Health affairs
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Access to care for racial and ethnic minority groups, low-income populations, and the un- and underinsured has been problematic despite expansion in the health workforce. Workforce policies that improve access to care are needed, as is funding to support them. Reviewing evidence related to providers' patterns of service to the underserved, this paper concludes that underrepresented minority health professionals have consistently been more likely than those from low socioeconomic backgrounds or the National Health Service Corps to deliver health care to the underserved. These findings have implications for policies and programs that might leverage the workforce to better meet the needs of disadvantaged patients.
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The health benefits and costs of a national diabetes screening and prevention scenario are estimated among Australians ages 45-74. The Australian Diabetes Cost-Benefit Model is used to compare baseline and scenario outcomes from 2000 to 2010. ⋯ A total of 115,000 people became "newly diagnosed." Among those deemed at high risk, 53,000 avoided developing diabetes by 2010. Average yearly intervention and incremental treatment cost was AU$179 million, with a cost per disability-adjusted life-year of AU$50,000.
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Although physicians have been described as "reluctant partners" in reporting medical errors, this survey of 1,082 U. S. physicians found that most were willing to share their knowledge about harmful errors and near misses with their institutions and wanted to hear about innovations to prevent common errors. ⋯ Thus, much important information remains invisible to institutions and the health care system. Efforts to promote error reporting might not reach their potential unless physicians become more effectively engaged in reporting errors at their institutions.
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Comparative Study
International prices and availability of pharmaceuticals in 2005.
This paper compares pharmaceutical spending, availability, use, and prices in twelve countries in 2005. Drug spending per capita was higher in the United States than in other countries. The United States had relatively high use of new drugs and high-strength formulations; other countries used more of older drugs and weaker formulations. ⋯ S. manufacturer prices, but only 10-30 percent lower than U. S. public prices. Generics are cheaper in the United States than in other countries.
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In 2006, U. S. health care spending increased 6.7 percent to $2.1 trillion, or $7,026 per person. ⋯ Most of the other major health care services and public payers experienced slower growth in 2006 than in prior years. The implementation of Medicare Part D caused a major shift in the distribution of payers for prescription drugs, as Medicare played a larger role in drug purchases than it had before.