Greece's health crisis: from austerity to denialism Kentikelenis, Alexander, MPhil; Karanikolos, Marina, MPH; Reeves, Aaron, PhD ...
The Lancet (British edition),
02/2014, Volume:
383, Issue:
9918
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Summary Greece's economic crisis has deepened since it was bailed out by the international community in 2010. The country underwent the sixth consecutive year of economic contraction in 2013, with ...its economy shrinking by 20% between 2008 and 2012, and anaemic or no growth projected for 2014. Unemployment has more than tripled, from 7·7% in 2008 to 24·3% in 2012, and long-term unemployment reached 14·4%. We review the background to the crisis, assess how austerity measures have affected the health of the Greek population and their access to public health services, and examine the political response to the mounting evidence of a Greek public health tragedy.
Navigation in surgery Mezger, Uli; Jendrewski, Claudia; Bartels, Michael
Langenbeck's archives of surgery,
04/2013, Volume:
398, Issue:
4
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Open access
Introduction
“Navigation in surgery” spans a broad area, which, depending on the clinical challenge, can have different meanings. Over the past decade, navigation in surgery has evolved beyond ...imaging modalities and bulky systems into the rich networking of the cloud or devices that are pocket-sized.
Discussion
This article will review various aspects of navigation in the operating room and beyond. This includes a short history of navigation, the evolution of surgical navigation, as well as technical aspects and clinical benefits with examples from neurosurgery, spinal surgery, and orthopedics.
Conclusion
With improved computer technology and a trend towards advanced information processing within hospitals, navigation is quickly becoming an integral part in the surgical routine of clinicians.
As avid users of technology, adolescents are a key demographic to engage when designing and developing technology applications for health. There are multiple opportunities for improving adolescent ...health, from promoting preventive behaviors to providing guidance for adolescents with chronic illness in supporting treatment adherence and transition to adult health care systems. This article will provide a brief overview of current technologies and then highlight new technologies being used specifically for adolescent health, such as artificial intelligence, virtual and augmented reality, and machine learning. Because there is paucity of evidence in this field, we will make recommendations for future research.
Summary Background There is widespread concern that the present economic crisis, particularly its effect on unemployment, will adversely affect population health. We investigated how economic changes ...have affected mortality rates over the past three decades and identified how governments might reduce adverse effects. Methods We used multivariate regression, correcting for population ageing, past mortality and employment trends, and country-specific differences in health-care infrastructure, to examine associations between changes in employment and mortality, and how associations were modified by different types of government expenditure for 26 European Union (EU) countries between 1970 and 2007. Findings We noted that every 1% increase in unemployment was associated with a 0·79% rise in suicides at ages younger than 65 years (95% CI 0·16–1·42; 60–550 potential excess deaths mean 310 EU-wide), although the effect size was non-significant at all ages (0·49%, −0·04 to 1·02), and with a 0·79% rise in homicides (95% CI 0·06–1·52; 3–80 potential excess deaths mean 40 EU-wide). By contrast, road-traffic deaths decreased by 1·39% (0·64–2·14; 290–980 potential fewer deaths mean 630 EU-wide). A more than 3% increase in unemployment had a greater effect on suicides at ages younger than 65 years (4·45%, 95% CI 0·65–8·24; 250–3220 potential excess deaths mean 1740 EU-wide) and deaths from alcohol abuse (28·0%, 12·30–43·70; 1550–5490 potential excess deaths mean 3500 EU-wide). We noted no consistent evidence across the EU that all-cause mortality rates increased when unemployment rose, although populations varied substantially in how sensitive mortality was to economic crises, depending partly on differences in social protection. Every US$10 per person increased investment in active labour market programmes reduced the effect of unemployment on suicides by 0·038% (95% CI −0·004 to −0·071). Interpretation Rises in unemployment are associated with significant short-term increases in premature deaths from intentional violence, while reducing traffic fatalities. Active labour market programmes that keep and reintegrate workers in jobs could mitigate some adverse health effects of economic downturns. Funding Centre for Crime and Justice Studies, King's College, London, UK; and Wates Foundation (UK).
The lack of significant improvement in people’s health status and other mounting health challenges in China raise a puzzling question about the country’s internal transition: why did the ...reform-induced dynamics produce an economic miracle, but fail to reproduce the success Mao had achieved in the health sector? This book examines the political and policy dynamics of health governance in post-Mao China. It explores the political-institutional roots of the public health and health care challenges and the evolution of the leaders’ policy response in contemporary China. It argues that reform-induced institutional dynamics, when interacting with Maoist health policy structure in an authoritarian setting, have not only contributed to the rising health challenges in contemporary China, but also shaped the patterns and outcomes of China’s health system transition. The study of China’s health governance will further our understanding of the evolving political system in China and the complexities of China’s rise. As the world economy and international security are increasingly vulnerable to major disease outbreaks in China, it also sheds critical light on China’s role in global health governance.
The Affordable Care Act is the most important health care legislation enacted in the United States since the creation of Medicare and Medicaid in 1965. The law implemented comprehensive reforms ...designed to improve the accessibility, affordability, and quality of health care.
To review the factors influencing the decision to pursue health reform, summarize evidence on the effects of the law to date, recommend actions that could improve the health care system, and identify general lessons for public policy from the Affordable Care Act.
Analysis of publicly available data, data obtained from government agencies, and published research findings. The period examined extends from 1963 to early 2016.
