In a recent article in this journal Simon-Tuval, Horev and Kaplan argue that in order to improve the protection of consumers there might be a need to impose a threshold on the medical loss ratio (MLR) for voluntary health insurance (VHI) in Israel [1]. Their argument is that VHI in Israel covers several essential services that are not covered by the mandatory benefits package due to budget cons...

OBJECTIVE The aim of the study was to explore the general coping style of female teachers with a relatively low voice handicap compared with teachers with a relatively high voice handicap. PATIENTS AND METHODS A cross-sectional questionnaire survey was conducted among 450 teachers using the Voice Handicap Index (VHI) and the Utrecht Coping List (UCL). A group of 400 subjects quasi-randomly se...

OBJECTIVE Systematic review of literature on patient-reported voice handicap following T1 glottic squamous cell carcinoma treatment using transoral laser microsurgery or radiation therapy. DATA SOURCES PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus (1997-2013). REVIEW METHODS These data sources were searched for papers reporting Voice Handicap Index (VHI) after treatment of early glottic carcinoma. Rev...

OBJECTIVES Currently, botulinum toxin (Botox) injection is the standard of treatment for adductor spasmodic dysphonia (ADSD). We sought to compare the outcome of selective laryngeal adductor denervation-reinnervation (SLAD-R) surgery for ADSD to that of Botox injections. METHODS Patient-oriented measures (VHI-10) and objective single-blinded gradings of digital voice recordings were utilized ...

Spasmodic Dysphonia (SD) patients (adductor type) are known to score very high on the Voice Handicap Index (VHI). 28 VHIanalyses were performed in patients diagnosed with spasmodic dysphonia (SD), before and after treatment with botulinum toxin. Patient’s voices were also analyzed perceptually and acoustically : 7 perceptual parameters (traditional and dedicated) were blindly rated by a panel o...

OBJECTIVES/HYPOTHESIS In-office percutaneous injection laryngoplasty (IL) is a common treatment for glottal insufficiency. The objective of this prospective study was to determine if voice outcomes from IL are affected by age, gender, or initial disease severity. STUDY DESIGN Prospective case series. METHODS Consecutive adult patients undergoing awake injection laryngoplasty were recruited ...

This paper summarises the findings of a series of articles which evaluate the impact of State-implemented voluntary health insurance (VHI) on the Vietnamese health system. The results are generally positive with clear equity gains in terms of utilisation and expenditures, and no evidence of consumer moral hazard. However VHI appears to negatively affect the quality of care, which patients trade...

OBJECTIVE Constructing an internationally applicable short-scale of the Voice Handicap Index (VHI). METHODS Subjects were 1,052 patients with 5 different types of voice disorder groups from Belgium, France, Sweden, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands, Portugal, and the USA. Different 9- and 12-item subsets were selected from the 30 VHI items using (1) the first factor of an unrotated factor analy...

Drought is a significant challenge to semiarid Mediterranean grasslands, Increasing the accuracy of monitoring allows improving conservation and management these vital ecosystems. Meteorological drought commonly monitored by Standard Precipitation Index (SPI) or Evapotranspiration (SPEI). On other hand, agriculture estimated Vegetation Health (VHI). This work aims optimise correlation between b...