Sutter Case Analysis Essay Example For Students

Sutter Case Analysis Essay An expanding issue inside the social insurance field is the powerlessness to gather obligation from the developing populace of uninsured or underinsured patients. Social insurance associations might be battling to meet operational edges on the grounds that the business has never treated its clients like other retail-situated segments of the economy. A McKinsy and Company report expresses that medical clinics bring about sixty billion dollars in terrible obligation every year since they normally gather just ten to twenty percent of a complete uninsured patient equalization after help. MacKenzie, 2009) This is because of various reasons, including poor bookkeeping rehearses or an absence of patient data. This paper will talk about how one clinic, California’s Sutter Health, has found a way to address this issue. It will investigate the bookkeeping rehearses set up by Sutter Health and the accomplishment of this training. This creator will likewise give a substitute answer for th e issue of obligation assortment for self-pay patients just as a sentiment concerning the activities taken by Sutter Health. First it is imperative to give foundation data relating to California’s Sutter Health Hospitals. Sutter Health is a non-benefit system of network based social insurance suppliers. This association gives care to more than one hundred Northern California people group. (Souza McCarty, 2007) Sutter Health is made out of clinics, doctor associations and other social insurance specialist organizations that share assets and aptitude to propel medicinal services quality. While the assortment of suppliers is advantageous to the networks served, it represented a working issue for the association. (Hummel, 2004) One of the key issues that Sutter Health was encountering was that every office went about as a free â€Å"island† of data. Because of the various working and bookkeeping frameworks it was difficult to get information and reports in a similar organization from each area. There were no normal practices inside the association. (Hummel, 2004) Each office followed diverse conceding and charging techniques. This brought about a couple of offices having debt claims days in the scope of one hundred twenty, while others had less than sixty days. The absence of normalized income assortment and coordinated administration revealing apparatuses was unfavorably influencing the money related execution of Sutter Health. Hummel, 2004) In 2003, during their push to normalize the working frameworks, Sutter Health played out an investigation of the associations income the board cycle. The investigation results demonstrated that Sutter’s current data frameworks were exorbitant to keep up and didn't give the constant data that was required. (Unknown, 2005) The investigation gave Sutter data that was significant in deci ding key issues that were influencing their capacity to gather obligation and lower the offices debt claim days. The greater part of the issues emerged from the powerlessness to get to constant data which thusly influenced the real strategies for assortment that were being utilized. The absence of continuous data enormously blocked Sutter Health’s capacity to gather obligation from patients once a help had been given. Since the required data was not promptly accessible, supervisors needed to hold up until the month's end to set benchmarks, track progress, or decide. This deferral in data forestalled account delegates from having the option to organize and successfully take a shot at their cases. Souza McCarty, 2007) This negatively affected the quantity of receivable days that every office caused. Because of the absence of data, Sutter Health experienced issues gathering on quiet records. Sutter’s assortment strategy concentrated toward the back staff-the focal business office and authorities as opposed to the front-end staff part to gather installments. (Souza McCarty, 2007) Pati ents were not being requested their installment in an opportune way. Significant data, for example, the patient’s part of obligation and the check of the insurer’s duty, was postponed because of the frameworks that were set up. When the record agents were furnished with the data they required patients had just gotten care and been discharged. It turned out to be all the more testing to gather obligation after a lot of time had gone between the date of administration and the date of assortment endeavor. Repayment is decreased by 40% post-administration. (Unknown, 2010) This brought about an expansion of record receivable days. Subsequent to looking at the data got from the investigation and understanding the significance of normalization all through the association, Sutter built up an answer that best fit their present circumstance. First on the motivation was to build up a normalized framework inside the whole Sutter Health association. The association picked a program dependent on the rules that the program met or surpassed existing usefulness, be anything but difficult to utilize, be financially savvy and speak to cutting edge as well as versatile innovation. (Mysterious, 2005) Sutter Health decided to utilize the MedSeries4 (MS4) all through the entirety of their offices. This program has assisted with normalizing the organization’s persistent bookkeeping forms. The staff of Sutter Health is presently ready to organize and catch up on money related guiding, outsider payer charging and assortment exercises through a mechanized assortment framework. This framework additionally has the ability of creating every day work list dependent on chief characterized money due standards. Every office can follow accounts from the snapshot of pre-permission through the hour of potential task with an outside assortment office. (Hummel, 2004) This has additionally brought about the offices having the option to give information and reports in a similar