Smart Phone Acceptance among Physicians: Application of Structural Equation Modelling in the Largest Iranian University.

BACKGROUND: The present study aimed to determine attitudes and effective factors in the acceptance of smart phones by physicians of the largest University of Medical Sciences in the south of Iran. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was performed using Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) in 2014. Study participants included 200 physicians working in the hospitals of Shiraz University of Medical Sciences selected through two-stage stratified sampling, but 185 participants completed the study. The study data were collected using a researcher-made questionnaire completed through a 5-point Likert scale. The content validity of the questionnaire was confirmed by a panel of experts, its construct validity by confirmatory factor analysis, and its reliability by Cronbach's alpha of 0.802. All data analyses were performed using SPSS (version 22) and LISREL (version 8.8). RESULTS: Results showed that most physicians had a desirable attitude towards using smart phones. Besides, the results of SEM indicated a significant relationship between attitude and compatibility, observability, personal experience, voluntariness of use and perceived usefulness. Moreover, some important fitness indices revealed appropriate fitness of the study model (p=0.26, X2/df=1.35, RMR=0.070, GFI=0.77, AGFI=0.71, NNFI=0.93, CFI=0.94). CONCLUSION: The results revealed that compatibility, observability, personal experience, voluntariness of use and perceived usefulness were effective in the physicians' attitude towards using smart phones. Thus, by preparation of the required infrastructures, policymakers in the field of health technology can enhance the utilization of smart phones in hospitals.

Driving to contract management in health care institutes of developing countries.

BACKGROUND: Public hospitals can privatize management activities by contracting with a private organization or person to perform the work. Management contract is a method which uses private sector for major government projects like hospitals. This study evaluates contract management in health care institutes of developing countries. METHODS: Information has been collected by reviewing the management contract condition of selected countries. Different forms of public private partnership for private participation in hospitals were surveyed. RESULTS: The effects of management contract is expanding market opportunities to include public sector clients, capturing a market to be protected from competitors and providing a reliable and timely source of revenue. CONCLUSION: Contracting with non-governmental entities will provide better results than government provision of the same services. Contracting initiatives must be regulated and monitored at the highest level of government by experienced and astute policy makers, economists and operational personnel.