Regionalization refers to the creation of an intermediary administrative and governance structure (often referred to as a regional health authority or board) that assumes respon sibility for organizing and delivering health care services to a defined population. The formation of a regional health board shifts the responsibility for decisions about funding and allocating health care resources aw...

Background While recommendations for the optimal distribution of surgical services in high-income countries (HICs) exist, it is unclear how these translate to resource-limited settings. Given the significant shortage and maldistribution of surgical workforce and infrastructure in many low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), the optimal role of decentralization versus regionalization (ce...

This article examines the impact of EU enlargement on regionalization in the Czech Republic. It asks whether pre-accession preparations for EU regional policy have promoted regionalization and governmental decentralization in the Czech Republic, a question prompted by the debate about EU regional policy and regionalization in the current Member States. After reviewing Czech preparations for EU ...

Two of the most important current dimensions of health planning and administration in the Republic of Slovenia are the regionalization of its health services and the recent amalgamation of its health insurance programs for workers and farmers. Slovenian health services and health insurance programs first were organized in the post-war government on a regional basis in 1951. Separate health insu...

Efforts at cost containment through regionalization have led to reduced services in several rural emergency departments (EDs) in Canada. As a result, questions have been raised about patient safety and equitable access to care, compelling physicians to advocate for their patients. Few published reports on physicians’ advocacy experiences pertaining to rural EDs exist. We describe our experience...

The empirical association between high hospital procedure volume and lower mortality rates has led to recommendations for the regionalization of complex surgical procedures. While regionalization may improve outcomes, it also reduces market competition, which has been found to lower prices and improve health care quality. This study estimates the potential net benefits of regionalizing the Whip...

Background: Pediatric medicine in Iran has been known as a specialty for more than 50 years; nevertheless, the neonatal-perinatal medicine is still in the first decades of its life. Regarding this, the present study was conducted toprovide an overall view of the current situation of the neonatal medicine, its challenges, and prospects in Iran.Methods: For the purpose of the study, a questionnai...

Regionalization of the cerebral cortex is thought to involve two phases: an early regionalization phase and a later refinement phase. It has been shown that early regionalization of the neocortex does not require thalamic inputs and is regulated by intrinsic factors. Recently, two such intrinsic factors, Pax6 and Emx2, have been identified. In this study, we identified COUP-TFI as a regulatory ...