organization. Another part of Sutter’s arrangement was to modify their assortment technique. Two Strong and Brave Women EssayNinety-seven percent of medical clinics overviewed in the Healthcare Financial Management Association (HFMA) 2009 investigation, The Changing Face of Self-Payment in Hospitals, have encountered an expansion in self-pay records of sales contrasted and the earlier monetary year. In about thirty-three percent of respondent emergency clinics, receivables are becoming quicker than tolerant income. (Koeing, 2010) Sutter Health found a way to decrease their number record receivable days. By normalizing their operational frameworks all through the association, Sutter was capable guarantee that every office had the option to give and access information in an identical organization. Sutter additionally actualized a front-end assortment strategy. This assisted with bringing down the record receivable days just as increment the income of the association. While I accept that Sutter adjusted the best arrangement, there are other option in contrast to tending to a similar issue. One option is receivable division. This strategy educates emergency clinics to decide a patient’s likeliness to pay their obligation. The patients â€Å"collectability† status depends on a few components, including credit and pay. Receivable division furnishes medicinal services suppliers with the chance to expand self-pay assortments, decline cost to gather, and develop self-pay record of sale days. Regardless of which strategy medicinal services associations use, it appears as if any estimates taken may diminish uncollectable records and increment income. References Anonymous. (2005, October 19). Sutter Health Selects EPSis Solutions to Achieve System-wide Cost Standards and Performance Management . PR Newswire,1. Recovered July 29, 2010, from ProQuest Database (Document ID: 913887581). Unknown. 2010, June 05). MedAssets; Sutter Health Selects MedAssets Patient Bill Estimation Solution to Improve Collections and Help Consumers Understand Their Out-of-pocket Cost. Recovered August 04, 2010, from ProQuest Database. Boehler, A. Hansal, J. (2006, January 01). Inventive methodologies for self-pay division . Social insurance Financial Management. Recovered July 29, 2010, from http://www. allbusiness. com/banking-m oney/banking-loaning credit/10579823-1. html. Edmonds, T. , Olds, P. , McNair, F. , Tsay, B. (2010). Review of Accounting (second ed. ). New York: McGraw-Hill Irwin. Human services Financial Management Association (HFMA). (2010). Dealing with the Self-Pay Cycle. Recovered July 29, 2010, from http://www. emdeon. com/eNewsletters/Compass/Spring10/Managing%20the%20Self%20Pay%20Cycle%20HFM%20March%202010. pdf. Hummel, J. (2004). Money related Finesse . Wellbeing Management Technology, 25(2), 52-55. Recovered July 29, 2010, from ProQuest Database (Document ID 538867911). Koeing, S. (2010, March 29). Five Strategies for Strategic Debt Recovery of Self-Pay Patient Accounts. Recovered July 30, 2010, from http://www. healthleadersmedia. com/content/FIN-248700/Five-Strategies-for-Stra

Successful Academic Research and Writing

Everybody has one’s own approach to academic writing, one’s own style and way of doing things. It is alright – it defines one’s work and gives additional ways of standing out from the crowd. But still, there are a number of practices, ideas and simply tricks that are widely used by the majority of successful researchers and writers. They are not necessary – but they surely can make one’s life easier and their work more effective. 1.  Utilize Your Interest The best foundation for a good article is to write about something you are genuinely and passionately interested in, for the boredom is the worst enemy you have as a writer. Ideally, write about something you a fascinated about. If you don’t care for the topic but have to write on it, try to make yourself interested. 2.  Set Your Worktime aside Lack of organization is what kills more promising projects than anything else. To battle these tendencies, especially if you know yourself to be a disorganized person, set aside a fixed amount of time to work on your current project. It doesn’t matter how it will be organized: a particular number of hours every week, or from 2 to 4 hours daily, or something else. The only thing important is to have a plan and to follow it. 3.  Set Time Break down your research into meaningful and not very big parts – then set a deadline for completing each of them. It is especially important in case of big projects – enormous tasks tend to loom over you and occupy your entire horizon, making it impossible to tackle any separate aspect of it. When they are broken down into segments, they get much more manageable. 4.  Don’t Waste Time If you have set aside time for research, make sure to use it. It doesn’t matter if you don’t feel too well, or are too tired, or don’t have inspiration for any meaningful work right now. There is always something you can do, however small a task. Prepare the literature, contact a potential source of information, proofread what’s already written – there are always things to be done, whereas ideal work conditions are an utopia. 5.  Make a Start If you don’t know what to start with, start with anything. It is often one of the most troublesome stages of research, so there is a number of tricks you can use to get yourself going. Create a text file on your computer and give it the name of your project. Write the title inside. Sketch an approximate table of contents. Start writing a preface, even if you know it is going to be terrible and you will have to rewrite it from scratch later it isn’t important; what’s important is to get started. But don’t push yourself too hard. Sometimes the best thing you can do to progress with a piece of work is to set it aside for the time being and work on something else. You will be amazed how easy it will go when you come back a week later.

