Ligat Shalev, Christian D Helfrich, Moriah Ellen, Keren Avirame, Renana Eitan, Adam J Rose
{"title":"Bridging language barriers in developing valid health policy research tools: insights from the translation and validation process of the SHEMESH questionnaire.","authors":"Ligat Shalev, Christian D Helfrich, Moriah Ellen, Keren Avirame, Renana Eitan, Adam J Rose","doi":"10.1186/s13584-023-00583-8","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s13584-023-00583-8","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>The use of research tools developed and validated in one cultural and linguistic context to another often faces challenges. One major challenge is poor performance of the tool in the new context. This potentially impact the legitimacy of health policy research conducted with informal adaptations of existing tools which have not been subjected to formal validation. Best practices exist to guide researchers in adapting and validating research tools effectively. We present here, as an extended example, our validation of the SHEMESH questionnaire ('Organizational Readiness to Change Assessment'; In Hebrew: 'SHE'elon Muchanut Ergunit le'SHinuy'), a Hebrew-language version of the Organizational Readiness to Change Assessment (ORCA). SHEMESH is tailored to support implementation science projects, whose aim is to promote a more rapid and complete adoption of evidence-based health policies and practices.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>The SHEMESH included originally eleven questions from the Evidence (item 1-4) and Context (items 5-11) domains. We validated SHEMESH through the following steps: 1. Professional translation to Hebrew and discussion of the translation by multidisciplinary committee; 2. Back-translation into English by a different translator to detect discrepancies; 3. Eleven cognitive interviews with psychiatric emergency department physicians and nurses; and 4. Pilot testing and psychometric analyses, including Cronbach's alpha for subscales and factor analyses.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Following translation and cognitive interviews, SHEMESH was administered to 222 psychiatrists and nurses. Pearson correlation showed significant and strong correlations of items 1-4 to the Evidence construct and items 6-11 to the Context construct. Item 5 did not correlate with the other items, and therefore was removed from the other psychometric procedures and eventually from the SHEMESH. Factor analysis with the remaining 10 items yielded two factors, which together explained a total of 69.7% of variance. Cronbach's Alpha scores for the two subscales were high (Evidence, 0.887, and Context, 0.852).</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>This multi-step validation process of the SHEMESH questionnaire may serve as a comprehensive guideline for others who are willing to adapt research tools that were developed in other languages. Practically, SHEMESH has been validated for use in implementation science research projects in Israel.</p>","PeriodicalId":46694,"journal":{"name":"Israel Journal of Health Policy Research","volume":"12 1","pages":"36"},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2023-11-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10680279/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138441453","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Components of professional satisfaction among novice nurses.","authors":"Bella Savitsky, Rachel Shvartsur, Yifat Findling, Anat Ereli, Tova Hendel","doi":"10.1186/s13584-023-00584-7","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s13584-023-00584-7","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>In Israel there are only 6.53 nurses per 1000 citizens, compared to 8.8 nurses per 1000 citizens in the OECD countries. The nursing shortage is even more severe in peripheral areas, especially in southern Israel. Nurses` professional satisfaction is crucial for preserving the nursing workforce. This study aimed to assess job satisfaction among novice nurses and identify components of professional satisfaction.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Cross-sectional study of 216 novice nurses who graduated in 2018-2022 and were approached ten months after graduation. Job satisfaction components were constructed using factor analysis.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Professional satisfaction was based mainly on the intrinsic characteristics of the occupation related to personal accomplishment and organizational culture. In a multivariable model, a one-point increase in mean satisfaction with the training period during studies in the nursing department was associated with a more than a three-fold elevation in the odds for high and very high professional satisfaction (OR 3.0, 95% CI 1.7-5.1). Odds for high and very high professional satisfaction were more than four-fold and two-fold higher among graduates who rated their level of control over work schedule as high and medium vs. low (OR 4.2, 95% CI 1.0-16.7 and OR 2.8, 95% CI 1.2-6.3, respectively). Work-life balance without disturbance to daily life by work was found significantly associated with higher odds for high and very high satisfaction. Nurses who plan to continue professional development, i.e., an advanced professional course or Master's degree, had significantly higher mean professional satisfaction scales than others (4.2 vs. 3.7, p = .009 and 4.2 vs. 3.9, p < .001, respectively).