The 2009-10 Argus Commission was charged to examine the topic of the pharmacist’s contribution to primary healthcare delivery in the context of national healthcare reform and identify the resources of the Academy and the profession needed to engage in the national conversation. The charge further requested the Argus Commission to scan the environment to determine the opportunities for expansion...

OBJECTIVE Chile, a South American country recently defined as a high-income nation, carried out a major healthcare system reform from 2005 onwards that aimed at reducing socioeconomic inequality in health. This study aimed to estimate income-related inequality in self-reported health status (SRHS) in 2000 and 2013, before and after the reform, for the entire adult Chilean population. METHODS ...

BACKGROUND In the Netherlands in 2006, a health insurance system reform took place in which regulated competition between insurers and providers is key. In this context, the government placed greater emphasis on patients being able to choose health insurers and providers as a precondition for competition. Patient choice became an instrument instead of solely a goal in itself. In the current stu...

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.