Medicare Shared Savings Performance: Three-Year Pandemic Analysis

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid\u27s (CMS) Office of Actuary predicts that U.S. national health expenditures will surpass U.S. gross domestic product per capita by 1.1% annually until 2028, totaling $6.2 trillion in healthcare spending. A significant portion of this spending, 36%, is attributed to Medicare and Medicaid. To address this issue, CMS has implemented the Medicare Shared Savings Program (MSSP) to assist Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) in reducing healthcare costs and improving the quality of care for beneficiaries. The main objectives of this dissertation are twofold. Firstly, it aims to investigate the relationship between various factors, such as quality score, savings rate, outpatient and inpatient emergency department visits, total primary care visits, total number of beneficiaries, and risk model selected, with the total savings or loss generated by MSSP ACOs during the 2019 and 2021 performance years. Secondly, this dissertation seeks to assess the impact of the 2020 COVID-19 Federal health response on these parameters, both before and after the pandemic, including the generated total savings, quality score, savings rate, outpatient and inpatient emergency department visits, total primary care visits, number of beneficiaries, and risk model selected. The analysis reveals sustained direct relationships over the three-year period between generated total savings or loss, savings rates, and the number of beneficiaries. Additionally, quality scores, outpatient and inpatient emergency department visits show a decline during the same period

PENGARUH KUALITAS LAYANAN DANBRAND IMAGE TERHADAP LOYALITAS PELANGGAN MELALUI KEPUASAN PELANGGAN PADA PT. INDOSAT OOREDOO (Studi Kasus di STESIA Surabaya)

Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk menganalisis pengaruh kualitas layanan dan brand image terhadap loyalitas pelanggan melalui kepuasan pelanggan pada PT. Indosat Ooredoo(Studi Kasus di STESIA Surabaya). Objek penelitian yang digunakan oleh peneliti adalah pengaruh kualitas layanan, brand image terhadap loyalitas pelanggan melalui kepuasan pelanggan pada PT. Indosat Ooredoo (studi kasus di STESIA Surabaya).Teknik pengambilan sampel yang digunakan adalah dengan menggunakan metode Accidental sampling adalah teknik non-probabilitas sampling dimana peneliti mengambil sampel yang sesuai dengan ketentuan atau persyaratan sampel dari populasi tertentu yang paling mudah dijangkau atau didapatkan atau bisa juga diartikan peneliti mengambil sampel secara acak (kapanpun dan dimanapun menemukan) asal memenuhi syarat sebagai sampel dari populasi tertentu.Didalam penelitian ini jumlah sampel yang digunakan oleh peneliti sekitar 100 kuesioner. Teknik analisis yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini adalah analisis Path dengan bantuan SPSS. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa kualitas layanan berpengaruh signifikan terhadap kepuasan pelanggan. Brand image berpengaruh signifikan terhadap kepuasan pelanggan. Kualitas layananberpengaruh signifikan terhadap loyalitas pelanggan. Brand imageberpengaruh signifikan terhadap loyalitas pelanggan. Kepuasan pelangganberpengaruh signifikan terhadap loyalitas pelanggan. Kata Kunci: kualitas layanan,brand image, kepuasan pelanggan, loyalitas pelangga

MS

thesisVarious studies have been done in an ongoing effort to assist ergonomists in determining risk factors for the development of Upper Extremity Cumulative Trauma Disorders (UECTDs). The University of Utah developed a methodology to assist ergonomists in determining these occupational risk factors; this methodology was built around a computer program that has been named the Utah Ergo Analyzer. The Utah Ergo Analyzer has the ability to systematically analyze video segments of jobs and perform detailed analysis. In order to have a method that is capable of adequately predicting occupational risk factors, that method must be repeatable and reliable. In order to determine the reliability of the Utah Ergo Analyzer, this study evaluated the use of this program among two separate groups within two separate time periods or phases. The two groups included Novice users and trained Analysts. The Novice group had little or no training or experience with the Utah Ergo Analyzer, while the trained Analysts had various levels of experience and training with the Ergo Analyzer program. The Novice group included occupational safety and health students with some knowledge of ergonomics. The analyst group was composed of students studying ergonomics specifically

