Appointment System Research Articles

Türkiye’de Okul Yöneticisi Atama Sistemi Ve Uygulamalarının Değerlendirilmesi

The aim of the research is to evaluate the school administrator appointment system in Turkey and to present suggestions on this subject. The research is in the qualitative survey model and was designed with a phenomenological approach. The study group of the research; It consists of 40 people, including teachers, education administrators and education administration experts. As a data collection tool in the research, a semi-structured interview form developed by the researcher was applied through interview and the collected data was subjected to content analysis. According to the results of the research, it is seen that the current situation of the school administrator appointment system in Turkey is insufficient, the written exam and interview do not measure the adequacy, and there is no success in determining the qualified and qualified administrators. The interview should be done fairly by competent and independent commissions so as not to cause negative perceptions. Suggestions for determining the appointment system with a broad perspective and establishing a fair and transparent manager appointment system with objective evaluation criteria in manager appointments become prominent.

Medicare: A Doctor Appointment Application System

The field of doctor appointment scheduling is currently experiencing a significant transformation, utilizing advanced technologies to enhance user experiences. Traditional manual processes, such as depending on receptionists for scheduling appointments, come with inherent limitations that hinder overall user satisfaction. This study aims to tackle these challenges by introducing an advanced Doctor Appointment System, eliminating the drawbacks associated with manual scheduling and ensuring a seamless and patient-focused experience. In traditional appointment scheduling, issues like limited personalization, delayed response times, and a lack of real-time information arise when communicating preferences and expectations to receptionists. In contrast, the Doctor Appointment System, developed on the MERN stack, employs cutting-edge technologies to overcome these limitations. The constraints of traditional scheduling, such as restricted hours and limited expertise, are overcome by the 24/7 accessibility and comprehensive information provided by the MERN stack appointment system. Patients now have the convenience of scheduling appointments, accessing medical information, and managing their healthcare needs. This system establishes a platform that delivers personalized, real-time, and user- friendly healthcare solutions, empowering patients to take control of their appointments efficiently and pleasantly. This research endeavors to evaluate the effectiveness of this innovative approach and shed light on its potential to reshape the future of doctor appointment systems. Keyword - Appointment Booking, User Reviews, Secure Authentication, User Accounts.

Increasing the take-up of public health services: An at-scale experiment on digital government

Increasing public service take-up is a critical challenge. We invested in a government-run digital appointment system for an important health screening service and conducted a large-scale experiment encouraging its use, specifically assessing the influence of transactions costs and information. Using administrative records on the near-universe of eligible women (47,600) in Uruguay’s capital city, we randomized invitations to book with our digital-system or as-usual with local clinics. Digital encouragements doubled medical visits versus as-usual invitations, and tripled compared to a pure control group (5.5 % versus 1.9 %) over 16 weeks. These large impacts are highly cost-effective, mediated by salience and reduced transactions costs.

Managing high cardiovascular disease risk among adults in Argentina using a multicomponent strategy linking key aspects of care: A two-arm cluster-randomized clinical trial (PRIMECare) protocol

BackgroundCardiovascular disease (CVD) imposes a significant burden on the Argentinian population. Management of its leading risk factors can significantly reduce the CVD burden in high-resource settings, but there is insufficient evidence for effective implementation of evidence-based interventions in lower-resource settings like Argentina. MethodsIn this two-arm cluster-randomized trial we seek to compare the effective implementation, of a multicomponent intervention, versus usual care, to improve the management of high CVD risk across the care continuum in three provinces of Argentina. The multicomponent intervention strategy links five primary components of the CVD care continuum to improve its management: (1) a data management system linking a digital mHealth (mobile health) screening tool used by community health workers (CHWs), (2) an electronic appointment scheduler that is integrated with the primary care center electronic appointment system, (3) point of care testing for lipid profiles, (4) a clinical decision support (CDS) system for medication initiation, and (5) a text message (SMS) reminder system to improve treatment adherence and life-style changes. The primary outcome is the mean change in Framingham laboratory-based, 10-year absolute CVD risk score between the study arms from baseline to twelve months after enrollment. ConclusionsThis protocol describes the development of a multicomponent intervention to implement effective management of CVD, developed with partners at the National and provincial Departments of Health in Argentina, with the goal of understanding its effective implementation in a primary health care system strengthened by universal health coverage, provision of free health care services, and provision of free medication.

