abstract background: to get intersectoral collaborations is one of the strategies considered for the goal of health for all by the year 2000 which has been emphasized in the 21th century again. if the members of local organizations are more satisfied, they will collaborate in the improvement of health programs more. this study was performed to assess the satisfaction rate of the members of loca...

BACKGROUND There are few cost-minimisation studies in telemedicine. We have compared the actual costs of providing a telepaediatric service to the potential costs if patients had travelled to see the specialist in person. METHODS In November 2000, we established a novel telepaediatric service for selected regional hospitals in Queensland. Instead of transferring patients to Brisbane, the majo...

martin powell suggests that the death of the english national health service (nhs) has been announced so many times we are at risk of not noticing should it actually happen. he is right. if we ‘cry wolf’ too many times, we risk losing sight of what is important about the nhs and why.

This article identifies the impact of managed-care reforms on the utilization of medical services within the military health-services system. The data come from a recent demonstration project that substituted an HMO and PPO for traditional FFS arrangements. Results from a semiparametric model indicate that the generosity of benefits in the HMO increased demand for ambulatory services. Unlike...

BACKGROUND When used in general medical practices, buprenorphine is an effective treatment for opioid dependence, yet little is known about how use of buprenorphine affects the utilization and cost of health care in commercial health systems. METHODS The objective of this retrospective cohort study was to examine how buprenorphine affects patterns of medical care, addiction medicine services,...

conclusions the quality gap in the services provided by maternity units showed that these units are not able to meet pregnant women’s expectations completely. the negative quality gaps can be used as a guideline to improve the maternal health care quality and reduce maternal mortality, particularly in high-risk women such as those living in rural areas. results there was a negative gap in all d...

background recent british national health service (nhs) reforms, in response to austerity and alleged ‘health tourism,’ could impose additional barriers to healthcare access for non-european economic area (eea) migrants. this study explores policy reform challenges and implications, using excerpts from the perspectives of non-eea migrants and health advocates in london.   methods a qualitative ...

BACKGROUND In an ever-growing environment of health expenditure, governments should consider methods to contain costs, for example: professional guidelines, appropriateness criteria, preauthorization mechanism and regulations. Certificate of Needs (CON), although controversial, was also considered as a tool to lower health costs by limiting the supply of health services. Therefore, expenditures...

The U.S. criminal justice population is aging at a significantly more rapid rate than the overall U.S. population, with the population of older adults in prison having more than tripled since 1990. This increase is at the root of a prison healthcare crisis that is spilling into communities and public healthcare systems because nearly 95% of prisoners are eventually released. The graying prison ...