I chose the movie clip entitled “King Kong”. It’s from the...

I chose the movie clip entitled â€Å"King Kong†. It’s from the movie â€Å"Training Day† starring Denzel Washington. Training Day is a movie that follows a corrupted detective’s day to day mischief as he schools a rookie cop. Training Day depicts a product of the matchup between screenwriter David Ayer, who grew up in South Central Los Angeles, and director Antoine Fuqua, who grew up on the rough side of Pittsburgh. Both Ayer and Fuqua are highly familiar with the highly intensified relationship between police and criminals. From the moment you set eyes on him you can relies that Alonzo is a strong willed individual who demands respect from everyone he meets. Denzels performance is absolutely captivating. He does an excellent job at portraying†¦show more content†¦All the interiors done on stage were taken from the locations and researched in the neighborhoods with the help of the residents which also gave the film the authenticity of being in the â€Å"hood†. She became sort of an urban anthropologist, because everything the viewer sees is as it really is. The colors and textures used, change throughout the scene, but everything they used was taken directly from the neighborhood that you find yourself in throughout the clip. Cinematographers and art directors play a very important and creative role in film production. They work closely with the director and give a film its unique visual look and identity. The art director was David Lazan and cinematographer Mauro Fiore. The entiriety of the movie is comprised in a single day which can be challenging for cinematographers and art directors. The film seemed to be filled with brief stints of consolidated action and emotion. This gave the plot of the film the feel as though it was unfolding in only a single day. Light can make a scene look more realistic by creating shadows and highlights. In this scene Alonzo if enraged with anger as he looks for help from the gangsters and thugs he once worked with and protected but those very same individual’s no longer have the same respect for Alonzo. The â€Å"King Kong† scene is shot using a low key lighting design. Low–key lighting is often used for intense dramatic scenes which was a perfect fit for this scene. The dark lighting used in these scene

All Quiet On The Western Front By Erich M. Remarque

Brutalities in WWI In the novel All Quiet on the Western Front Erich M. Remarque realistically describes the brutalities of war through the protagonist Paul Baumer. Adults encourage the young men to become soldiers since they are the â€Å"Iron Youth†(18) as told by their society. The war turns out to be a hellish world where the young men experience horrors such as witnessing the innocent suffer, and taking the lives from men on the other side of the battlefield. As the novel draws to a close, Paul is seen alone, losing his family of comrades to death; including his best friend Kat, who he found to be like a father. War has broken him down to the point that he slowly begins to find death more appealing. Erich’s ability to use forlorn†¦show more content†¦Remarque presents the negative in animals in the novel as well, â€Å"corpse rats†(102), they are so massive â€Å"they attacked two large cats and a dog, bit them to death and devoured them† ( 103). These â€Å"repulsive†(102) rats pose a threat as they fight for food from the soldiers some even â€Å"run over [their] face[s] to get at it (102) and they taunt the young men as the rats are seen eating at the corpses of dead soldiers â€Å"gnawing†(102) into the flesh of humans while their comrades must watch as they wait for the bombardment to finish, leaving a lasting impression on the soldiers The brutalities of war is not just in the battlefield, as a classmate of Paul’s, Kemmerich, is slowly dying of gangrene, and only the use of morphine will get him through the days while in the hospital. When he realizes he no longer has both his legs he loses hope of living at all as he argues and laughs â€Å"I don’t think so†(27) while Paul tries coming up with excuses of why Kemmerich should fight to live. As Kemmerich dies, readers are left with images of how Kemmerich’s â€Å"flesh melts† (28) as â€Å"the forehead bulges†(28) and how his â€Å"skeleton is working itself through†(28) The first death readers experience is Kemmerich’s, young and naive he symbolizes innocence and the brutalities within aShow MoreRelatedFictional Novels and Historical Information in Novel All Quiet on the Western Front829 Words   |  3 Pagesabout. All Quit on the Western Front, for example, can be used to show the troubles of War World I . The author Erich Maria Remarque himself had been in the war. Nevertheless, there is one negative thing about using nonfiction. For example, a person would still have to do research. A nonfictional novel could be used for historial information depending on the author and their experiences, and if the author has used factual information; however, extra research is still needed. All quit onRead MoreErich Remarque s The Red Badge Of Courage Essay1873 Words   |  8 PagesErich Remarque-A. Wheen-John Groth - Printed at the Spiral Press for the individuals from the Limited Editions Club – 1969. Looked