BACKGROUND As a part of nationwide healthcare reforms, the Chinese government launched web-based appointment systems (WAS) to provide a solution to problems around outpatient appointments and services. These have been in place in all Chinese public tertiary hospitals since 2009. METHODS Questionnaires were collected from both patients and doctors in one large tertiary public hospital in Shang...

Smart Grids are result of utilizing novel technologies such as distributed energy resources, and communication technologies in power system to compensate some of its defects. Various power resources provide some benefits for operation domain however, power system operator should use a powerful methodology to manage them. Renewable resources and load add uncertainty to the problem. So, independe...

BACKGROUND As healthcare services become progressively more stretched, there is increasing discussion of ways in which technological adjuncts may be used to deliver more cost-efficient services. Before widespread implementation, however, the use of these adjuncts requires proper scrutiny of their effects on psychological practice. AIMS This research examined the effectiveness of SMS reminders...

BACKGROUND Patient access to primary care appointments is not routinely measured despite the increasing interest in this aspect of practice activity. The generation of standardised data (or benchmarks) for access could inform developments within primary care organisations and act as a quality marker for clinical governance. Logically the setting of targets should be based on a sound system of m...

OBJECTIVE We examined whether the addition of a standardized discharge planning template (DPT) for the electronic medical record facilitated scheduling of outpatient neurology follow-up appointments in children hospitalized with seizures. METHODS We reviewed medical records of patients discharged from a children's hospital with a diagnosis of seizures between January 2012 and June 2013. The s...

This paper provides a brief comparison between Soft Systems Methodology (SSM) and the Work System Method (WSM) by S. Alter. The latter is a relatively recent systems approach specifically developed with the needs of the Information Systems field. It focuses on previous criticisms towards SSM and suggests how WSM might compare against them. Those comparisons are related to the difference between...

BACKGROUND People with active tuberculosis (TB) require six months of treatment. Some people find it difficult to complete treatment, and there are several approaches to help ensure completion. One such system relies on reminders, where the health system prompts patients to attend for appointments on time, or re-engages people who have missed or defaulted on a scheduled appointment. OBJECTIVE...