</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>The most important components of professional satisfaction among novice nurses are self-accomplishment, which was built from work-related challenges, interest and variety of tasks, personal growth and development, and the possibility of contributing to patients` care and organizational culture, which was built from relationships with co-workers. Persons who manage nurses should cultivate an atmosphere of support and guidance, provide new nurses with interesting work tasks, and increase their ability to control their work schedule. Young nurses should be encouraged to continue their professional and academic education.</p>","PeriodicalId":46694,"journal":{"name":"Israel Journal of Health Policy Research","volume":"12 1","pages":"35"},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2023-11-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10664554/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138292053","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Trends in Israeli community-based opioid prescribing, 2010-2020, an observational study of the country's largest HMO.","authors":"Reuven L Dressler, Ehud Kaliner, Matan J Cohen","doi":"10.1186/s13584-023-00581-w","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s13584-023-00581-w","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Prescription opioids are widely used for pain control and palliative care but have been associated with a variety of untoward effects, including opioid use disorder, addiction, and increased mortality. Patterns of opioid use in Israel are to date poorly described.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Using a community-based database, the authors performed a retrospective analysis of filled opioid prescriptions of Israeli HMO members 18 years of age or older during the years of 2010-2020 that filled at least one opioid prescription. Morphine milligram equivalent (MME) calculations were stratified by presence or absence of oncology diagnosis and by specific opioid medication.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The percentage of HMO members who filled at least one opioid prescription increased every year from 2.1% in 2010 to 4.2% in 2020. There was an increase in the MME per prescription (44.2%), daily MME per capita (142.1%) and MME per prescription-filling patient (39%) from 2010 to 2020. Increased prescription opioid use is driven by a small group of non-oncological patients, which is less than 1.5% of opioid-prescribed patients and 0.1% of the adult population, primarily owing to fentanyl use.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Supervision and control of opioid prescriptions in Israel should be a focused effort directed at patients prescribed uniquely high dosages rather than a population-wide strategy that focuses on all patients prescribed opioids. This should be complemented by improved physician training and access to non-opioid therapies, as well as improved data collection and analysis.</p>","PeriodicalId":46694,"journal":{"name":"Israel Journal of Health Policy Research","volume":"12 1","pages":"34"},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2023-11-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10652579/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"136399729","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Zongshuan Duan, Hagai Levine, Yael Bar-Zeev, Yuxian Cui, Cassidy R LoParco, Yan Wang, Lorien C Abroms, Amal Khayat, Carla J Berg
{"title":"Health warning labels on heated tobacco products and their impact on use intentions and risk perceptions: a cross-sectional study of adult tobacco users in the US and Israel.","authors":"Zongshuan Duan, Hagai Levine, Yael Bar-Zeev, Yuxian Cui, Cassidy R LoParco, Yan Wang, Lorien C Abroms, Amal Khayat, Carla J Berg","doi":"10.1186/s13584-023-00582-9","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s13584-023-00582-9","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Health warning labels (HWLs) represent an evidence-based tobacco control strategy; however, their application to heated tobacco products (HTPs) and related impacts are understudied. This study examined the impact of HTP HWLs on HTP use intentions and risk perceptions among current tobacco users.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We analyzed cross-sectional survey data from adults in the US and Israel reporting past-month tobacco use and awareness of HTPs (N = 424). Multivariate analyses examined: (1) sociodemographics in relation to self-reported impact of HTP HWLs (i.e., more concerned about HTP use, reassured, no effect [referent]) among those who noticed HTP HWLs (multinomial regressions); and (2) HWL impacts in relation to HTP use intentions and perceived addictiveness and harm (linear regressions).</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Among participants who noticed HTP HWLs (n = 372, 87.7%), 27.7% reported HWLs increased their concerns about HTP use, 22.6% were reassured about use, and 49.7% reported no effect. Factors associated with increased concern (vs. no effect) included other tobacco product use (aOR = 2.10, 95% CI 1.21-3.64) and being female (aOR = 1.77, 95% CI 1.03-3.05). Factors associated with being reassured about HTPs use (vs. no effect) included current HTP use (aOR = 2.11, 95% CI 1.11-4.00) and being from Israel (vs. US: aOR = 3.85, 95% CI 1.85-7.69), female (aOR = 1.91, 95% CI 1.07-3.42), and less educated (< college education: aOR = 2.57, 95% CI 1.42-4.63). Reporting that HWLs on HTPs increased concern (β = 0.46, 95% CI 0.03-0.89) and reassured of use (β = 0.94, 95% CI 0.47-1.41) were positively associated with HTP use intentions; no associations with risk perceptions were found.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Findings indicate that most tobacco users noticed HWLs on HTPs, but the majority reported no effect or being reassured of using HTPs, effects that were magnified for specific subgroups. Both increased concern and reassurance correlated with greater use intentions. Additional research should evaluate HTP HWL impacts and ensure effectiveness in communicating risks and discouraging use.</p>","PeriodicalId":46694,"journal":{"name":"Israel Journal of Health Policy Research","volume":"12 1","pages":"33"},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2023-11-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10644544/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"92156880","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
