BACKGROUND Blended learning describes a combination of teaching methods, often utilizing digital technologies. Research suggests that learner outcomes can be improved through some blended learning formats. However, the cost-effectiveness of delivering blended learning is unclear. OBJECTIVE This study aimed to determine the cost-effectiveness of a face-to-face learning and blended learning app...

SETTING Guguletu and Nyanga areas of Cape Town, South Africa. OBJECTIVE To evaluate the affordability and cost-effectiveness of community involvement in tuberculosis (TB) care. DESIGN A cost-effectiveness analysis comparing treatment for new smear-positive pulmonary and retreatment TB patients in two similar townships, one providing clinic-based-care with community-based observation options...

An important current trend in advertising is the replacement of traditional pay-per-exposure (pay-per-impression) pricing models with performance-based mechanisms in which advertisers pay only for measurable actions by consumers. Such pay-per-action (PPA) mechanisms are becoming the predominant method of selling advertising on the Internet. Well-known examples include pay-per-click, pay-per-cal...

In the absence of a cure, the primary goals in managing Parkinson's disease (PD) are to preserve functionality and health-related quality of life (HRQoL). Current therapeutic strategies for PD include symptomatic treatment and are primarily focused on replacing dopamine in the brain. Dopamine agonists can be used as an alternative initial levodopa therapy, to delay the onset of motor complicati...

In the absence of a perfect risk adjustment scheme, cost sharing can reduce risk selection in community-rated health insurance markets. However, cost sharing also reduces incentives for efficiency. In this paper, we develop a model in which insurers determine the cost efficiency of health care. They have incentives for risk selection because there are two risk types which differ in their expect...

UNLABELLED One of the most controversial issues in anesthesia is whether nonmedically directed nurse anesthetists are relatively more cost-effective than anesthesiologists in the provision of anesthesia care. We electronically surveyed anesthesia practices throughout the United States to estimate the range in anesthesia professional costs from the payer perspective. Using this survey data on an...

Critical care providers are under increasing pressure to be attentive to cost concerns. The ICU consumes a significant amount of resources and, as such, is a frequently identified target of efforts to limit escalating healthcare costs. Attempts to reduce costs need not progress in a haphazard fashion. Rather, they can proceed in a logical, systematic manner with the assistance of formal economi...

AIM The aim of the study was to compare costs and consequences for an integrated care pathway intervention group with those of a usual care group for patients admitted with hip fracture. BACKGROUND Rehabilitation for patients with hip fracture consists of training in hospital and/or in a rehabilitation unit, and on their own at home with assistance from community care staff. It is important f...

OBJECTIVE The objective of this study was to examine the economics of administering calcium and vitamin D3 to post-menopausal women in Sweden. We focus primarily on the cost-effectiveness of treating older women for whom clear evidence of efficacy is available. We supplement this information, however, with estimates of the cost-effectiveness of treating certain high-risk groups of younger women...

Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) cloud providers offer a number of different tariff structures. The user has to balance the flexibility of the often quoted pay-by-the-hour, fixed price (“on demand”) model against the lower-cost-per-hour rate of a “reserved contract”. These tariff structures offer a significantly reduced cost per server hour (up to 50%), in exchange for an up-front payment by ...