Journal of

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Background: The hospitals are the most significant providers of health care services. According to more health funds spending by hospitals, economic management in hospitals is necessary. Determining the causes and rates of insurance under reimbursement bills was the objective of this study.

Materials and Methods: This research is a descriptive cross-sectional survey was done in 2008. The samples of study were the al records' patients who undertaken of social security insurance system in the teaching hospitals of Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Science. The data complied in SPSS 16 software and then analyzed.

Results: In this study, 9.8% cases of all hospitalization bills were deducted. The highest rates of under reimbursement bills was in Afshar hospital (12.7%), followed by burn hospital (12.5% ), Shahid Sadoughi hospital (10%), and Shahid Rahnemoon hospital (8.2%). The highest rates of under reimbursement bills imposed to the surgeon fees (28.4%), treatment fees (15.06%), and medicine (14.3%) costs. However assistant surgeon fees had no under reimbursement. The most important causes of under reimbursement were defects in the insurance records of patients and noncompliance with insurance organization regulations.

Conclusion:  Training of human resources and optimized use of hospital information systems could be helpful to hospitals for reducing insurance reimbursement to ultimately improve hospitals to financial statements. 

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Background: Given the importance of quality in health care and meeting the needs of patients, it seems important to measure the quality of services and identify the weaknesses from the patients' perspective. The purpose of this study is to assess the service quality (SQ) of care as perceived by people with Type 2 Diabetes (T2D). Materials & Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 180 people with Type 2 diabetes in diabetes clinic using convenience sampling method in Tabriz, Iran in 2012. Service quality was calculated using: SQ=10 – (Importance ×Performance) based on importance and performance of non-health aspects from the patients' perspective. Validity and reliability of questionnaire was reviewed and confirmed. Independent sample T-test and ANOVA were used to investigate relationship between service quality and categorical variables. Data analyzed bySPSS13 software. Results: The average service quality score was 8.17 of 10. From the participants' perspective, of 12 aspects of service quality, communication and prevention had the highest score for importance. Dignity had the highest score for performance. However, the highest service quality values were for continuity of care, dignity and confidentiality. Conclusion: overall service quality achieved inadequate quality and there is an opportunity to improve quality of care.

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Background: Type 2 diabetes is a chronic disease which has incremental prevalence regarding to unhealthy lifestyle. Based on the significant gap between received and standard care in patients with type 2 diabetes, this condition occurred high costs to health system. In order to eliminate this gap, this study aimed at measuring the technical quality of perceived care among patients with type 2 diabetes.

Materials and method: A cross-sectional study was carried out among 180 people with two type of diabetes in diabetes clinic using convenience sampling method. A three part questionnaire includes demographic information, disease statue and the technical quality questions was that the validity and reliability of it was approved.  The data were analyzed using SPSS13software.

Results: Total technical quality score was 2.9 which was lower than bench mark 5. The main indices related to diabetic control (HbA_1c, blood pressure, LDL) were acceptable regarding Iranian diabetic guideline and they were controlled well.

Conclusion: According to notable gap between existing standards and perceived care in type 2 diabetic patients, there is a good opportunity to promote quality of services.

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Background and purpose: Radiology departments are among the most critical units in hospitals due to their significant role in diagnosing and treating diseases. Given the high cost of radiology equipment and the revenue these departments generate, improving service delivery and enhancing efficiency are of paramount importance. This study aimed to evaluate the economic efficiency of radiology units in hospitals affiliated with Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd.
Methods: This descriptive-survey research was conducted as an applied study. Data on input and output variables were collected from nine hospitals under Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences. Input variables included the number of expert staff, the number of radiologists, the number of radiology devices, and the number of CT scan devices. Output variables comprised the number of admitted patients, the number of registered radiological images, and the total revenue generated.
Results: The average technical and scale efficiency score was 0.910. Among the radiology units studied, 55% were found to be economically inefficient. Shahid Sadoughi Hospital exhibited decreasing returns to scale, while Shahid Beheshti Taft, Khatam al-Anbia Abarkouh, Waliasr (AS) Bafq, and Ziaei Ardakan hospitals showed increasing returns to scale. Additionally, Dr. Rahman, Afshar, Fatemeh Al-Zahra (S) Mehriz, and Imam Jafar Sadiq (AS) hospitals demonstrated constant returns to scale.
Conclusion: Eliminating surplus manpower, based on the results of the Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) method, plays a crucial role in reducing hospital and healthcare sector costs and enhancing hospital efficiency.