to its attorneys can be protected from disclosure. As this Article indicates, the monetary and human resource costs of such compliance audits and investigations are insignificant when compared to the potential costs of defending a legal action or paying monetary penalties.

Confidentiality↗
PubMed1992

The planning, development, and implementation of a work-site health promotion program: a case study.

A voluntary health promotion program was introduced at an academic institution with 665 employees. The 239 employees who volunteered to participate in a health risk appraisal were significantly younger and more likely to be female than were nonparticipants. The prevalence rates of the major coronary heart disease risk factors in the participants were as follows: hypercholesterolemia, 25.5%; elevated blood pressure, 15.5%; and current cigarette smoker, 15.1%. In addition, many participants daily consumed food high in cholesterol or fat (54.2%), were obese (44.8%), and led sedentary lifestyles (28.5%). Although a majority of female participants had received physician/nurse breast examinations and had Papanicolaou smears taken during the previous year, only about half this number performed monthly breast self-examinations. A telephone survey of employees revealed the most desired health promotion program components to be stress reduction, nutrition counseling, exercise fitness, and weight reduction. The program is now being monitored for health benefits and program costs.

Adult↗
PubMed1970

CMA's proposal for a voluntary, universally available Health Benefits Program. A socio-economic report of the Bureau of Research and Planning, California Medical Association.

The May 4, 1970 issue of the American Medical News contains an article on a report released in April by the British Medical Association following a two-year study of the British National Health Service. Although the BMA study is oriented to the specific program as it has evolved in Great Britain since 1946, its main thrust is in the development of a system of voluntary health insurance which would provide for greater consumer choice, based upon nationally determined guidelines and regulations. BMA's recommendations would have the NHS utilize a combination of tax-supported and voluntary-supported mechanisms in providing medical services to various segments of the population, based upon categories of illness and income levels. Since the BMA proposal as reported in the AMA News parallels in some respects the one approved by the CMA House of Delegates and submitted to the AMA House of Delegates for its consideration, the reader will be interested in seeing the concept for a Voluntary Universally Available Health Benefits Program, independently developed by the California Medical Association. It is interesting to note that the CMA proposal attempts to avoid many of the problems with which the NHS has been identified, and at the same time would establish a single, coherent, integrated approach for development over the next decade, incorporating public programs into a unified system of medical care which utilizes the multiplicity of voluntary health insurance approaches and mechanisms.

California↗
PubMed1998

The Pollution Prevention Act of 1990: A Policy Whose Time Has Come or Symbolic Legislation?

/ In 1990, the United States officially entered the era of pollution prevention with passage of the Pollution Prevention Act. This paper analyzes EPA's implementation of the Pollution Prevention Act from its passage in 1990 to the present. It examines the barriers EPA must overcome if it is to effectively integrate pollution prevention into its existing regulatory structure, including impediments created by statutory and organizational structure, the existing relationship between EPA and the groups it regulates, the fragmented implementation scheme of national environmental regulation, the balancing of conflicting demands advanced by powerful interests, industry's economic and technical concerns, and institutional inertia. It also examines issues such as industry commitment, the limits of prevention, and measurement concerns. The findings suggest that EPA's efforts at shifting to a pollution prevention regulatory ethic that holds primacy over pollution control are mixed. Its organizational structure, statutory authority, and incentives system still reflect a single-medium pollution control focus, appropriations for pollution prevention programs and activities are paltry compared to traditional pollution control programs, and participation in the program is voluntary. Yet, the findings also point to some promising programs that are working to institutionalize a pollution prevention regulatory ethic, and many states appear very committed to the concept.KEY WORDS: Pollution prevention; Source reduction; Pollution control; Alternative regulatory design; Barriers to implementation

Journal Article↗
PubMed2005

Has the 80-hour work week had an impact on voluntary attrition in general surgery residency programs?

