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Reducing Waste in Healthcare
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Reducing Waste in Healthcare

A special issue of Healthcare (ISSN 2227-9032). This special issue belongs to the section "Health Policy".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 October 2021) | Viewed by 12200

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Hung-Chang Liao

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
1. Department of Health Policy and Management, Chung Shan Medical University, Taichung 40201, Taiwan
2. Department of Medical Management, Chung Shan Medical University Hospital, Taichung 40201, Taiwan
Interests: hospital supply chain management; green supply chain management; hospital environmental and service design; healthcare administration
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The concept of "waste" involves different aspects. For the general idea, “waste” represents a significant cost loss. In the total quality management, the term "waste" is pointed as a significant and potential loss. Hence, the risk control and waste reduction have been emphasized. For the quality engineering, Taguchi defined that the social loss function is a great waste for the inappropriate product design.

In this special issue, we encourage author(s) to define the "waste" and submit a research study or a case example in the healthcare system. In the healthcare system, "waste" can be defined as patients' waiting time, inappropriate use of medical resources, inappropriate operation flow, healthcare pollution, and so on. The given research study or case example will be an illustration of the concept of "waste management" in the healthcare system and how the concept can be applied to the healthcare to eliminate the waste.

Any research study or case example regarding improvement strategies used to decrease the waste in healthcare is also the focus in the special issue, in which the improvement indexes of decreasing the waste in healthcare should be clearly illustrated in order to let readers easily realize the feasibility and how to use the proposed improvement strategies to eliminate the waste in healthcare. Hence, in the submitted paper, a systematic conception of waste management will be clearly illustrated; thus, the waste management will lead to a decrease in expenditures and human resources in the healthcare system.

The editors encourage any researchers who are interested in the special issue. We welcome researchers to contribute their knowledge and research results to the special issue.

Prof. Dr. Hung-Chang Liao
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Healthcare is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Waste management
  • Quality management
  • Environmental dynamism
  • Loss control
  • Service design

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue polices can be found here.

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

8 pages, 220 KiB  
Article
Visualizing the Invisible: Invisible Waste in Diagnostic Imaging
by Bjørn Hofmann, Eivind Richter Andersen and Elin Kjelle
Healthcare 2021, 9(12), 1693; https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare9121693 - 7 Dec 2021
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 5087
Abstract
There is extensive waste in diagnostic imaging, at the same time as there are long waiting lists. While the problem of waste in diagnostics has been known for a long time, the problem persists. Accordingly, the objective of this study is to investigate [...] Read more.
There is extensive waste in diagnostic imaging, at the same time as there are long waiting lists. While the problem of waste in diagnostics has been known for a long time, the problem persists. Accordingly, the objective of this study is to investigate various types of waste in imaging and why they are so pervasive and persistent in today’s health services. After a short overview of different conceptions and types of waste in diagnostic imaging (in radiology), we identify two reasons why these types of waste are so difficult to address: (1) they are invisible in the healthcare system and (2) wasteful imaging is driven by strong external forces and internal drivers. Lastly, we present specific measures to address wasteful imaging. Visualizing and identifying the waste in diagnostic imaging and its ingrained drivers is one important way to improve the quality and efficiency of healthcare services. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Reducing Waste in Healthcare)
13 pages, 256 KiB  
Article
Reducing Waste in Healthcare through Occupational Safety and Health Measures: A Study of Manufacturing Industries in Taiwan
by Ya-huei Wang, Cheng-Ming Chang and Hung-Chang Liao
Healthcare 2021, 9(11), 1476; https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare9111476 - 30 Oct 2021
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1939
Abstract
Occupational accidents and diseases cause the loss of valuable workers and lead to high healthcare expenses. Because occupational accidents and diseases are ascribed to inadequate working conditions and work environments, they can be prevented through a well-established occupational safety and health management system, [...] Read more.
Occupational accidents and diseases cause the loss of valuable workers and lead to high healthcare expenses. Because occupational accidents and diseases are ascribed to inadequate working conditions and work environments, they can be prevented through a well-established occupational safety and health management system, which can ensure workers’ health and reduce the expense of healthcare. The study investigated the shortage of work-related occupational safety and health (OSH) measures in medium-sized manufacturing industries. This study mainly focused on qualitative interviews with 15 labor inspectors and 25 business executives from OSH participating to investigate the problems of occupational safety and health in the manufacturing industries in Taiwan. The results of a qualitative study show that the most important problems with OSH management are employers’ negligence and workers’ insufficient knowledge about OSH management. The research results revealed the following eighteen significant shortcomings of OSH management: employers care mostly about production profit and do not care much for OSH; OSH data collection and OSH planning are not suitable for the workplace; many managers of OSH affairs are not qualified, in terms of their professional or academic backgrounds; and the repair of workplaces’ roofs often results in falling accidents, especially before or after a typhoon, because of workers’ failure to use safety belts and/or to follow OSH guidelines. In order to address the shortcomings and bottlenecks, the study also presented recommendations for how to implement and revise the OSH Act and how to research and enhance OSH management. The results of this study will not only supply the Ministry of Labor (Taiwan) with data to plan the strategy of OSH management but also will allow employers and workers to improve OSH management in the workplace in order to prevent the occurrence of occupational accidents. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Reducing Waste in Healthcare)
21 pages, 1722 KiB  
Article
Determinants Impacting User Behavior towards Emergency Use Intentions of m-Health Services in Taiwan
by Wan-I Lee, Hsin-Pin Fu, Nelio Mendoza and Tzu-Yu Liu
Healthcare 2021, 9(5), 535; https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare9050535 - 3 May 2021
Cited by 25 | Viewed by 3782
Abstract
Emergency usage intention and behavior are crucial to business service success for m-Health providers and patient healthcare service. This study aimed to identify the factors that influence m-Health acceptance and the effect of emergency use intentions on usage behavior among Taiwanese m-Health users [...] Read more.
Emergency usage intention and behavior are crucial to business service success for m-Health providers and patient healthcare service. This study aimed to identify the factors that influence m-Health acceptance and the effect of emergency use intentions on usage behavior among Taiwanese m-Health users by adopting and extending the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT). This study also examines the moderating role of gender and age in the effects of the independent variables on satisfaction with m-Health services. An online questionnaire was used to collect data from 371 participants. The results revealed that performance expectancy, facilitating conditions, and trust had positive effects on user satisfaction. Additionally, m-Health knowledge and user satisfaction had positive effects on emergency use intentions. However, social influence and effort expectancy did not have a significant effect on satisfaction. Moreover, age and gender significantly moderated the effects of some predictors. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Reducing Waste in Healthcare)
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