INTRODUCTION The USA lags behind other high-income countries in many health indicators. Outcome differences are associated with differences in the relative spending between healthcare and social services at the national level. The impact of the ratio and delivery of social and healthcare services on the individual patient's health is however unknown. 'Reframing Healthcare Services through the L...

Healthcare is an information rich industry where successful outcomes require the processing of multispectral data and sound decision making. The exponential growth of data coupled with a rapid increase of service demands in healthcare contexts today requires a robust framework enabled by IT (information technology) solutions as well as real-time service handling in order to ensure superior deci...

BACKGROUND The South African legal and policy framework for sexual and reproductive healthcare provision for teenagers is complex. OBJECTIVE The article outlines the dilemmas emanating from the legal and policy framework, summarises issues with implementation of the legal and policy framework in practice, and summarises recent changes to the law. METHODS In-depth analysis of the legal and p...

The Pharmaceutical Assistance Cycle (PA) is the basis for healthcare services through which pharmaceutical assistance and expertise can be implemented in a functional and structured way to meet public health demands, adhere to the Brazilian Ministry of Health vision, and strike a balance in the contemporary struggle for health equity. The aim of this research is to analyze the effectiveness of ...

An analogy is sometimes drawn between the proper treatment of conscientious objectors in healthcare and in military contexts. In this paper, I consider an aspect of this analogy that has not, to my knowledge, been considered in debates about conscientious objection in healthcare. In the USA and elsewhere, tribunals have been tasked with the responsibility of recommending particular forms of alt...

148. Antimicrobial Stewardship Practices Reported by California Hospitals —Annual Hospital Survey Data Submitted via the National Healthcare Safety Network, 2014 Erin Epson, MD; Kyle Rizzo, MPH; Sam Horwich-Scholefield, MPH; Lynn Janssen, MS, CIC, CPHQ; Healthcare-Associated Infections Program, California Department of Public Health, Richmond, California; California Epidemiologic Investigation ...

Coordination in healthcare networks becomes increasingly important to enable integrated care scenarios, to enhance patient satisfaction and to reduce costs of the treatment processes. A process-oriented approach for coordination in healthcare networks is introduced. It shows how interorganizational treatment processes can be supported by the concept of process-based e-service-logistics. The all...

BACKGROUND This study has a dual purpose: 1) identify determinants of healthcare service utilization for mental health reasons (MHR) in a Canadian (Montreal) catchment area; 2) determine the patterns of recourse to healthcare professionals in terms of frequency of visits and type of professionals consulted, and as it relates to the most prevalent mental disorders (MD) and psychological distress...

BACKGROUND The provision of mental healthcare through integration into primary care is expected to improve access to care, but not all population groups may benefit equally. The aim of this study was to inform delivery of a new primary care-based mental health service in rural Ethiopia by identifying potential barriers to equitable access to mental healthcare and strategies to overcome them. ...