Said Abdel Hakim Rateb, Azza Abdel Razek El Nouman, Moshira Abdel Hakim Rateb, Mohamed Naguib Asar, Ayman Mohammed El Amin, Saad abdel Aziz Gad and Mohamed Salah Eldin Mohamed
The purpose of this paper is to develop a model for improving health services provided by the pre‐employment medical fitness check‐up system affiliated to Egypt's Health Insurance…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to develop a model for improving health services provided by the pre‐employment medical fitness check‐up system affiliated to Egypt's Health Insurance Organization (HIO).
Design/methodology/approach
Operations research, notably system re‐engineering, is used in six randomly selected centers and findings before and after re‐engineering are compared. The re‐engineering model follows a systems approach, focusing on three areas: structure, process and outcome. The model is based on six main components: electronic booking, standardized check‐up processes, protected medical documents, advanced archiving through an electronic content management (ECM) system, infrastructure development, and capacity building. The model originates mainly from customer needs and expectations.
Findings
The centers' monthly customer flow increased significantly after re‐engineering. The mean time spent per customer cycle improved after re‐engineering – 18.3±5.5 minutes as compared to 48.8±14.5 minutes before. Appointment delay was also significantly decreased from an average 18 to 6.2 days. Both beneficiaries and service providers were significantly more satisfied with the services after re‐engineering. The model proves that re‐engineering program costs are exceeded by increased revenue.
Research limitations/implications
Re‐engineering in this study involved multiple structure and process elements. The literature review did not reveal similar re‐engineering healthcare packages. Therefore, each element was compared separately.
Practical implications
This model is highly recommended for improving service effectiveness and efficiency.
Originality/value
This research is the first in Egypt to apply the re‐engineering approach to public health systems. Developing user‐friendly models for service improvement is an added value.
Details
Keywords
Rehab El-Gamal, Khaled El-Nagar, Nagwa A. Tharwat and Gomaa Abdel-Maksoud
This study aims to use whiteness (WI) and yellowness indices (YI) that were calculated from the International Commission on Illumination (CIE) color parameter to evaluate the…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to use whiteness (WI) and yellowness indices (YI) that were calculated from the International Commission on Illumination (CIE) color parameter to evaluate the efficiency of some triazole fungicides [propiconazole (C15H17Cl2N3O2) and tebuconazole (C16H22ClN3O)] to protect wooden artifacts from fungal deterioration.
Design/methodology/approach
Archeological wooden samples were collected from some historical Islamic buildings in Cairo, Egypt. Three species of fungi were identified in previous work. Propiconazole and tebuconazole with different concentrations treated the infected wooden samples aged for different periods. WI and YI of studied samples were measured using UV spectrophotometer. Calibration and uncertainty estimation accompanied by color measurement were studied.
Findings
Studying the uncertainty sources of diffuse reflection of the standard white tiles revealed that the uncertainty of calibration for both the spectrophotometer and white tiles had the highest contribution. The treated samples with tebuconazole and propiconazole fungicides gave good resistance against fungal deterioration at 0.50% for WI and YI.
Originality/value
This study presents the importance of colorimetry in the conservation field because they are considered one of the most important criteria to evaluate conservation materials. From color measurements and their uncertainties, it became clear that triazole fungicides have good efficiency in the protection of wooden artifacts from fungal deterioration. The value of this study is that propiconazole and tebuconazole fungicides at 0.50% can be applied to archaeological wood that is endangered to improper conditions, especially in the case of high levels of relative humidity.