Appointment System Research Articles

Barriers and enablers that influence the uptake of HIV testing among heterosexual migrants in the Netherlands.

Heterosexual migrant men and women in the Netherlands often face barriers to accessing health services, including HIV testing, that may lead to late-stage HIV diagnoses. This study explored factors of influence in the usage of HIV testing among heterosexual migrants. Qualitative evaluation with semi-structured interviews at the Amsterdam-based AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) Checkpoint and one focus group discussion (FGD) conducted during June-July 2023 with 19 participants: interviews with 12 heterosexual migrants from low- or middle-income countries (LMICs) and FGD (n = 5) and interviews (n = 2) with 7 key informants from the (public) health sector. Recorded interviews were transcribed and thematically analyzed, using the framework of Andersen's Expanded Behavioral Model of Health Services Use. In total, 55 themes emerged from the interviews and the FGD. Examples include insufficient availability of information on HIV and testing services, and difficulty in accessing these services (e.g. the barrier of the online appointment system of the Centre for Sexual Health (CSH)). HIV test participants expressed free, rapid testing, no appointment required, and a positive experience during their HIV test as enablers to test in the future. Results from key informants showed that poor health literacy and lack of clarity on the healthcare system's guidelines were barriers for heterosexual migrants in accessing information on HIV and testing services. It also revealed past initiatives and interventions that were successful in reaching at-risk groups such as the integration of HIV testing into sexually transmitted infection (STI) testing, but that were subsequently discontinued due to financial constraints. Factors contributing to a low HIV test uptake were participants' perception of limited accessibility of CSH facilities, insufficient available information on HIV (testing) services, and low perception of HIV risk. Unclear policies on accessing HIV/STI testing services at CSHs, and potential missed opportunities for HIV testing at general practitioners were contributing factors identified by key informants.

Patients’ reasons for consulting a general practitioner at the time of having dental problems: a qualitative study

IntroductionMany patients consult general practitioners instead of dentists for their oral and dental problems every year. This study aims to find the reasons why patients consult general practitioners when they have dental problems.MethodsThe sample consisted of patients visiting dentists and general practitioners in Kerman, Iran. A thematic interview guide, semi-structured questions, and a mind map that allowed for structured and open-ended questions were prepared and used for the interviews. All interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim by a final-year student. Data collection, transcription, and analysis were conducted simultaneously to allow for new topics to be raised and theoretical saturation to be reached. When researchers determined that sufficient information was available for analysis and understanding of patient opinions and beliefs, the interview process was stopped. As all audio conversations were recorded with the participant’s permission, no note-taking was done during the interviews, which allowed for greater focus on the participants’ conversation. The obtained data was analyzed using the content analysis.ResultsA total of 52 patients were included in this study. The codes related to patients participating in this research, along with the number of respondent groups related to each code were as follows: patient’s perceptions of general practitioner(GP) and dental practitioner’s scope of work [21], flawed dental system (34), dental anxiety [28], financial considerations [25], and more accessibility to GPs (31). Dental abscesses and dental pain were reported as the most common reasons for consulting GPs.ConclusionMost participants agreed that dental problems are more effectively treated by dentists. Reasons for visiting a general practitioner included lack of a specific dentist, dissatisfaction with dental treatments, lack of a dentist nearby, absence of emergency dental care, and familiarity with a physician. The most common reasons for visits were toothache and dental abscesses. Patients also sought treatment for TMJ pain, referred nerve pain, wisdom tooth pain, numbness and tingling in the jaw, gum inflammation, oral lesions, and ulcers. Furthermore, other factors such as opening hours, appointment systems and waiting time can also affect patient’s consult behaviors regarding dental problems.

