Editor's Spotlight/Take 5: What Does a Shoulder MRI Cost the Consumer?

What does a GP consultation cost?

BACKGROUND Demand for information regarding the cost-effectiveness of health care treatment options is growing. It is necessary to derive unit costs for services, such as general practice (GP) consultations, in order to inform the economic evaluation. AIM To review the literature, provide a description of the three key steps that should be followed in the costing process and to provide a meth...

Schizophrenia--what does structural MRI show?

BACKGROUND Schizophrenia is a serious mental disorder that affects several brain functions. MRI technology has enabled in vivo studies of brain anatomy in patients with schizophrenia aimed at understanding more about the disorder. METHOD This article is based on a search in PubMed on «schizophrenia MRI» and on the authors' own research and experience. We included structural MRI studies, carri...

What does treatment of depression really cost?

This DataWatch presents estimates of the health care charges for adults who are diagnosed and treated for depression in primary care. More than nine out of ten of these adults sought care for at least one nondepressive illness during the year following treatment initiation. One average, these conditions accounted for more than 70 percent of the total charges. Attempts to manage the costs of car...

What does it cost the patient to see the doctor?

Against a background of increasing demands on limited resources, there will be an emphasis on undertaking studies that relate benefits of an intervention to the costs that are incurred in their production. Patient costs are an important, but often overlooked, part of an economic exercise and include transport costs, loss of employment, and loss of leisure time. This paper highlights the theoret...

What Does a Negawatt Really Cost ? Further Thoughts and Evidence