Archive for the ‘ Health Care System ’ Category

Healthcare Mystery Shopping – Who, What, Where and Why

By Jodi Manfredi

Who Provides Healthcare Mystery Shopping?

There are countless mystery shopping companies worldwide; approximately 250 are members of The Mystery Shopping Providers Association. To become a member you must be in business a minimum of two years and uphold a solid reputation in the industry. References are verified and members adhere to a strict code of ethics.

There are a small number of members that specialize in healthcare and understand the intricacies of the industry. If a healthcare organization or facility is considering a mystery shopping program, it is highly recommended they hire a company that has extensive experience in healthcare; ask how many healthcare shops they have conducted and for whom. Ask what percentage of their business is dedicated to the healthcare industry. Check references and listen for language that will assure they have a complete understanding of the healthcare industry. There is a vast difference between mystery shopping for the retail industry and healthcare or long term care.

Specialized companies recruit and train experienced mystery shoppers to be their “secret/mystery patients”. They are trained specific to healthcare with an understanding of the HIPAA Privacy Rule and the specific needs of the given client and their specialty. Ask who has access to the evaluations; are they stored securely? Shoppers should be asked to sign a confidentiality agreement and a release of liability. The MSPA offers certification for shoppers which assures quality observation and writing skills.

What is Evaluated and Reported?

Healthcare mystery shopping is in place to measure and improve the patient experience thereby increasing patient satisfaction. Mystery shopping examines the patients’ perception of the providers’ interpersonal skills, the organizations policies and procedures and the overall atmosphere of the facility. Medical Mystery Shopping is not about judging clinical skills. The information gathered should be used strictly for training, encouraging and rewarding providers and staff. An experienced healthcare mystery shopping company provides detailed evaluations and a comprehensive narrative of the shopper experience. They may also provide a report based on the combined findings of multiple locations. Medical Mystery Shopping companies will not displace an actual patient in an emergent situation nor will they endanger the shoppers with invasion tests or procedures. They are also sensitive to the value of the providers’ time and will perform evaluations in a manner that will be cost effective for the provider and or organization. An organization or practitioner may use one or a combination of the different types of mystery shops available, these include:

The Complete Patient Experience: This is the most comprehensive evaluation. It begins with the phone call to schedule an appointment, front office staff, clinical staff and doctors’ interpersonal skills, wait times, compliance with policy and procedure and facility ambience, exterior and interior. The mystery patient presents with a non-emergent complaint or a new patient consultation. An experienced Healthcare Mystery Shopping Company will create believable scenarios, will never involve insurance and understands the process of referrals for specialty practices.

The Walk-In Visit: Mystery shoppers visit the facility and interact with the front office staff or registration. The mystery shopper does not see clinical staff. They are prepared with a believable scenario strictly protecting their identity. Their observations will include the reception staff response time, interpersonal skills, procedure and policy knowledge, first available appointments and facility ambience, exterior and interior.

Telephone Mystery Shopping: Mystery shoppers call a facility to access the patients’ initial, most important first impression. They evaluate phone etiquette, hold times, automated systems, scheduling, compliance with policies, scripting and procedures. Phone Mystery Shopping determines the number of potential new patients/clients a facility may be losing. It is an extremely helpful tool for train. If a client requests, the calls are recorded. Read more

2011
07/03
CATEGORY
Health Care System
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Gallstones Cause Disorders Of The Reproductive System

A healthy liver is an indication of overall good health. When the liver’s ducts are obstructed by hundreds and thousands of gallstones, there is congestion in the bile ducts.

Female and male reproductive systems both depend largely on the smooth functioning of the liver. Gallstones in the liver obstruct the movement of bile through the bile ducts, and this impairs digestion and distorts the structural framework of liver lobules. It diminishes the liver’s production of both serum albumin and clotting factors. Serum albumin is the most common and abundant protein in the blood, responsible for maintaining plasma osmotic pressure at its normal level of 25mmHg. Clotting factors are essential for the coagulation of blood. Insufficient osmotic pressure cuts down the supply of nutrients to the cells, including those of the reproductive organs. This may lead to reduced lymph drainage. Poor lymph drainage from the reproductive organs can cause fluid retention and edema, as well as the retention of metabolic waste and dead cells. All of this may result in the gradual impairment of sexual functions.

Most diseases of the reproductive system result from improper lymph drainage. The thoracic duct(see Disorders of the Circulatory System) drains lymphfluid from all organs of the digestive system, including the liver, spleen, pancreas, stomach, and intestines. This large duct often becomes severely congested when gallstones in the liver impair proper digestion and absorption of food. It is obvious, yet hardly recognized in mainstream medicine, that congestion in the thoracic duct affects the organs of the reproductive system. These organs, like most others in the body, need to release their turned-over cells and metabolic waste matter into the thoracic duct.

Impaired lymphatic drainage from the female pelvic area is responsible for suppressed immunity, menstrual problems, premenstrual stress (PMS), menopausal symptoms, pelvic inflammatory disease (PID), cervicitis, all uterine diseases, vulvar dystrophies with growth of fibrous tissue, ovarian cystsand tumors, cell destruction, hormone deficiencies, low libido, infertility, and genetic mutations of cells leading to cancer.

Thoracic blockage may also lead to lymph congestion in the left breast, thereby leaving deposits of noxious substances behind that can cause inflammation, lump formation, milk duct blockage, and cancerous tumors. If the right lymphatic duct, which drains lymph from the right half of the thorax, head, neck, and right arm, becomes congested, waste accumulates in the right breast, leading to similar problems there.

A continuous restriction of lymphdrainage from the male pelvic area causes benign and malignant prostate enlargement as well as inflammation of the testes, penis, and urethra. Impotenceis a likely consequence of this development. The consistent increase of gallstones in the liver, a common factor among middle-aged men in affluent societies, is one of the major reasons for lymph blockage in this vital part of the body. Venereal diseases occur when the exposed parts of the body reach a high level of toxicity. Microbial infection is preceded by major lymph congestion. The collapsing capacity of the lymphatic system(which includes the immune system) to repel invading microorganisms is the true reason for most reproductive and sexual disorders.

When all gallstones from the liver are removed and a healthy diet and lifestyle are maintained, lymphatic activity can return to normal. The reproductive tissue receives improved nourishment and becomes more resistant. Infections subside; cysts, fibrous tissue, and tumors are broken down and removed; and sexual functions are restored.

Apart from disorders of the reproductive system, removal of gallstones from the liver and gallbladder through a series of liver flushes can provide relief from many other health issues such as problems related to the digestive, respiratory and circulatory systems, and persistent allergies and aches, Cleansing the liver’s bile ducts of gallstones is a powerful procedure to apply to improve and regain health.

[This is an excerpt from the book 'The Amazing Liver & Gallbladder Flush' by Andreas Moritz, available on http://www.ener-chi.com/book.htm ]

Andreas Moritz is a writer and practitioner in the field of Integrative Medicine and author of 13 books on various subjects pertaining to holistic health such as Timeless Secrets of Health & Rejuvenation, Cancer Is Not A Disease, Its A Survival Mechanism, The Amazing Liver & Gallbladder Flush and his newest book Vaccine-Nation: Poisoning the Population, One Shot at a Time.

Andreas Moritz can be contacted on http://www.facebook.com/enerchi.wellness

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6314108

2011
04/06
CATEGORY
Health Care System
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