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...

BACKGROUND Self-management education is associated with improvement in quality of life and reduction of hospital admissions. Nevertheless, the data are insufficient to formulate clear recommendations regarding the type and content of education programs for COPD patients, and few data are available on knowledge of the disease itself. OBJECTIVE To test the level of patients' knowledge of their ...

Background. The aim of this study is to estimate the prevalence of insomnia in patients requiring admittance to short-stay hospital psychiatric units. Methodology. A descriptive observational study was designed with the participation of 16 units for brief adult psychiatric hospitalization in Spain. The Athens Insomnia Scale was the instrument used. Results. Four hundred and twenty-five patients...

BACKGROUND Community sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services are well placed to deliver abortion assessment services and early medical abortion (EMA), but comparative data on safety and acceptability from both settings are important for future service planning. METHODS Retrospective review of computerised records of 1342 women undergoing outpatient EMA (≤9 weeks) in a community SRH or h...

Application of certain economic knowledge and skills in the medical field could help improve organization and functioning of certain hospital departments. By analyzing the use of certain anesthesia techniques, bearing in mind cost benefits of using regional anesthesia, along with benefits for the patient (lower postoperative pain and more effective postoperative pain relief) we will try to demo...

BACKGROUND Use of available interpreter services by hospital clinical staff is often suboptimal, despite evidence that trained interpreters contribute to quality of care and patient safety. Examination of intra-hospital variations in attitudes and practices regarding interpreter use can contribute to identifying factors that facilitate good practice. The purpose of this study was to describe at...

BACKGROUND Despite Southern Norway is an endemic area for Lyme borreliosis there is a lack of data on Lyme arthritis (LA). In the literature controversies exist if acute LA can develop into chronic arthritis. Our objective was to identify and characterize patients with LA in Southern Norway and explore disease course after antibiotic treatment. METHODS Patients aged 20 years or older with art...

BACKGROUND The value of community-based cancer research has long been recognized. In addition to the National Cancer Institute's Community Clinical and Minority-Based Oncology Programs established in 1983, and 1991 respectively, the National Cancer Institute established the National Cancer Institute Community Cancer Centers Program in 2007 with an aim of enhancing access to high-quality cancer ...

This paper is intended as a report on some results of recent work in physical medicine and rheumatology in Switzerland. Since 1940 education in physical medicine, including medical hydrology and climatology, has been compulsory for all medical students. Thus there are chairs for physical medicine in all medical faculties; three of these are professorships, yet several institutes for physical th...