In Canada, coverage for ambulatory prescription drug expenditures is provided to some groups by provincial drug plans through a provincial formulary. Little is known about the drugs provincial formularies give access to. We report the variation in availability of new drug molecules (NDM) across provincial formularies. We identified 108 NDM approved in Canada between 1991 and 1998. From each dru...

The East China Power Grid (ECPG) is the biggest regional power grid in China. It has the biggest installed capacity of pumped storage power plants (PSPPs) and is responsible to coordinate the operation of its five provincial power grids. A recent challenge of coordinating operations is using PSPPs to absorb surplus energy during off-peak periods and generate power during peak periods. Differing...

This paper discusses central-local relations for healthcare policy in China from a principal-agent perspective, based on schistosomiasis control. In order to control the disease, the central government produced the Outline of the Mid-Long-Term National Plan for Schistosomiasis Prevention and Control (2004-2015) in 2004. By discussing the implementation of the National Outline at the provincial ...

We aimed to determine the distribution of ophthalmic care providers and its correlation with health and socioeconomic status and health system indicators. Data were gathered from the Iran Medical Council and the Iranian Societies of Ophthalmology and Optometry. Concurrent indicators were collected from the Statistical Center of Iran and national studies. A population-adjusted number of combined...

Objective: To study the trends of socioeconomic inequalities and socioeconomic inequalities in self-perceived health in Spain between 1987 and 2001. Methods: We estimated the distribution of educational level and per capita provincial income, and the differences in lessthan-good self-perceived health by educational level and per capita provincial income in each period. Results: The percentage o...

According to the newly introduced water resources management in China, which is the most stringent thus far, pollution limits of water functional zones should be enhanced. In response to this recent change, we propose a provincial initial water rights incentive allocation model with total pollutant discharge constraint. Firstly, three objective functions are set up, namely the maximum comprehen...

OBJECTIVE To examine variation in patients' access to a set of cancer drugs through publicly funded provincial drug programs. DATA SOURCES/STUDY DESIGN We surveyed provincial drug program managers about their highest-expenditure intravenous and oral cancer drugs. We then investigated whether the same cancer drugs account for the highest expenditures across the provincial programs. We also com...

OBJECTIVE To study the trends of socioeconomic inequalities and socioeconomic inequalities in self-perceived health in Spain between 1987 and 2001. METHODS We estimated the distribution of educational level and per capita provincial income, and the differences in less-than-good self-perceived health by educational level and per capita provincial income in each period. RESULTS The percentage...