Design of a JSP based Mobile Phone Repair Reservation System

With the development of the times, mobile phones are becoming more and more popular. The increase in the number of mobile phones will lead to an increase in the number of mobile phone repairs. Developing a mobile phone repair appointment system can be beneficial for mobile phone repairs. The mobile phone repair reservation system adopts the B/S mode, using Eclipse software as the system development tool and Java programming language for system development. The system database adopts SQL Server database. In system development, JSP and Servlet technologies are used to help users repair their phones more conveniently, while also benefiting maintenance personnel. The mobile phone repair reservation system designed in this paper consists of a front-end user module and a back-end administrator module. The front-end module implements functions such as registering and logging in for front-end maintenance personnel, modifying personal information, publishing, viewing, modifying, and deleting appointments for maintenance personnel, registering and logging in for front-end users, modifying personal information, making appointments, viewing appointments, and canceling appointments. The backend module enables administrators to modify personal information, view and delete personal information of users and maintenance personnel, view and delete appointment information, and other functions.

Relationship of professional identity and efficacy of Chinese public university lecturers under the appointment system in sustainable human resource management

For Chinese university lecturers, implementing sustainable human resource management (SHRM) is particularly critical. China's higher education is going through an essential stage of appointment system reform aiming to overturn the traditional civil service status of university lecturers and introduce a more flexible work and talent management mechanism to universities to international teaching standards; lecturers also raise concerns about their professional role, educational mission, balance of rights and interests, and the reshaping of the evaluation system. Based on the resource-based perspective and psychological contract theory, this study aimed to explore the relationship between sustainable human resource management (SHRM) and lecturers' professional identity in the context of China's appointment system, focusing on analyzing the moderating role of lecturers' self-efficacy. This study used a quantitative research approach to collect survey data from 610 lecturers at public colleges and universities in China. The data were analyzed with a structural equation model to test the hypothesized relationships. SHRM was directly and positively related to lecturers' self-efficacy and sense of professional identity and indirectly improved sense of professional identity by enhancing self-efficacy. The findings are consistent with existing literature, emphasize the importance of SHRM in promoting lecturers' career development, and provide empirical support for applying SHRM in the context of Chinese higher education. The study provides recommendations in three dimensions: Government, University, and Faculty. It provides guidance for strategic reform of human resource management in higher education, faculty career development, and improving education quality.

Impact of Technical Support and Information Provision on Patient No-show Behavior

Patient no-shows pose a significant challenge in healthcare operations, disrupting appointment schedules and affecting overall efficiency. Effectively addressing the challenge of reducing patient no-shows is crucial for outpatient service management. This study evaluates how the design of appointment systems affects patient no-show behavior. Using a difference-in-differences methodology, we analyze the effects of two appointment system update events—technical support and information provision—at a Chinese hospital. Our analysis reveals that technical support and information provision are associated with average reductions of 22.40% and 10.91%, respectively. To investigate the mechanisms behind these effects, we conduct a randomized controlled experiment with 233 participants. Our findings reveal that perceived effort and credibility mediate the relationship between information provision and patient no-shows. However, for technical support, only perceived credibility acts as a mediator. This study provides valuable insights for healthcare operations, offering design recommendations to address no-show behavior in hospital appointment systems.

Appointing of Judges According to the Islamic Fiqah, Romano-Germanic and Common Law Legal Systems

Among the most important factors that influence the freedom and independence of the judiciary is the method of recruiting and appointing judges and the methods appointing have been determined for them, and these methods are very different, but the understanding of these differences and the discovery of necessary reforms are very helpful in solving judicial corruption, which in the Islamic judicial system, qualified judges are usually appointed by the Caliph and sometimes appointed by the Caliph's representative. Also, in exceptional cases, they can be appointed by the senior judge, dominated person (rebellious Amir) and the infidel ruler, and their dismissal is also related to the Caliph, and the reason behind this is to preserve the independence of the judiciary and be free from any kind of pressure, coercion and illegitimate requests in their work and affairs, but in the in those law-system countries which are influenced by the common law, judges are usually appointed from among experienced lawyers. The position of a judge is considered a kind of reward because appointed person has done the job of a lawyer in the courts for a long time and has gained experience that is why they have this authority. But in Romano-Germanic law system, the judges are appointed from among the university students. The purpose of this applied and comparative study and writing is the selection and appointment of judges according to the Islamic jurisprudence, the system of selection and appointment of judges in the United States representing the Common Law, and the selection of judges in France representing the Romano-Germanic. This study and research use the bibliographic and descriptive method, where the freely appointment of judges by judicial in the law system of America and the method of appointment are the important discussions. In the federal system of the United States, according to the federal constitution, each state has special laws that accept and determine the general organization of forces and the conditions and methods of selecting judges based on their political and philosophical views. The judicial organization of one state will be different from the judicial organization of another state. Unlike the United States of America, judges in France are selected from among the students of high schools (universities). The difference is that the judges of the general courts are national Judiciary School students and judges of administrative courts are mainly selected and recruited from among senior expert students and also from general law students who have studied in the National Administrative school, and after theoretical and theoretical lessons, they complete their work-study stage in the French State Council, which then divides their employment with a large institution (Dewan of Accounts), which is led by the National Administrative Seminary. People with high marks in the exam are recruited to the French Council of State, who will then continue to work as judges in the courts.

