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Aims: Health indicators provide up-to-date information on the health status of a population. This study aimed to classify the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries according to health indicators and assess their status. Methods: The dataset was obtained from the OECD and World Bank databases. The most recent data from 2018 to 2022 were used. The dataset included the number of hospital beds, computed tomography scanners, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) units, mammography machines, and radiotherapy machines as indicators of health equipment and the number of doctors, nurses, medical graduates, and nursing graduates as indicators of healthcare workers. The classification was performed using latent profile analysis (LPA). Estimated classes were compared using ANOVA or the Kruskal-Wallis test. Results: Three distinct classes were obtained from the models constructed with LPA (Akaike information criteria: 1674.91, Bayesian information criteria: 1726.87, Lo-Mendell-Rubin adjusted likelihood ratio test: p

Aims: Health indicators provide up-to-date information on the health status of a population. This study aimed to classify the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries according to health indicators and assess their status. Methods: The dataset was obtained from the OECD and World Bank databases. The most recent data from 2018 to 2022 were used. The dataset included the number of hospital beds, computed tomography scanners, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) units, mammography machines, and radiotherapy machines as indicators of health equipment and the number of doctors, nurses, medical graduates, and nursing graduates as indicators of healthcare workers. The classification was performed using latent profile analysis (LPA). Estimated classes were compared using ANOVA or the Kruskal-Wallis test. Results: Three distinct classes were obtained from the models constructed with LPA (Akaike information criteria: 1674.91, Bayesian information criteria: 1726.87, Lo-Mendell-Rubin adjusted likelihood ratio test: p<0.001). The number of countries in the classes was 11, 14, and 4, respectively. The number of MRI units was the most prominent variable in separating the classes (p=0.001). Türkiye was in the same class as Canada, Chile, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Israel, Luxembourg, Mexico, Poland, and Slovenia. The numbers for all indicators in Türkiye were below the average of its class, except for the numbers of MRI units and medical graduates. Conclusions: This study found the number of MRI units to be the most prominent indicator in categorizing OECD countries into three different classes, whereas the number of hospital beds and nurses did not differ across the defined classes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study aims to identify the waste that occurs in the process of procuring medical equipment and provide suggestions for improvements to reduce waste in achieving customer satisfaction. Methodology/Approach: This study uses a lean service approach with the value stream mapping (VSM) method, which is in the refinement stage combined with the Kaizen method. Findings: This research found waste that occurs in procuring medical devices called creating a project and admin invoicing. It has increased customer satisfaction with evidence of a decrease in the number of complaints by 44.5%. Meanwhile, the lead time for the procurement of medical devices decreased by 34.2%. Research Limitation/implication: This research has been beneficial for procuring medical devices, which can reduce the processing time for procuring medical devices and improve health services by hospitals when serving patients. Originality/Value of paper: This research was conducted on the process of procurement of equipment in the health service industry by shortening the processing time for the procurement of medical devices in the create projects and admin invoicing sections using the application of lean service through the VSM method combined with the Kaizen and Focus Group Discussion (FGD) methods of logistics experts and health experts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the competent laws on Health and Education of the Extremaduran Government read, all the Extremaduran people have the right to their benefits, irrespective of their social, economic and cultural characteristics. Nevertheless, in the Region of Extremadura there are still differences between the rural and urban areas, so, studying how the Extremaduran people can access, with the same conditions, to those services considered basic, such as health and education, is very significant. Using techniques as Network Analyst and the interpolation method IDW, we can note that in Extremadura there are still zones with a very-far- from- laws reality, rural areas with a difficult access to the named services and equipment due to the location on low developed in population and economy areas, and very far from the main communication roads

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted challenges for all health systems worldwide. This research aimed to explore the impact of COVID-19 across the Pacific especially with regards to emergency care (EC) and clinicians' preparations and responses., Methods: A collaboration of Australia and Pacific researchers conducted prospective qualitative research over 18 months of the pandemic. In this three phase study data were gathered from Emergency Clinicians and stakeholders through online support forums, in-depth interviews and focus groups. A phenomenological methodological approach was employed to explore the lived experience of participants. This paper discusses the findings of the study regarding the EC building block of 'Infrastructure and Equipment.', Findings: Pre-existing infrastructure and equipment were not sufficient to help control the pandemic. Adequate space and correct equipment were essential needs for Pacific Island emergency clinicians, with donations, procurement and local ingenuity required for suitable, sustainable supplies and facilities. Adequate personal protective equipment (PPE) conferred a sense of security and increased Health Care Workers willingness to attend to patients., Interpretation: Investing in adequate infrastructure and appropriate equipment is crucial for an effective response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The sustainability of such investments in the Pacific context is paramount for ongoing EC and preparation for future surge responses and disasters., Funding: Phases 1 and 2A of this study were part of an Epidemic Ethics/World Health Organization (WHO) initiative, supported by Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office/Wellcome Grant 214711/Z/18/Z. Co-funding for this research was received from the Australasian College for Emergency Medicine Foundation via an International Development Fund Grant., Competing Interests: M.C., G.P., R.M. and G.O.R. declare they are recipients of International Development Fund Grants from the Australasian College for Emergency Medicine Foundation. G.P. reports past research funding from the Pacific Community (SPC) and visiting Faculty status at the University of Papua New Guinea and Fiji National University. Additionally, R.M. reports grants from the Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade as well as scholarships from the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) and Monash University. G.O.R. reports that he is the recipient of a NHMRC Early Career Research Fellowship. C.E.B. reports past research consultancy funding from SPC., (Crown Copyright © 2022 Published by Elsevier Ltd.)