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The article discusses the challenges faced in managing chronic low back pain in primary care settings. It mentions that the guidelines discourage drug therapies, procedures, and surgery, leaving clinicians with limited options such as exercise and psychological therapies. It also mentions that the RESTORE trial shows promising results with cognitive functional therapy (CFT) but highlights the need for scalable training methods for clinicians, and quality control to ensure its effectiveness.

In April 2014 the government published a White Paper on Universal Health Insurance, which details the steps towards the implementation of the most radical reform proposals in the history of the Irish health system. The Irish health system currently contains a complex interaction between public and private financing and delivery, leading to a number of inequities, highlighting the need for reform. The government's proposals include changes to the funding, allocation and delivery of health-care resources, and will culminate with the introduction of universal mandatory private health insurance. However, there are a number of potential issues with the reforms, particularly relating to cost and cost containment, the ability of people to pay for mandatory health insurance, the need to strengthen regulatory governance and the need to invest in the provision of services. Wider health-reform issues also need to be considered, irrespective of the funding mechanism proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Who benefits and who pays for the electronic health records? Patients may obtain better health care, while payers benefit from lower costs. Providers pay greater costs to implement health information technology, however, and may experience lower revenues after implementation. Although large multispecialty practices or medical centers may benefit from electronic health record systems, dermatologists—particularly those in dermatology specialty groups or in solo practice—may be adequately served by document-management systems that are less complex and less expensive. This article offers a perspective on medical record documentation alternatives. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The Greek economic crisis produced severe economic and social outcomes. A massive rescue package was conditional on implementing a Memorandum of Economic and Financial Policies agreed upon between the Greek government and the EU, European Central Bank, and the International Monetary Fund. The extremely austere fiscal consolidation and the structural reforms accompanying the Greek Economic Adjustment Programmes reduced the country's GDP. Implementing the austerity policies on the Greek National Health System, which was already facing structural problems, reduced the quality and availability of public health care services. This paper investigates the impact of the GDP change on public healthcare expenditures (HCE) from 2000 to 2018. The empirical analysis reveals a statistically significant positive correlation between the GDP per capita and public healthcare expenditure (HCE) from 2000 to 2014 while the effect of GDP on HCE after the 2015 remains unchanged. This paper contributes to the field's literature since it determines the impact of GDP on public HCE, specifically matched with empirical results to derive conclusive answers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the cardiac rehabilitation which includes patients with myocardial infarction and revascularization.

The article discusses the airway pressure for infants with meconium aspiration syndrome which includes mechanical ventilation and medical care .

The ICH E17 guidelines (2014–2017) on Multiregional Clinical Trials (MRCT) was a joint effort by the regulators and industry to facilitate simultaneous global drug development and registration through taking a strategic approach for clinical trials. In other words, the objective was to reduce the time it takes to bringing medications to patients around the world through minimizing unnecessary duplication of local or regional studies, which may add the regulatory burden to cost and time of bringing new therapies to patients. Under the auspices of ICH, training materials were created and provided to various stakeholders. Despite the successful promotion of the benefits of ICH E17 MRCT guidelines across the different regions, the uptake of some concepts (e.g., pooling strategy) in the ICH E17 guidelines has been slow. This paper describes various factors which could affect the conduct of MRCT at a global level, including ambiguity in definition of "region" (in MRCT), new regulatory requirements to enroll a diverse patient population, the use of decentralized clinical trials, use of data sources other than randomized clinical trials (e.g., use of Real Word Data), and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the conduct of MRCT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

"Building back better" post-pandemic, as advocated by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, could advance the realization of health as a human right. However, the COVID-19 pandemic is more likely to represent a tipping point into a new and even more unequal normal, nationally and internationally, that represents a hostile environment for building back better. This paper begins with a brief explanation of the tipping point concept. It goes on to describe the mechanisms by which the pandemic and many responses to it have increased inequality, and then identifies three political dynamics that are inimical to realizing health as a human right even in formal democracies, two of them material (related to the unequal distribution of resources within societies and in the global economy) and one ideational (the continued hegemony of neoliberal ideas about the proper limits of public policy). Observations about the unequal future and what it means for health conclude the paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When I started graduate school, I had no idea that it would take me halfway around the world to a small clinic in Cabinda, Angola, but I'm glad that it did. Since 2011, I have been a part of the team of engineers and clinicians, led by Dr. Sergey Shevkoplyas, working to develop a simple, low-cost, paper-based test for sickle cell disease-a common inherited blood