Seksjon for psykosomatikk og CL-barnepsykiatri, Barneavdeling for nevrofag, Kvinne- og barneklinikken, Oslo universitetssykehus, Rikshospitalet, Norway. sissel.berg.haveraaen@ous-hf.no
Continental Divide? The attitudes of US and Canadian oncologists on the costs, cost-effectiveness, and health policies associated with new cancer drugs.
Oncologists in the United States and Canada work in different health care systems, but physicians in both countries face challenges posed by the rising costs of cancer drugs. We compared their attitudes regarding the costs and cost-effectiveness of medications and related health policy.
Survey responses of a random sample of 1,355 United States and 238 Canadian medical oncologists (all outside of Québec) were compared.
Response rate was 59%. More US oncologists (67% v 52%; P
[Free versus non-free treatments with laser and intense pulsed light in dermatology: distinguishing medical laser treatments to be provided free of charge from cosmetic self-payment treatments]
Lasers and light sources are increasingly used in dermatology. Due to the limited financial resources of the public health care system, the Danish Dermatological Society has developed recommendations for distinguishing medical laser treatments to be provided free of charge from cosmetic self-payment treatments. Several considerations underlie the recommendations: present legislation; the diagnosis, etiology, severity, and anatomical location of the disease; and the availability of evidence-based treatments. It is suggested that the recommendations constitute the basis for referring patients to dermatological treatment involving laser and intense pulsed light in Denmark.
The structure and functions of voluntary medical insurance (VMI) as observed in Orenburg Region are analyzed in the paper. The held marketing research pointed at problematic aspects of VMI as well as at short-comings in information support; besides, potential sectors of the market of medical services were defined, which are rendered on the basis of VMI contracts--they should be considered in the development of complex and individual VMI programs for the purpose of meeting, as full as possible, the demands of potential consumers as well as for the purpose of optimizing the financial and price policy of insurance medical organizations (IMO) in the market etc. Data that were obtained in the course of complex multi-field research served as a basis for elaborating advanced programs for the promotion of VMI in the territory of Orenburg Region as well as for working out proposals targeted at optimizing the VMI performance in the market of medical services.
