W e are in the midst of a tumultuous time in health policy. As new payment models gradually replace fee-for-service systems, new quality metrics proliferate, and costs of care become a bona fide health outcome, expensive imaging and procedures face increasing scrutiny. Responsible for >$300 billion in medical spending in 2010, 1 more than any other diagnostic group, cardiovascular disease is un...

In this paper, we discuss three-stage models that control for exogenous, non-discretionary inputs in data envelopment analysis. In a recent article in this journal, Monte Carlo analysis was employed to compare and contrast alternative DEA models that measure efficiency in the presence of exogenous variables. The methodology for comparison was flawed, calling into question the results presented....

BACKGROUND An established relationship exists between the built environment and active travel. Nevertheless, the literature examining the impacts of different components of the built environment is limited. In addition, most existing studies are based on data from cities in the U.S. and Western Europe. The situation in Chinese cities remains largely unknown. Based on data from Nanjing, China, t...

background: ncds are the leading disease burdens in china and the ncds risk factors shifts have accelerated at an unprecedented scale over the past 30 years. the aim of this study was to analysis the natural trajectories of ncds risk factors over the life course. methods: the large-scale longitudinal data from the chns includes nine rounds of surveys between 1989 and 2011. overall, 145913 obser...

OBJECTIVE To identify factors that account for variation in complication rates across hospitals and surgeons performing lumbar spinal fusion surgery. DATA SOURCES Discharge registry including all nonfederal hospitals in Washington State from 2004 to 2007. STUDY DESIGN We identified adults (n = 6,091) undergoing an initial inpatient lumbar fusion for degenerative conditions. We identified wh...

A simple dynamic farm model is developed and used to analyse the net worth of a family farm grazing enterprise producing wool on the Northern Tablelands of New South Wales, Australia, under alternative assumptions regarding family expenses and investments in fertilizer. The linkage between family costs and expenditure on fertilizer is explored over a 25-year period highlighting the feed-back e€...

Consumers’ decisions to spend money on tourism occur in the context of the other potential uses of their resources and corresponding values or utilities. While many studies have examined the demand for travel and tourism there is no known study that reveals how individuals and households make tradeoffs when allocating their spending between various potential categories of discretionary expendit...