Experience of verbal violence among Chinese nursing students in clinical practice: a qualitative study

BackgroundWorkplace violence is prevalent in the nursing profession, and as a relatively junior link of the professional hierarchy, nursing students are not immune to it. Among these, verbal violence may have more serious consequences for the victims than physical violence, but the literature on verbal violence among nursing students in Chinese clinical settings is limited.AimsTo explore the verbal violence experience among Chinese nursing students in clinical practice, and the strategies used by nursing students to cope with violence.DesignA descriptive qualitative study.MethodsFrom January 2022 to June 2022, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 21 nursing students in clinical practice by purposive snowball sampling. Nvivo12 software and inductive content analysis were used for data analysis. This paper followed the COREQ (Consolidated criteria for Reporting Qualitative Research) guidance.ResultsThrough data analysis, three themes were defined:(1) Multiform verbal violence; (2) Hurting and impacting and (3) Struggling or Coping. The findings indicated that nursing students were subjected to multiple forms of verbal violence in clinical practice, not only from patients and caregivers, but also from peers such as clinical tutors and doctors, which not only harmed students’ personal health and well-being, but may also contribute to the nursing industry’s future loss of human resources. Seeking emotional support from others and forcing themselves to grow up were the most commonly used coping strategies.ConclusionNursing educators and nursing managers need to pay attention to verbal violence in the clinical environment, and actively develop the ability of nursing students to deal with uncivilized behavior. Establishing relevant courses and training such as communication, resilience, and violence prevention, establishing a stricter clinical mentor appointment system, and teaching assessment system may be strategies to help nursing students better perform clinical practice.

Transform to a modern appointment system.

Transform to a modern appointment system.

The Satisfaction of Shahid Chamran Hospital's Clinic Appointment System from the Patient's Point of View

Background: One of the indicators for evaluating the performance of medical centers is the waiting time of patients to receive services. The purpose of this research is to determine the level of satisfaction with the appointment system of Chamran Ferdous Hospital clinic from the patient's point of view in 2019.
 Methods: The current study is a cross-sectional descriptive-analytical study that was conducted in 2019. The population of this research was all patients referred to the clinic of Chamran Ferdous Hospital. To collect data, a researcher-made questionnaire was used, which included three sections: satisfaction with the online, telephone, and face-to-face appointment system.
 Results: Examining the usage rate of the research community of all kinds of scheduling methods indicates that most people choose the telephone scheduling method with a frequency of 40% and the lowest usage rate is related to the face-to-face method with 16.8%. Regarding the online appointment method, 35% reported low satisfaction, 60% reported moderate satisfaction, and 5% reported high satisfaction. About the telephone appointment method, 59% rated low satisfaction, 40% moderate satisfaction, and only 1% rated high-level satisfaction. And about face-to-face appointments, 84% reported low satisfaction, 8% reported moderate satisfaction, and 8% reported high satisfaction.
 Conclusion: It may be possible to improve patient satisfaction by using advanced reception systems, but the need to pay attention to all dimensions and aspects is felt.

Satisfaction level among infertile women regarding patient-centered care in the fertility clinic at CSHW

This cross-sectional study was conducted at the Castle Street Hospital for Women's Specialized Fertility Clinic in Colombo 08, Sri Lanka. The purpose of this study is to investigate how patients with infertility felt about receiving therapy that was tailored to their specific needs. A sample of 425 individuals is addressed using the Patient-Centered Care Questionnaire (PCC-Q). The results showed that the clinic's emphasis on personalized attention and care was highly praised. The requirement for further enhancement of the richness of PCC is significantly emphasized to its maximum potential. The study suggests improvements to the client's satisfaction through PCC service efficiency which included an appointment system for consultations and ultrasound scanning, additional written information, and expanded theatre facilities.

