Much emphasis is given to the Patient-Centric approach in order to resolve multifaceted problems faced by healthcare today. But the pertinent question is whether this approach is the only way to solve the existing healthcare problems? Patient-Centric systems such as EHRs (Electronic Health Records), EMRs (Electronic Medical Records), and Hospital Management Systems are extremely beneficial for the customer (i.e. patient) and may be for the administration, but do they make a healthcare facility more efficient and productive? The care is delivered by the healthcare professionals such as nurses, specialists, residents. What systems are available to gauge their professional competencies and performances? Surprisingly, not much headway has been made in this vital segment of the health care system.

Dr-SIR is a knowledge-based, hospital efficiency measurement software system, which generates powerful reports and analysis for healthcare administrators and stakeholders in the following areas:

        • Accurate efficiency measurement

        • Cost reduction

        • Resource planning

        • Performance evaluations

It is an Internet accessed technology and requires no interface with a hospital’s MIS. All data provided to Dr-SIR in off loaded files are non-patient specific.

Dr-SIR evaluates over 3500 work flow activities that can exist in a hospital system.  The system can analyze work flow efficiency on a macro (system wide) and micro (specific physician, shift).  Dr-SIR generates a myriad of analysis and optimal work flow models via reports that you can access via the Internet in a menu format.  Dr-SIR’s standard measures (work units) and benchmarking are recognized as most aligned with the 2008 Health and Human Resource (AHRQ) study on measuring hospital efficiency.

In Dr-SIR, we define efficiency as an attribute of performance that is measured by examining the relationship between a specific product of the healthcare system (also called an output) and the resources used to create that product (also called inputs). Under our definition, a provider in the health care system (e.g., hospital, physician) would be efficient if it was able to maximize output for a given set of inputs or to minimize inputs used to produce a given output.

Efficiency =   Actual Work Generated

Work Generation Capacity

Efficiency Measurement (EM) is able to undertake a full scope “capability due diligence” of healthcare institutions using international quality and performance benchmarks.

EM provides the means to take any activity or participant within a framework and translate its functions onto a leveled platform to enable measurement of the adequacy of output in terms of efficiency and capacity. Therefore, for every activity that is passed through this system, there would be an ideal output and actual output both stated in the common denominated units of measurement. It is this basic concept which forms the cornerstone of this system.

The most effective way to measure the efficiency of any service is by establishing a basis by which different services can be quantified into a common, or unified measurable unit of output. This baseline becomes a benchmark of efficiency to be achieved by medical professionals, departments or entire hospitals.

Dr-SIR’s efficiency measures count the amounts of different inputs used to produce an output (patient treatment) and help to answer questions about whether the output could be produced faster, with fewer people, less time from medical professionals, or fewer supplies.

In economic terms, the focus is on whether the output is produced with the minimum resources and cost.

Dr-SIR will help to achieve work flow standardization as all treatments, operatives and diagnostic activities in a hospital setup have been standardized and quantified on a unified scale in terms of time frame, acceptable rate of complications or misdiagnosis, etc.

The DR-SIR efficiency measurement system helps to increase work output and decrease cost per unit. The system identifies the deficiencies and reasons for the positive or negative variances for decision makers. Accordingly, administrators will be able to forecast and take preventive measures to better manage the healthcare system. Thus a complete Decision Support System is available to healthcare decision-makers that allows for the quantification of professional efforts and thus ensures the accountability and efficiency standards which are so instrumental to ensure healthcare quality in patient treatment.

Many people dressed up as a doctor or nurse as a child, but if you’re all grown up and still dream of a career in healthcare, then the National Health Service has some great opportunities.

It employs more than 1.5 million workers, making it the UK’s largest employer – and the fourth largest in the whole world, behind only the Chinese army, the Indian Railway and Wal-Mart.

On average there are 10,000 jobs available in the NHS at any one time – and it’s not just healthcare jobs that the NHS offers – with more than 350 different career opportunities available, ranging from scientists to gardeners, IT specialists to radiographers.

