Introduction Reusable infrastructure, systems and components created by one or more people and intended to be used by others, have become essential for many types of research over the last century, from microscopes to telescopes, and from sequencers to colliders. Over the past few decades, most of the interfaces to research infrastructure, and in many cases, the infrastructure itself, has becom...

We propose a definition of infrastructure resilience that is tied to the operation (or function) of an infrastructure as a system of interacting components and that can be objectively evaluated using quantitative models. Specifically, for any particular system, we use quantitative models of system operation to represent the decisions of an infrastructure operator who guides the behavior of the ...

Research indicates poor nutrition is a leading determinant of the development of chronic disease, and increasing fruit and vegetable consumption is one method for decreasing obesity. Many policies have focused on increasing the demand for fruits and vegetables through price reductions and coupons. However, without ensuring a stable supply, increased demand can continue to raise prices, crowding...

Introduction The Philippines implemented the Cheaper Medicines Act of 2008 to improve access to quality drugs. Thereafter, the government placed 5 drugs under maximum drug retail pricing (MDRP) and influenced pharmaceutical companies to reduce by half prices of 16 branded drugs, referred to as drugs under government-mediated access prices (GMAP). The effect of GMAP on prices of drugs carrying s...

UNLABELLED ANTIRETROVIRAL ROLLOUT IN BRAZIL AND THAILAND: Brazil and Thailand are among few developing countries to achieve universal access to antiretroviral therapy. Three factors were critical to this success: legislation for free access to treatment; public sector capacity to manufacture medicines; and strong civil society action to support government initiatives to improve access. LOCAL PR...

In response to veterans' needs in the context of recent deployments, the Veterans Affairs (VA) health system has increased the number of its facilities and caregivers and has pioneered changes in policy and programs. We review significant recent initiatives to improve access to behavioral health services in the VA health system.

The purpose of this study was to describe the development, implementation, and evaluation of an educational program in family medicine for general practitioners in Saudi Arabia from 2009 to 2011. A continuing medical education program called Family Medicine Education (FAME) was developed with 7 modules each consisting of 12-14 hours of teaching to be delivered in 3 day blocks, over 45 days. Twe...

BACKGROUND As no health system can afford to provide all possible services and treatments for the people it serves, each system must set priorities. Priority setting decision makers are increasingly involving the public in policy making. This study focuses on public engagement in a key priority setting context that plagues every health system around the world: wait list management. The purpose ...

T he nation’s best performing healthcare systems continue to improve efficiency and have the bottom lines to show it, judging from results of a yearly survey of integrated health networks. Improved occupancy, well-integrated information systems and strong margins marked the results for the 11th annual ranking of health system efficiency and performance by Yardley, Pa.based Verispan, a healthcar...