Journal of

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Background: Assessing applied resources in a hospital as a health system will lead to identify organizational problems in this section and subsequently the necessary actions to resolve them. The aim of this study was to determine measurement of inappropriate admission and hospitalization (ISP: Inappropriateness Patient Stay) and associated reasons.

Materials & Methods: One widely used tools to assess appropriate use of hospital recourse is Appropriateness Evaluation Protocol which include objective criteria related to clinical services provided to the patient. Survey of admission and hospitalization in a cross-sectional and prospective study for 246 patients in the Alinasab hospital affiliated insurance organization carried out in Tabriz.

Results: The total of 7 percent of admissions and 6.2 percent of hospitalized were diagnosed inappropriate manner. There was no significant association between inappropriate admissions and other variables. There was significant relationships between Inappropriate bed days with insurance (P=0/041) and duration of hospital stay (P=0/041). However, there were no association between sex, disease diagnosis and hospital days per week with Inappropriate bed days.

Conclusion: The reasons of inappropriate admission and hospitalization in Iran are similar to other countries. Upgrading strategies to referral system performance, creating standard protocols to evaluate criteria for medical personnel and increasing outpatient diagnostic institutions could be reduce inappropriate admissions and stay of patients.

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Background: Enhancing the need for health care services and its related costs, lead hospitals to improve and organize their processes. The aim of current study was to assess the Patients' Hospitalization and Discharge Processes Based on Kaizen approach and Multiple-Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) in an internal ward of one Hospital.

Materials and Methods: In this descriptive analytical study, ten managers completed the hospitalization and discharge questionnaires and answered three open questions according to Kaizen principles. Then, satisfaction score was measured for 100 patients using a reliable questionnaire (α=0.93). At third phase, after evaluating the proposed solutions using Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP), the managers prioritized them based on cost, time and effectiveness considering indicators.

Results: Study findings revealed that mean scores of activity in hospitalization and discharge processes were 88.52 and 90.33 (out of 100) respectively, which showed high conformity with Kaizen approach. Also, mean scores of hospitalization and discharge satisfaction which indicated desirable satisfaction were 76.75 and 78.6 (out of 100), respectively. Based on managers' view points, results of MCDM and AHP methods indicated that effectiveness was the most important indicator and time as well as cost gained next priorities for solutions implementation.

Conclusion: This study showed that although, hospitalization and discharge processes were relatively desirable in the internal ward in mentioned hospitals, it is still a necessary to seek the best solutions in terms of effectiveness, time and cost for patients' satisfaction.

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Background & Aim: Regarding the chronic course of obstructive pulmonary disease and multiple problems which it brings to individuals and the community in terms of physical, mental, and economic aspects; this study aimed to investigate the role of life-style factors in disease exacerbation and hospitalization among COPD patients.
Methods & Materials: This is a descriptive, prospective study of outpatients with COPD in a tertiary care clinic. To collect data, a demographic questionnaire (including age, gender, marital status, occupation, and educational level), an international physical activity questionnaire (IPAQ), and a mini-nutritional assessment (MNA) tool were used. Disease severity was also determined by Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) index.
Results: A total of 128 patients (78.1% male) were recruited with a mean age of 65.3+11.9 years. Findings revealed significant correlations among physical activity level of patients and their nutrition, smoking behavior, BMI, and disease exacerbation. In fact patients with older age, lower BMI, smoking habit for a long time, and limited physical activity were more probable to face with disease exacerbation and hospitalization.
Conclusion: Evidence suggests that adoption of health promotion strategies and emphasis on health based approaches can be helpful in reducing hospitalization among COPD patients. Due to their effectiveness and low cost, such policies are regarded as cost effective strategies in dealing with chronic diseases.