Impact of the National Health Insurance Program (JKN) on Access to Public Health Services: A Comprehensive Analysis

The National Health Insurance Program (Jaminan Kesehatan Nasional or JKN) has been a cornerstone of Indonesia's healthcare system, aiming to provide equitable access to public health services for its population. This research examines the impact of JKN on access to public health services in Indonesia, with a focus on enrollment duration, access barriers, satisfaction levels, and implications for policy and practice. A diverse sample of 800 JKN beneficiaries from various regions in Indonesia participated in this study. Demographic analysis revealed a broad representation of age, gender, education, and income levels among respondents. Data collection included structured surveys, interviews, and focus group discussions to capture comprehensive insights into the experiences of JKN beneficiaries. The research findings suggest that the duration of JKN enrollment significantly influences healthcare utilization. Beneficiaries enrolled for more than 2 years exhibited higher utilization rates, underscoring the importance of sustained enrollment. Access barriers, particularly long wait times and geographical distance to healthcare facilities, were identified as significant challenges. These barriers must be addressed to enhance healthcare accessibility. Satisfaction levels with healthcare services covered by JKN were generally high, but continuous quality improvement efforts are vital to sustain and elevate service quality. Policymakers can leverage these findings to promote long-term enrollment, address access barriers, and maintain equitable access to healthcare services. Healthcare providers can benefit from insights on improving appointment systems and ensuring quality care. The population at large can anticipate improved healthcare access as policy interventions seek to enhance the JKN program's effectiveness. In conclusion, this research contributes to the ongoing discourse on healthcare access in Indonesia, offering practical insights that can inform policy decisions and improve healthcare delivery. It underscores the importance of sustained JKN enrollment, the need to address access barriers, and the continuous pursuit of high-quality healthcare services for all Indonesians

Modeling strategic walk-in patients in appointment systems: Equilibrium behavior and capacity allocation

We consider an outpatient clinic with strategic patients who choose between making an appointment with an indirect wait cost (advance patients) and walking in with an inconvenience cost that includes the risk of being rejected and waiting in the clinic (walk-ins). Patients have different indirect waiting costs and show up with some probability. The clinic allocates slots to advance and walk-in patients to minimize the expected blockage of walk-in patients. We characterize the equilibrium behavior of patients and investigate the optimal capacity allocation, for unobservable (patients know the expected waiting time) and observable (patients know their exact waiting time) cases. For the unobservable case, one of the three options is optimal: allocating all slots to advance patients, allocating all slots to walk-ins, or allocating a certain number of slots to advance patients so that only urgent patients would choose the walk-in option. In contrast, for the observable case, no such structure exists. We investigate the value of information numerically. Finally, we develop a simulation platform to examine the effects of model assumptions. We find the optimal capacity allocation for the simulation model to benchmark the performance of the theoretical models and two simple policies. These analyses verify that our models work well in realistic simulations, offering a useful tool in practice. In contrast to the common practice of allocating some slots to walk-ins, our results suggest that the clinics should prefer a system that allocates all slots to advance patients in certain environments due to the strategic behavior of patients.

Pilot Implementation of a Community-based, eHealth-enabled Service Delivery Model for Newborn Hearing Screening and Intervention in the Philippines.

