Publications by authors named "Jeffrey Helton"

The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted hospital operations. Anecdotal evidence suggests financial performance likewise suffered, yet little empirical research supports this claim. This study aimed to explore the impact of the pandemic on the financial performance of the most prominent academic hospitals in the United States.

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Hospitals continue to face financial pressures from healthcare reform and heightened competition. In this study, our objective was to quantify the financial distress in acute care hospitals in Texas, applying multivariate logistic regression in a four-year longitudinal analysis. Of the 310 acute care hospitals, 50 (16.

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Teaching hospitals are large and complex, and under constant financial pressure. In this study, we examine the financial performance of 80 large teaching hospitals in the 20 largest cities in the U.S.

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Background: Management theories of learning and experience curve effects state that greater levels of scale produce learnings and improved performance. In cardiovascular care, guidelines suggest that high-volume facilities produce better patient outcomes; yet, there are contradictory findings from the few studies conducted. Our goals were to assess the volume-outcome relationship for interventional cardiovascular care.

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Background: Interorganizational collaboration management theory contends that cooperation between distinct but related organizations can yield innovation and competitive advantage to the participating organization. Yet, it is unclear if a multi-institutional collaborative can improve quality outcomes across communities.

Methods: We developed a large regional collaborative network of 15 hospitals and 24 emergency medical service agencies surrounding Dallas, Texas, and collected patient-level data on treatment times for acute myocardial infarctions.

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Objective: Given the dearth of literature on this topic, the aim of this study was to understand who chooses to study integrative healthcare at an academic institution and why they choose to do so, the demographic characteristics of the student population, their background, and postgraduate plans.

Design: A cross-sectional survey design.

Setting: Data were collected at a large, urban, public university with a well-established undergraduate bachelor of science program in integrative healthcare.

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Objective: To examine demographics and trends of financial cost and prominent diseases/conditions resulting in inpatient hospitalizations for infants, children, and adolescents in Texas between 2004 and 2010.

Methods: Longitudinal retrospective cross-sectional study using the Texas Hospital Inpatient Discharge Database, including all pediatric hospitalizations in the state of Texas, 2004 to 2010.

Results: Texas has an average of 591 571 pediatric hospitalizations per year.

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Purpose: Community health clinics serving the poor and underserved are geographically expanding due to changes in U.S. health care policy.

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Government-operated trauma facilities fill an important role as safety nets in our health system, providing care to millions of individuals who lack health insurance. Because these hospitals are often the most financially constrained, continuous improvement in operating efficiency seems to be a necessary component of their organizational strategy. In this study, we analyze the longitudinal changes in efficiency of a large sample of government-operated safety-net hospitals from 2004 to 2008.

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As the use of electronic health records increases, it becomes necessary to address their global impact on nurses' productivity in hospitals. A retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted to explore the impact of electronic health records on nurses' productivity and to examine whether the impacts are moderated through case-mix index or adjusted patient-days. Two sources of data were linked and analyzed for years 2007 and 2008: the American Hospital Association survey and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services data.

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Fraud associated with electronic health records (EHRs) generally falls into two categories: inappropriate billing by healthcare providers and inappropriate access by a system's users. A provider's EHR system requires controls to be of any significant help in detecting such fraudulent activity, or in gathering transactional evidence should such activity be identified. To protect against potential EHR-related healthcare fraud, providers should follow the recommendations established in 2007 by RTI International for the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology of the U.

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