disorder that is most prevalent in sub-Saharan Africa (Figure S1). [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Posttraumatic elbow stiffness can have a large impact on the ability of a patient to perform activities of daily living. Following a stepwise approach to treatment helps clinicians in this otherwise difficult-to treat condition. Treatment in adults is based on dealing with the involvement of soft tissue contracture, osseous impingement or both. Unlike adults, posttraumatic elbow stiffness in children has distinctly different causes and the thrust of treatment is primarily non-surgical. In skeletally immature children, the skeletal growth potential should be properly assessed and closely followed, observing either progression or natural correction of the deformity. Early active motion aided by physiotherapy is the first step in treatment for both adults and children. Following physiotherapy, brace therapy is a proven cheap and effective therapy for treatment-resistant stiffness. If adequate conservative treatment is unsuccessful, the next step is surgical arthrolysis. This procedure can be performed either open or arthroscopically, with the decision dependent on multiple factors. Early active mobilization after surgery is equally important, with the addition of bracing or continuous passive motion (CPM) in pending contractures following surgery. This paper provides a review of the current literature and a state-of-the-art guidance on the management of posttraumatic elbow stiffness in adult and paediatric patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) place significant financial burdens on individuals, communities, and countries. However, very little information is available regarding the extent of diabetes expenses in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). As far as we are aware, no comprehensive systematic literature review on diabetes cost in KSA has been published yet. Objective: The purpose of the analysis is to gather information about the direct and indirect costs of diabetes mellitus in KSA from the literature, examine the techniques employed to estimate costs, and discover potential avenues for further investigation. Methods: A systematic literature search will be performed to identify studies that reported the cost of diabetes mellitus in KSA. A rigorous literature search will be conducted using the following academic electronic databases: Scopus, Medline (via PubMed), Cochrane, Springer, Science Direct, and Web of Science. The eligibility criteria employed for the study will encompass the following aspects: examination of peer-reviewed articles in English which were published within the timeframe of 2010 to 2023, articles presenting novel research outcomes regarding the cost of diabetes mellitus, and studies conducted in KSA. To gather the necessary information, data will be extracted in sheets, and the results will be systematically arranged within tables. Results: We have reviewed the cost of diabetes mellitus. Extracted articles will be analyzed in the results based on the direct and indirect costs per patient of diabetes mellitus. The papers will be analyzed on the bases of study design, data source, perspective, and the healthcare cost categories. Conclusion: Different approaches will be employed to calculate healthcare costs associated with diabetes mellitus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Health visiting has been described as the backbone of early years services across the UK and the safety net around all families. This paper explores the role of health visitors and the current context in England. Health visitors lead and deliver the Healthy Child Programme which is the national preventative public health programme covering pregnancy and the first five years of life. It aims to ensure that every child has the best start in life, regardless of where they live. With child health deteriorating, more children falling behind with their development, growing concerns about invisible vulnerable children, widening inequalities and soaring costs of late intervention, there is a clear imperative to act. Health visitors provide an important part of the solution; however, the service is facing significant challenges. When sufficiently resourced, health visitors play a crucial role in ensuring that families get good, joined up support – preventing, identifying and treating problems before they reach crisis point. The benefits of an effective health visiting service accrue to numerous government departments, contributing to a whole system response to address a multitude of policy priorities for babies, children and families across health, education and social care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The conceptualization of the value-based healthcare (VBHC) model as a way to improve the quality of patient care and control the costs of that care has been widely debated. However, few studies describe how to practically implement VBHC from the perspective of health information systems as technical platforms for data collection, analysis, and sharing. This study presents a scoping review of implementation experiences of this model, specifically focusing on the requirements and barriers of the information system. Out of the initially identified 1866 references, 24 papers were selected, from which the facilitating factors and barriers associated with the information system were extracted. The quality of data, its analysis, and resources (infrastructure and specialized human resources in information and technology communication) emerge as indispensable categories for implementation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Healthcare monitoring systems have improved with the Internet of Things and machine learning prediction models. Traditional batch machine-learning approaches cannot generate an effective model since most data will be continuous and real-time. Real-time medical data processing is challenging since the entire data is unavailable during prediction. Here, a continuous model adaptation based on incremental learning is demanded. The development of such a system can significantly improve patient outcomes and reduce healthcare costs. This paper proposes an Incremental Naive Bayes Learner that can handle concept drifts in data. The algorithm keeps a sliding window of data constantly updated as new data is added. The adaptive window size determines how much data is used to train the model at any given time. After processing each chunk of data, the algorithm calculates the model's accuracy. The system detects a concept drift and dynamically updates the training set if the accuracy drops below a predefined threshold. We conducted a comparative evaluation of state-of-the-art batch and incremental learning algorithms on different medical datasets, demonstrating the impact of incremental learning. The results demonstrate the effectiveness of our approach: the Agrawal dataset achieved the highest accuracy at 66.6%, followed by Dialysis at 61.6%, while Liver and HCC achieved 50% and 58.3% accuracy, respectively. This approach ensures a sustained high level of accuracy in healthcare monitoring systems over time, even amidst concept drift. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Health shock is an important factor affecting the medical expenditure of farmers. As the largest environmental compensation project in China, the Green for Grain Program plays an important role in increasing the well-being of farmers. Based on the 2017–2019 China Household Finance Survey (CHFS) dataset, this paper constructs two balanced panel data, which adopts the differences-in-differences propensity score matching (PSM-DID) from the perspective of post-hoc. The method identified the effect of health shock on the level of household medical expenditure in peasant household. The findings suggest that health shock have significantly increased the level of medical expenditure in peasant household, and this conclusion remains true after a series of robustness tests. Specifically, the health impact can significantly increase household medical expenditure by 2270 RMB yuan. Further research found that the impact is significantly heterogeneous due to whether farmers participate in the Green for Grain Program. Specifically, under the impact of health shock, the increased amount of medical expenditure of farmers participating in the Green for Grain Program is relatively small, that is, there is a "well-being paradox" phenomenon. Therefore, this paper puts forward suggestions on improving the level of farmers' health literacy, optimizing the compensation policy for the Green for Grain Program and developing the service industry policy in the areas where the Green for Grain Program is implemented. This study has certain policy guidance and reference value for the Chinese government to continue to consolidate the results of the Green for Grain Program to alleviate poverty and improve the well-being of farmers in developing countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Healthcare monitoring systems have improved with the Internet of Things and machine learning prediction models. Traditional batch machine-learning approaches cannot generate an effective model since most data will be continuous and real-time. Real-time medical data processing is challenging since the entire data is unavailable during prediction. Here, a continuous model adaptation based on incremental learning is demanded. The development of such a system can significantly improve patient outcomes and reduce healthcare costs. This paper proposes an Incremental Naive Bayes Learner that can handle concept drifts in data. The algorithm keeps a sliding window of data constantly updated as new data is added. The adaptive window size determines how much data is used to train the model at any given time. After processing each chunk of data, the algorithm calculates the model's accuracy. The system detects a concept drift and dynamically updates the training set if the accuracy drops below a predefined threshold. We conducted a comparative evaluation of state-of-the-art batch and incremental learning algorithms on different medical datasets, demonstrating the impact of incremental learning. The results demonstrate the effectiveness of our approach: the Agrawal dataset achieved the highest accuracy at 66.6%, followed by Dialysis at 61.6%, while Liver and HCC achieved 50% and 58.3% accuracy, respectively. This approach ensures a sustained high level of accuracy in healthcare monitoring systems over time, even amidst concept drift. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper attempts to measure and report the extent and magnitude of tax evasion in the medical sector and to be compared with other selected human-to-human (Η2Η) life services in the Greek economy. Specific household expenditures for human (Η2Η) services for the period 2011–2017 were analysed, using data from the annual 'Household Budget Survey (HBS)' of the Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT) and were compared with the financial administrative data from the 'Statistical Business Register (SBR)', which is updated on an annual basis with data provided by the tax authority, depending on the case-specific characteristics of each sector under study that have been taken into account in the calculations. The research showed that the participation of doctors in the phenomenon of tax evasion as a whole has been declining in recent years while other human economic activities are responsible many times over for the perpetuation and exacerbation of the phenomenon. The annual tax evasion on average for the period 2011–2017, for the medical sector, is estimated to amount to €565.6 million (0.31% of the Greek GDP – mean value of the same period), while for the 'accommodation services (hotels)' sector, it is estimated to €3.3 billion (1.84% of GDP), to €6.8 billion for the catering sector (3.76% of GDP), to €2.1 billion for the education sector (1.18% of GDP), to €87.3 million for the hairdressing/other beauty treatment services of the personal service sector and finally to €50.3 million for the funeral and related services sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recognizing law as a determinant of scarcity in health care is vital. This paper underscores the need for a comprehensive approach to manage scarcity beyond intellectual property, using targeted regulations to promote affordability and counter market distortions. I argue that relying on law solely to ensure democratic deliberations for resource allocation overlooks market failures and economic inequalities that contribute to scarcity. I examine different "legal determinants of scarcity" that can be used, on the basis of the right to health, to improve or positively influence