Outpatient appointment systems: A new heuristic with patient classification

PurposeThis study aims to develop a heuristic for an outpatient appointment system considering patient classification. Design/methodology/approachThe proposed heuristic was applied in simulations with eighteen scenarios, combining different environmental factors. Total cost was adopted as a performance metric, composed of the patient's wait time and the service provider's idleness and overtime. The patients were divided into two classes according to their no-show probability, in an arrivals sequence with a binomial distribution. As a significance test of the results, Bonferroni-adjusted repeated measures analysis was applied. FindingsHaving Dome rule as baseline, an increase in performance in terms of total cost (TC) was observed, which varied between 0.46 % and 5.94 % among the means of the simulated environments, validated using the proposed significance test. The greatest benefits were obtained in the scenarios with lower ratios between service provider costs and patient costs (CR), as well as lower coefficients of variation for service times (Cv). It was also found that the heuristic is more efficient when patients from the class with the highest no-show rate predominate in the session. OriginalityThe single study identified in the literature that contemplates recalculations adopts deterministic service times to make its model viable. The present research, in turn, makes more realistic assumptions for the simulated environments, considering the variables and probability distributions most commonly observed in practical contexts Practical implicationsThe proposed heuristic provided a significant increase in performance for some combinations of environmental factors analyzed, preserving flexibility in the choice of appointment slots and covering a wide range of healthcare services found in practice.

Implementation of the Dismissal and Confirmation of the Village Head

This research aims to describe and analyze the appointment and confirmation of village heads in Yahukimo Regency. This research uses qualitative research procedures that produce descriptive qualitative data. The research was conducted at the Yahukimo Student Association, Wamena City, Papua Mountains. Data sources include primary and secondary data. The data collection techniques used were observation, interviews, and documentation. Data analysis in this research uses the analytical technique model of Miles, Huberman, and Saldana (2014). The results of this research show that the election of village heads in the Yahukimo Regency does not apply Law No. 6 of 2024 concerning villages but uses a system of appointment and confirmation by Yahukimo Regency officials without considering existing legal regulations. This could be due to the game of interests between the regents and deputy regents in the Yahukimo Regency. Human resources, especially village officials in Yahukimo Regency, could be higher, which impacts all village management and services that need to be developed and developed as usual. The management of the village bureaucracy could be better due to a shortage of labor and village heads who spend their time in the city with people's money without considering the community. In addition, the level of community participation could be much higher. This happens because leaders are authoritarian and corrupt and must do important tasks better. Community participation is very important for village development. For this reason, village communities from all groups must be involved in creating, implementing, and evaluating village policies. To ensure that the village head's policies are implemented on target.

