International journal of technology assessment in health care
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Int J Technol Assess Health Care · Jan 2006
Cost of home and hospital care for patients with cystic fibrosis followed up in two reference medical centers in France.
In France, new guidelines for clinical practices concerning cystic fibrosis came out in 2002, underscoring the need for early and intensive management of this disease. Because no recent health economic studies on cystic fibrosis in France were available, we conducted a cost-analysis study before the new guidelines were put into practice, with a view to a later study on the medical and economic impact of these guidelines. ⋯ The results show that outpatient costs were higher than inpatient costs, which could be related to the importance granted to home health care in France, notably for intravenous antibiotic treatments given for pulmonary complications.
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The aim of this study was to demonstrate the best way of identifying all relevant published health economic evaluation studies, which have increased in number rapidly in the past few decades. Nevertheless, health technology assessment projects are often faced with a scarcity of relevant studies. ⋯ A search in NHS EED, by means of the Cochrane Library or the Center for Reviews and Dissimination, along with a supplementary search in PubMed, is generally an appropriate, cost-effective strategy. However, because "cost-effectiveness" is not consistently indexed with Medical Subject Heading terms in PubMed, all economic search terms need to be used to fully identify the relevant references.
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Int J Technol Assess Health Care · Jan 2006
Managing urgent surgery as a process: Case study of a trauma center.
Industrial management principles could be used to improve the quality and efficiency of health care. In this study, we have evaluated the effects of a process management approach to trauma patient care. The major objective was to reduce the waiting times and increase the efficiency of the hospital. ⋯ Managing urgent surgical care as a process can improve the productivity and quality of care without a need to increase personnel resources. The focus should be on reducing waiting times and waste times.
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To calculate the costs of blood collection, testing, storage, and transfusion in Greece. ⋯ Blood has a significant cost to the health system. Policy makers and practitioners should encourage its rational use, build on current policies to further improve collection and distribution, encourage further volunteer donorship in Greece, and also consider alternatives to blood where the possibility exists.
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Int J Technol Assess Health Care · Jan 2006
ReviewEvaluation of the cost-effectiveness of drotrecogin alfa (activated) for the treatment of severe sepsis in the United Kingdom.
The aim of this study was to assess the cost-effectiveness of drotrecogin alfa (activated) compared with best supportive care in a UK cohort of adult intensive-care patients with severe sepsis. ⋯ Whereas the therapeutic cost for drotrecogin alfa (activated) appears high (at around pounds 5000 per patient) and the potential impact on the provider budget is considerable, drotrecogin alfa (activated) is clinically effective, represents a cost-effective use of resources, and is a significant advance in the treatment of severe sepsis in patients requiring intensive care.