into By, Michael Anderson, Shepherd University. Erich Maria Remarque was conceived in Osnabruck, Germany, in 1898 into a lower-working class family. In 1916, he was drafted into the German armed force to battle in World War I, in which he was gravely injured. Ten years after the war finished, he distributed I m Western Nights Neuse, converted into English a year laterRead MoreAll Quiet on the Western Front/WWI Essay1215 Words   |  5 Pagesmasks its potential impairment by seeming innocuous at first; however, the true damage, often permanent, can be seen chronically. The idea reflected by Gandhi’s quote can be proven through an examination of World War I and Erich Maria Remarque’s All Quiet on the Western Front. Although soldiers and governments in both worlds initially saw honor and security of their countries as valid reasons for going to war, what ultimately came of that conflict were both immediate consequences, such as loss ofRead MoreAll Quiet On The Western Front3237 Words   |  13 Pagesevil is an all too present reality. While at the height of the Cold War, John F. Kennedy said, Mankind must put an end to war before war puts an end to mankind.. In his groundbreaking book, All Quiet On The Western Front, Erich M. Remarque seeks to spread this pacifistic message and anti-war sentiment, after the devastation brought by the First World War (Remarque 1982). As the biggest, most technological advanced and deadliest war of its time, this new breed of warfare has left ripples all acrossRead MoreAll Quiet On The Western Front By Erich Maria Remarque2092 Words   |  9 PagesAll Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque Character Analysis: Corporal Himmelstoss Corporal Himmelstoss is not one of the more prominent characters in the book, but he proves to be one of the more important. War brings out a hunger for power that each of the characters eventually give in to. Himmelstoss is a prime example of what happens when people become obsessed with moving up in the ranks. Himmelstoss is cruel and inflicts unnecessary pain on the recruits he is in charge of trainingRead More Revelation through Experience in Heart of Darkness, Going After Cacciato, and The Things They Carri3247 Words   |  13 Pagesinside the hearts and minds of the characters as he or she accompanies them upon their physical and/or mental journeys, but he or she is also forced to explore the darkest corners of being that exist inside every human being, male and female. Almost all of the novels are set during wartime and focus on the trials and tribulations faced by the common soldier. In his book The Great War and Modern Memory, Paul Fussell suggests that war literature can generally be broken down into three stages; the first

Customer Relationship Management Balance Score Card

Question: Discuss about the Balance score card of crocs and growth ratio of crocs using balance sheet? Answer: Introduction The balanced scorecard is found to be a significant framework for strategic management and planning which is extensively utilized in the industry and business, nonprofit and governmental organizations worldwide so that the business activities can be aligned in accordance with the organizational vision and strategy. This can further facilitate in enhancing external and internal communication emulated by the monitoring of the organizational performance against the strategic goals of an organization. The balanced scorecard has four significant perspectives that are as below: Internal business process Financial/Stewardship Customer/Stakeholder Learning and Growth Perspective The learning and growth perspective incorprates attitudes of the corporate culture and employee training that is further related to the corporate self improvement (Relevant development: Effective leadership training, 2012). In an organization having a technological change, it is quite imperative for the workers to adapt to such change and that can be attained through learning and growth perspective. The financial perspective entails the financial performance of the company where the financial performance can be explored through different key performance indicators like return on equity, net profit margin, assets turnover etc (Jiang and Lee, n.d.). The business process perspective is related to the approach as to how the business keeps on running and that the products and services conform to the requirements of the customer (Unnikrishnan, n.d.). The customer perspective realizes the importance of customer saisfaction and customer focus in a business (DR.K.VANITHA, 2012). Therefore, if the customers are not satisfied then they would look for another brand or service. Balanced Scorecard Crocs Shoewear The balanced Scorecard for Crocs Shoewear will also incorporate the above mentioned perspectives as below: Internal business process: One of the signficant strengths of Crocs is related to the supply chain competitive capabilities. The supply chain of Crocs is considered to be quite flexible that is capable enough for filling the new orders in accordance with the rapid quality manufacturing emulated by the shipping of those newly manufactured products to the retail outlets. It has a fast shipping and manufacturing process emulated by the excess