the availability and affordability of health technologies through complementary policies such as direct price control, competitive procurement, competition laws, and public-private partnerships. I conclude by asserting that health care affordability must be a central positive human rights obligation in economic and health policies and that states must strive to diversify their approaches to eliminate persistent economic barriers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High quality and efficient medical service is one of the major factors defining living standards. Developed countries strive to make their healthcare systems as efficient and cost-effective as possible. Remote medical services are a promising approach to lower medical costs and, at the same time, accelerating diagnosis and treatment of diseases. Internet of things (IoT) has the power to connect several devices, users, databases, etc., in a unified manner. Internet of medical things (IoMT) is some type of IoT designed to facilitate medical services. Using IoMT, many of the medical tasks, such as chronic disease monitoring, disease diagnosis, etc., can be realized remotely, leading to lower healthcare costs and better services. This paper is devoted to the role of artificial intelligence (AI) in recent advances on IoMT. Hardware requirements and recent articles proposing solutions for IoMT using AI are reviewed. A comprehensive list of major benefits and challenges is presented as well. Wearable medical devices (WMDs) are also investigated. The WMDs classification is also performed based on their technology. Market share and its anticipated growth for different types of WMDs are also analyzed for the first time. Moreover, common applications of AI in IoMT are reviewed and then classified based on their usage. The paper is closed with the conclusion and possible directions for future works. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Since introducing the positive listing system in 2007, the South Korean government has undergone multiple changes in its drug listing system. As there is a lack of studies that evaluate the system from an industry perspective, this paper examined South Korea's new drug listing system from the suppliers' perspective. Methods: We surveyed members of the three main pharmaceutical industry associations online. The survey (a 5-point Likert scale) covered their satisfactory levels, demands, and updates on the current new drug listing system, especially pharmacoeconomic evaluation, pharmacoeconomic evaluation exemption, and risk-sharing agreement. Results: A total of 56 respondents participated in the survey. The self-reported satisfaction level for value recognition of new drugs was 1.6 (± 0.7) points (5 points = very satisfied). The most highly demanded reforms for PE, RSA, and PEE were incremental cost-effectiveness ratio threshold (92.9%), reimbursement scope expansion (91.1%), and eligible disease (83.9%). Lastly, they also claimed that the indication-based pricing system must be introduced (83.9%). Conclusions: Pricing and reimbursement policies need to improve in such a way that would enable better access to new drugs while still facilitating their development. Given the nature of the current system, some innovative rare disease treatments and anticancer drugs remain unreimbursed, resulting in low satisfaction levels across the pharmaceutical industry. Hence, pathways to speed up the reimbursement assessment process and expand the range of reimbursable diseases are required. Pharmaceutical companies are also important stakeholders, like in the case of clinicians and patients, and their opinions should also be considered in the process of pricing and reimbursement policy reforms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study examines the impact and associated concerns of different types of cash transfer programmes. In addition, it analyses the significance of public healthcare services in India using the NSS - 75th round (2017-18) and the possibility of any trade-off between the provision of cash transfer schemes and the provision of services, particularly public healthcare services. It argues that cash transfers can positively affect major dimensions of a person's life but only with sufficient public provisioning of key services. For instance, cash transfers can increase the utilisation of different healthcare services but would not be able to substantially improve health outcomes if there are shortages of quality healthcare services. If a greater provision of cash transfers results in a reduction in government expenditure on public healthcare services, there will be a high possibility of healthcare services not being available and affordable to all. In addition, due to a substantial information gap, there would be considerable under-consumption of these services. The paper argues that a possibility of a trade-off between cash transfer schemes and government provisioning of services such as healthcare exists in which people with lower income and greater vulnerability against diseases may suffer from both ends. Therefore, more cautious attempts should be made on how adequate amounts of both cash transfers and services can be provisioned together. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Worldwide, numerous studies have been conducted on m-health applications and the results show that, if well-designed, they can regulate and track medication and reduce healthcare costs. The aim of this research is to analyze the experiences of users connected to different lifestyle apps, in particular (1) to explore the negative, neutral and positive topics in the reviews, and (2) to discover the role of health improvement among the comments. The present paper is part of a complex empirical research project. A qualitative and quantitative content analysis was conducted of the user reviews in the Google Play store for the 16 lifestyle apps selected during the first phase of the empirical research (quasi experiment). All in all, 2,835 comments were analyzed. The negative comments mentioned unreliable tracking functions, problems with updates, or high prices. The neutral comments outlined some missing functions or problems with the operation of the app. The positive comments were related to health improvement, usefulness, ease of use, engagement and willingness to recommend the app. Physical activity, facilitating