Private and Public Health-Care Costs

1972 ◽  
Vol 287 (6) ◽  
pp. 311-311
Author(s):  
Zhizheng DU

LANGUAGE NOTE | Document text in Chinese; abstract also in English.衛生保健制度改革之艱難,主要在於要在諸多因素發展勢頭的相互硑撞中維持衛生保健工作的良性發展。衛生保健改革目標的設定,應當着眼於現實,但又必須顧及長遠。為此,它應當是首先有利於為更多的人群提供最基本的保健服務,同時又 能有力地控制保健費用的增長,有利於控制疾病的發生。只着眼於開源或節流,或者只強調衛生服務組織自身的營運,都可能使衛生保健產生更多的麻煩。多方位的雙層或多層的體制是使衞生保健工作適應各方需要的理想構思,它包含多種雙層或多種多層的內涵。在衛生資源有限的情況下,配給是保證為更多的人群提供保健的有效措施,救援則是其重要的補充。現行的醫療服務體系與為最廣大的人群提供基本的醫療保健服務不適應,也與抑制醫療費用上漲的要求不適應,必需有較大力度的改革。衛生保健改革的選擇,必須是道德的,同時又是理性而現實的。Health care costs soar and become unbearable everywhere in the world. This is not only a problem faced by developed Western countries. It is also a difficult issue for the third world countries such as China. China's health care system needs reform. On the one hand, a great number of people have not been covered by any basic health insurance. On the other hand, however, critical care medicine in high-technology hospitals in urban areas consumes tremendous public health care resources for a very small group of patients. This essay argues that China should appropriately establish multiple goals for its health care reform, based on ethical and reasonable deliberations on China's actual health care situation.First, rationing is crucial in containing health care costs. Public health care resources are limited. It is impossible to satisfy all medical needs for all people at all times. This is especially the case for mainland China, where public resources that can be invested in medical care are scarce. An appropriate goal of China's health care reform should be to provide basic, not luxury, health care for the people. Some luxury medical procedures must be left to individuals for purchase through their own resources.Second, a basic level of health care must be ensured to most people, even if it is impossible to ensure to everyone. It is important for everyone to understand that providing the best care for everyone is practically impossible. The best a government can do is to provide some level of basic care. However, the goal here must be the basic health of all or most people, rather than total care for a small group of people.Third, an appropriate pattern of China's health care should be prevention-oriented and ordinary-treatment-oriented, rather than high-technology-medicine-oriented. Since the early 1980s, many hospitals have relied on high-technology medicine to deal with diseases and to earn more income for themselves at the same time. But high-technology medicine is not panacea, though it is extremely costly. Inexpensive medical prevention is often more effective than high-technology medical procedures.Finally, a rule of rescue should be established in society. Society ought to provide some help for those who need special expensive medical care (such as organ transplantation) and are not able to afford it. The rule of rescue guides our efforts in this direction. Society should organize and establish special foundations to help people in this regard.DOWNLOAD HISTORY | This article has been downloaded 21 times in Digital Commons before migrating into this platform.


Author(s):  
Punidha Kaliaperumal ◽  
Tamorish Kole ◽  
Neha Chugh

ABSTRACT Health-care systems all over the world are stretched out and being reconfigured to deal with the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Some countries have flattened the curve, some are still fighting to survive it, and others are embracing the second wave. Globally, there is an urgent need to increase the resilience, capacity, and capability of health-care systems to deal with the current crisis and improve upon the future responses. The epidemiological burden of COVID-19 has led to rapid exhaustion of local response resources and massive disruption to the delivery of care in many countries. Health-care networking and liaison are essential component in disaster management and public health emergencies. It aims to provide logistical support between hospitals; financial support through local or regional governmental and nongovernmental agencies for response; manpower and mechanism for coordination and to implement policies, procedures, and technologies in the event of such crisis. This brief report describes how 4 independent private hospitals in northern India had adopted the principles of health-care networking, pooled their resources, and scaled up 1 of the partner hospitals as Dedicated COVID-19 Hospital (DCH) to treat moderate to severe category of COVID-19 patients. It brings out the importance of a unique coalition between private and public health-care system.


