AIMS To analyse whether gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) was associated with increases in healthcare utilisation after delivery. METHODS A longitudinal case-control registry-based study of 579 women with GDM delivered in 1995-2001. Two controls for each case were selected from the Swedish National Board of Health and Welfare, matched for year of birth, year of delivery, and municipality of...

The discussion between general practitioners (GPs) and healthcare delivery organizations necessitates a common language. The presentation of the 4 types of GP’s activities, opens dialogue but can lead to possible misunderstandings between the micro- and macro-level of the healthcare system. This commentary takes 4 examples: costs reduction by P4, priority of beneficence or nonmaleficence, role ...

Easier and focused access to healthcare information can empower individuals to make 'informed' choices and judgements about personal health maintenance. To achieve 'optimum' patient empowerment, we need to re-evaluate and potentially re-design the processes of healthcare information delivery. Our suggestion is that healthcare information should be personalised according to each individual's hea...

The concept of e-health gains rapid and widespread international acceptance as the most practical means of reducing burgeoning healthcare costs, improving healthcare delivery, and reducing medical errors. However, due to profit-maximizing forces controlling healthcare, the majority of e-based systems are characterized by non-existent or marginal compatibility leading to platformcentricity that ...

conclusions with regard to the current challenges in iran’s health system, using risk-adjusted capitation as a primary healthcare payment system can lead to useful changes in the health system’s features. however, future research should focus on the development of the risk-adjusted capitation model. background when a country’s health system is faced with fundamental flaws that require the redes...

Invitation to Submit Abstracts REQUIREMENTS:  Research topic must have a cultural aspect / theme and address the objectives of the conference, which are to: 1.Identify the role of culture in the delivery of care in various healthcare settings (e.g., clinic, hospital, community-based); 2.Demonstrate whether healthcare information (both verbal and written) is presented in a culturally and lingui...

Primary healthcare offers significant benefits to Canadians and to the healthcare system as a whole. The Taber Integrated Primary Healthcare Project (TIPHP) was a three-year primary healthcare renewal initiative involving rural physicians and the Chinook Health Region in Taber, Alberta, Canada. The goal of the project was to improve healthcare services delivery through integration of the servic...

A hospital-based, prospective cohort study was conducted at the tertiary care university hospital in southern Thailand, between 1 November 2001 and 31 December 2003. The purpose of this study was to compare the various complications found in vaginal and caesarean deliveries based on the original elected intended mode of delivery. There were a total of 1,429 cases, 1,242 intended vaginal deliver...

The 21 century promises to usher in an era of online healthcare services, i.e. Tele-Healthcare, inspired by the emergence of sophisticated, ‘intelligent’ information systems/agents working in tandem with the Internet/WWW. Currently, world-wide healthcare delivery is undergoing a paradigm shift—patient centred services as opposed to provider centred services and wellness maintenance as opposed t...

The focus of healthcare ethics within the framework of ethical principles and philosophical foundations has always, in recent times, been the community, namely, the healthcare provider, the patient or, in research, the study participant. An initiative is thus described whereby a community of practice (CoP) model was developed around health ethics in health research, education and clinical care....