a specific diet, weight loss, wellbeing, tracking progress and health awareness were among the common health aspects of the lifestyle apps. The results of this research will be particularly useful for consumers, app developers and service providers who focus on health awareness and health promotion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to evaluate the effects of selected key factors on health outcomes. Unfortunately, statistical reporting in this field is not harmonized, and in some countries it is completely absent. For this reason, valuable information for health determinant analysis may be lacking or overlooked. Using two different databases, we obtained data from 61 countries for the period 2000-2015. To analyse panel data with over 660 observations, a linear mixed model was applied. This paper contributes to the health economics debate by statistically testing the relationship between health outcomes and variables such as healthcare personnel, healthcare expenditure and infrastructure. The results confirm the importance of healthcare expenditure and healthcare infrastructure. However, the size and direction of the effect vary among countries with different income levels. In regard to human resources, the number of doctors proved to have a significant effect only in lower-income countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The utility of telehealth services for lipid management remains understudied. • Telehealth has had a positive to neutral impact on improving lipid metrics. • Facilitators to telehealth include multidisciplinary care and patient-centeredness. • Technology dexterity and clinician reimbursement remain major barriers to telehealth. • Future interventions should emphasize a hybrid model of patient-centered care. Telehealth services have been implemented to deliver care for patients living with many chronic conditions and have expanded greatly during the COVID-19 pandemic. Little is known about the current or future impacts of telehealth on lipid management practices. The PubMed database was searched from inception to June 25, 2021, with the keywords "lipids or cholesterol" and "telehealth," which yielded 376 published articles. Telehealth was defined as a synchronous visit between a patient and clinician that replaced an in-office appointment. Studies that solely used remote monitoring, mobile health technologies, or callbacks of results, were excluded. Articles must have measured lipid values. Review articles and protocol papers were not included. After evaluation, 128 abstracts were included for full text evaluation, with 55 full-text articles eventually included. Of the articles, 29 were randomized clinical trials, 15 were pre-post evaluations, and 11 were other study designs. Telehealth had positive to neutral impacts on lipid management. Reported facilitators include easier implementation of multidisciplinary approaches to care, and utilization of patient-centered programs. Reported barriers to telehealth services include technological barriers, such as various skill levels with technology; systems barriers, such as cost and reimbursement; patient-related barriers, including patient non-adherence; and clinician-related barriers, such as difficulty standardizing care. Clinicians reported improved satisfaction among patients but had mixed feelings regarding their ability to deliver quality care. Telemedicine use to provide care for individuals with lipid conditions has expanded during the COVID-19 pandemic, but more research is needed to determine its potential as a sustainable tool for lipid management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Collected Papers of Zagreb Law Faculty / Zbornik Pravnog Fakulteta u Zagrebu is the property of Sveuciliste u Zagrebu, Pravni Fakultet and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Health-system pharmacies are under increasing pressure to maximize resources and improve efficiency, as the cost of healthcare is rising and reimbursement for medications is becoming increasingly complex. One strategy for optimizing efficiency is to utilize workforce productivity metrics to ensure the optimal staffing. While there have been many published examples of productivity-tracking models for health-system pharmacies in general, there are gaps in the literature on outpatient infusion pharmacy productivity metrics, as these pharmacies have unique workflow patterns and considerations. This paper describes some of those special considerations for infusion pharmacies and proposes a potential method for tracking workload productivity in a way that addresses those special factors. Also discussed are the limitations of this method, as well as areas for future exploration in tracking productivity in an infusion pharmacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper empirically analyzes fiscal policy behavior in the European Union (EU) Member States and assesses how it has changed during the recent pandemic crisis compared to previous crisis periods. Based on panel estimations, we find that the fiscal reaction has been different this time, both concerning the policy direction as well as its magnitude. We argue that fiscal policy has turned from formally pro-cyclical design prior to COVID-19 period to counter-cyclical in the pandemic years, on average. While this is naturally driven by the wide roll-out of fiscal support measures during the pandemic, including health care expenditures and spending on job security, the change in the fiscal reaction function is still visible if these effects are taken away from the budget, even though the move is less pronounced and signifies a change from a pro-cyclical to an a-cyclical fiscal regime. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

