Our objective was to measure obstetric outcomes and delivery-related health care utilization and costs among pregnant women with multiple chronic conditions. We used 2013-2014 data from the National Inpatient Sample to measure obstetric outcomes and delivery-related health care utilization and costs among women with no chronic conditions, 1 chronic condition, and multiple chronic conditions. Wo...

BACKGROUND Due to demographic changes and an un-equal distribution of physicians, regional analyses of service utilization of elderly patients are crucial, especially for diseases with an impact like dementia. This paper focuses on dementia patients. The aim of the study is to identify differences in service utilization of incident dementia patients in urban and rural areas. METHODS Basis for...

The effectiveness and efficiency of outpatient geriatric evaluation and management (GEM) was compared to usual outpatient primary care (UPC). Although GEM had no overall impact on health care utilization or cost of care for the entire study period, significant reductions were found during the sixteen- to twenty-four-month study period, suggesting a possible investment effect. In the first eight...

BACKGROUND Moldova is the poorest country in Europe. Economic constraints mean that Moldova faces challenges in protecting individuals from excessive costs, improving population health and securing health system sustainability. The Moldovan government has introduced a state benefit package and expanded health insurance coverage to reduce the burden of health care costs for citizens. This study ...

OBJECTIVE The purpose of this paper was to use a linked dataset to compare health care utilization rates and costs between income groups in Saskatoon, Canada. METHODS The Canadian Community Health Survey was linked to hospital, physician and medication data in Saskatoon. RESULTS Of 3,688 eligible participants, 3,433 agreed to the health survey and data linkage with health records (83.7% ove...

BACKGROUND Little is known regarding equity in health care utilization among Koreans since 2008. This study examines the extent to which equity in the use of health care services has been achieved in Korea. METHODS Descriptive and logistic regression analysis was performed. The sample for this study was 17,035 individuals who participated in interviews. RESULTS Differences in need substanti...

OBJECTIVES There have been few studies examining the differences in health care utilization across social classes during the last year of life. Therefore, in this study we analyzed the quantitative and qualitative differences in health care utilization among cancer patients across educational classes in their last year of life, and derived from it implications for policy. METHODS To evaluate ...

BACKGROUND Household food insecurity, a measure of income-related problems of food access, is growing in Canada and is tightly linked to poorer health status. We examined the association between household food insecurity status and annual health care costs. METHODS We obtained data for 67 033 people aged 18-64 years in Ontario who participated in the Canadian Community Health Survey in 2005, ...

BACKGROUND Joint pain is a highly prevalent condition in the older population. Only a minority of the older adults consult the general practitioner for joint pain, and during consultation joint pain is often poorly recognized and treated, especially when other co-existing chronic conditions are involved. Therefore, older adults with joint pain and comorbidity may have a higher risk of poor func...

BACKGROUND China has a large population of children under 18 years of age, whose health is of great concern to the Chinese health care system. However, few studies have been conducted to analyze the factors associated with children's unnecessary health care utilization in China. The objective of this study is to provide some empirical evidence on this issue by investigating the role of parental...