capacity and rapid replenishment framework that has allowed them for meeting an unanticipated increase in the market demand within a short period of time (Relevant development: Effective leadership training, 2012). Crocs has a significantly effective, efficient and a standardized process of production associated with molding and injection and that there is no excess inventory because of an epansion in an on demand production (Zellner, 2011). For the purpose of rapidly meeting an increasing demand during a season within a certain market, the Company Crocs has an ability for moving the equipment to their several operations related to manufacturing, mainly the closest location of the production of that particular market for capturing and meeting the local needs of the customer. Financial Perspective: The financial perspective can be illusrated from numerous key performance indicators like gross profit which indicates the ability of the company to decrease the cost of goods sold and enhance the gross margin to cover up the fixed expenses. In the recent years the gross margin has enhanced significantly in comparison to its starting years. The gross profit in 2013 was $623 millions but in 2014 it was $590 million. Though, there is not so much difference but it can decrease further if the cost of goods sold keeps on increasing or the sales keep on diminishing. Furthermore, the financial strength of the company can be illustrated through three significant factors as below: Debt burden Debt to revenue ratio Altman Z-score The company Crocs has an interest expense of around $-0 million in September 2015. Apart from this, the operating income within the same time period was found to be $-21 million. Whereas, the long term debt was found to be $2 million. This indicates that Crocs did not have that much earnings for covering the interest expense. The debt to revenue ratio was found to be 0.03 which indicates that the lower the debt to revenue ratio, the better is it for the company. The Altman Z-score model is found to be a significant forecaster of the failure up till the two years of prior to distress. The crocs Z-score is calcuated using the following formula: Z = 1.2 x X1 + 1.4 x X2 + 3.3 x X3 + 0.6 x X4 + 1.0 x X5 X1 Working Capital /Total Assets 0.48 X2 Retained Earnings/Total Assets 0.42 X3 EBIT/Total Assets -0.1 X4 Market Value Of Equity/Book Value of Total Liabilities 1.7 X5 Revenue/Total Assets 1.5 After calculating the above Z score, it is found that the Altman Z score is 3.4 which indicates that it is within the safe zone. This also indicates that the company Crocs is not likely to fall into the distressed situations. Customer Perspective: Crocs has two significant types of consumers. This incorporates retail and consumer customers. For consumer customers, it has designed an extensive and broad system of distribution and that the shoes have an availability within an assortment of the retail outlets to departmental stores from the speciality stores and store chains of the large shoes (DR.K.VANITHA, 2012). Moreover, for the retail customers, the company has made this more attractive for the segment by permitting the customers of this segment to make an order of as few as 24 pairs while stocking them in accordance with the matter of weeks and not even months. Learning and Growth Perspective: The organizational structure of Crocs is decentralized. This permits the company for taking an advantage for the labor division and imparted decision making with the members (Unnikrishnan, n.d.). Furthermore, it allows the employees and laborers to enhance their performance by learning in accordance with their weak competency zones. Through this particular learning and growth at Crocs, the business managers can utilize the knowledge, experience and skills of the employees in an effective manner for optimizing the business performance. Growth Ratios The growth ratios for the Crocs Inc are as below: The above ratios explain the the revenues have increased in 2009 and 2010 but then it kept on decreasing considerably. This could be due to the fact that in 2014, the company decided to convert or close approximately 100 retail locations that were company owned around the world. The company also initiated inventory planning, merchanding for the purpose of driving sales growth but the impact of closures was quite significant which resulted in the decline of annual sales. Operating income and net income witnessed significant fluctuations. This is because of the fact that the cost of goods sold have increased along with a sluggish increase in the sales. In the same way, this has impacted the net income as well. References DR.K.VANITHA, D. (2012). Customer Relationship Management on Customer Satisfaction.IJSR, 3(4), pp.1-3. Jiang, X. and Lee, B. (n.d.). Financial Ratios, Expected Returns, and Fundamentals.SSRN Electronic Journal. Relevant development: Effective leadership training. (2012).Development and Learning in Organizations, 26(5), pp.32-36. Unnikrishnan, P. (n.d.). Decision Support, Business Process Improvement and Managing Data.SSRN Electronic Journal. Zellner, G. (2011). A structured evaluation of business process improvement approaches.Business Process Mgmt Journal, 17(2), pp.203-237.

