Organized medicine in a number of advanced industrial countries resisted the post-war trend toward more state involvement in the funding and organisation of medical care. While there were eight doctors' strikes during the peak of reform efforts in the 1960s, two of the most prolonged and bitter struggles took place in Canada and Belgium. This comparative analysis of the two strikes highlights t...

BACKGROUND Mental, neurological, and substance (MNS) use disorders are a leading cause of disability worldwide; specifically in Peru, MNS affect 1 in 5 persons. However, the great majority of people suffering from these disorders do not access care, thereby making necessary the improvement of existing conditions including a major rearranging of current health system structures beyond care deliv...

The passage of federal healthcare reform legislation, in combination with other factors, makes it likely that the next few years will be a major period of consolidation for healthcare organizations. This article examines the seven key forces reshaping healthcare delivery--from insurance industry consolidation to cost inflation to the increasing gap between financially strong and struggling prov...

Owing to an increasing focus on the rising cost of medical care in the United States, bending the cost curve has become the central tenet of healthcare reform. The exact definition of this phrase, however, remains elusive. In order to affect change in the cost and quality of healthcare, the importance of comparative effectiveness research must be recognized.

Case management has evolved from a grassroots method to assist patients and facilities to navigate changes in the healthcare system, to a fully fledged profession with core competencies, Standards of Practice, and an evidence-based peer review journal. With the latest healthcare reform, it is clear that case management leads to many initiatives: it is our time to lead.

As reimbursement policies and healthcare reform legislation add pressure onto the independent practice of cardiology, many cardiology groups seek refuge in hospital employment. This has implications for healthcare costs and the future of the practice of cardiology, especially in the age of accountable care organizations.

Healthcare reform in 2009 was motivated by an imperative to reduce the relentless increase in spending on medical care. Many efforts to solve the problem focused on applying proven principles of evidence-based practice and cost-effectiveness to find the least-expensive way to produce a specific clinical service of acceptable quality. This paper combines economic analysis and reviews published l...

“Bit by bit, putting it together Piece by piece, only way to make a work of art Every moment makes a contribution Every little detail plays a part. Having just a vision’s no solution, Everything depends on execution Putting it together, that’s what counts!” —Stephen Sondheim Once, on hearing a colleague claim that the details of his new theory remained to be sketched in, Nobel laureate Wolfgang...

~| cmember the good old days? When R hospitals were viewed as a unique communi ty benefi t , placed on a pedestal by a grateful public? When educating business and government leaders about hospital operations and healthcare issues seemed unnecessary? Those days are but a memory'. Today, the public is chopping away at that pedestal, challenging healthcare providers as never before. Employers, at...