David E Katz, Gideon Leibner, Yaakov Esayag, Nechama Kaufman, Shuli Brammli-Greenberg, Adam J Rose
{"title":"Using the Elixhauser risk adjustment model to predict outcomes among patients hospitalized in internal medicine at a large, tertiary-care hospital in Israel.","authors":"David E Katz, Gideon Leibner, Yaakov Esayag, Nechama Kaufman, Shuli Brammli-Greenberg, Adam J Rose","doi":"10.1186/s13584-023-00580-x","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s13584-023-00580-x","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>In Israel, internal medicine admissions are currently reimbursed without accounting for patient complexity. This is at odds with most other developed countries and has the potential to lead to market distortions such as avoiding sicker patients. Our objective was to apply a well-known, freely available risk adjustment model, the Elixhauser model, to predict relevant outcomes among patients hospitalized on the internal medicine service of a large, Israeli tertiary-care hospital.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We used data from the Shaare Zedek Medical Center, a large tertiary referral hospital in Jerusalem. The study included 55,946 hospitalizations between 01.01.2016 and 31.12.2019. We modeled four patient outcomes: in-hospital mortality, escalation of care (intensive care unit (ICU) transfer, mechanical ventilation, daytime bi-level positive pressure ventilation, or vasopressors), 30-day readmission, and length of stay (LOS). We log-transformed LOS to address right skew. As is usual with the Elixhauser model, we identified 29 comorbid conditions using international classification of diseases codes, clinical modification, version 9. We derived and validated the coefficients for these 29 variables using split-sample derivation and validation. We checked model fit using c-statistics and R<sup>2</sup>, and model calibration using a Hosmer-Lemeshow test.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The Elixhauser model achieved acceptable prediction of the three binary outcomes, with c-statistics of 0.712, 0.681, and 0.605 to predict in-hospital mortality, escalation of care, and 30-day readmission respectively. The c-statistic did not decrease in the validation set (0.707, 0.687, and 0.603, respectively), suggesting that the models are not overfitted. The model to predict log length of stay achieved an R<sup>2</sup> of 0.102 in the derivation set and 0.101 in the validation set. The Hosmer-Lemeshow test did not suggest issues with model calibration.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>We demonstrated that a freely-available risk adjustment model can achieve acceptable prediction of important clinical outcomes in a dataset of patients admitted to a large, Israeli tertiary-care hospital. This model could potentially be used as a basis for differential payment by patient complexity.</p>","PeriodicalId":46694,"journal":{"name":"Israel Journal of Health Policy Research","volume":"12 1","pages":"32"},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2023-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10619247/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"71427827","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Addressing the second victim phenomenon in Israeli health care institutions.","authors":"Rinat Cohen, Yael Sela, Rachel Nissanholtz-Gannot","doi":"10.1186/s13584-023-00578-5","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s13584-023-00578-5","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>The 'second victim' phenomenon (SVP) refers to practitioners who experience a negative physical or emotional response, as well as a professional decline, after participating or witnessing an adverse event. Despite the Israeli Ministry of Health's implementation of specific protocols regarding the overall management of adverse events in health organizations over the past decade, there is limited knowledge regarding healthcare managers' perceptions of the 'second victim' occurrence.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A phenomenological qualitative approach was used to identify an accurate view of policy. Fifteen senior risk manager/and policy makers were interviewed about their knowledge and perceptions of the 'second victim'. Topics addressed included reporting mechanisms of an adverse event, the degree of organizational awareness of 'second victim', and identifying components of possible intervention programs and challenges to implementing those programs.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Examining current procedures reveals that there is limited knowledge about uniform guidance for health care organizations on how to identify, treat, or prevent SVP among providers. The employee support programs that were offered were sporadic in nature and depended on the initiative of a direct manager or the risk manager.