Physician Agency and Adoption of Generic Pharmaceuticals

I examine physician agency in health care services in the context of the choice between brand-name and generic pharmaceuticals. I examine micro-panel data from Japan, where physicians can legally make profits by prescribing and dispensing drugs. The results indicate that physicians often fail to internalize patient costs, explaining why cheaper generics are infrequently adopted. Doctors respond to markup differentials between the two versions, indicating another agency problem. However, generics' markup advantages are short-lived, which limits their impact on increasing generic adoption. Additionally, state dependence and heterogeneous doctor preferences affected generics' adoption. Policy makers can target these factors to improve static efficiency. (JEL D82, I11, J44, L65)

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The Use of Australian Health Care Services by Overseas Visitors: Some Data-Related Problems for Policy Makers

Australian Medical Record Journal ◽

10.1177/183335839202200204 ◽

1992 ◽

Vol 22 (2) ◽

pp. 51-55 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Simon Barraclough ◽

Carol McBain

Keyword(s):

Health Care ◽

Federal Government ◽

Government Policy ◽

Health Care Services ◽

Current Level ◽

Australian Government ◽

Policy Makers ◽

Australian Health ◽

Care Services ◽

Level Of Use

Very little is known about the usage of Australian health care services by overseas visitors. This is despite the fact that may visitors are entitled to treatment under Medicare due to the Federal government's policy of encouraging reciprocal health care agreements with a number of countries and the increased promotion of health care as an export commodity. It is therefore difficult to develop an overall picture of both the current level of use of Australian health care services by foreigners or to estimate projections of future demand. The absence of such data also means that it is not possible to be sure of the consequences of policies such as the easing of restrictions on medical visas and the promotion by the Australian government of a network of bilateral reciprocal health care agreements. In this article, federal government policy on the access of non-citizen visitors to Australian health care services is examined, various categories of visitors eligible for treatment under the Medicare scheme identified, and current methods of collecting data on visitors using Australian health services critically examined.

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Quality and accreditation in health care services

World Journal of Advanced Research and Reviews ◽

10.30574/wjarr.2021.12.2.0628 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 (2) ◽

pp. 539-543

Author(s):

Christos Iliadis ◽

Aikaterini Frantzana ◽

Kiriaki Tachtsoglou ◽

Maria Lera ◽

Petros Ouzounakis

Keyword(s):

Health Care ◽

Health Services ◽

Health Care Services ◽

Health Care Quality ◽

Quality Of Healthcare ◽

Care Quality ◽

Healthcare Management ◽

Policy Makers ◽

Care Services

Introduction: The quality of health care services is one of the most frequently mentioned terms and concepts regarding principles of health policy and it is currently high on the agenda of National, European and International policy makers. Purpose: The purpose of this descriptive review is to investigate the correlation between quality in health services and the promotion of health care quality provided by health services. Methodology: The study material consisted of recent articles on the subject mainly found in the Medline electronic database and the Hellenic Academic Libraries Association (HEAL-Link). Results: The clinical quality of services is often difficult to be assessed by "clients" even after the service has been provided. This is due to the fact that customers experience illness, pain, uncertainty, fear and perceived lack of control. Thus, clients may be reluctant to "co-produce" because healthcare is a service they need while they may not want it and because the risk to harm their health is prominent. In the field of healthcare management, patients' perception refers to perceived quality, as opposed to the actual or absolute quality that requires critical management. This is why health care managers face constant pressure to provide qualitative health services. Conclusions: Continuous monitoring of health care services for quality assessment is essential, hence, the evaluation of patients' perceptions of quality of healthcare, has received considerable attention in recent years.

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Older Adults’ Expectations and Experiences With Health care Professionals in Ghana

SAGE Open ◽

10.1177/21582440211040125 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (3) ◽

pp. 215824402110401

Author(s):

