Fatemeh Tajari; Ghahraman Mahmoudi; Fatemeh Dabbaghi; Jamshid Yazdani-Charati
Volume 24, Issue 8 , 2022
Abstract
Background: Electronic referral system (e-Referral system) in Iran was launched to increase access to care and improve interaction.
Objectives: The present study aimed to design an appropriate model for evaluating the performance of the e-Referral system in Iran.
Methods: This study was conducted in ...
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Background: Electronic referral system (e-Referral system) in Iran was launched to increase access to care and improve interaction.
Objectives: The present study aimed to design an appropriate model for evaluating the performance of the e-Referral system in Iran.
Methods: This study was conducted in three stages: 1) review of literature related to electronic referral systems, 2) qualitative phase, and 3) quantitative phase. Participants in the qualitative phase included 42 managers, policymakers of the Ministry of Health, medical universities, service providers, and recipients who were purposively selected for this study. Data were analyzed through content analysis. In the quantitative phase, the target group consisted of 604 staff of medical universities implementing the e-Referral system. Data were analyzed using the EQS (version 6.3) and SPSS (version 20) software. Chi-square test, degree of freedom, the goodness of fit index, root mean square error, adjusted goodness of fit index, and the Friedman test were used to investigate the suitability of the model.
Results: Fourteen main themes were identified and classified for the model design Based on the results of the present study. The components of developing rules and regulations, stakeholder advocacy, economic evaluation, and quality of health services had average ratings of 13.99, 13.00, and 11.35, respectively, regarding their role in designing the evaluation model for the e-Referral system in Iran.
Conclusion: The results of structural equation modeling showed that the components play an essential role in designing the performance evaluation model of e-Referral in the Iranian health system. This study addressed various aspects affecting the e-Referral and provided the possibility of performance evaluation in the health sector in a principled and systematic format. Health managers and policymakers can use the present study findings to discover the strengths and weaknesses of the e-Referral performance.
Masoomeh Abdi Talarposhti; Ghahraman Mahmoudi; Mohammad Ali Jahani
Volume 23, Issue 10 , 2021
Abstract
Background: Branding in the field of healthcare services leads to transparency and utility in the type of services, differentiation of services in the minds of patients, and their trust in health centers. Therefore, the present study aimed to provide a branding model in the field of healthcare services.
Methods: ...
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Background: Branding in the field of healthcare services leads to transparency and utility in the type of services, differentiation of services in the minds of patients, and their trust in health centers. Therefore, the present study aimed to provide a branding model in the field of healthcare services.
Methods: A mixed-method approach was utilized to develop a branding model for providing healthcare services. The study population for the qualitative phase included 20 academic and organizational experts using snowball sampling and the Delphi technique. For the quantitative phase, 830 people who were referred to health centers were selected as service recipients, and 415 medical staff were selected as health care providers. The validity of the questionnaire was confirmed by face, content, and structural validity; moreover, its reliability was confirmed by Cronbach's alpha of 0.96. Quantitative data were presented by EQS software (version 6.1) with confirmatory factor analysis and structural equations.
Results: According to the results of factor structure and measurement equivalence, the branding of healthcare services had six main themes of competitive position, brand equity, brand accessibility, brand consolidation in the minds of clients and the market, branding strategies, and consumer-brand relationship with 19 sub-themes for clients and providers (Comparative fit index=0.9, Tucker Lewis index=0.8, Root mean square error of approximation=0.085, Root mean square error=0.049). Moreover, the items had a good fit and internal consistency at significant levels (P<0.05).
Conclusion: According to the results, six main themes of competitive position, brand equity, brand accessibility, brand consolidation in the minds of clients and the market, branding strategies, and consumer-brand relationship with 19 sub-themes can be used in the field of health services branding.
