Health policy
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Review
Pharmaceutical supply chain in China: current issues and implications for health system reform.
This article discusses the performance and distortions of pharmaceutical market in China and provides some reflections and policy implications for currently implemented reform. ⋯ We conclude that the root cause of the market and government failures is that higher-than-cost drugs preferred by all suppliers. New drug pricing mechanism is the key to the current pharmaceutical reform and should be implemented in coordination with other health system reforms.
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Comparative Study
Patterns of health care use and expenditure during the last 6 months of life in Belgium: differences between age categories in cancer and non-cancer patients.
We analysed end-of-life care in Belgium to examine potential age variation in place of death, transitions between care settings, health care utilisation and public expenditure in the last 6 months of life. ⋯ Several aspects of end-of-life care in Belgium appear to be influenced by age. In view of ageing of the population, these findings can be of interest to decision makers.