England's National Health Service (NHS) is in the process of major reform as old institutional structures based around an internal "market" are being replaced with integrated care systems. The changes represent a significant shift in ethos away from commercialisation to collaboration between health providers. But the way that these policies unfold will depend on the context within which they are implemented, and three decades of neoliberal reforms have left their mark on the structure of the health system. This paper shows how a powerful, politically-connected financialised private sector has evolved alongside a weakened public system, depleted further by the pandemic. While the share of overall public health spending reaching the private sector has not increased greatly over the past decade, private financial investors are strongly embedded in some segments of health delivery, particularly mental health services where shareholder returns are boosted by financial engineering. The boundaries between private and public are increasingly blurred with the NHS treating private patients and self-payment for health services is increasingly normalised. Rather than traditional privatisation, the health system is facing a more subtle and pernicious erosion of public services across different dimensions which seems likely to continue despite the new reforms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper describes an intellectual model of clinical risk management (CRM) for a general hospital based on Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA), Route Cause Analysis (RCA) and Systems Engineering Initiative in Patient Safety (SEIPS) model. Input and output parameters of the CRM model, management resources and corrective interventions were determined. The main output parameter was a cumulative burden of healthcare-related adverse events (HAEs) that reflects both the severity and the rate of each HAE. The model was tested in a 300-bed urban hospital. It was shown that effectiveness of interventions used to prevent HAE may vary depending on the HAE type. In resource-constrained environment, implementation of the CRM model in routine practice allows for the selection of interventions aimed at preventing healthcare safety failures that will provide the greatest benefit both for patients and for the hospital. It opens up prospects for cognitive support of patient safety improvements and for the healthcare costs reduction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Advancements in colorectal cancer treatment have substantially improved overall survival. However, the cost of treating colorectal cancer places a significant economic burden on populations and healthcare systems. It is accepted that costs and what a health system charges may differ. This study aims to understand the expenditure on colorectal cancer globally. Specifically, this paper systematically reviews the literature to estimate the direct costs of each component in treating colorectal cancer, including primary care, diagnostics, surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and follow-up. MEDLINE, EMBASE, Web of Science, Evidence-Based Medicine Reviews: National Health Service Economic Evaluation Database Guide, Econlit and grey literature from the January 1, 2000 to the February 1, 2020. The methodological quality of the included studies was assessed using the Evers' Consensus on Health Economic Criteria checklist. In total, 39,489 records were retrieved, and after appropriate culling of non-relevant articles, 15 studies were included. Costs for treating colorectal cancer varied due to heterogeneity between different studies despite comparing similar clinical settings and study perspectives. Studies that presented an average cost per patient demonstrated that surgical costs ranged from $1,149 to $34,606, chemotherapy ranged from $1,883 to $18,021 and radiotherapy ranged from $2,037 to $5,347 in 2018 USD. Identifying these costs can impact health care budgets and guide policymakers in making informed decisions for the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nowadays, the healthcare problem is one of the major crises in many parts of the world, especially the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated this to a greater extent. Many developing countries with inadequate healthcare systems are suffering greatly from this crisis to provide proper medical services. The reasons are the insufficient number of healthcare providers, costs of medical tests and equipment, lack of accessible points of care and data analysis, and lack of sufficient online healthcare facilities. However, research on the benefits of establishing e-health platforms to strengthen the conventional public-health system is limited—most of the research targets patients in specific disease groups. This paper focuses on an approach for designing a healthcare social media platform for services provisioning, consuming, enabling patients to find an alternate source of healthcare advice, and then building a collaborative health community for all kinds of people. Its usability and applicability have been experimented with as a prototype on Android-based smartphone devices. The results show six features and benefits that are distinct from existing approaches in the literature. In addition, the approach will be considered an affordable alternative to conventional healthcare in case of emergency treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Technologies are affecting our day to day life, future trends, Warcraft, space explorations, Gene technologies and hybrid species but most importantly life expectancy has increased with the help of technological support in the medical field, with advancements in technologies. Few of the recent additions are the 5G, Tactile Internet, Internet of Things (IoT), AI and robotics, Technologies that have assisted inter-disciplinary advancements, resulting in efficient smart healthcare support systems; and has achieved a status of foremost socio-economic concern for expenditure incurring on healthcare issues and accessibility of resources. In an effective way, the inclusion of technology in healthcare makes it positively possible for professionals to monitor and attend chronic disease patients to provide timely treatment to the patients even in remote locations. Tele-surgery has a perspective to provide urgent medical services and came out with different opportunities to deliver highly skilled doctors globally. Tele-surgery requires technologies such as 5G, Tactile Internet and AI to help reduce problems of resource scheduling. This paper presents a technological analysis of robotic telesurgery which is based on 5G, Tactile Internet as well as on Artificial Intelligence (AI). This paper also discusses challenges and issues being encountered in telesurgery; subsequently, a FOG assisted interactive model is presented to expedite and reduce the latency of the process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs provides medical care to a large share of veterans. This