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Currently, there is little information or organizational discussion about the possible negative effects of AE on healthcare practitioners. To provide overall medical care that is safe and effective for patients, the health system must also provide a suitable response to the needs of the medical provider. This could be achieved by establishing a national policy for all healthcare organizations to follow, raising awareness of the possible occurrence of SVP, and creating a standard for the subsequent identification, treatment and future prevention for providers who may be suffering.</p>","PeriodicalId":46694,"journal":{"name":"Israel Journal of Health Policy Research","volume":"12 1","pages":"30"},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2023-09-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10476320/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"10168345","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Mohammad Khatib, Yael Ashkenazi, Yoav Loeff, Shlomo Paul Zusman, Lena Natapov
{"title":"Factors affecting the use of dental services among Arab children in Israel: a qualitative study.","authors":"Mohammad Khatib, Yael Ashkenazi, Yoav Loeff, Shlomo Paul Zusman, Lena Natapov","doi":"10.1186/s13584-023-00579-4","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s13584-023-00579-4","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>In 2010, Israel reformed its hitherto dominantly privately financed dental services and included preventative and restorative dental care for children in the publicly-funded basket of healthcare services. A survey conducted by Brookdale Institute, found that only 67% of low-income Israeli-Arab children were using the new service (compared to 85% of Jewish children) while the majority of others continue using privately funded services. The aim of this study is to explore and explain Israeli-Arab children's low utilization of publicly-funded preventive and restorative dental care.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A qualitative study designed to describe and understand the parents' motivations and choices. As a preliminary stage, eight semi-structured interviews were conducted with directors of HMO dental departments and Israeli-Arab dentists. In the second stage, ten one-on-one interviews with parents, and five focus group discussions with 55 parents held on February-March 2017. All discussions in the focus groups were conducted in Arabic and each group was moderated by one of the research team accompanied by another person who documented and recorded the discussion. All interviews and discussions were recorded, transcribed in full and translated into Hebrew.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The prevalent attitude is that one goes to the dentist only when there is a serious problem. The importance of preventive care is not appreciated. A childhood fear of the drill is very remembered and passed onto the children. Social and cultural factors such as kinship with service providers (GPs and dentists) influence the choice and utilization of health services. Economic barriers are still existing since even the small co-payment is daunting to low-income parents of large families. Provision of the public service is inadequate in some Arab villages.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>The extension of Israel's National Health Insurance Law's basket of services to include dental care for children, while important, is not sufficiently embraced by Israeli Arab children. The remaining barriers include poor living conditions, low educational level that requires very clear sharing of information about the new service, and the resistance of cultural and social traditions. Public dental services providers should focus on conveying relevant oral health messages to the parents too, either through their children or directly.</p>","PeriodicalId":46694,"journal":{"name":"Israel Journal of Health Policy Research","volume":"12 1","pages":"31"},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2023-09-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10476419/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"10159695","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Ilya Kagan, Dana Arad, Riki Aharoni, Yossi Tal, Yaron Niv
{"title":"Crisis management for Patient Safety Officers: lessons learned from the Covid-19 pandemic.","authors":"Ilya Kagan, Dana Arad, Riki Aharoni, Yossi Tal, Yaron Niv","doi":"10.1186/s13584-023-00577-6","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s13584-023-00577-6","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>There is no consensus for the role definition for Patient Safety Officers (PSOs) in healthcare during pandemics or other crises as opposed to their routine activities. This study aimed to examine the contribution of personality traits and systemic factors on the performance of PSOs during the pandemic, and to compare these variables during the first and third waves of the Covid-19 pandemic in Israel.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>This cross-sectional study invited 117 PSOs to complete a questionnaire addressing their role during the Covid-19 pandemic. The questionnaire included items concerning: Personal and socio-demographic characteristics; Uncertainty; Personal initiative; Burnout; Professional functioning; Patient Safety and Risk Management policies and practices; Organizational functioning; and Personal Involvement in risk management activities. Qualitative data was collected by two open-ended questions.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>A total of 78 PSOs (67%) completed the questionnaire. The results revealed that many PSOs reduced their involvement in risk management processes or even left their position temporarily in order to return to their primary specialization as clinicians. Only 51.3% and 57.7% reported practicing risk management in the first and third waves, respectively. The three main factors that kept PSOs functioning were managerial support, mobilization of their team, and the belief in the importance of their position.