Ring fencing (RF) is defined as separating elective from emergency operations in parallel hospital production lines. This study examines the effects of RF of elective surgery on hospital efficiency. The analysis is performed on two levels. First, an intensive three-month study at the departmental level of three hospitals was performed. Second, a panel data analysis of the organizational populat...

To describe the factors that influence general practitioners' choice of hospital when referring patients for elective surgery in three specialties, a postal questionnaire was distributed in January 1991 to 449 doctors who had referred patients to one of six hospitals in the North Western Regional Health Authority. Responses were received from 260 general practitioners (58%). Of the respondents ...

OBJECTIVE To demonstrate the recent trends of admission and surgical management for diverticulitis in the United States. DESIGN Retrospective database analysis. SETTING The National Inpatient Sample database. PATIENTS Patients admitted to the hospital for diverticulitis from 2002 to 2007. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Patient characteristics, surgical approach, and mortality were evaluated for ...

BACKGROUND After initial years of improvement, the multiple pregnancy rate after in vitro fertilization (IVF) in Europe now remains stable at 23% with single embryo transfer (SET) constituting 19% of all IVF cycles. Although elective SET prevents multiple pregnancies after IVF, couples and professionals apparently often decide to transfer more embryos. Previous qualitative research has identifi...

OBJECTIVE To assess trends in elective single ET and identify factors associated with a good perinatal outcome. DESIGN Retrospective cohort study. SETTING Clinic-based data. PATIENT(S) A total of 886,686 fresh, nondonor cycles reported to the National Assisted Reproductive Technology Surveillance System during 1999-2010, of which 17,166 met criteria for elective single ET. INTERVENTION(...

OBJECTIVE The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists has recommended that elective deliveries not be performed before 39 weeks of gestation, to minimize prematurity-related neonatal complications. Because a worrisome number of elective deliveries were occurring before 39 weeks of gestation in our system, we developed and implemented a program to decrease the number of these early t...