The Medical journal of Australia
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Review Comparative Study
Laparoscopic and abdominal hysterectomy: a cost comparison.
To compare the cost of laparoscopically assisted vaginal hysterectomy (LAVH) with that of total abdominal hysterectomy (TAH) under casemix. ⋯ In hysterectomy for benign gynaecological disease, the laparoscopic procedure costs the same as the total abdominal procedure. Audit such as this is important in patient management and in guiding hospitals in funding and bed allocation.
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To estimate the proportion of medical end-of-life decisions in Australia, describe the characteristics of such decisions and compare these data with medical end-of-life decisions in the Netherlands, where euthanasia is openly practised. ⋯ Australian law has not prevented doctors from practising euthanasia or making medical end-of-life decisions explicitly intended to hasten the patient's death without the patient's request.
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To assess the public's recognition of mental disorders and their beliefs about the effectiveness of various treatments ("mental health literacy"). ⋯ If mental disorders are to be recognised early in the community and appropriate intervention sought, the level of mental health literacy needs to be raised. Further, public understanding of psychiatric treatments can be considerably improved.