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Biomedical subjects

R G Frank

Publications and source records attributed to R G Frank.

At least 163 records · Page 9Linked to original sources
PubMed1983

Depression among amputees.

A 35% prevalence of major depressive disorder was found in a prospective study of 65 amputees evaluated in a Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Department. The findings indicate significantly more alcohol abuse among the depressed group. Higher percentages of female than male amputees were found to be depressed and unmarried. The prevalence of smoking was significantly higher among those whose amputations were due to vascular disease rather than other causes (e.g., trauma). In addition to the physical care of amputees, their emotional needs and well-being merit serious consideration.

Adult↗
PubMed1982

Contracting state mental hospital systems.

The predominant approach to contracting state mental hospital systems has been to close individual hospitals. Such a policy creates conflict between state government and the affected workers and communities. Closing of hospitals has been motivated by an implicit assumption on the part of state policy-makers that there are increasing returns to scale in mental hospitals. The bulk of empirical evidence suggests that returns to scale are constant. Thus, in many cases one may forego the political conflict inherent in closing hospitals by shrinking them with no loss in economic efficiency.

Bed Occupancy↗
PubMed1982

"Freedom of choice" laws: empirical evidence of their contribution to competition in mental health care delivery.

Freedom of Choice laws have been forwarded as laws which enhance consumer choice and efficient functioning of markets for mental health services. The name of these laws constitute a misnomer, because they serve to force consumers to buy a specific type of insurance coverage. Nevertheless, under a specific set of markets conditions, the implementation of Freedom of Choice laws may increase competition and improve efficiency in the market. Empirical estimates are reported of the effect on prices of this legislation.

Community Participation↗
PubMed1977

Development of social behavior in an adult total isolate rhesus monkey (Macaca mulatta).

A 12-year-old female total isolate rhesus monkey was pretested with age mates and subsequently housed for 20 weeks with an infant "therapist" monkey. Daily observations during that period revealed a 24-fold increase in the probability of social behavior. Self-directed behaviors also increased significantly. Disturbance behaviors (self-slapping, self-biting, bizarre limb movements, etc.) remained unchanged. Although problems obviously exist in cross-species generalization, and are here considered, these results emphasize the importance of early therapeutic intervention as well as the need for a more comprehensive approach to both social and disturbance behaviors if the treatment of adults is to be as successful as the treatment of immature isolate subjects.

Age Factors↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Hospital ownership and the care of uninsured and Medicaid patients: findings from the National Hospital Discharge Survey 1979-1984.

From 1980 to 1984 Americans with no health insurance increased from 13.9% to 17.1% of the non-elderly population. Non-elderly persons covered by Medicaid declined from 6.2% to 5.6%. Previous studies of the share of the burden of uncompensated care borne by various provider groups present opposing findings. The National Hospital Discharge survey data presented here demonstrate that for-profit hospitals serve significantly lower percentages of uninsured discharges than secular or church-affiliated non-profit hospitals and public hospitals. The same pattern of differentials is observed with respect to Medicaid. On the whole the results of the survey tend to support the argument that private non-profit hospitals do indeed render greater public services in treating indigent patients than do for-profit hospitals. It must also be emphasized, however, that the results show all private hospitals falling somewhat short of the standard set by public hospitals in treating indigents. Thus, the continued shrinkage of the public hospital sector has serious policy implications.

Data Collection↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Metastatic hypernephroma masquerading as acute cholecystitis.

Renal cell carcinoma can metastasize to multiple anatomic sites. The metastasis may simulate certain disease entities depending on the location and particular organ involved. It is important to recognize that these metastases can present many years after the primary tumor has been treated. We present a case in which a primary hypernephroma was surgically removed and subsequently 13 years later presented with metastatic disease to the gallbladder clinically simulating acute cholecystitis.

Acute Disease↗
PubMedDate not supplied

The politics and economics of mental health 'parity' laws.

The enactment of the Domenici-Wellstone amendment in September 1996, which calls for the elimination of certain limits on coverage for mental health care under private insurance, is being hailed as a major step forward in the quest for "parity" in mental health coverage. Parity legislation is being introduced in a number of state legislatures and is finding new enthusiasm in Congress. In this paper we consider the efficiency rationale for these laws and examine their likely impact in the era of managed care. We conclude that although such successes represent important political events, they may offer only small gains in the efficiency and fairness of insurance markets.

Health Services Accessibility↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Depression in the workplace: effects on short-term disability.

We analyzed data from two national surveys to estimate the short-term work disability associated with thirty-day major depression. Depressed workers were found to have between 1.5 and 3.2 more short-term work-disability days in a thirty-day period than other workers had, with a salary-equivalent productivity loss averaging between $182 and $395. These workplace costs are nearly as large as the direct costs of successful depression treatment, which suggests that encouraging depressed workers to obtain treatment might be cost-effective for some employers.

Absenteeism↗