This study explores the potential of the HeLe Service Delivery Model, a community-based newborn hearing screening (NHS) program supported by a web-based referral system, in improving provision of hearing care services. This prospective observational study evaluated the HeLe Service Delivery Model based on records review and user perspectives. We collected system usage logs from July to October 2018 and data on patient outcomes. Semi-structured interviews and review of field reports were conducted to identify implementation challenges and facilitating factors. Descriptive statistics and content analysis were used to analyze quantitative and qualitative data, respectively. Six hundred ninety-two (692) babies were screened: 110 in the RHUs and 582 in the Category A NHS hospital. Mean age at screening was 1.4±1.05 months for those screened in the RHU and 0.46±0.74 month for those in the Category A site. 47.3% of babies screened at the RHU were ≤1 month old in contrast to 86.6% in the Category A hospital. A total of 10 babies (1.4%) received a positive NHS result. Eight of these ten patients were referred via the NHS Appointment and Referral System; seven were confirmed to have bilateral profound hearing loss, while one patient missed his confirmatory testing appointment. The average wait time between screening and confirmatory testing was 17.1±14.5 days. Facilitating factors for NHS implementation include the presence of champions, early technology adopters, legislations, and capacity-building programs. Challenges identified include perceived inconvenience in using information systems, cost concerns for the patients, costly hearing screening equipment, and unstable internet connectivity. The lack of nearby facilities providing NHS diagnostic and intervention services remains a major block in ensuring early diagnosis and management of hearing loss in the community. The eHealth-enabled HeLe Service Delivery Model for NHS is promising. It addresses the challenges and needs of community-based NHS by establishing a healthcare provider network for NHS in the locale, providing a capacity-building program to train NHS screeners, and deploying health information systems that allows for documentation, web-based referral and tracking of NHS patients. The model has the potential to be implemented on a larger scale - a deliberate step towards universal hearing health for all Filipinos.

Managing mothers' and fathers' uncertainty during their journey through early neurodevelopmental follow-up for their high-risk infants-A qualitative account.

Early diagnosis of cerebral palsy is possible by 5 months corrected age for 'at-risk' infants, using diagnostic tools such as the Hammersmith Infant Neurological Examination (HINE), Prechtl's General Movements Assessment (GMA) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). This is an uncertain and stressful time for parents where provision of appropriate information and support is essential. To explore parents' views and experiences in relation to the new early neurodevelopmental follow-up of 'at-risk' infants. Thirteen in-depth one-to-one qualitative interviews were conducted by the primary researcher, with eight parents (six mothers and two fathers) of 'at-risk' infants eligible for a follow-up clinic where the GMA and HINE were performed at 12-week corrected age. Interviews used a pre-piloted topic guide and took place before and after the clinic. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim and analysed using inductive coding and thematic analysis using the framework approach. Seven themes were identified: (1) attempting to manage uncertainty, (2) taking priority, (3) trusting professionals, (4) independence in the parent role, (5) feeling understood, (6) patterns of care and (7) individuality. Parents reported experiencing uncertainty about their current situation and future. Adequate preparation for and timing of information are vital. When uncertainty is poorly managed, parents' wellbeing suffers. Individual parents' perspectives and infants' developmental trajectories differ, and information should be tailored specifically for this. A parent's understanding of the journey through neurodevelopmental care for their high risk infants is initially very limited. Implementing a counselling service for parents to access psychological support and digital reminder system for clinic appointments, as well as providing more tailored information through trusted professionals, could all improve future parents' experiences.

Judicial Independence and Reformation of the Collegium System: Evaluating the Njac Judgement and Foreign Judicial Appointment Systems

The National Judicial Appointments Commission, introduced by the 99th constitutional amendment, was struck down by the Supreme Court of India while the collegium system was upheld. The basic structure doctrine of the independence of the judiciary was contested to be violated by the amendment, and the striking down of the amendment ensured that judicial supremacy was protected. Yet, India is the only country where the spirit of democracy is of utmost importance. Still, the judges are appointed by fellow judges in the current practice of the collegium system. In this research article, the researcher will evaluate the dissenting view of Justice Chelameswar in the NJAC judgement and tackle the issue of the need for reformation of the collegium system to make it more transparent and democratic. The article will also deal with a comparative analysis of the Indian judicial appointment setup and the setup of judicial appointments in foreign countries like the USA, UK, France, Australia and Canada to formulate recommendations for reformation in the Indian setup.

