Uzbekistan inherited a hospital-based health system from the Soviet Union. We explore the health system-related challenges faced during the scale-up of ambulatory (outpatient) treatment for drug-susceptible and drug-resistant tuberculosis (TB) in Karakalpakstan in Uzbekistan. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with key informants of the TB services, the ministries of health and finance, ...

AIM To analyze hospital financing and delivery of inpatient services, financial requirements of the hospitals, and their ability to meet these requirements were determined. METHODS Data on financial performance of 41 hospitals were collected using a standardized questionnaire. Patient survey, group discussions with hospital administrators, and interviews with policy-makers were also used. R...

In its institutional structure, financing and goals, the Finnish health care system is closest to those of other Nordic countries and the United Kingdom in that it covers the whole population and its services are mainly produced by the public sector and financed through general taxation. However, compared to the other Nordic countries the Finnish system is more decentralized; in fact, it can be...

BACKGROUND Universal health coverage (UHC) is critical to global poverty alleviation and equity of health systems. Many low-income and middle-income countries, including small island states in the Pacific, have committed to UHC and reforming their health financing systems to better align with UHC goals. This study provides the first comprehensive evidence on equity of the health financing syste...

Using survey data, we examined Medicaid supplemental payments (SPs), including disproportionate-share hospital (DSH) and upper payment limit (UPL) payments in 2005 and changes in these payments between 2001 and 2005. We found that states increased their use of general funds in financing of DSH payments while expanding the size and scope of other SPs considerably. Although the federal government...

Objecti es: Technological and medical developments have contributed to the increasing number of surgical procedures carried out as a day-case rather than an inpatient hospital setting. The diffusion of day surgery varies among European countries. This study aims at explaining this variation in healthcare system characteristics. Methods: Questionnaires were sent to experts in 12 countries in Nor...

than that used by American investigators. Exploration with other pure Beta emitters in colloidal form is in progress. Investigations in the intracavitary injections of liquid radioisotope such as sodium, bromine, and colloidal gold, or interstitial implantation of tantalum wire or gold grain for the treatment of carcinoma of the urinary bladder is reported by the Royal Marsden Hospital group of...