Lab Report Biology Sample

Lab Report Biology Paper Though goldfish are one of the easier species f aquatic life to care for, their respiratory systems are just as complex as any other fish. Like other aquatic animals, goldfish have a one-way flow respiratory system. This means that their respiratory system pumps water through their gills and back into the water supply to absorb oxygen. Gills?which are the organs that most aquatic animals use to breatheconsist of complex filters that extract oxygen from the water. There are many factors that can affect the respiration rate of an aquatic animal including temperature of water, oxygen levels, crowding, and pH levels. When the water temperature is raised, the goldfish will experience a spike in metabolic activities. It will require more food and will produce more waste. In order to support the increased activity, the goldfish will require more oxygen. Rate of respiration will increase and the goldfish may even gasp for air at the water surface. Hypothesis: As the temperature of water decreases, respiration rate of the goldfish also decreases. This is because in lower temperature, water can hold more dissolved oxygen compared to water with higher temperature, thus rate of respiration comes slower as enough oxygen are supplied. Variables: Variables I Method of controlling I Independent variable I Temperature of waters Dependent variable I Respiration rate of the goldfish I Controlled variable I 1. Type and number offish used. * A goldfish of species Carcasses erratum is used throughout this experiment. 2. Timeshare for counting propeller movements of the goldfish. * The goldfishs propeller movements are observed during 1 minute timeshare. 3. Number and size of beakers used. * 3 beakers of volume 500 ml are used for different water temperatures. I Table 1 shows the independent, dependent and controlled variables and methods to control them. Apparatus and materials: Apparatus I Quantity (s) I Container/tank 1 | 500 ml beaker 1 31 Thermometer | 1 | Stopwatch | 1 | Glass rod I II Fishnet | 1 | Table 2 shows the apparatus and its quantity needed in the experiment. Materials I Quantity (s) I Goldfish Ill Hot water I Less than 500 ml I Crushed ice I Half-filled beaker Plastic zip-lock bag | 1 | Masking tape (for labeling purpose) 1 | Table 3 shows the materials and its quantity needed in the experiment. We will write a custom essay sample on Lab Report Biology specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Lab Report Biology specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Lab Report Biology specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Method: 1. Prepare 3 different 500 ml beakers and label them A, B and C for different temperatures of water each. 2. Remove a goldfish from the tank carefully using a fishnet and place it inside a plastic zip-lock bag containing half filled water from the same tank. 3. Fill beaker A with about 450 ml of water of room temperature and place the plastic zip-lock bag containing the goldfish in it slowly. Let the goldfish adjust to the water temperature and observe its propeller movement which opens and closes in rhythm with the opening and closing of the mouth. 4. Insert a thermometer inside the plastic zip-lock bag to measure its temperature and record it in a table. 5. Start the stopwatch and count the number of propeller movements of the goldfish for 1 minute timeshare. Conduct 2 more trials and record them in the data collection table. 6. Next prepare beaker B containing water and adjust its temperature to 10 degrees below the room temperature measured earlier by adding crushed ice and stirring it for uniform temperature. 7. Again, slowly add the plastic zip-lock bag containing the goldfish into the beaker and let it adjust to the new surrounding enrapture. Using a thermometer, make sure that the temperature of water inside the plastic zip-lock bag has fallen 10 degrees under the room temperature. 8. Repeat step 5. 9. Lastly, prepare beaker C which contains hot water and adjust its temperature until it reaches 10 degrees above the initial room temperature. Stir the water using a glass rod to ensure uniform temperature throughout the beaker. 10. Place the plastic zip-lock bag with the goldfish in beaker C and let it adjust itself to the new temperature of water.

Comparative Academic Review The WritePass Journal

Comparative Academic Review Introduction Comparative Academic Review IntroductionReference list: Related Introduction The aspects of psychiatric treatment of patients have been widely discussed in the academic literature on the subject in the last several decades. In two separate studies, Christina Katsakou et el. (2010) and Jelena Jankovic et. al (2011) trace the practical implications of treatment satisfaction and caregivers’ experiences respectively. Both studies cover specific aspects of psychiatric treatment in the UK. The first study focuses on the coercion and treatment satisfaction among patients, who have been admitted for psychiatric treatment involuntarily. The research, conducted in 2010, reveals the impact of coercion on the satisfaction of treatment among patients, as well as the psychological aspects of coercion. The study has been conducted as an observation in 22 hospitals in England, where a total of 778 patients were recruited (Katsakou et. al, 2010). Their satisfaction with the treatment they received has been measured at different stages: one week, one month, three months and one year after the admission. In order to measure the levels of satisfaction, the authors have used factors such as clinical improvement and clinical characteristics. The results from this study were obtained using standard statistical analysis, and indicated an increase in the satisfaction among involuntarily admitted patients between their first admission and the different follow ups. The second study, conduc ted in 2011, focuses on the experiences of family caregivers during involuntary hospital admissions of their relatives. It is a qualitative study, which used as a research method semi-structured interviews, conducted with 29 caregivers whose relatives have been admitted involuntary in 12 hospitals across England (Jankovic et.al., 2011). Throughout the study, major themes have been identified, such as relief and conflicting emotions, frustration with the delay of getting help, etc. The results of the second survey have concluded that the role of the family caregivers can be enhanced if their duties are valued enough, without turning into a burden. The purpose of this brief academic review is to critically compare both studies, highlighting their strengths, weaknesses and possible contributions to the