Impediments to Effective Leadership in Public Service: A Case of Administrative and Political Challenges in County Governments in Kenya

This study addresses the substantial challenges facing leadership effectiveness in Kenya's county governments, focusing on bureaucratic inertia, political interference, resource limitations, and issues with meritocratic appointments that undermine governance and public trust. The research aimed to comprehensively analyze these barriers and propose actionable strategies for improvement. What are the primary administrative impediments to effective leadership in public service within county governments in Kenya? How do political dynamics influence leadership effectiveness in the public service sector at the county level? And what strategies can be implemented to overcome these impediments and enhance leadership effectiveness in county governments? The research questions were: Grounded in theories of transformational and transactional leadership the study explores the contrast between these leadership styles in overcoming the identified challenges. The study employs a mixed-methods approach. Qualitative data from interviews and case studies, alongside quantitative insights gathered through surveys of county officials, public servants, and community leaders, provide a holistic perspective. Purposive sampling ensured diverse participant viewpoints were captured because it allows for targeted sampling. Key findings using Likert scale of 1-5 underscore significant impediments to effective leadership: bureaucratic inertia (rated 4.0), political interference (3.9), resource constraints (3.8), insufficient training (3.7), and political appointments lacking meritocracy (4.2), corruption (4.1), fraudulent academic credentials (3.5), patronage (3.8), and tribalism (3.7). These findings reveal systemic challenges that hinder leadership effectiveness and governance outcomes. In conclusion, entrenched bureaucratic practices, external political pressures, and systemic flaws in leadership appointments hinder effective governance in Kenyan county governments. Addressing these issues necessitates comprehensive reforms, including transparent appointment processes, strengthened anti-corruption measures, strategic resource allocation, and enhanced professional development for public service leaders. From the findings the study recommends implementing transparent and merit-based appointment systems, bolstering anti-corruption efforts, prioritizing targeted resource allocation, and investing in continuous leadership development programs. These measures are crucial for fostering transparency, accountability, and sustainable development in Kenya's county governments

Innovation and challenges of artificial intelligence technology in personalized healthcare

As the burgeoning field of Artificial Intelligence (AI) continues to permeate the fabric of healthcare, particularly in the realms of patient surveillance and telemedicine, a transformative era beckons. This manuscript endeavors to unravel the intricacies of recent AI advancements and their profound implications for reconceptualizing the delivery of medical care. Through the introduction of innovative instruments such as virtual assistant chatbots, wearable monitoring devices, predictive analytic models, personalized treatment regimens, and automated appointment systems, AI is not only amplifying the quality of care but also empowering patients and fostering a more interactive dynamic between the patient and the healthcare provider. Yet, this progressive infiltration of AI into the healthcare sphere grapples with a plethora of challenges hitherto unseen. The exigent issues of data security and privacy, the specter of algorithmic bias, the requisite adaptability of regulatory frameworks, and the matter of patient acceptance and trust in AI solutions demand immediate and thoughtful resolution .The importance of establishing stringent and far-reaching policies, ensuring technological impartiality, and cultivating patient confidence is paramount to ensure that AI-driven enhancements in healthcare service provision remain both ethically sound and efficient. In conclusion, we advocate for an expansion of research efforts aimed at navigating the ethical complexities inherent to a technology-evolving landscape, catalyzing policy innovation, and devising AI applications that are not only clinically effective but also earn the trust of the patient populace. By melding expertise across disciplines, we stand at the threshold of an era wherein AI's role in healthcare is both ethically unimpeachable and conducive to elevating the global health quotient.

Simulation-Based Optimization of Truck Appointment Systems in Container Terminals: A Dual Transactions Approach with Improved Congestion Factor Representation

Simulation-Based Optimization of Truck Appointment Systems in Container Terminals: A Dual Transactions Approach with Improved Congestion Factor Representation

A paradigm shift in appointment Scheduling: Introducing a decentralized integrated Online booking system