In-job training

No matter what jobs you’ve done in the past, you’ll have skills that the NHS can use. And if you don’t want to do a full-time degree or diploma, but want to go into healthcare, you can be retrained as you work to do a range of different jobs.

For example, clinical support staff assist healthcare professionals, sometimes working alongside them. You might be based in a lab helping to diagnose conditions, working in a hospital or clinic, or visiting patients’ homes to help with treatment or provide general care.

You can be employed as a healthcare assistant or auxiliary nurse without qualifications, and can work towards an NVQ in Care up to level 3. You can work your way up to a position as a nurse from an unqualified support role by training for a registered nursing degree or diploma.

However, if you want to go straight into nursing or midwifery from university, you can usually get a bursary and funding from the NHS.

Private healthcare jobs

There are also a huge number of private sector healthcare jobs available in the UK. Four of the largest independent healthcare organisations in the country are Bupa, Spire Healthcare, BMI Healthcare and Nuffield Health Hospitals.

NEW YORK, NY–(Marketwire – October 27, 2009) – Allied Healthcare International Inc. (NASDAQ: AHCI) (AIM: AHI) (http://www.alliedhealthcare.com), a leading provider of flexible healthcare staffing services in the United Kingdom, has implemented a three-year contract with the London Borough of Islington Council in the United Kingdom.

Under the Islington contract, Allied has the opportunity to deliver up to two thousand five hundred hours of home care services a week (130,000 hours a year) as one of two providers for the South region of Islington, a borough in North London with a population of 175,000. This award, which was secured in March 2009 and is Allied’s first contract with Islington, has now completed its implementation stage with the opening of a new branch, London North.

Sandy Young, Chief Executive Officer of Allied, commented: “Our stated objective of materially increasing our presence across London Boroughs is yielding excellent results as this win comes on the back of recent long-term contract wins in Waltham Forest and Redbridge. I look forward to updating our shareholders on further results of this successful strategy.”

For more news and information on Allied Healthcare International Inc., please visithttp://www.IRGnews.com/coi/AHCI where you can find the CEO’s video, a fact sheet on the company, investor presentations, and more.

ABOUT ALLIED HEALTHCARE INTERNATIONAL INC.

Allied Healthcare International Inc. (http://www.alliedhealthcare.com) is a leading provider of flexible healthcare staffing services in the United Kingdom. Allied operates a community-based network of 111 branches with the capacity to provide carers (known as home health aides in the U.S.), nurses, and specialized medical personnel to locations covering approximately 90% of the U.K. population. Allied meets the needs of private patients, community care, nursing and care homes, and hospitals.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

Certain statements contained in this news release may be forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based on current expectations and projections about future events. Actual results could differ materially from those discussed in, or implied by, these forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ from those implied by the forward-looking statements include: general economic and market conditions; Allied’s ability to continue to recruit and retain flexible healthcare staff; Allied’s ability to enter into contracts with local government social services departments, NHS Trusts, hospitals and other healthcare facility clients on terms attractive to Allied; the general level of patient occupancy at our clients’ hospitals and healthcare facilities; dependence on the proper functioning of Allied’s information systems; the effect of existing or future government regulation of the healthcare industry, and Allied’s ability to comply with these regulations; the impact of medical malpractice and other claims asserted against Allied; the effect of regulatory change that may apply to Allied and that may increase costs and reduce revenues and profitability; Allied’s ability to use net operating loss carry forwards to offset net income; the effect that fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates may have on our dollar-denominated results of operations; and the impairment of goodwill, of which Allied has a substantial amount on the balance sheet, may have the effect of decreasing earnings or increasing losses. Other factors that could cause actual results to differ from those implied by the forward-looking statements in this press release include those described in Allied’s most recently filed SEC documents, such as its most recent annual report on Form 10-K, all quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and any current reports on Form 8-K filed since the date of the last Form 10-K. Allied undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.