paper describes some of the distinctive features of the system--including the services provided, funding mechanism, and cost to veterans. It then examines the growth in the cost of providing services over the past decades and of expanding access to medical care by non-VA providers and facilities. The paper presents two projections of VA spending growth over the next decade, both of which could raise concerns about affordability in a period of constrained federal budgets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Children and youth with special health care needs (CYSHCN) use disproportionately more health care resources than non-CYSHCN, and their unique needs merit additional consideration. Spending on health care in the United States is heavily concentrated on acute illnesses through fee-for-service (FFS). Payment reform frameworks have focused on shifting away from FFS, addressing health outcomes and the experience of care while lowering costs, particularly for high resource utilizers. The focus of payment reform efforts to date has been on adults with chronic illnesses, with less priority given to investment in children's health and life course. Spending for children's health is also considered an investment in their growth and development with long-term outcomes at stake, so research questions should focus on where and how such spending should be targeted. This paper discusses high-priority research topics in the area of health care financing for CYSHCN in the context of what is currently known and important knowledge gaps related to investment for CYSHCN. It proceeds to describe 3 potential research projects that can address these topics, following a framework informed by the priority questions identified in a previous multistakeholder research agenda development process. We focus on 3 areas: benefits, payment models, and quality measures. Specific aims and hypotheses are offered, as well as suggestions for approaches and thoughts on potential implications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Anuario Colombiano de Derecho Internacional is the property of Colegio Mayor de Nuestra Senora del Rosario and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs provides medical care to a large share of veterans. This paper describes some of the distinctive features of the system--including the services provided, funding mechanism, and cost to veterans. It then examines the growth in the cost of providing services over the past decades and of expanding access to medical care by non-VA providers and facilities. The paper presents two projections of VA spending growth over the next decade, both of which could raise concerns about affordability in a period of constrained federal budgets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This paper sought to review the impact of depression in patients with comorbid medical problems, the importance of bridging the gap between inpatient and outpatient care for medical inpatients with depression (especially for organizations that treat patients in both settings), and the elements necessary to implement a pilot for an outpatient Collaborative Care Management program for patients with depression following medical admissions. Taken into account is the presence of new billing mechanisms and potential cost offsets. Methods: The literature referenced in this paper was identified through a search of online databases, including PubMed and Google Scholar. The data used to analyze cost were drawn from national, publicly available sources, such as the Kaiser Family Foundation, Bureau of Labor Statistics, and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development. Results: Collaborative care is an evidence- based intervention for depression that can aid with successful transition of care as patients move from the inpatient to the outpatient setting. It can be considered cost-effective when treating a panel of patients that falls below the recommended caseload for a single case manager (i.e., 19-46 billed encounters, depending on the payer mix), particularly when considering the savings from a reduced length of stay associated with well-controlled depressive symptoms. Conclusion: Organizations should consider implementing collaborative care management for patients with depression to improve depression outcomes, reduce costs, and prepare themselves for a health financing environment that rewards value. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spending on healthcare in industrialized countries has grown substantially over the last few decades (OECD 2016). Over the years, many researchers have analyzed the main determinants of aggregate healthcare expenditure. In this paper we determine the main factors that have contributed to the increase in healthcare spending over time, focusing especially on the impact of technological innovation on the healthcare sector. This paper differentiates itself by using multiple imputation to construct a large, complete panel dataset and through the construction of a technological composite index able to directly measure the role of new technologies on healthcare costs. The results suggest that the introduction of new technologies contribute to the increase in healthcare expenditures verified in the last years, where technology has a differential impact on costs depending on a country’s stage of the development of technology. Moreover, by analyzing the non-linear effects of technology, we can also conclude that this increase in healthcare expenditure per capita driven by technological innovation illustrates diminishing returns, fading away with volume. Many of our conclusions, such as those regarding GDP per capita, percentage of private expenditure on health, and health expenditure financed by General Government reinforced findings from other studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the role of knowledge, standards, and metrics in global health. Our point of departure is the observation that the emergence of 'global health' as a domain of research, policy, and practice in the last three decades or so has coincided with an increased interest in the validation and use of measures of health, such as the Disability Adjusted Life Year (DALY), in monitoring and assessing health equity across territories and populations. This 'elective affinity' between global health and health metrics has become the focus of