2019 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 197-211 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kim Normann Andersen ◽  
Jeppe Agger Nielsen ◽  
Soonhee Kim

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to enhance the knowledge about the use of online communication between patients and health-care professionals in public health care. The study explores digital divide gaps and the impacts of online communication on the overall costs of health care. Design/methodology/approach This study focuses on online health care in Denmark. The authors rely on population data from 3,500 e-visits (e-mail consultations) between patients and general practitioners (GPs) from 2009 to 2015. Additionally, they include survey data on the use of the internet to search for health-related information. Findings The analysis of the Danish data reveals a rapid uptake in the use of the internet to search for health-related information and a three-fold increase in e-visits from 2009 to 2015. The results show that the digital divide gaps exist also in the online health-care communication. Further, the study findings suggest that enforced supply of online communication between GPs and patients does not alleviate the costs. Rather, the number of visits to GPs has not been decreased significantly and health-care costs showing a marginal increase. Research limitations/implications Further data should be collected and analyzed to explore the impacts of other institutional factors and population cohort on the digital divide and healthcare costs. Also, it is difficult to estimate whether the increased use of online health care in the long run lead to lowering overall health-care costs. While the internal validity of the study is high due to the use of population data, the external validity is lower as the study results are based on the data collected in Denmark only. Practical implications The study offers important input for practice. First, leaders in government might reconsider how they can control the health-care costs when opening online channels for communication between patients and doctors. Second, concerns about digital divide issues remains, but the study suggests that the uptake of e-visits does not widen the socio-economic, gender or age gaps. For health policy concern, this is encouraging news to lead to an increasing push of online communication. Social implications The dynamics of online health-care communication may lead to mixed results and unexpected impacts on overall health-care costs. Originality/value The paper offers new insights in the impacts of mandatory supply of digital services. The Danish push-strategy has led to an enforced supply of e-visits and a rapid growing use of the online health care without widening digital divide but at the risk of potential increasing the overall costs.


2003 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 125-148 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sherry Glied

Since 1999, health care costs have been growing faster than national income. This rapid growth has occurred as the ability of private and public purchasers to reduce service utilization and bargain for lower prices has fallen, insurers have recouped lost profits through higher premiums, and new technologies have driven up costs throughout the sector. Private insurance market responses to these rising costs may lead to reductions in the number of people with insurance and to increased fragmentation of the insurance market. Over time, technological change in medicine both increases costs and improves the quality of care. The challenge for public policy is to maintain insurance and some degree of equity in the face of these rising costs.


2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (Supplement_4) ◽  
Author(s):  
S T Oh ◽  
K T Han ◽  
W J Choi ◽  
J Park

Abstract Background The cost-effectiveness of both cholinesterase inhibitors and memantine by delaying nursing home placement has been supported by numerous studies. The importance of sustained pharmacological treatment in dementia has been relatively less recognized by public health policies compared to early diagnosis. We investigated the effect of the drug (donepezil, rivastigmine, galantamine, and memantine) compliance on the health care costs in newly-diagnosed dementia. Methods National Health Insurance Service (NHIS) database which covers the entire population of South Korea was used for analysis. Health care expenditure of patients newly-diagnosed with dementia in between 2012 and 2014 was investigated for 3 to 5 years. For drug compliance, we used Medication Possession Ratio (MPR) that indicates the percentage of time a patient has access to medication. Multivariate linear regression analysis including generalized estimated equation and gamma distribution was used for statistical analysis. Results We identified 252,594 patients who were both prescribed with cognitive enhancers and newly diagnosed with dementia. When initial MPR increased 20%, total health care costs decreased 8.4% (RR = 0.916, 95%; CI 0.914 to 0.916). Same relationship was shown with medical costs related to dementia, admission to a general hospital, and emergency room visits. When MPR increased 20% compared to the previous year, the total health care costs, admission to a general hospital, emergency room visits, and admission to a nursing hospital decreased. Conclusions This population-based retrospective cohort study provides evidence that patients newly-diagnosed with dementia who showed higher initial drug compliance or maintained antidementia drugs (Cholinesterase inhibitors and memantine) would benefit in total health-care costs. Key messages Public health care policies should not only focus on early diagnosis in dementia, but also recognize the importance of adherence to cognitive enhancers. To maximize the positive pharmacoeconomic effect of early diagnosis of dementia, it is important to sustain adequate drug compliance to cognitive enhancers.


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