Integrating machine learning algorithms and explainable artificial intelligence approach for predicting patient unpunctuality in psychiatric clinics

This study addresses patient unpunctuality, a major concern affecting patient waiting time, resource utilization, and quality of care. We develop and compare four machine learning models, including multinomial logistic regression, decision tree, random forest, and artificial neural network, to accurately predict patient arrival patterns and aid efficient scheduling. These models are analyzed using the explainable artificial intelligence approach and the Shapley additive explanations model, promoting comprehension and trust in our algorithmic results. Using three years of appointment data from a psychiatric clinic, we identify the travel distance, appointment lead time, patient’s age, Body Mass Index (BMI), and certain mental diagnoses as significant factors affecting the patient’s unpunctuality. Despite the good predictive potential of machine learning algorithms, no single model excels in all performance metrics. The study proposes implementing these machine learning techniques and the explainable artificial intelligence tool into the clinic’s appointment system as a decision support system to minimize patient unpunctuality.

An Online Scheduling Platform for Veterinary Appointments

As a result of technological advancements such as the internet and wireless networks, many businesses, including veterinary clinics, have implemented these technologies in their day-to-day operations, and this trend has grown in popularity in recent years. This project proposes that veterinary clinics adopt an online, web-based appointment system to make the appointment process more efficient and straightforward. This research has two objectives: designing and developing a web-based concept for an online appointment booking system. The appointment system is subjected to a usability test to determine whether the proposed system simplifies appointment scheduling for users. This study employed the waterfall model, which consists of six phases, including requirement, analysis, design, coding, testing, and implementation. Visual Studio Code, for the coding process, and XAMPP control panel, for the development and testing of the system on a local web server, were utilized during the development of this research. During the testing period, functionality and usability tests were conducted, and based on the test results, the majority of users agree that this online appointment system is simple to use. In conclusion, this research has helped to simplify the appointment process for users of veterinary clinics, and it can be improved in the future by adding a payment gateway to the system to facilitate online banking payments.

Classification of Port Systems for Port Competitiveness

The general objective of the research was to classify port systems for competitiveness by implementation criteria, continents and port functional competitiveness indicators. This research used the qualitative approach and was applied. The thematic narrative research design due to the variety of information used in reference documents based on the topic of classifying port systems for competitiveness. A classification with 18 criteria was constructed by evaluating their fulfillment in the different port systems based on the literature reviewed. They were also classified by level of implementation, by countries in which they have been implemented, and by port competitiveness indicators. The port community and the automatic identification system are focused on improving the flow of information, while the terminal operation system, the automated gate system and the truck appointment system are focused on optimizing the operations performed at ports.

Managing interruptions in appointment schedules via patient notification

Interruptions in appointment schedules are common in practice, yet many clinics use generic appointment scheduling templates and sub-optimal interruption management strategies that fail to address dynamics aspects of daily healthcare operations. In this study, we consider patient no-shows, patient punctuality, service time variability, random walk-in patient arrivals and other common appointment interruptions to determine optimal single-server, intra-day appointment schedules. Using a modified depth first search (DFS) algorithm that relies on a sample average approximation (SAA) technique for objective function evaluation, we minimize a weighted sum of expected waiting times for scheduled and walk-in patients, physician idle time, and physician overtime. Extensive experimentation shows the proposed algorithm solves realistic problems in reasonable time. Furthermore, we propose a sequential notification procedure (SNP) that serves as a dynamic correcting mechanism to address infrequent and unexpected interruptions with a relatively long duration. Considering possible patient responses to notification, SNP notifies scheduled patients in advance to prevent excessive patient waiting and physician overtime. Furthermore, we propose an easy-to-use patient notification heuristic (NH) that can be adopted by clinics using traditional appointment systems. Experimentation shows that both SNP and NH provide significant value, improving operational outcomes. We demonstrate the value of patient notification increases as interruption levels increase and when patients are responsive to notifications.