Nanoparticulate gellants for metallized gelled liquid hydrogen with aluminum

Gelled liquid hydrogen was experimentally formulated using sol-gel technology. As a follow-on to work with cryogenic simulants, hydrogen was gelled with an alkoxide material: BTMSE. Initial results demonstrated that gellants with a specific surface area of 1000 m(exp 2)/g could be repeatably fabricated. Gelled hexane and metallized gelled hexane (with 13.8-wt% Al) were produced. Propellant settling testing was conducted for acceleration levels of 2 to 10 times normal gravity and a minimum gellant percentage was determined for stable gelled hexane and metalized gelled hexane. A cryogenic capillary rheometer was also designed, constructed, and used to determine the viscosity of gelled hydrogen. Small volumes of liquid hydrogen were gelled with a 7- to 8-wt% gellant level. The gelled H2 viscosity was 1.5 to 3.7 times that of liquid hydrogen: 0.048 to 0.116 mPa-s versus 0.03 mPa-s for liquid H2 (at 16 K and approximately 1 atm pressure)

Evolutionary, developmental neural networks for robust robotic control

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, 2006.Includes bibliographical references (p. 136-143).The use of artificial evolution to synthesize controllers for physical robots is still in its infancy. Most applications are on very simple robots in artificial environments, and even these examples struggle to span the "reality gap," a name given to the difference between the performance of a simulated robot and the performance of a.real robot using the same evolved controller. This dissertation describes three methods for improving the use of artificial evolution as a tool for generating controllers for physical robots. First, the evolutionary process must incorporate testing on the physical robot. Second, repeated structure on the robot should be exploited. Finally, prior knowledge about the robot and task should be meaningfully incorporated. The impact of these three methods, both in simulation and on physical robots, is demonstrated, quantified, and compared to hand-designed controllers.by Bryan Adams.Ph.D

Meso : a virtual musculature for humanoid motor control

Thesis (M.Eng.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, 2000.Includes bibliographical references (p. 54-55).Humanoid behavior requires a system with access to humanoid variables. Our humanoid robot, Cog, has two arms that are structurally similar to those of humans; however, the sensory system only provides a sense of strain and position. This thesis describes a model of the human energy metabolism that is linked to the robot's behavior. As the robot uses its arms, the model incorporates the behavior to create a sense of tiredness, fatigue, soreness, or excitement in the robot, both locally at the joints and globally as a part of the overall system. The model also can limit the robot's exertion when appropriate according to the biological system.by Bryan Adams.M.Eng

Investing in Cyber Defense: A Value-Focused Analysis of Investment Decisions for Microgrids

To mitigate disruptions to commercial power grids, and to achieve operational efficiencies by managing energy use, many organizations are fielding smaller, local, self-contained microgrids. The computer control systems that operate the microgrids create new vulnerabilities to a rapidly-escalating array of cyber attacks. This creates a tension between the need to improve energy assurance and efficiency through microgrids, and the need to protect against cyber attacks that can disrupt and damage the organization\u27s energy systems. Through a series of interviews with subject matter experts and end-users, this exploratory study surfaces the decision-makers\u27 important values in this decision space and develops a network of those values to guide decision-makers to make better decisions in balancing these competing needs

Brief Note: Eleocharis parvula (R. & S.) Link., a New Species Record for the Flora of Ohio

Author Institution: Department of Environmental and Plant Biology, Ohio UniversityEleocharis parvula (R. & S.) Link. (Cyperaceae) is reported from a saline site in Wayne County, OH. It was growing on the border of a saline pond on the property of the Morton Salt Company, Rittman, OH

Does Your Course Effectively Promote Creativity? Introducing the Mathematical Problem Solving Creativity Rubric

As believers in the power of blending the creative with the quantitative, we design our courses with an eye towards developing creative problem solvers. However, when it comes time to evaluate our course\u27s success in developing creative problem solvers we come away with a plethora of qualitative evidence and yet we are left hungry for the quantitative evidence we desire as mathematicians. In this article we describe the development of the Mathematical Problem Solving Creativity Rubric and its pilot use in a freshman-level Mathematical Modeling and Introduction to Calculus course at the United States Military Academy. We not only come away with the necessary quantitative evidence to satiate our hunger for now, but with a rubric that will allow us to do so in future semesters and courses