BACKGROUND: This article attempts to assess the effect of the duty-hour limitations implemented in 2003 on voluntary withdrawal of general surgery residents. STUDY DESIGN: A questionnaire asked the program directors how many categorical general surgery residents left voluntarily in 2003 to 2004, their training levels, why they left, and where they went. Results were compared with an identical study of 2000 to 2001 and analyzed statistically using chi-square analysis. RESULTS: A total of 215 programs (85%) responded, compared with 206 programs (81%) in the previous study. One hundred two programs (48%) reported voluntary attrition of 148 residents, compared with 110 programs (53%) and 167 residents previously. An average of 1.5 residents per program left in programs that reported attrition and 0.7 residents per program in all responders, compared with 1.5 and 0.8 residents in the previous study. In both studies, most programs with attrition lost one (66% [2000 to 2001] and 65% [2003 to 2004]) or two residents (21% [2000 to 2001] and 27% [2003 to 2004]). Most attrition occurred at PGY1 (47%) and PGY2 (28%) levels; a total of 75% of all attrition occurred at these levels, compared with a total of 76% in the previous study. One hundred eleven residents (75%) entered other medical specialties, and 23 (16%) transferred to other general surgery programs, compared with 105 residents (63%) and 40 residents (24%) in the previous study. In both studies, personal issues and work hours/lifestyle were cited as the most common reasons for leaving. In each study, the net loss to general surgery (the number of residents who left voluntarily divided by the total resident population at risk) was 3% for that academic year. Analysis showed no statistically significant difference. CONCLUSIONS: Rates and patterns of attrition seem to have been unaffected by Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education work-hours limitations.

Adult↗
PubMed2000

Voluntary counseling, testing, and referral for HIV: new technologies, research findings create dynamic opportunities.

Programs for voluntary counseling and testing (VCT) for HIV play an increasingly important role in comprehensive prevention and care strategies. New technological advancements and behavioral interventions can improve the effectiveness of VCT as a tool for preventing new HIV infections and helping HIV-positive individuals access appropriate care. With growing consensus that early access to HIV therapy increases its effectiveness, and that individuals diagnosed with HIV reduce risk behavior, VCT has become integral to the continuum of HIV primary care. However, federal funding of VCT has declined, with concomitant decreases in numbers of people being tested. An estimated 200,000 people in the United States remain unaware that they are HIV positive, and many at-risk individuals do not seek out standard HIV counseling and testing services. To increase the acceptability and effectiveness of VCT, the authors recommend that VCT programs employ outreach programs offering anonymous testing to reach those at heightened risk of HIV infection, and to make rapid use of new technologies and counseling strategies to improve the reach and efficacy. Given the important role that VCT can play in both prevention and early treatment, the authors recommend significant increases in federal support.

Confidentiality↗
PubMed1991

Efficacy of partner notification for HIV infection.

Since 1985, partner notification has been part of Swedish policy to prevent the spread of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. Potentially infected partners of a newly diagnosed seropositive patient are notified either by the index patient or by the physician and referred for counselling. The efficacy of this strategy was assessed over 18 months in 1989-90. 365 HIV-seropositive index patients (91% of the 403 patients diagnosed in Sweden during the study period) reported 564 sexual or needle-sharing contacts. 390 contacts were located and counselled and HIV test results are known for 350 of them. In 53 of the 350 cases, previously unknown seropositivity was diagnosed. Partner notification for HIV should be viewed as a strategy to offer counselling and testing to a high-prevalence group of people. In a country where general HIV prevalence is low, the strategy is cost-effective for location and counselling of unknowingly seropositive individuals.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed1991

Ethical issues in human genome research.

In addition to provocative questions about science policy, research on the human genome will generate important ethical questions in at least three categories. First, the possibility of greatly increased genetic information about individuals and populations will require choices to be made about what that information should be and about who should control the generation and dissemination of genetic information. Presymptomatic testing, carrier screening, workplace genetic screening, and testing by insurance companies pose significant ethical problems. Second, the burgeoning ability to manipulate human genotypes and phenotypes raises a number of important ethical questions. Third, increasing knowledge about genetic contributions to ethically and politically significant traits and behaviors will challenge our self-understanding and social institutions.

Bioethics↗