literature on the subject. Both studies provide valuable insight on the subject of treatment of patients with mental illnesses, and reveal the interactive nature of the clinical process as a dynamic interaction between different elements – institutions, caregivers, and patients. Both studies manage to reveal the intricacy of the connection, which exists between coercion and satisfaction in the first case, and family caregivers as active elements in the process of involuntary admission in the second case. The first study uses a quantitative research method and statistical analysis, based on an observational study. The study has been conducted in 22 hospitals in England. The advantage of the choice of this method for the purposes of study is its accuracy and straightforwardness. Results obtained through observation are easier to analyse, and presented in a comprehensible and consistent manner. In terms of the design of the research, the use of timeline base is a feasible option, which meets the research aims of the study and unfolds different aspects of satisfaction among patients. The fact that the patients have been examined at three different periods following their first admission provides the researchers with the possibility to explore how satisfaction (or dissatisfaction) develops gradually. This is an important feature of the research design deployed, because here satisfaction is discussed in relation to memory and emotions, which change over time. This changeability has been ca ptured with the choice of the design. Also, it is a good way to operationalize and thus measure the main variable – patients’ satisfaction. Despite the fact that the operationalization of satisfaction was enhanced through the use of specific research design, the study could have also benefited from a bigger emphasis on open interviews, conducted with a certain (perhaps smaller) portion of the patients. This is because interviews allow for more abstract and personal issues to be uncovered in the research and these are issues which are usually unquantifiable and difficult to detect in observational studies and semi-structured interviews. As far as data collection is concerned, the authors of the first study have used two different models, designed to measure satisfaction   one concentrating on potential base lines predictions combining satisfaction scores from all time points (baselines, one month and three months) and another one concentrating on the results from the follow ups only. The data was analysed using a three step model, and applying standard linear statistical analysis (Katskakou et.al, 2010:287-288). This comprehensive choice of methods and models for data collection has enhanced linear results, which allow readers to obtain an extensive view of satisfaction not only as an isolated variable, but also as a process, which is happening over time. However, one of the weaknesses of this study in the methodological part is the sampling. The researchers have attempted to obtain a representative sample, covering hospitals from different geographic areas and patients of different ethnic and social backgrounds. Little, if anything is mentioned however on how the eligibility of the patients has been identified (eligibility criteria). Another weakness in the methodology part is related to the decreasing number of patients interviewed at the baseline, the first month and the third month and one year. For the baseline, the patients are 778, and for the one year follow up their number has decreased almost in double – 396 (Katskakou et.al., 2010: 289).   This might pose some problems related with the generalizability of the results obtained and the consistency of observations. Although it would be a formidable task to keep the number of patients at each point exactly the same, at least proximity in the numbers of interviewees could have been targeted. Another possible weakness of the study is related with the lack of causality between coercion and satisfaction. In other words, the study does not necessarily reveal a cause-effect relationship between the two, because coercion in this ob servation has been explored as an individual projection. However, this can also be looked at as an advantage, because a cause-effect relationship between two abstract concepts can oversimplify their existence in a particular setting. To compare, the second study uses a very different methodology. It is a qualitative study, and the variables measured here are even more abstract compared to the first study. The psychological aspects of personal experiences relating to care are difficult to capture and quantify, and this is important to mention in the methodological review of the second study. In terms of choice of methods, the authors have used semi-structured interviews, conducted among family caregivers of 29 patients admitted involuntary against 12 hospitals in England (Jankovic et.al., 2011: 1). Compared to the first study, here the sample is much smaller. It is arguable whether such a small sample can provide results, which are generalizable. Perhaps the authors have decided to choose smaller number of participants in order to observe the matter more closely. Here it is important to note that the issue of carers’ experiences is sensitive and often a stressful one. Therefore a smaller sample would give t he chance to conduct more detailed interviews, and thus capturing nuances of the matter, which remain unexamined in studies involving larger samples, due to time constraints. Another problem with the sample, just like in the first study, is its ability to represent the population. A closer look at the participant’s characteristics in the second study reveals that in more than 50 percent of the cases, the relationship of the carer to the patient is â€Å"parent† (Jankovic et.al., 2011: 3). This fact could have influenced the results, since parents tend to be much more concerned for their children. They are concerned first as patients, and then as carers therefore a more representative selection of the carers could have taken place (for example equal number of carers who are patients, partners, siblings or children). Yet, the study manages to make good use of thematic analysis, clustering answers of the patients and identifying four important themes – relief and conflicting emotions in response to the admission, frustration with the delay in getting help, being given the burden of care by services and difficulties with confidentiality (Jankovic et.al, 2011:3-4). Just like the first study, the methodology is well-implemented in terms of coding. In the second study, two independent researchers have been selected to code the interviews, and the results have