The Affordable Care Act has made significant progress toward solving long-standing challenges facing the US health care system related to access, affordability, and quality of care. Since the Affordable Care Act became law, the uninsured rate has declined by 43%, from 16.0% in 2010 to 9.1% in 2015, primarily because of the law's reforms. Research has documented accompanying improvements in access to care (for example, an estimated reduction in the share of nonelderly adults unable to afford care of 5.5 percentage points), financial security (for example, an estimated reduction in debts sent to collection of $600-$1000 per person gaining Medicaid coverage), and health (for example, an estimated reduction in the share of nonelderly adults reporting fair or poor health of 3.4 percentage points). The law has also begun the process of transforming health care payment systems, with an estimated 30% of traditional Medicare payments now flowing through alternative payment models like bundled payments or accountable care organizations. These and related reforms have contributed to a sustained period of slow growth in per-enrollee health care spending and improvements in health care quality. Despite this progress, major opportunities to improve the health care system remain.
Policy makers should build on progress made by the Affordable Care Act by continuing to implement the Health Insurance Marketplaces and delivery system reform, increasing federal financial assistance for Marketplace enrollees, introducing a public plan option in areas lacking individual market competition, and taking actions to reduce prescription drug costs. Although partisanship and special interest opposition remain, experience with the Affordable Care Act demonstrates that positive change is achievable on some of the nation's most complex challenges.
Summary Turkey has successfully introduced health system changes and provided its citizens with the right to health to achieve universal health coverage, which helped to address inequities in ...financing, health service access, and health outcomes. We trace the trajectory of health system reforms in Turkey, with a particular emphasis on 2003–13, which coincides with the Health Transformation Program (HTP). The HTP rapidly expanded health insurance coverage and access to health-care services for all citizens, especially the poorest population groups, to achieve universal health coverage. We analyse the contextual drivers that shaped the transformations in the health system, explore the design and implementation of the HTP, identify the factors that enabled its success, and investigate its effects. Our findings suggest that the HTP was instrumental in achieving universal health coverage to enhance equity substantially, and led to quantifiable and beneficial effects on all health system goals, with an improved level and distribution of health, greater fairness in financing with better financial protection, and notably increased user satisfaction. After the HTP, five health insurance schemes were consolidated to create a unified General Health Insurance scheme with harmonised and expanded benefits. Insurance coverage for the poorest population groups in Turkey increased from 2·4 million people in 2003, to 10·2 million in 2011. Health service access increased across the country—in particular, access and use of key maternal and child health services improved to help to greatly reduce the maternal mortality ratio, and under-5, infant, and neonatal mortality, especially in socioeconomically disadvantaged groups. Several factors helped to achieve universal health coverage and improve outcomes. These factors include economic growth, political stability, a comprehensive transformation strategy led by a transformation team, rapid policy translation, flexible implementation with continuous learning, and simultaneous improvements in the health system, on both the demand side (increased health insurance coverage, expanded benefits, and reduced cost-sharing) and the supply side (expansion of infrastructure, health human resources, and health services).
The typically accepted surgical procedure for cervical disc pathology has been the anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF), although recent trials have demonstrated equivalent or improved ...outcomes with cervical disc arthroplasty (CDA). Trends for these two procedures regarding utilization, revision procedures, and other demographic information have not been sufficiently explored.
The present study aims to provide data regarding ACDF and CDA from 2006 to 2013 in the United States.
The present study is a retrospective national database analysis.
The present study included 20% sample of discharges from US hospitals, which is weighted to provide national estimates.
Functional measures such as national incidence, hospital costs, length of stay (LOS), routine discharge, revision burden, and patient characteristics were used in the present study.
Patients from the National Inpatient Sample (NIS) database who underwent primary ACDF, revision ACDF, primary CDA, and revision CDA from 2006 to 2013 were included. Demographic and economic data for the procedures' respective International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification codes were collected.
A total of 1,059,403 ACDF and 13,099 CDA surgeries were performed in the United States from 2006 to 2013. The annual number of ACDF increased by 5.7% nonlinearly from 120,617 in 2006 to 127,500 in 2013 (mean per year 132,425; range 120,617–147,966); CDA increased by 190% nonlinearly from 540 in 2006 to 1,565 in 2013 (mean per year 1,637; range 540–2,381). Cervical disc arthroplasty patients were younger and had more private or “other” insurance, including worker's compensation (p<.0001). Mean LOS was longer for ACDF (ACDF 2.3 days vs. CDA 1.5; p<.0001). Routine discharge was higher in the CDA group (CDA 96% vs. ACDF 89%; p-value<.0001). The mean hospital-related cost was more expensive for ACDF (ACDF $16,178 vs. CDA $13,197; p-value=.0007). Cervical disc arthroplasty mean revision burden, defined as the ratio of revision procedures to the sum of primary and revision procedures, was greater (CDA 5.9% vs. ACDF 2.3%, p-value=.01).
Nationally approximately 132,000 ACDFs are done each year compared with only 1,600 CDAs. The number of ACDF surgeries performed far outpaces CDA by a ratio of 81:1 in the United States without a clear direction in the trend for utilization given recent fluctuations. Cervical disc arthroplasty revision burden was more than double compared with the ACDF revision burden (5.9% vs. 2.3%), which was not accounted for by patient baseline demographics. The etiologies of these findings are likely multifactorial and require further research.
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