Defining Adverse Events and Determinants of Medical Errors in Healthcare

The concept of error typically regards an action, not its outcome, and its meaning becomes clear when separated into categories (medical error, nurse perceptions of (medication) error, diagnostic error). One wrong action may or may not lead to an adverse event either because the abovementioned action did not cause any serious damage to patients’ health condition or because it was promptly detected and corrected. The concept of error, on the contrary, which is used alternatively in the study, refers to the adverse outcome of an action. The responsibility for the emergence of errors in healthcare systems is shared among the nature of the healthcare system that is governed by organizational and functional complexity, the multifaceted and uncertain nature of medical science, and the imperfections of human nature. Medical errors should be examined as errors of the healthcare system, in order to identify their root causes and develop preventive measures. The main aims of this chapter are the following: (1) to understand medical errors and adverse events and define the terms that describe them; and (2) the most excellent way to comprehend how medical errors and adverse events occur and how to prevent them. Moreover it makes clear their classification and their determinants

Is there Health Insurance in Greece outside EOPYY? Feasibility analysis of creating an independent, private Health Fund for Employees of the Banking Sector

Το χρηματοδοτικό αδιέξοδο και οι λειτουργικές αδυναμίες του νέου ΕΟΠΥΥ το 2011 οδήγησαν την κεντρική διοίκηση στην -ορθή- πρόβλεψη της μη υποχρεωτικότητας της ένταξης στο νέο φορέα των κλάδων που αποδεδειγμένα έχουν προοπτικές βιωσιμότητας. Υπό τη συνθήκη αυτή, η παρούσα μελέτη εξετάζει το κατά πόσο είναι σκόπιμη και εφικτή η δημιουργία ενός αυτόνομουενιαίου ταμείου υγείας τραπεζικών, το οποίο θα λειτουργεί ως νομικό πρόσωπο ιδιωτικού δικαίου και δεν θα επιβαρύνει με τυχόν ελλείμματα τον κρατικό προϋπολογισμό. Η εν λόγω προσέγγιση αποσκοπεί στο να διαμορφώσει ένα υπόδειγμα για περαιτέρω αντίστοιχες αναλύσεις εν όψει της ολοκλήρωσης του νέου χάρτη της ασφάλισης υγείας στη χώρα.Τhe funding impasse and the operational malfunction of the new organization (EOPOYY) in 2011 necessitated the provision for an exemption from this rule, applicable to health insurance funds which could prove their sustainability outside EOPYY. The objective of this paper is to assess the feasibility and viability of the creation of an independent health insurance fund foremployees of the banking sector, which would operate as a private entity and would not burden the state budget with its deficits. The paper aims to develop a paradigm for further analyses as we move towards the establishment of a new, national, health insurance structure

Is there Health Insurance in Greece outside EOPYY? Feasibility analysis of creating an independent, private Health Fund for Employees of the Banking Sector

Το χρηματοδοτικό αδιέξοδο και οι λειτουργικές αδυναμίες του νέου ΕΟΠΥΥ το 2011 οδήγησαν την κεντρική διοίκηση στην -ορθή- πρόβλεψη της μη υποχρεωτικότητας της ένταξης στο νέο φορέα των κλάδων που αποδεδειγμένα έχουν προοπτικές βιωσιμότητας. Υπό τη συνθήκη αυτή, η παρούσα μελέτη εξετάζει το κατά πόσο είναι σκόπιμη και εφικτή η δημιουργία ενός αυτόνομουενιαίου ταμείου υγείας τραπεζικών, το οποίο θα λειτουργεί ως νομικό πρόσωπο ιδιωτικού δικαίου και δεν θα επιβαρύνει με τυχόν ελλείμματα τον κρατικό προϋπολογισμό. Η εν λόγω προσέγγιση αποσκοπεί στο να διαμορφώσει ένα υπόδειγμα για περαιτέρω αντίστοιχες αναλύσεις εν όψει της ολοκλήρωσης του νέου χάρτη της ασφάλισης υγείας στη χώρα.Τhe funding impasse and the operational malfunction of the new organization (EOPOYY) in 2011 necessitated the provision for an exemption from this rule, applicable to health insurance funds which could prove their sustainability outside EOPYY. The objective of this paper is to assess the feasibility and viability of the creation of an independent health insurance fund foremployees of the banking sector, which would operate as a private entity and would not burden the state budget with its deficits. The paper aims to develop a paradigm for further analyses as we move towards the establishment of a new, national, health insurance structure

Psychometric Properties of the Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture (HSOPSC): Findings from Greece

Background: Safety culture has been considered to be as one of the most crucial premises for the further development of patient safety in healthcare

Pharmaceutical expenditure changes in Serbia and Greece during the global economic recession

Aim: Clarity on health expenditures is essential for the timely identification of risks that jeopardize the democratic provision of health services and the credibility of health insurance systems. Furthermore, observing health outcomes with geographical scope is essential for making multilateral associations. This study aimed at conveying information on the variability of important economic parameters of the health sector of Serbia and Greece from 2007 to 2012, when the most serious financial crisis in the post-war economic history hit the global economy. Methods: Exchange rates, purchase-power-parities (PPP) and price indices were used for the bilateral review of health and pharmaceutical expenditure dynamics during 2007-2012. Prescription and dispensing changes were also studied taking into account the anatomical therapeutic chemical (ATC) structure of drugs consumed. Results: Greece was forced to cut down its total health care and pharmaceutical expenditure and mainly its out-of-pocket payments were more seriously affected by the recession. Surprisingly, emerging market of Serbia, although severely damaged by global recession, succeeded to maintain 19% growth of its per capita health expenditure and even 25% increase of its per capita spending on pharmaceuticals. Innovative pharmaceuticals showed an upward trend in both countries. Conclusions: These two countries might serve as an example of two distinct pathways of mature and emerging health care markets during financial constraints caused by global recession. Our findings show that producing disease-based feedback, in the long run, may empower the assessment of the return on investment on medical technology and healthcare systems’ cost-effectiveness

