Impact of NHI copayment adjustments on healthcare seeking behavior: the mediating role of health facility identification.

Objective: This study investigates the impact of healthcare consumers' involvement, price perception, and attitude toward National Health Insurance (NHI) copayment adjustments on their healthcare-seeking behavior, focusing on the mediating role of health facility identification.

Methods: A questionnaire survey was conducted among outpatient customers in Taiwan from October 2023 to March 2024, resulting in 746 valid responses. The survey included demographic variables, involvement, price perception, attitude, health facility identification, and healthcare-seeking behavior.

Empirical Study on the Usage of Telemedicine by Rural and Urban Health Care Consumers in Taiwan: Integrating the Perspectives of Technology Acceptance Model and Theory of Planned Behavior.

The outbreak of the novel coronavirus disease-19 posed significant challenges globally, impacting various sectors and health care systems profoundly. In response, telemedicine has emerged as a vital solution to address health care demands and resource shortages. However, there is a lack of comprehensive research on telemedicine usage among health care consumers in urban and rural areas of Taiwan.

Exploring Telemedicine Usage Intention Using Technology Acceptance Model and Social Capital Theory.

Telemedicine technology has emerged as a pivotal solution to enhance the accessibility and efficiency of healthcare services. This study investigates the factors influencing the acceptance of telemedicine technology among healthcare professionals in Taiwan. Employing a quantitative research approach, we utilized a survey instrument adapted from the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) model.

Spillover effect between carbon spot and futures market: evidence from EU ETS.

The spillover effects of European Union Allowances (EUA) spot and futures markets are important for investors in order to understand the relevance and risk management of product prices. This paper uses non-linear methods of Granger causality to test the mean spillover relationship between the two markets and then analyzes volatility spillovers between the two by the non-linear TVP-VAR spillover index. The results show that (1) the non-linear Granger causality test better reflects the mean spillover relationship between EUA spot and futures; (2) there is a bidirectional non-linear mean spillover effect between EUA spot and futures prices for the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS) phases II and III; and (3) volatility spillovers, appearing in EUA spot and future markets in both phases, work increasingly strong over time and are vulnerable to financial crises and extreme events.

Emotional Labor Is Associated With the Mental Health of Respiratory Therapists in Hospitals.

Background: Respiratory therapists (RTs) play important roles in providing ventilator support to patients in hospitals. They are on the front line in respiratory cases and work with physicians to help patients survive. However, questions remain regarding whether the mental health conditions at work are protected and secured for RTs.

The relationship between shale gas production and natural gas prices: An environmental investigation using structural breaks.

This paper investigates the long-run cointegration relationship between shale gas production and natural gas prices during the period from January 2007 to December 2016 for 16 states in the U.S., by utilizing the Generalized Least Squares (GLS) based univariate unit root test, the PANICCA panel unit root test, the cointegration tests of Gregory and Hansen (1996), Westerlund and Edgerton (2008) as well as Banerjee and Carrión-i-Silvestre (2015) tests with structural breaks.

The Impacts of the Hierarchical Medical System on National Health Insurance on the Resident's Health Seeking Behavior in Taiwan: A Case Study on the Policy to Reduce Hospital Visits.

: This study investigated the impacts of the hierarchical medical system under the national health insurance program on residents' healthcare-seeking behavior in Taiwan. : Healthcare authorities in Taiwan initiated an allowance reduction for outpatient visits at regional hospitals and higher hierarchical hospitals in 2018. The ultimate goal is to implement a hierarchical medical system to provide residents accessible as well as consistent medical services.

The exploration of medical resources utilization among inguinal hernia repair in Taiwan diagnosis-related groups.

Background: This study centered on differences in medical costs, using the Taiwan diagnosis-related groups (Tw-DRGs) on medical resource utilization in inguinal hernia repair (IHR) in hospitals with different ownership to provide suitable reference information for hospital administrators.

Methods: The 2010-2011 data for three hospitals under different ownership were extracted from the Taiwan National Health Insurance claims database. A retrospective method was applied to analyze the age, sex, length of stay, diagnosis and surgical procedure code, and the change in financial risk of medical costs in IHR cases after introduction of Tw-DRGs.

Transparency of Mandatory Information Disclosure and Concerns of Health Services Providers and Consumers.

Background: This study analyzed differences between transparency of information disclosure and related demands from the health service consumer's perspective. It also compared how health service providers and consumers are associated by different levels of mandatory information disclosure.

Methods: We obtained our research data using a questionnaire survey (health services providers, = 201; health service consumers, = 384).

Preparation and Compatibility Evaluation of Polypropylene/High Density Polyethylene Polyblends.

This study proposes melt-blending polypropylene (PP) and high density polyethylene (HDPE) that have a similar melt flow index (MFI) to form PP/HDPE polyblends. The influence of the content of HDPE on the properties and compatibility of polyblends is examined by using a tensile test, flexural test, Izod impact test, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), polarized light microscopy (PLM), and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The SEM results show that PP and HDPE are incompatible polymers with PP being a continuous phase and HDPE being a dispersed phase.

Investigation of extended-gate field-effect transistor pH sensors based on different-temperature-annealed bi-layer MWCNTs-In2O3 films.

In this paper, indium (In) films were deposited on glass substrates using DC sputtering method. Multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) and dispersant were dissolved in alcohol, and the mixed solution was deposited on the In films using the spray method. The bi-layer MWCNTs-In2O3 films were annealed at different temperatures (from room temperature to 500°C) in O2 atmosphere.

How early should VATS be performed for retained haemothorax in blunt chest trauma?

Background: Blunt chest injury is not uncommon in trauma patients. Haemothorax and pneumothorax may occur in these patients, and some of them will develop retained pleural collections. Video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) has become an appropriate method for treating these complications, but the optimal timing for performing the surgery and its effects on outcome are not clearly understood.

Consumption of national health insurance medical resources by hepatocellular carcinoma patients treated using radiofrequency ablation therapy.

Aim: This study analyzed the health-care resources consumed in cancer treatment to provide important reference guidance to national governments with regard to their health-care policy prioritization and efficient health-care resource allocation.

Methods: Researchers used a retrospective observational approach to study medical resources consumed by hospitalized hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients who underwent radiofrequency ablation (RFA) treatment in Taiwan between 2002 and 2006.

Results: A systemic analysis of the results showed a mean patient age of 65.