Technology has long contributed to higher quality of care in the US health care system [1]. Yet, not all technology adds to health care quality equally, and many have argued that the introduction of new technology should be based on measures of both quality added and cost-effectiveness [2,3]. Quality is also multi-dimensional and includes measures of clinical as well as patient-focused quality ...

BACKGROUND The Iranian health system, under the banner of family physician (FP) programme, has undergone substantial reforms to change utilization of health services, improve quality of care and enhance affordability. The national implementation of FP initiated in 2005 in parallel with rural health insurance (RHI) in rural areas and cities of <20 000 populations in Iran. The implementation of F...

The business case for health-care quality improvement is presented. We contend that investment in process improvement is aligned with patients' interests, the organization's reputation, and the engagement of their workforce. Four groups benefit directly from quality improvement: patients, providers, insurers, and employers. There is ample opportunity, even in today's predominantly pay-for-volum...

Background Access to quality obstetric care is considered essential to reducing maternal and new-born mortality. We evaluated the effect of the introduction of a multifaceted voluntary health insurance programme on hospital deliveries in rural Nigeria. Methods We used an interrupted time-series design, including a control group. The intervention consisted of providing voluntary health insuran...

BACKGROUND Poor medical care and high fees are two major problems in the world health care system. As a result, health care insurance system reform is a major issue in developing countries, such as China. Governments should take the effect of health care insurance system reform on the competition of hospitals into account when they practice a reform. This article aims to capture the influences ...

OBJECTIVES Race concordance occurs when the race of a patient matches the race of his/ her physician and discordance occurs when races do not match. Previous research has suggested an association between race concordance and measures of patient satisfaction and health outcome. In this study, we examined the relationship between race concordance and perceived quality of care, self-reported gener...

Switzerland's consumer-driven health care system achieves universal insurance and high quality of care at significantly lower costs than the employer-based US system and without the constrained resources that can characterize government-controlled systems. Unlike other systems in which the choice and most of the funding for health insurance is provided by third parties, such as employers and go...

BACKGROUND The Ethiopian health system has been undergoing through reforms. One of the reforms stipulated in policy documents is the introduction of health insurance at national level. Having the majority of the population without any experience of health insurance, investigating preferences and knowledge of the essence of health insurance among potential enrolees will provide vital information...