Transforming Public Servants’ Health Care Organization in Greece through the Implementation of an Electronic Referral Project

AbstractObjectiveThe Greek Public Servants’ Health Care Organization aiming to organize, monitor, and enhance the health care services provided to 1,500,000 public servants decided to respond to the national alert of the economic crisis through the reduction of costs caused by diagnostic tests (€300,000,000 claims for 2008), to improve working conditions of contracted physicians and laboratories, and to enhance services provided to insured members. In September 2010, the Greek Public Servants’ Health Care Organization initiated a pilot project that electronically records the prescription process of the diagnostic tests, which is Web-based, is open source, and was provided for free to the contracted physicians and diagnostic centers.MethodsIn this article, we present some interesting findings resulting from the implementation of the pilot electronic referral project by examining a 9-month period.ResultsFifty-eight percent of the physicians had the necessary equipment for the operation of the system, more than 3600 physicians used it, 17,495 public servants had been served through the system, and 178,456 paraclinical examinations had been prescribed with a cost of €1,394,980. In addition, the analysis revealed that the implementation of an electronic referral system could provide significant benefits, such as a faster referral process, valid and coherent information, minimization of the risk of misinterpreting the electronic referral due to illegibility of handwriting, and improvement in quality of services.ConclusionsThe Greek electronic referral system was one of the first attempts toward creating the basis of a society of transparency and cost control. The lessons learnt from this article should not be ignored in the process of redesigning and improving the electronic referral system for Greece

Pharmaceutical expenditure changes in Serbia and Greece during the global economic recession

Aim: Clarity on health expenditures is essential for the timely identification of risks that jeopardize the democratic provision of health services and the credibility of health insurance systems. Furthermore, observing health outcomes with geographical scope is essential for making multilateral associations. This study aimed at conveying information on the variability of important economic parameters of the health sector of Serbia and Greece from 2007 to 2012, when the most serious financial crisis in the post-war economic history hit the global economy.Methods: Exchange rates, purchase-power-parities (PPP) and price indices were used for the bilateral review of health and pharmaceutical expenditure dynamics during 2007-2012. Prescription and dispensing changes were also studied taking into account the anatomical therapeutic chemical (ATC) structure of drugs consumed.Results: Greece was forced to cut down its total health care and pharmaceutical expenditure and mainly its out-of-pocket payments were more seriously affected by the recession. Surprisingly, emerging market of Serbia, although severely damaged by global recession, succeeded to maintain 19% growth of its per capita health expenditure and even 25% increase of its per capita spending on pharmaceuticals. Innovative pharmaceuticals showed an upward trend in both countries.Conclusions: These two countries might serve as an example of two distinct pathways of mature and emerging health care markets during financial constraints caused by global recession. Our findings show that producing disease-based feedback, in the long run, may empower the assessment of the return on investment on medical technology and healthcare systems’ cost-effectiveness

Employment request in the healthcare sector: A case of a specialized not-for-profit hospital in Greece

Η παρούσα ερευνητική εργασία παρουσιάζει τααποτελέσματα μιας καινοτόμου έρευνας σε έναεξειδικευμένο, μη κερδοσκοπικό νοσοκομείο στηνΕλλάδα. Οι συγγραφείς ανέλυσαν 775 βιογραφικάσημειώματα, τα οποία υποβλήθηκαν στο Τμήμα Αν-θρώπινου Δυναμικού του νοσοκομείου αυθόρμητα,χωρίς να αναφέρονται σε συγκεκριμένη υπό προκήρυξη θέση. Η έρευνα είναι καινοτόμος δεδομένουότι πραγματοποιήθηκε σε ένα μη – κερδοσκοπικόνοσοκομείο, το οποίο λειτουργεί υπό την εποπτείατου Υπουργείου Υγείας, και πραγματεύεται τηναυθόρμητη αναζήτηση εργασίας στον υγειονομικότομέα, για την οποία δεν υπάρχουν δημοσιευμέναδεδομένα αλλού. Το άρθρο επισημαίνει μια τάσημετάβασης επαγγελματιών στον υγειονομικό τομέα,η οποία οφείλει να τύχει ειδικής προσοχής, σε ένανοσοκομείο μάλιστα, όπου οι εργαζόμενοι στερούνται το πλεονέκτημα της μονιμότητας των άλλων εργαζομένων σε δημόσια νοσοκομεία στη χώρα.This paper presents the findings of a novelresearch conducted in a specialized, not-forprofithospital in Greece. The authors analysed775 curriculum vitae (CVs) that werespontaneously submitted to the healthcareorganisation in a two-year period and didnot refer to a specific job opening. The researchis novel, as it was performed in a not-forprofit hospital under the supervision ofthe Ministry of Health and to the best of theauthors’ knowledge there are not any otherpublished data on spontaneous employmentrequests. The paper shows that the transitionof professionals to the healthcare sectorshould be carefully managed and that ahigh number of CVs were sent to a hospital,where employees lack the benefit of permanencycompared to their colleagues in publichospitals in Greece