Pediatric blood & cancer
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Pediatric blood & cancer · Oct 2009
An assessment of the current state of palliative care education in pediatric hematology/oncology fellowship training.
Despite improved survival rates for pediatric oncology patients, childhood cancers continue to be the number one cause of non-accidental death in children. Studies show that many children receiving end-of-life care, and their families, believe that physicians can improve significantly in the delivery of palliative care. This has led to the recommendation that increased palliative care training for physicians taking care of terminally ill pediatric patients is needed. ⋯ Pediatric oncology fellowship directors believe it is very important for fellows to learn about palliative care during training; however, currently the majority of fellowship programs do not have a palliative care curriculum and lack significant formal education in end-of-life care.
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Pediatric blood & cancer · Oct 2009
Health care utilization and expenditures for privately and publicly insured children with sickle cell disease in the United States.
There are no current national estimates on health care utilization and expenditures for US children with sickle cell disease (SCD). ⋯ Children with SCD enrolled in Medicaid had lower expenditures than privately insured children, despite higher utilization of medical care, which indicates lower average reimbursements. Research is needed to assess the quality of care delivered to Medicaid-enrolled children with SCD and its relation to health outcomes.