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>A crisis generates uncertainty, a plethora of frequent and urgent tasks, and the need to adapt policy to changing circumstances and to the increased risks. The risk manager must be a member of the crisis management team and participate in every important discussion in order to represent essential staff and patient safety issues and ensure that these are fully addressed already in the early stages of planning.</p>","PeriodicalId":46694,"journal":{"name":"Israel Journal of Health Policy Research","volume":"12 1","pages":"29"},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2023-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10472639/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"10165922","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Healthcare policy changes in an era of health workforce shortage.","authors":"Yoel Angel, Gil Fire","doi":"10.1186/s13584-023-00576-7","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s13584-023-00576-7","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>In their recent IJHPR article, Wimpfheimer and colleagues outline the implications for the field of anesthesia of two major healthcare policy changes in Israel: The Yatziv Reform in licensing foreign medical graduates and the efforts to reduce residents' on-call shift duration. We argue that these reforms are necessary to strengthen the healthcare workforce and improve the quality of care in the long term, even though they may limit the availability of healthcare personnel for several years, particularly in the field of anesthesia. In this commentary, we examine the background to these policy changes, their likely impact on the medical workforce in Israel in general, and propose steps to reconcile these reforms with the global and national shortage of physicians. We urge policymakers to allocate the required resources and begin preparing for an era of continuous mismatch between physician supply and demand, which will necessitate creative solutions, increased reliance on technology, and the introduction of paramedical professionals to help offload tasks and better utilize the scarce physician workforce.</p>","PeriodicalId":46694,"journal":{"name":"Israel Journal of Health Policy Research","volume":"12 1","pages":"28"},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2023-08-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10413592/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"10349862","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Gideon Leibner, Shuli Brammli-Greenberg, Joseph Mendlovic, Avi Israeli
{"title":"To charge or not to charge: reducing patient no-show.","authors":"Gideon Leibner, Shuli Brammli-Greenberg, Joseph Mendlovic, Avi Israeli","doi":"10.1186/s13584-023-00575-8","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s13584-023-00575-8","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>In order to reduce patient no-show, the Israeli government is promoting legislation that will allow Health Plans to require a co-payment from patients when reserving an appointment. It is hoped that this will create an incentive for patients to cancel in advance rather than simply not show up. The goal of this policy is to improve patient access to medical care and ensure that healthcare resources are utilized effectively. We explore this phenomenon to support evidence-based decision making on this issue, and to determine whether the proposed legislation is aligned with the findings of previous studies.</p><p><strong>Main body: </strong>No-show rates vary across countries and healthcare services, with several strategies in place to mitigate the phenomenon. There are three key stakeholders involved: (1) patients, (2) medical staff, and (3) insurers/managed care organizations, each of which is affected differently by no-shows and faces a different set of incentives. The decision whether to impose financial penalties for no-shows should take a number of considerations into account, such as the fine amount, service type, the establishment of an effective fine collection system, the patient's socioeconomic status, and the potential for exacerbating disparities in healthcare access. The limited research on the impact of fines on no-show rates has produced mixed results. Further investigation is necessary to understand the influence of fine amounts on no-show rates across various healthcare services. Additionally, it is important to evaluate the implications of this proposed legislation on patient behavior, access to healthcare, and potential disparities in access.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>It is anticipated that the proposed legislation will have minimal impact on attendance rates. To achieve meaningful change, efforts should focus on enhancing medical service availability and improving the ease with which appointments can be cancelled or alternatively substantial fines should be imposed. Further research is imperative for determining the most effective way to address the issue of patient no-show and to enhance healthcare system efficiency.</p>","PeriodicalId":46694,"journal":{"name":"Israel Journal of Health Policy Research","volume":"12 1","pages":"27"},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2023-08-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10408071/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"9965144","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}