Long wait times, coordination, and integration are persistent issues in many health systems, hindering effective management of client waitlists and delaying treatment. The traditional approach of independent scheduling at each center does not allow for a coordinated response to demand fluctuations.An Integrated Online Booking system (IOB) for outpatient services is designed in this study, presenting the first central intake-based appointment system integrated with an optimization approach and a novel decentralized and distributed appointment system. This system considers the independence of centers while better responding to demand and improving overall system performance.The optimization component of the IOB system is expanded in this paper to include multiple sites, patient preferences, priorities, and wait time targets. It becomes a large-scale problem as all requests from a geographical region are combined into one stream. A decomposable algorithm based on the Alternating Direction Method of Multipliers (ADMM) is used for this system. The study employs real large-scale MRI data from all hospitals in Ontario, Canada, to demonstrate the effectiveness of the IOB system, providing insights into its potential impact on healthcare operations. The results indicate that the IOB system can outperform common appointment scheduling approaches in terms of reducing patient wait times, balancing utilization rates, improving referral patterns, and enhancing system efficiency.The proposed IOB system can bring added value to the market by speeding up diagnosis and treatment processes while improving the efficiency of healthcare systems. This platform can be considered as Software as a Service (SaaS), providing a scalable and accessible solution for managing appointments across various sectors, and leveraging blockchain technology to ensure secure, transparent, and tamper-proof appointment records. This study provides insights for decision-makers, highlighting the importance of effective scheduling in managing client waitlists during treatment in the healthcare sector, such as elective surgery, home healthcare, physical and mental therapies, and other service industries like education, public consultations, and government services. The IOB system can be integrated with Artificial Intelligence (AI)-based tools and machine learning methods and combined with other service software to optimize appointment scheduling and improve system performance.

Control of Online-Appointment Systems When the Booking Status Signals Quality of Service

We revisit a service provider’s problem to match supply and demand via an online appointment system such as a doctor in the health care sector. We identify in a survey that an extensive set of available appointments leads to significantly less demand because customers infer a lower quality of the service, as part of an observational learning process. We capture the quality inference effect in a multinomial logit framework and present a Markov decision process for solving the problem of releasing available slots of the appointment system to optimality aiming at maximizing the expected profits. We further evaluate several simple decision rules and provide management insights on which rule to apply under different generic scenarios. Different from current literature, offering all available appointments may lead to suboptimal results when accounting for the quality inference effect. The profit-maximizing strategy then is to offer a subset of the available appointments.

Factors influencing patients’ intention to use the Health Clinic Online Appointment System app

Factors influencing patients’ intention to use the Health Clinic Online Appointment System app

The Status Guarantee of a University Professor and Unconstitutional Review ― Regarding the Re-Appointment of the Contract Appointment System and the Term Appointment System of the University Professor ―

The Status Guarantee of a University Professor and Unconstitutional Review ― Regarding the Re-Appointment of the Contract Appointment System and the Term Appointment System of the University Professor ―

Can Nationwide Central Appointment Systems Reduce Waiting Times in Turkish Public Hospitals?

Health service delivery is an important component of a well-functioning health system. To achieve a competitive healthcare system, healthcare should be provided on time to avoid delays that could harm the patient. In this respect, patient wait time is an important indicator of health services delivery performance. Countries develop national or regional booking systems to manage patient wait times and healthcare delivery resources more efficiently. In this study; the effect of a national booking system on outpatient wait times in Turkish public healthcare settings was investigated. This study was conducted using anonymized national outpatient data sets for the year 2016 with permission from the Republic of Turkey Ministry of Health. The data was analyzed after pre-processing and transformation. As a result of the study, patient wait times were calculated, analyzed and evaluated according to province and facility care levels (secondary or tertiary). Results showed that in 2016, only 30.69% of outpatient visits had appointments and that the average waiting time for patients with appointments was 11.18% shorter than for patients without appointments. The results of this study fill a gap in the literature as almost no studies have investigated this issue due to a lack of administrative and clinical data and will provide important evidence for the improvement of health service delivery systems.

Dynamic Price Application to Prevent Financial Losses to Hospitals Based on Machine Learning Algorithms.

Hospitals that are considered non-profit take into consideration not to make any losses other than seeking profit. A model that ensures that hospital price policies are variable due to hospital revenues depending on patients with appointments is presented in this study. A dynamic pricing approach is presented to prevent patients who have an appointment but do not show up to the hospital from causing financial loss to the hospital. The research leverages three distinct machine learning (ML) algorithms, namely Random Forest (RF), Gradient Boosting (GB), and AdaBoost (AB), to analyze the appointment status of 1073 patients across nine different departments in a hospital. A mathematical formula has been developed to apply the penalty fee to evaluate the reappointment situations of the same patients in the first 100 days and the gaps in the appointment system, considering the estimated patient appointment statuses. Average penalty cost rates were calculated based on the ML algorithms used to determine the penalty costs patients will face if they do not show up, such as 22.87% for RF, 19.47% for GB, and 14.28% for AB. As a result, this study provides essential criteria that can help hospital management better understand the potential financial impact of patients missing appointments and can be considered when choosing between these algorithms.

