Dtsch Arztebl Int
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Legally mandated minimum hospital caseload requirements for certain invasive procedures, including pancreatectomy, esophagectomy, and some types of organ transplantation, have been in effect in Germany since 2004. The goal of such requirements is to improve patient care by ensuring that patients undergo certain procedures only in hospitals that have met the corresponding minimum caseload requirement. We used the case numbers published in legally mandated hospital quality control reports to determine whether the hospitals actually met the stipulated requirements. ⋯ The establishment of minimum caseload requirements in Germany in 2004 did not lessen the number of cases performed in violation of these requirements over the period 2004 to 2010.
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Clinical Trial
Breast cancer morbidity: questionnaire survey of patients on the long term effects of disease and adjuvant therapy.
Many women have symptoms of various kinds after being treated for breast cancer. It is unclear how frequently these different side effects of treatment arise. ⋯ Treatment for breast cancer has negative physical, emotional, and social effects on many patients. They suffer these effects to varying degrees depending on age, type of surgery, and systemic treatment.