scholarly debate in the social sciences. In this paper, we seek to contextualise and critically discuss the different positions in this debate. We suggest that emplacing health metrics within the neo-liberal logic of health production --one where the 'mechanisms of life' are aligned with the maximisation of economic productivity- does not fully capture the interactive relationship between health measurement and the politics of health. Instead, we argue that this relationship has been characterised by controversy and uncertainty about how to interlock normative ideals and approaches to knowledge-making about health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bronchiolitis is a common viral disease that significantly affects infants less than 12 months of age. The purpose of this review is to present a review of the current knowledge of the uses of respiratory support in the management of infants with bronchiolitis presenting to hospital. We electronically searched MEDLINE, Cochrane, CINAHL and EMBASE (inception to 25th March 2018), to manually search for clinical trials that address the management strategies for respiratory support of infants with bronchiolitis. We identified 120 papers who met the inclusion criteria, of which 33 papers were relevant for this review with only nine randomized controlled trials. This review demonstrated that non-invasive respiratory support reduced the need for escalation of therapy, particularly the proportion of intubations required for infants with bronchiolitis. Additionally, clear economic benefits have been demonstrated when non-invasive ventilation has been used. The potential early use of non-invasive respiratory supports such as nasal high flow therapy and non-invasive ventilation may have an impact on health care costs and reduction in ICU admissions and intubation rates. High-grade evidence demonstrates safety and quality of high flow therapy in general ward settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The role of health in human capital is now recognized, as is the role of capital in economic growth since Schultz (1961) and Becker (1964). The objective of this paper is to use some recent developments in nonstationary time series econometrics to explore the cointegration between health spending and economic growth in Tunisia over a period of forty-four years. This paper shows a positive relationship between health spending and economic growth. However, Tunisia needs to be able to provide more efforts in this vital sector, with complementarity between the private sector and the public sector to be ensured. This is the guarantee of an increase in real output in Tunisia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studies the linkage between analyst coverage and Health and Safety (H&S) programs, which have started to emerge in U.S. firms to improve employee health and control healthcare expenditures. Given their homogeneity across firms, their well-documented profitability and long-term payoffs, H&S programs provide an interesting setting to revisit the effect of analyst coverage on long-term investments. We find a strong and negative association between analyst coverage and H&S programs. An instrumental variable approach suggests that the effect of analyst coverage is causal. Cross-sectional analysis indicates that the effect of analyst coverage is more pronounced for firms with a high cost of H&S programs relative to earnings, low blockholder ownership or low long-term investor ownership, and with a low distance of realized earnings to analysts' earnings forecasts. Overall, these results lend empirical support to the view that analyst coverage deters long-term investments in H&S programs by exerting pressure on managers to meet short-term earnings forecasts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Approximately 50% of all patients undergoing esophagectomy experience complications. This paper estimates the costs due to complications after esophagectomy in a Swedish context. The Swedish National Register for Esophageal and Gastric Cancer (NREV) and the Healthcare Consumption Register in Region Skåne (RSVD) were crossmatched for patients undergoing esophagectomy between 2010 and 2015 in Region Skåne, Sweden (n = 132). Multivariable linear regression analysis was performed on the logarithm of total healthcare cost. HRQoL was presented descriptively. The mean total healthcare costs were 335,016 SEK (€33,502) for the group with no complications and 438,320 SEK (€43,832) and 808,461 SEK (€80,846) for minor and major complications (p < 0.001), respectively. Pneumonia (p < 0.001), laryngeal nerve paresis (p = 0.002) and other complications (p < 0.001) showed significant associations with increased healthcare cost. No significant difference was found in QALY-weights between the complication grades. Patients that underwent esophagectomy reported poorer HRQoL than the scores valued by the general background population. Complications following esophagectomy incrementally increase the healthcare costs, where more severe complications led to higher healthcare costs. The severity of complications did not affect the mean QALY-weights. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rapid advancements in the fields of IoT based communication allows seamless connection among several devices allowing them to communicate with each other. This technological integration unlocks the new possibilities in different disciplines including healthcare. Internet of Healthcare Things (IoHT) enabled framework has been followed to provide improved and reliable services and reduce healthcare costs. As heterogeneous and critical healthcare data needs fast response, data analytics of it is a complex problem. To address this challenge, the paper proposes an architecture where data will be forwarded to the fog or cloud layer depending on the traffic type. To handle this issue efficiently, load balancing is done for selecting the appropriate fog/cloud to forward the data from device. Moreover, real time and conventional data are treated differently by the algorithm. To take the forwarding decision software-defined networking has been adapted which ensures to perform the resource allocation and load balancing efficiently. The proposed work focus to reduce the latency and packet loss while maximizing the throughput in e-healthcare systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]