Ongoing Decline in Continuity With GPs in English General Practices: A Longitudinal Study Across the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Relationship continuity of care has declined across English primary health care, with cross-sectional and longitudinal variations between general practices predicted by population and service factors. We aimed to describe cross-sectional and longitudinal variations across the COVID-19 pandemic and determine whether practice factors predicted the variations. We conducted a longitudinal, ecological study of English general practices during 2018-2022 with continuity data, excluding practices with fewer than 750 patients or National Health Service (NHS) payments exceeding £500 per patient. Variables were derived from published data. The continuity measure was the product of weighted responses to 2 General Practice Patient Survey questions. In a multilevel mixed-effects model, the fixed effects were 11 variables' interactions with time: baseline continuity, NHS region, deprivation, location, percentage White ethnicity, list size, general practitioner and nurse numbers, contract type, NHS payments per patient, and percentage of patients seen on the same day as booking. The random effects were practices. Main analyses were based on 6,010 practices (out of 7,190 active practices). During 2018-2022, mean continuity in these practices declined (from 29.3% to 19.0%) and the coefficient of variation across practices increased (from 48.1% to 63.6%). Both slopes were steepest between 2021 and 2022. Practices having more general practitioners and higher percentages of patients seen the same day had slower declines. Practices having higher baseline continuity, located in certain non-London regions, and having higher percentages of White patients had faster declines. The remaining variables were not predictors. Variables potentially associated with greater appointment availability predicted slower declines in continuity, with worsening declines and relative variability immediately after the COVID-19 lockdown, possibly reflecting surges in demand. To achieve better levels of continuity for those seeking it, practices can increase appointment availability within appointment systems that prioritize continuity.Annals Early Access article.

Enhancing Quality Appointment, Preparation and Support System for Malaysian Principals

Educational leaders in the 21st century are under increasing pressure since they need to consistently upskill and reskill themselves so that they can adapt to rapid changes and be prepared to improve the quality of future education, as well as meet the demands of diverse stakeholders. Previous studies in the Malaysian context mostly focused on leadership training for newly appointed school principals, but there has not been much emphasis on continuous professional development for school leaders. This article provides an in-depth analysis of the appointment, preparation, and support system for Malaysian principals. In this study, a qualitative methodology has been applied, which involves document analysis based on policy documents, media, and previously published journal articles. The findings suggest that internal and external supports are currently being provided to principals. However, it proposes a wider framework of support for principals comprising internal and external support, including smart partnerships with diverse stakeholders such as industries, non-profit organizations, and international counterparts. The results provide insights to policymakers on the importance of consistently supporting school leaders to upskill with multifaceted skills to perform multiple functions, such as technological, economic, social, cultural, political, and learning leadership.

Several Thoughts on the Protection of the Legitimate Rights and Interests of College Teachers under the Appointment System

This paper focuses on the protection of the legitimate rights and interests of university teachers under the appointment system. By analyzing the existing issues in the protection of the legitimate rights and interests of university teachers under the appointment system, several considerations regarding the protection of the legitimate rights and interests of university teachers are proposed. Currently, there are problems such as insufficient attention to the protection of university teachers' rights in China, slow updates of laws, and insufficient coordination among relevant parties. There are shortcomings in the protection of university teachers' rights by universities, educational administrative authorities, social organizations, and judicial organs. Drawing lessons from advanced practices in other countries and regions, this article proposes several suggestions based on the current situation in China, focusing on the legal relationship between universities and teachers, legal status, position allocation, teacher initiative, and teacher appointment procedures. These suggestions aim to explore feasible solutions for improving the system of protecting the rights and interests of university teachers under the appointment system while maximizing the protection of teachers' rights.