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The article presents research which analyzed the cost-effectiveness of early and delayed repair for anterior cruciate ligament injuries. Topics covered include the importance of surgical reconstruction to treat tear in anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) as well as use of Markov decision model to assess the repair. Also mentioned is the application of the Multicenter Orthopaedic Outcomes Network (MOON) database in the study.

Recent developments in healthcare reform legislation and in the private-payer marketplace have increased impetus toward clinical integration. Industry changes require that healthcare delivery institutions confront fundamental scope and scale structural issues that may lead to increased vertical integration. To accomplish integration, firms must decide the organizational form of integration (alliance or merger/acquisition). One form of integration, accountable care organizations (ACOs), has featured prominently in recent legislation. Clinical integration and ACOs present significant shared-governance challenges that must be understood by hospital boards. The author outlines these governance issues using a case study of Silver Cross Hospital's governance structure for its ACO. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Following implementation of a programme to eradicate hospital-acquired pressure ulcers in one US hospital, prevalence fell from 9.5% in 2007 to zero in December 2008. Central to its success is that the programme was a management priority.

A federal demonstration project in the Cook County Jail, called IMPACT (Intensive Multi-phased Program of Assessment and Comprehensive Treatment), provided residential drug-user treatment to more than 3,000 inmates during its 5 years of operation between January 1991 and October 1995. In that time, much was learned about initiating and conducting a complex, intensive, longer-term drug-user-treatment program in a jail setting. This article describes IMPACT and summarizes the results of a process and an outcome evaluation of the program and a series of focus groups. Based on these studies, we recommend ways to improve the design and implementation of drug-user treatment programs in jails.

Deals with a study which described the impact of a capitated community-care demonstration in Illinois that attempted to increase the range of services provided while constraining overall costs. Methodology used in the study; Results and discussion.

Presents information on a study which used case-based reasoning (CBR) and artificial neural network (ANN) in predicting construction litigation in Chicago, Illinois. Principles of CBR and ANN; Comparison between CBR and ANN; Methodology; Conclusions.