Monday, June 1, 2009

[EQ] Modelling health care expenditures

Modelling health care expenditures

Overview of the literature and evidence from a panel time series model

 

Roel van Elk, Esther Mot, Philip Hans Franses

CPB Discussion Paper - No 121 - February 2009

CPB Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis - The Hague, the Netherlands

 

Available online as PDF file [37p.] at: http://www.cpb.nl/eng/pub/cpbreeksen/discussie/121/disc121.pdf

 

“… Health care expenditures in industrial countries have been growing rapidly over the past forty years. This rapid growth jeopardizes the sustainability of public budgets and causes an increasing interest in the determinants of health care expenditures. The first purpose of this paper is to give an up to date overview of the literature on health care expenditures. Secondly, this paper tries to contribute to the existing literature by investigating the impact of several factors on health care expenditures in an empirical analysis using an error-correction model.

 

Additional to the ‘usual suspects’ for rising health care expenditures, we pay attention to a somewhat neglected driving factor, which is the increase in the relative price of health care compared to other goods and services. We find that the increasing price of health care helps to explain the increase in real health care expenditures. However, the use of health care in volume terms is negatively affected by the increasing price. This effect seems to be stronger in periods of cost containment policy. Consistent with most recent findings in the literature, we find that income and ageing are important drivers of health care expenditures….”

 

Contents

Summary

1 Introduction

2 Overview of the literature

2.1 Introduction

2.2 Important drivers of health care expenditures

2.3 Conclusions from the literature

3 Data

4 Method and model

5 Estimation Results

6 Conclusions

 



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This message from the Pan American Health Organization, PAHO/WHO, is part of an effort to disseminate
information Related to: Equity; Health inequality; Socioeconomic inequality in health; Socioeconomic
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[EQ] Setting priorities for global mental health research

Setting priorities for global mental health research

Mark Tomlinson a, Igor Rudan b, Shekhar Saxena c, Leslie Swartz a, Alexander C Tsai d & Vikram Patel e
a. Department of Psychology, Stellenbosch University, South Africa.
b. Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Edinburgh Medical School, Edinburgh, Scotland.
c. Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse, World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland.
d. Langley Porter Psychiatric Institute, University of California at San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States of America.
e. London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London

Bulletin of the World Health Organization - Volume 87, Number 6, June 2009, 405-484

 

Available online at: http://www.who.int/bulletin/volumes/87/6/08-054353/en/index.html

“…..To set investment priorities in global mental health research and to propose a more rational use of funds in this under-resourced and under-investigated area.

METHODS

Members of the Lancet Mental Health Group systematically listed and scored research investment options on four broad classes of disorders: schizophrenia and other major psychotic disorders, major depressive disorder and other common mental disorders, alcohol abuse and other substance abuse disorders, and the broad class of child and adolescent mental disorders. Using the priority-setting approach of the Child Health and Nutrition Research Initiative, the group listed various research questions and evaluated them using the criteria of answerability, effectiveness, deliverability, equity and potential impact on persisting burden of mental health disorders. Scores were then weighted according to the system of values expressed by a larger group of stakeholders.


FINDINGS

The research questions that scored highest were related to health policy and systems research, where and how to deliver existing cost-effective interventions in a low-resource context, and epidemiological research on the broad categories of child and adolescent mental disorders or those pertaining to alcohol and drug abuse questions. The questions that scored lowest related to the development of new interventions and new drugs or pharmacological agents, vaccines or other technologies.

CONCLUSION

In the context of global mental health and with a time frame of the next 10 years, it would be best to fill critical knowledge gaps by investing in research into health policy and systems, epidemiology and improved delivery of cost-effective interventions….”

 

 

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This message from the Pan American Health Organization, PAHO/WHO, is part of an effort to disseminate
information Related to: Equity; Health inequality; Socioeconomic inequality in health; Socioeconomic
health differentials; Gender; Violence; Poverty; Health Economics; Health Legislation; Ethnicity; Ethics;
Information Technology - Virtual libraries; Research & Science issues.  [DD/ KMS Area]

“Materials provided in this electronic list are provided "as is". Unless expressly stated otherwise, the findings
and interpretations included in the Materials are those of the authors and not necessarily of The Pan American
Health Organization PAHO/WHO or its country members”.

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[EQ] Fair tests of health-care policies and treatments: a request for help from readers

Fair tests of health-care policies and treatments:
a request for help from readers

Andrew D Oxman a & Iain Chalmers b
a. Norwegian Knowledge Centre for Health Services, Oslo, Norway.
b. James Lind Library, Oxford, England.

Bulletin of the World Health Organization - June 2009;87:407-407. doi: 10.2471/BLT.09.066787

Available online at; http://www.who.int/bulletin/volumes/87/6/09-066787/en/index.html

“….Health-care policies impact on peoples’ lives. For example, a policy decision not to have publicly funded health insurance with universal coverage limits peoples’ choices to what they can afford. Those who make policy decisions are ethically and politically bound to make decisions that are in the interests of the people whom they serve. Evaluating the effects of policies is important because this is the only way of knowing the extent to which policies are doing more good than harm….”

There are three ways in which you can help us:

1. Provide examples of randomized evaluations of health-care policies
2. Provide examples of compelling evidence from non-randomized evaluations of health-care policies
3. Provide early examples of treatment evaluations

If you are aware of examples relevant to any of the three categories described above, please send us copies of them, identifying the key passages and providing a translation if the text is not in English, by post, facsimile or e-mail to: Bulletin of the World Health Organization Project, c/o James Lind Initiative, Summertown Pavilion, Middle Way, Oxford OX2 7LG, England. Fax: +44 1865 516 311; e-mail: feedback@jameslindlibrary.org. Your help will be acknowledged explicitly unless you instruct us otherwise….”

 

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This message from the Pan American Health Organization, PAHO/WHO, is part of an effort to disseminate
information Related to: Equity; Health inequality; Socioeconomic inequality in health; Socioeconomic
health differentials; Gender; Violence; Poverty; Health Economics; Health Legislation; Ethnicity; Ethics;
Information Technology - Virtual libraries; Research & Science issues.  [DD/ KMS Area]

“Materials provided in this electronic list are provided "as is". Unless expressly stated otherwise, the findings
and interpretations included in the Materials are those of the authors and not necessarily of The Pan American
Health Organization PAHO/WHO or its country members”.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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    IMPORTANT: This transmission is for use by the intended recipient and it may contain privileged, proprietary or confidential information. If you are not the intended recipient or a person responsible for delivering this transmission to the intended recipient, you may not disclose, copy or distribute this transmission or take any action in reliance on it. If you received this transmission in error, please notify us immediately by email to infosec@paho.org, and please dispose of and delete this transmission. Thank you.