OBJECTIVE: This study investigated a) the amount and types of out-of-pocket expenditures by patients for nominally free services in a large public hospital in Bangladesh, b) the factors influencing these expenses, and c) the impact of these expenses on household income. METHODS: Eighty-one maternity patients were interviewed during their hospitalization in the Dhaka Medical College Hospital. Pa...

OBJECTIVE To investigate the economics of lung volume reduction surgery. DESIGN Medical center and physician charges obtained from billing records. SETTING Academic health center. PATIENTS Twenty-three consecutive patients undergoing lung volume reduction surgery at a single institution who were discharged from the hospital prior to November 1, 1995. OUTCOME MEASURES Length of hospital ...

BACKGROUND Cervical laminoplasty (CLP) and posterior cervical laminectomy and fusion (CLF) are well-established surgical procedures used in the treatment of cervical spondylotic myelopathy (CSM). In situations of clinical equipoise, an influential factor in procedural decision making could be the economic effect of the chosen procedure. The object of this study is to compare and analyze the tot...

Introduction In France, GHM (French DRGs) have been used to fund the acute hospital sector since 2005, with extra per day for outliers or intensive care units, and specific payments for educational tasks, research and general interest. However, at present fees differ between for-profit and non-profit hospitals. But the law requires that fees must converge by 2012, with a 50% reduction in the di...

The Balanced Budget Act of 1997 mandated reductions in physician reimbursement. This reduction in payments could be envisioned to limit expenditures on 2 counts: first, individual fees would be lower, producing inherent savings. Furthermore, reducing fees should depress the incentive to work, thereby generating additional savings from reduced output. A rival point of view holds that lower fees ...

OBJECTIVES Vietnam started its health reform process two decades ago, initiated by economic reform in 1986. Economic reform has rapidly changed the socio-economic environment with the transition from a centrally planned economy to a market-oriented economy. Health reform in Vietnam has been associated with the introduction of user fees, the legalization of private medical practices, and the com...

Until 1984, when the Deficit Reduction Act (DRA) was passed, hospitals and their clinical laboratories were fully reimbursed for nearly all test analyses that were performed. The DRA established a Medicare system that indirectly pays for laboratory tests as part of a total-care reimbursement fee based on the diagnosis-related group (DRG) that classifies the patient’s clinical condition. Under t...

The cost of definitive therapy was compared in 25 patients who underwent radiofrequency catheter ablation of accessory pathways in 1990 and 25 patients who underwent surgical ablation of accessory pathways in 1989. In the radiofrequency group, 23 of 25 patients had a single accessory pathway and the remaining 2 patients each had 2 accessory pathways. In the surgical group, 20 patients had a sin...

Introduction Stroke is the second leading cause of death in the world [1]; 1.3-5% of these deaths are caused by aspiration pneumonia [2]. Dysphagia occurs in 50% of stroke cases; 60% of these cases can lead to silent aspiration [3]. This study aims to assess the incidence of aspiration and dysphagia in the Beaumont Hospital Acute Stroke Unit (BHASU), while discussing the use of the Beaumont Hos...