BACKGROUND In 2003, British Columbia's PharmaCare programme implemented a drug reimbursement policy called Therapeutic Substitution, which required patients with acid-related diseases, primarily gastro-oesophageal reflux disease (GERD), to make a medically unnecessary switch from their prescribed proton pump inhibitor (PPI) to the cheapest available brand name PPI (Pariet, rabeprazole sodium), ...

background and objectives: many iranian public hospitals are faced with serious financial challenges such as shortage of income and heavy debts. nevertheless, many of the healthcare services are often remained unearned for not being included in the clinical records or patient bill, resulting in considerable loss of legitimate hospital in­come. given the limited studies in this area in iran, the...

BACKGROUND High drug costs due to supplier-induced demand (SID) obstruct healthcare accessibility in China. Drug prescriptions can generate markup-related profits, and the low prices of other medical services can lead to labor-force underestimations; therefore, physicians are keen to prescribe drugs rather than services. Thus, in China, a public hospital reform has been instituted to cancel mar...

BACKGROUND Studies have often ignored examining the role of community- and district-level factors in the utilization of maternity healthcare services, particularly in Indian contexts. The Social Determinants of Health framework emphasizes the role of governance and government policies, the measures for which are rarely incorporated in single-level individual analysis. This study examines factor...

OBJECTIVE To obtain better insight into the health issues of young adults with cerebral palsy. DESIGN Cross-sectional. SUBJECTS Two data sources were used: 54 adults with cerebral palsy (age range 25-36 years) and 48 physicians (members of the Netherlands Society of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine). METHODS Adults with cerebral palsy participated in a physical examination and a semi-...

BACKGROUND This study aims to investigate the differences in the utilization of healthcare services between patients with bladder pain syndrome/interstitial cystitis (BPS/IC) and patients without using a population-based database in Taiwan. METHODS This study comprised of 350 patients with BPS/IC and 1,750 age-matched controls. Healthcare resource utilization was evaluated in the one-year fol...

This paper analyses equity in health and healthcare utilization in Afghanistan based on a representative national household survey. Equitable access is a cornerstone of the Afghan health policy. We measured socioeconomic-related equity in access to public health care, using disability--because people with disabilities are poorer and more likely to use health care--and a concentration index (CI)...

background and objectives: outsourcing healthcare and the associated services has proven as an effective strategy for enhancing hospital performance and improving quality of services. despite, the concept is relatively new in iran, calling for studies investigating different aspects of the issue and its potential benefits. thus, this study was conducted to explore the impact of outsourcing mana...

Background Kenya introduced a free maternity policy in 2013 to address the cost barrier associated with accessing maternal health services. We carried out a mixed methods process evaluation of the policy to examine the extent to which the policy had been implemented according to design, and positive experiences and challenges encountered during implementation.   Methods We conducted a mixed met...