been finalized through a joint discussion (Jankovic et.al, 2011:3). In both studies, the methods chosen have met the research criteria, and have been meticulously implemented to produce comprehensive and well-themed results. Also, the proposed hypotheses have been well tested. Here it is important to note that both studies tackle issues, which are not easily quantifiable or measurable. The first study concentrates on satisfaction among patients which have been involuntary admitted for treatment, while the other one focuses on an even more sensitive and abstract issue, related with personal experiences among family caregivers in the cases when patients have been admitted for treatment. Therefore the authors of both studies have made significant effort in the planning of the research, its design and implementation in order to make the themes of their research measurable. As a result both studies have managed to create consistent results. The first makes coercion and satisfaction measurable, with the implementation of a 0 to 5 scale of coercion and inco rporating the results in a separate model. Critics would suggest that the method implemented in the first study is too rigid for the investigation of issues, which are deeply psychological and reflect the personal perceptions of patients on the way they have been treated. Although the study could have benefited from a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods, its reliance on quantitative techniques only does not affect the overall validity of the results. Perhaps one of the biggest strengths of this study is that through the interpretation of the results, the authors manage to reveal the connection between patients’ satisfaction and coercion as an individual perception. As already mentioned, the second study relies solely on a qualitative technique. They authors capture the nuances in the experiences of the caregivers, and interpret the results closely adhering to the themes, identified by them during the data analysis stage. Both studies deal with aspects of psychiatric treatment, which are challenging due to their specificity. Therefore they both make significant contribution to the literature and theory on the subject. The first study sheds light upon the complexity of coercion as an individual perception, and its results resonate with those obtained in earlier studies (Lidz et.al, 1998; Sorgard, 2004). Observing coercion as an individual perception, projected by patients as a result of hospital surroundings and treatment, shows a major transition in clinical psychology, and a shift towards a more constructive approach for understanding patients’ reactions. In this sense, this study can be classified as a constructivist study, because it measures how perceptions are formed and exemplified by particular patients in particular environments. It deviates from earlier studies on the subject, like the ones conducted by Svensson et al. (1994) and Spenseley (1980), which observe patients’ satisfa ction with treatment in their entirely empirical dimensions, ignoring individual projections. Similarly, the findings and conclusions from the second study (Jankovic et.al, 2011) resonate with conclusions from previous research on the subject (Simson et. al, 2002; Jones et.al, 2009). Therefore this study belongs to a particular body of literature in clinical psychology, which explores the psychological and social impact on families of care for people with mental disorders. Both studies contribute to their relative subjects, and might have important implications in terms of policy reform in health care services for people with mental illnesses in the UK. Recommendations for policy-makers in this sector, stemming from Jankovic’s study include an improved service, which would ensure that carers obtain proper assistance and cooperation from hospitals prior to the admission of mentally unwell relatives. This would have positive implications to the quality of treatment of mentally unwell patients, by enhancing cooperation between carers and institutions, which would inevitably lead to a better distribution of responsibilities. Katsakou’s study might have policy implications as well, because it reveals the necessity for interventions, which would reduce patients’ perceived coercion. In conclusion, both studies discussed in this review present specific aspects of treatment of mentally unwell patients. Despite some weaknesses in sampling, and some minor limitations, both studies make significant contributions in their relative fields, and offer new, and well-supported angles of interpretation on the themes they cover. Both studies make good use of research methods, despite the differences in the number of participants for the first and the second study. Some issues related to generalizability of the results have arisen, such as the decreasing number of observed patients in the first study and the small sample in the second study. Still, the data analysis and the interpretation of the results obtained have been meticulously carried out and well situated in the context of existing literature. In addition, both studies might serve as a basis for policy-reform in the UK healthcare system, ultimately leading to improvement of the latter. In sum, the studies present coh esive and well-researched conclusions and can be a useful reading for students and professionals, occupied in the field of Clinical Psychiatry, Health Services and Public Policy.   Reference list: Jankovic J, Yeeles K, Katsakou C, Amos T, Morriss R, Rose D, Nichol P, McCabe R, Priebe S (2011) ‘Family caregivers experiences of involuntary psychiatric hospital admissions of their relatives a qualitative study’, PLoS ONE 6(10): e25425. Jones IR, Nilufar A, Catty J, McLaren S, Rose D, Wykes T, et al. (2009) Illness careers and continuity of care in mental health services: A qualitative study of service users and carers. Soc Sci Med 69: 632–639. Katsakou C, Bowers L, Amos T, Morriss R, Rose D, Wykes T, Priebe S (2010) ‘Coercion and Treatment Satisfaction Among Involuntary Patients’, Psychiatric Services 61: 286-292 Lidz C, Mulvey EP, Hoge SK (1998)   et al: Factual sources of psychiatric patients’ perceptions of coercion in the hospital admission process. American Journal of Psychiatry 155:1254–1260 Simpson EL, House AO (2002) Involving users in the delivery and evaluation of mental health services: systematic review. BMJ 325: 1265–1268 Sorgaard K (2004): Patients’ perception of coercion in acute psychiatric wards: an intervention study. Nordic Journal of Psychiatry 58:299–304 Spensley J, Edwards DW, White E (1980): Patient satisfaction and involuntary treatment. 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