UNLABELLED One of the most controversial issues in anesthesia is whether nonmedically directed nurse anesthetists are relatively more cost-effective than anesthesiologists in the provision of anesthesia care. We electronically surveyed anesthesia practices throughout the United States to estimate the range in anesthesia professional costs from the payer perspective. Using this survey data on an...

AIM The aim of the study was to compare costs and consequences for an integrated care pathway intervention group with those of a usual care group for patients admitted with hip fracture. BACKGROUND Rehabilitation for patients with hip fracture consists of training in hospital and/or in a rehabilitation unit, and on their own at home with assistance from community care staff. It is important f...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Thrombolysis in acute stroke is effective up to 4.5 hours after symptom onset but relies on early recognition, prompt arrival in hospital, and timely brain scanning. This study aimed to establish the cost-effectiveness of increasing thrombolysis rates through a series of hypothetical change strategies designed to optimize the acute care pathway for stroke. METHODS A dec...

PURPOSE OF THE STUDY to examine the costs and cost-effectiveness of 'second-generation' telecare, in addition to standard support and care that could include 'first-generation' forms of telecare, compared with standard support and care that could include 'first-generation' forms of telecare. DESIGN AND METHODS a pragmatic cluster-randomised controlled trial with nested economic evaluation. A ...

OBJECTIVE The general goal of this research was to determine the effectiveness of a home follow-up program in order to acquire guidance in how to plan the future structure and contents of post-myocardial infarction (MI) patients' care and rehabilitation. The specific aim of this study was to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of the program in reducing the rate of rehospitalization of first-time p...

OBJECTIVE This study analyzed the cost-effectiveness of delivering alcohol screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment (SBIRT) in emergency departments (ED) when compared to outpatient medical settings. METHODS A probabilistic decision analytic tree categorized patients into health states. Utility weights and social costs were assigned to each health state. Health outcome measure...

AIMS To develop and populate a plausible model of the impact of early intervention (EI) for children and adolescents with psychosis to estimate potential short-term health-related cost savings compared to generic Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS). METHOD A decision-tree-based model for EI in CAMHS was developed. The model was populated using data relating to the use of inpat...

EDUCATIONAL OBJECTIVES As a result of reading this article, physicians should be able to: 1. State an argument for, and background information on, patient-centered arthroplasty protocols. 2. Describe specific recommendations for designing a simplified arthroplasty care pathway that is reproducible in other institutions. 3. Discuss cost-effectiveness research on the latest value-delivering proto...

BACKGROUND An important aim of integrated care for frail elderly is to generate more cost-effective health care. However, empirical research on the cost-effectiveness of integrated care for community-dwelling frail elderly is limited. OBJECTIVE This study reports on the cost-effectiveness of the Walcheren Integrated Care Model (WICM) after 12 months from a societal perspective. METHODS The ...