Hui-chuan Chen, Tommy Cates, Monty Taylor and Christopher Cates
The purpose of this paper is to examine whether patient readmission rates are associated with patient satisfaction and Medicare reimbursement rates in the US hospitals.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine whether patient readmission rates are associated with patient satisfaction and Medicare reimbursement rates in the US hospitals.
Design/methodology/approach
The Hospital Compare database was obtained from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) in the US. A total of 2,711 acute care hospitals were analyzed for this present study. The data included patient satisfaction surveys, hospital 30-days readmission ratios for heart failure and pneumonia patients and related payments. Exploratory factor analysis was applied in the first stage to operationalize constructs for scale development. Partial least squares (PLS) modeling analysis via Smart-PLS was utilized for testing the hypotheses.
Findings
Results indicated that data provided from the Hospital Compare database for the acute care hospitals accurately reflect quality outcomes. Nevertheless, the Medicare Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program (HRRP) did not penalize the hospitals when patients reported lower satisfaction via the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) scores.
Originality/value
The findings suggest that a high-readmission rate is not associated with lower payment. Such results appear to conflict with the goals of value-based purchasing programs, which seek to penalize hospitals financially for higher readmission rates.
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Sheellyana Junaedi and Jason Harjanto
This study aims to determine whether destination awareness, destination image, and tourist motivation have a direct or indirect effect on tourists’ intention to revisit, with word…
Abstract
This study aims to determine whether destination awareness, destination image, and tourist motivation have a direct or indirect effect on tourists’ intention to revisit, with word of mouth (WOM) as a mediating variable. The study conducted a self-administered questionnaire survey and its target population was the visitors who came to the Batu Secret Zoo. The sample consisted of 170 respondents, who had visited the Batu Secret Zoo in the last six months. A survey research design was used. The measures used in the questionnaire were adapted from previous scales. The research was conducted using a quantitative method.
The findings indicate that destination awareness, destination image, and tourist motivation have a significant effect on tourists’ intention to revisit. This study also analyzed the possible mediating effect of WOM on tourists’ intention to revisit. The results showed that WOM plays a significant mediating role for destination awareness and destination image on tourists’ intention to revisit. These causal relationship variables were consistent with previous findings and conceptualized related studies. Several implications of the findings are discussed later.
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Mojtaba Fadaei, Mohsen Izadi, Ehsanolah Assareh and Ali Ershadi
This study aims to evaluate the melting process of the phase-change RT-35 material in a shell and tube heat exchanger saturated with a porous medium. Titanium porous media with…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to evaluate the melting process of the phase-change RT-35 material in a shell and tube heat exchanger saturated with a porous medium. Titanium porous media with isotropic and inhomogeneous structures are studied. The considered tubes in the shell and tube exchanger are made of copper with specific thicknesses. The phase-change material has a non-Newtonian behavior and follows the endorsed Carreau–Yasuda Model.
Design/methodology/approach
The enthalpy–porosity method is used for modeling of the melting process. The governing equations were transferred to their dimensionless forms. Finally, the equations are solved by applying the Galerkin finite element method.
Findings
The findings for different values of the relative permeability (K*) and permeability deviation angle (λ) are represented in the forms of charts, streamlines and constant temperature contours. The considerable effects of the relative permeability (K*) and deviation angle (λ) on the flow line patterns of the melting phase-change material are some of the significant achievements of this works.
Originality/value
This study was conducted using data from relevant research articles provided by reputable academic sources. The data included in this manuscript have not been published previously and are not under consideration by any other journal.
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Hossein Motahari-Nezhad and Aslan Sadeghdaghighi
No comprehensive statistical assessment of publication bias has been conducted in remdesivir-based intervention research for COVID-19 patients. This study aims to examine all…
Abstract
Purpose
No comprehensive statistical assessment of publication bias has been conducted in remdesivir-based intervention research for COVID-19 patients. This study aims to examine all meta-analyses of the efficacy of remdesivir interventions in COVID-19 patients and perform a statistical assessment of publication bias.
Design/methodology/approach
This is an analytic study conducted to assess the impact of publication bias on the results of meta-analyses of remdesivir-based interventions in patients infected with COVID-19. All English full-text meta-analyses published in peer-reviewed journals in 2019–2021 were included. A computerized search of PubMed and Web of Science electronic databases was performed on December 24, 2021. The trim-and-fill method calculated the number of missing studies and the adjusted cumulative effect sizes.
Findings
The final analysis comprised 21 studies with 88 outcomes. The investigation revealed missing studies in 46 outcomes (52%). Seventy-six missing studies were replaced in the outcomes using the trim-and-fill procedure. The adjusted recalculated effect sizes of the 27 outcomes increased by an average of 0.04. In comparison, the adjusted effect size of 18 outcomes fell by an average of 0.036. Only 14 out of 46 outcomes with publication bias were subjected to a gray literature search (30%). To discover related research, no gray literature search was conducted in most outcomes with publication bias (n = 32; 70%). In conclusion, the reported effect estimates regarding the effect of remdesivir in COVID-19 patients are only slightly affected by publication bias and can be considered authentic. Health-care decision-makers in COVID-19 should consider current research results when making clinical decisions.
Research limitations/implications
Most health decisions are based on the effect sizes revealed in meta-analyses. When deciding on remdesivir-based treatment for COVID-19 patients, therefore, the outcomes of this investigation may be of paramount importance to health policymakers, leading to better treatment strategies.
Practical implications
According to the results, no major publication bias and missing studies were detected on average. Therefore, the calculated effect sizes of remdesivir-based interventions on meta-analyses can be used as authentic and unbiased benchmarks by health-care decision-makers in treating patients with COVID-19.
Originality/value
This is the first study to examine the effect of publication bias and gray literature searches on the results of meta-analyses of treatment with COVID-19 (remdesivir).