In an era of resource limitations, the problem of matching public expectations with health care provision will always be difficult. In New Zealand there has been recent debate surrounding the potential funding by the Pharmaceutical Management Agency (PHARMAC) of an expensive chemotherapy agent called Herceptin (trastuzumab). Taking the proposed funding options in turn, this article looks at the...

A pay for performance (P4P) scheme termed Quality Based Financing (QBF) was introduced in Norway in January 2014. QBF was designed as a pilot project for three years and covers all the public hospitals and public funded private hospitals. The main objective is to test the use of financial incentives to motivate the hospitals to increase overall quality and patient safety. QBF is based on how we...

OBJECTIVES There is concern regarding the possible health effects of cellular telephone use. We examined whether the source of funding of studies of the effects of low-level radiofrequency radiation is associated with the results of studies. We conducted a systematic review of studies of controlled exposure to radiofrequency radiation with health-related outcomes (electroencephalogram, cognitiv...

Increased information availability, timeliness, and comprehensiveness through health information exchange (HIE) can support public health practice. The potential benefits to disease monitoring, disaster response, and other public health activities served as an important justification for the US' investments in HIE. After several years of HIE implementation and funding, we sought to determine if...

Financial bottlenecks – budget shortfalls, irregular funding flows, lack of flexibility in the use of public revenues – are major challenges for countries as they strive towards providing universal health coverage (UHC). To help countries achieve sustainable funding for UHC, World Health Organization (WHO) economists are developing a package of technical support for health ministries, so that t...

Public health research makes an important contribution to Europe and its citizens. The collaborative study SPHERE (Strengthening Public Health Research in Europe) was developed in response to a call from the European Commission’s Sixth Framework Research Programme. It includes 19 partners in 12 countries, structured around the European Public Health Association and led by the UK Faculty of Publ...

The American College of Preventive Medicine Policy Committee makes policy guidelines and recommendations on preventive medicine and public health topics for public health decision makers. After a review of the current evidence available in 2016, the College is providing a consensus-based set of policy recommendations designed to reduce firearm-related morbidity and mortality in the U.S. These g...

OBJECTIVES Norovirus infections pose great economic and disease burden to health systems around the world. This study quantifies the investments in norovirus research awarded to UK institutions over a 14-year time period. DESIGN A systematic analysis of public and philanthropic infectious disease research investments awarded to UK institutions between 1997 and 2010. PARTICIPANTS None SETT...