Applying community health systems lenses to identify determinants of access to surgery among mobile & migrant populations with hydrocele in Zambia: A mixed methods assessment.

Hydrocele which is caused by long term lymphatic filariasis infection can be treated through the provision of surgery. Access to surgeries remains low particularly for hard to reach populations. This study applied community health system lenses to identify determinants to the adoption, implementation and integration of hydrocele surgeries among migrants &mobile populations in Luangwa District, Zambia. A concurrent mixed methods design consisting of cross-sectional survey with hydrocele patients (n = 438) and in-depth interviews with different community actors (n = 38) was conducted in October 2021. Data analysis was based on the relational and programmatic lenses of Community Health Systems. Under the Programmatic lens, insufficient resources resulted in most health facilities being incapable of providing the minimum package of care for lymphatic filariasis. The absence of cross border collaborative structures limits the continuity of care for patients moving across the three countries. Other programmatic barriers include language barriers, inappropriate appointment systems, direct and indirect costs. In the relational lens, despite the key role that community leaders play their engagement in service delivery was low. Community actors including patients were rarely included in planning, implementation or evaluation of hydrocele services. Some patients utilized their power within to act as champions for the surgery but local groups such as fishing associations remained underutilized. Community health systems provide a potential avenue through which access amongst mobile and migrant populations can be enhanced through strategies such engagement of patient groups, knowledge sharing across borders and use of community monitoring initiatives.

Research and Design of the Outpatient Appointment System Based on WEB

With the continuous development of the internet industry, most hospitals have started to adopt online appointment and registration systems. Patients can easily make appointments and register online, saving the waiting time for patients to queue up and register at the hospital. At the same time, it effectively avoids the problem of personnel concentration and cross infection caused by centralized hospital registration. After registering with a real name, the user logs into the registration system, selects the corresponding hospital department, determines the required doctor, makes an online appointment for registration, and then goes to the hospital for treatment at the agreed time. Experiments have shown that the hospital appointment and registration system not only facilitate patients, saves patient time, but also makes hospital registration work efficient and standardized, with good application value.

Analysis of Density and Patient Wait Times in Terms of System Management in Turkish Hospitals: Setting A Pattern By Days and Hours of the Week

The time spent waiting is an important problem regarding patient satisfaction and hospital efficiency, and increases the need for evidence-based information for management to make decisions towards a solution. This study aims to examine the process flows in hospitals based on actual data with the intent to design a better service delivery system and set a pattern in terms of determining the congestion in the process and planning the necessary improvements. For this purpose, the data sets for 2016 pertaining to secondary and tertiary level hospitals in Turkey, which are stored in the central physician appointment system (CPAS), are investigated. The data is analyzed through pre-processing, cleaning and transformation stages. Congestion patterns are determined by days and hours spent in hospitals. Monday is found to be the day with the highest patient density and the longest wait time in Turkish hospitals. It is observed that wait times are shorter on Wednesday in the middle of the week, while they are longer on Friday, the last working day. Additionally, when analyzed by working hours, it is determined that the first 2 hours in the morning (9.00 a.m. to 11.00 a.m.) is the period when most patients are examined. The lunchtime (between 12.00 p.m. - 1.00 p.m.) and the afternoon from 4.00 p.m. to 5.00 p.m. are the times when patient density is the lowest, but average wait time is the longest. Turkish hospitals are found to be particularly congested on some days and during some hours regarding patient wait times. Thus, policy recommendations can be developed specifically to the days and times when congestion patterns are identified rather than suggesting a general policy. This study is the most comprehensive study conducted in Turkey through process data. The working model is reproducible in different countries and regions.