In this article, we provide a practical and systematic framework to evaluate the cost effectiveness of health plans Research data indicate that cost effectiveness varies by clinical domain. Blood pressure control, use of aspirin, and influenza and pneumococcal immunizations are cost saving in...

Background and objective: In day-to-day practice, asthma treatment and self-management often fall short of the objectives defined by clinical practice guidelines. The objective of this study was to determine whether a population-based asthma disease management program, using broad-based...

Background: Success in treating hypertension is greater in clinical trials than in actual practice. To prospectively study real-world antihypertension treatment patterns, therefore, naturalistic studies are essential. Objective: The primary objective of the Caring for Hypertension on Initiation:...

The burden of chronic diseases is tremendous, and traditional methods of healthcare delivery are unsuitable for addressing these needs. Chronic disease management has emerged as a new strategy for chronic disease care, but a consistent definition has not been utilized. Our objective is to...

Epilepsy is a common neurological disease, which affects people of all ages. Patients often have deficits regarding their knowledge of epilepsy. Many of them have recurrent seizures, psychosocial, and emotional problems and report restrictions in daily living as a result of their epilepsy....

There is considerable merit in undertaking to shift disease patterns at the community level. Typical problems reflect difficulties in the application of community-based prevention programmes, rather than inherent deficiencies in the concept itself. Scientific issues bear as much on successful...

The 1999 reform of the Italian healthcare system has softened the effects of the 1992 shift to market mechanisms and competition within healthcare by promoting cooperation and partnerships among providers and Local Health Units (LHUs). In addition, it has facilitated the completion of...

The treatment of germ-cell tumours of the testis can be considered as a model for cancer management, representing public education, diagnosis and cure with long term follow-up. Psychosocial distress, fertility and secondary tumour induction can also be studied. The aetiology of this disease is...

Meningococcal disease may present as meningitis, septicaemia or a combination of the two. Generally, meningitis has a gradual onset, with fever, headache and neck stiffness as the most frequent clinical symptoms. In contrast, fulminant septicaemia may develop within hours, and is characterised...

The National Lung Health Education Program (NLHEP) is a new healthcare initiative which encourages the early diagnosis of and intervention in patients who are in the process of developing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and related disorders. COPD is primarily a smoker's disease....