Paul Alhassan Issahaku ◽

Alhassan Sulemana

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Health Care ◽

Health Care Professionals ◽

Health Care Services ◽

Health Care Policy ◽

Policy Makers ◽

Care Services ◽

The North ◽

Care Health ◽

Make Health Care

By the year 2050, over 6 million of Ghana’s population will be people aged 60 years and above. Because of increased health challenges that accompany aging, older Ghanaians have health needs to address communicable and chronic non-communicable diseases. This suggests that now into the future, older adults in Ghana will have increased contact with health care professionals. The aim of this qualitative study was to explore older adults’ expectations and experiences with health care professionals to generate information that will shape health care policy and service delivery. Interviews were conducted with a purposive sample of 23 persons aged 60 years and above from the North and South of Ghana. The transcribed data were imported to NVivo software to aid with analysis of the data. An inductive approach ta data analysis was used, drawing from thematic analyses procedures. Three key findings emerged from the study. These include (a) noncompassionate care—health professionals were neglectful, inattentive, discriminatory, and stigmatizing toward participants; (b) disrespectful attitude—professionals showed disrespect by shouting or yelling, making participants feel invisible, or not distinguishing participants from younger patients; and (c) a better way to treat us—participants called for compassion, patience, respect, honesty, and priority attention from health care professionals. The study contributes to literature on older adults’ experiences with health care professionals and suggests to health policy makers and health care professionals to consider older adults’ care expectations to make health care services elder-friendly.

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Understanding the Patient Experience: A Conceptual Framework

Journal of Patient Experience ◽

10.1177/2374373520951672 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 7 (6) ◽

pp. 906-910

Author(s):

Patrick Oben

Keyword(s):

Health Care ◽

Patient Experience ◽

Health Care Services ◽

Health Care Quality ◽

Human Experience ◽

Care Quality ◽

Clear Understanding ◽

Policy Makers ◽

Care Services ◽

Definition Of

The patient experience is now globally recognized as an independent dimension of health-care quality. However, although patients, providers, health-care managers, and policy-makers agree on its importance, there is no standardized definition of the patient experience. A clear understanding of the basic concepts that make up the foundation of the patient experience is more important than a statement defining the patient experience. The fundamental nature of health care involves people taking care of other people in unique times of distress. Thus, the human experience is at the very core of understanding what the patient experience is. This article reviews a framework of the basic human experience of patients as they progress from being unique, healthy individuals to a state of experiencing both disease and health-care services. This novel framework naturally leads to a basic understanding of the patient experience as a human experience of health-care services.

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Health service provision for women 50+: the “Frauen 5.0” project in the north-east region in Germany

European Journal of Public Health ◽

10.1093/eurpub/ckz185.574 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 29 (Supplement_4) ◽

Author(s):

L Dini ◽

F Pruetz

Keyword(s):

Health Care ◽

Health Care Services ◽

Research Policy ◽

Health Care Provision ◽

Care Provision ◽

Policy And Practice ◽

Policy Makers ◽

Care Services ◽

North East ◽

Improve Health

Abstract Background A higher life expectancy for women in Germany coincides with shortages in health professionals. Besides gynecologists (Gyn), the main providers of ambulatory healthcare services for women 50+ are general practitioners (GPs), which are not providing any gynecological services. The project “Frauen 5.0” aims to identify strategies for improving health care provision for women 50+ in three north-east states of Germany by analyzing health system indicators and exploring the perspective of service providers, users, practitioners and policy makers. Methods Mixed-methods combined with participatory research including 1) secondary data analysis (Robert Koch-Institute and Zentralinstitut); 2) postal quantitative survey of all Gyn (n = 1.031) and of a randomized sample of 66% of GPs (n = 3.514); 3) qualitative interviews of women 50 + (n = 25); and 4) round tables with practitioners and policy makers. Results In Germany 25% of the population are women 50+, from which 41% do not use Gyn services. Users expressed the need that GPs/Gyn actively address women’s health issues during consultation. The survey (response rate 51% Gyn; 25% GPs) revealed a high willingness to collaborate among GPs and Gyn. Barriers and synergies in organizational, professional and user aspects were identified. Task-sharing between GP and Gyn, delegation to non-medical personnel and the introduction of financial incentives showed to be a key element to improve health care services for women 50+. Dissusion In the SDG era of “leaving no one behind” acknowledging and addressing the unmet needs of women 50+ is from a public health perspective an issue of utmost urgency as is closing the gap between research, policy and practice. Conclusions New strategies to improve health care services for women 50+ were developed by integrating the evidence from actual data in meaningfull dialogues between research, policy and practice. Key messages New models of health care provision are required to adress and improve the health of women 50+. Closer collaboration between research policy and practice can be achieved by participatory methods.

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