BACKGROUND The majority of previous studies investigating the health care utilization of people with dementia were conducted in Western societies. There is little information on the economic burden on the healthcare system attributable to dementia in Asian countries. This study thus investigated differences in utilization of healthcare services between subjects with and those without a diagnosi...

INTRODUCTION To test the hypothesis that the distribution of healthcare services is according to health need can be achieved under a rather open access system. METHODS The 2001 National Health Interview Survey of Taiwan and National Health Insurance claims data were linked in the study. Health need was defined by self-perceived health status. We used Concentration index to measure need-relate...

BACKGROUND Previous research suggested a distance decay effect in health services systems, with people living closer to service facilities being more likely to use them. METHOD In this ecological cross sectional study, we conducted spatial and statistical analyses in a Swiss mental health services system being legally bound to provide primary mental health care to approximately 620,000 inhabi...

OBJECTIVE To analyze the costs of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) outpatient treatment for individuals with different CD4 cell counts in the Brazilian public health system, and to compare to costs in other national health systems. METHODS A retrospective survey was conducted in five public outpatient clinics of the Brazilian national HIV program in the city of São Paulo. Data on healthcare...

BACKGROUND Day-hospital-based treatment programmes have been recommended for poorly functioning patients with personality disorders (PD). However, more research is needed to confirm the cost-effectiveness of such extensive programmes over other, presumably simpler, treatment formats. METHODS This study compared health service costs and psychosocial functioning for PD patients randomly allocat...

Background: Overcrowding is an important problem for outpatient services in healthcare facilities. Patient flow analysis (PFA) is a useful method for identifying inefficiencies in and facilitating patient flow. Objective: PFA was used to estimate patient wait time and determine how different clinical disciplines impact wait times in the studied hospital.<...

There is insufficient empirical evidence on the correlates of health care utilization of irregular migrants currently living in Turkey. The aim of this study was to identify individual level determinants associated with health service and medication use. One hundred and fifty-five Afghans completed surveys assessing service utilization including encounters with primary care physicians and outpa...

BACKGROUND China has a high burden of diabetes mellitus (DM), and a large proportion of DM patients remain untreated for various reasons, including low availability of primary health care providers. DM patient management is one of the priorities in China's national essential public health programs. Shortage of health workforce has been a major barrier to improving access to health care for DM p...

BACKGROUND In older age health needs and demand for health services utilization increase. Individual's social relationships can play a decisive role regarding the utilization of outpatient health care services. This systematic review examines the associations of structural and functional dimensions of social relationships with outpatient health services use of older adults. METHODS The databa...

The Medicare supplementary medical insurance (SMI) program helps pay for covered hospital outpatient services for the diagnosis or treatment of an illness or injury. Major hospital outpatient services covered by SMI include services in an emergency room or outpatient clinic, including ambulatory surgical procedures, laboratory tests billed by the hospital, mental health care in a hospital outpa...