In 2011, Americans spent $45 billion out-of-pocket on retail prescription drugs (1). Some adults reduce prescription drug costs by skipping doses and delaying filling prescriptions (2). Some cost-reduction strategies used by adults have been associated with negative health outcomes. For example, adults who do not take prescription medication as prescribed have been shown to have poorer health s...

The authors report the results of a project to reemphasize high quality, hands-on laboratory courses in the engineering curriculum while reducing their costs through the application of web-based teaching tools. The project resulted in substantial gains in productivity of faculty and staff, increased utilization of laboratory space, cost reductions in equipment, and improved quality of learning ...

Correspondence to Dr Stefan Toggweiler; [email protected] During the past few years, transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) has become a mature procedure, results have become reproducible and safety has increased. Nevertheless, the overall cost for TAVI is still higher than the cost for surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR), mainly due to the higher price of the valve. In thi...

The cost of prescription medicines has recently been rising faster than other healthcare costs.  This is also true for traditionally inexpensive generic medications that have long served as a fundamental healthcare safety net in the USA.  These changes increasingly present challenges for individuals to obtain common medications.  Owing to rising insurance co-pays, even patients who have prescri...

Background Panel tests are a predetermined group of tests commonly requested together to provide a comprehensive and conclusive diagnosis, for example, liver function test (LFT). South African HIV antiretroviral treatment (ART) guidelines recommend individual tests for toxicity monitoring over panel tests. In 2008, the National Health Laboratory Services (NHLS) request form was redesigned to li...

n engl j med 368;1 nejm.org january 3, 2013 6 requirement substantially burdens the religious beliefs of employers. Two courts have observed that the rule does not require employers to use contraceptives or even to approve of their use. It asks the employer only to make a benefit available, which the employee must then decide whether or not to use. Employers object, however, that they should no...

Floods, snow, $5.00 corn, $.50 calves, and a $55 fed cattle market—What is this, a list of reasons not to be in the cattle business? No, just a description of 1996. In addition to these factors, there has been consumer frenzy regarding outbreaks of E. coli and bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in the United States and Europe, respectively. All of these represent reasons why cattlemen need ...

BACKGROUND The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of a disease management intervention on rehospitalization rates in hospitalized heart failure (HF) patients. METHODS Patients treated with the TEACH-HF intervention that included Teaching and Education, prompt follow-up Appointments, Consultation for support services, and Home follow-up phone calls (TEACH-HF) from January 2010 ...