Community care: the proof is in the program.
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OBJECTIVE: Previous economic analyses of tuberculosis control interventions have focused on the provider perspective. To assess the overall economic impact of the disease and the adequacy of current control strategies from a societal viewpoint, the determination of direct and indirect patient costs is required. SETTING AND DESIGN: In a cross-sectional survey, all adult tuberculosis patients who completed treatment between August 1996 and February 1997 at 16 randomly selected government health care facilities in Thailand (n = 673) were interviewed using a structured questionnaire. Information were obtained on direct and indirect patient costs before and after diagnosis, and on financing methods and changes in household consumption patterns. All results were stratified for three levels of patient household income: above national average, below national average but above the poverty line, and below the poverty line. RESULTS: Illness-related costs particularly affected patients with incomes below the poverty line (n = 153). In this group, average out-of-pocket expenditures for the disease amounted to more than 15% of annual household income, while incomes were reduced by 5 % due to illness-related effects. Expenditures were most frequently financed from household savings or transfer payments from community members and relatives. However, 11.8% of patient households took out bank loans, and 15.9% sold part of their property. CONCLUSION: The current low case detection and treatment completion rates for tuberculosis patients in Thailand may partly be due to the inability of poor patients to cope with the economic consequences of diagnosis and treatment. Suggested improvements include the strict enforcement of an existing government policy of free care, the further decentralization of services to reduce travel costs and work absences, and social security payments for patients undergoing treatment.
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This notice is to inform the public that CSAT and CMHS are making available approximately $5,000,000 for an award in FY 1999 to the Division of Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities, Department of Health and Social Services, State of Alaska to support development, implementation, and evaluation of a comprehensive, seamless system of care for persons with co-occurring substance abuse (including alcohol and other drugs) and mental health disorders in Anchorage, Alaska, and its environs. CSAT and CMHS will make this award if the application is recommended for approval by the Initial Review Group and the CSAT and CMHS National Advisory Councils. This is not a formal request for applications; assistance will be provided only to the Alaska Division of Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities. Eligibility for this program is limited to the State of Alaska, as specified in Congressional report language, in recognition of primacy of its responsibility for, and interest in, providing for the needs of its citizens, and because the success of the program will depend upon the authority and ability to broadly coordinate the variety of resources essential for full program success. The State has committed itself to moving certain mental health services from their extant institutional bases to community bases, and, simultaneously, changing from parallel systems of service delivery--for substance abuse and mental health problems--to an approach designed to deliver services seamlessly to persons with comorbidity. Alaska needs a high level of systemic competence in delivering these services due, in great part, to its climate (resulting in deaths of homeless comorbid persons), and to the requirements of its proposed systems changes. The proposed project presents a unique opportunity for SAMHSA and its Centers to learn, first hand, how the transition from parallel systems to a seamless system of care can be accomplished in a small city in a rural/frontier State, and at what costs. The project promises to yield learnings on the factors and circumstances that facilitate and/or retard systemic change in complex treatment systems. This "Anchorage Comorbidity Services" project is also part of SAMHSA's commitment to improving services, and relates directly to the resolution unanimously adopted by its National Advisory Council earlier this year. Funding from CSAT and CMHS will support some services to persons with co-occurring disorders; continuing planning, review, management, and infrastructure development for the effort; and a tripartite evaluation of the project, including process, outcome, and impact evaluations. This is a unique opportunity to evaluate significant change in a State system of care for persons with co-occurring disorders.
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Managed care today is being shaped by the emergence of a savvier, better informed health care consumer. Facing a strikingly similar consumer movement over the past two decades, the banking industry experienced a market transformation that holds important lessons for managed care. Nontraditional entrants in the financial services industry, offering focused "monoline" products and services closely analogous to "carve-out" providers in health care, targeted rising consumer demands and stronger preferences. Banks in time answered these formidable new competitive forces with innovative consolidation and globalization strategies. The most successful initiatives in healthcare, as in banking, will focus on satisfying the consumer's hunger for information, improved levels of service, and enhanced outcomes. Managed care plans may play a lead role in accelerating the impact of consumerism by bridging the disconnect between patients and their purchasing decisions.
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There are strong pressures for employers to pursue defined contribution health benefits with individual health benefit accounts such as Medical Savings Accounts (MSAs), Health Care Reimbursement Accounts (HCRAs), and Comprehensive Individual Medical Accounts (CIMAs). Health care consumers are becoming more assertive. The political backlash against managed care is eroding provider-based cost control mechanisms. Health insurance premium inflation is intensifying. Advocates of the movement toward individual health benefit accounts view them as a means of restoring autonomy to the physician-patient relationship and controlling costs. Opponents are concerned that individual health benefit accounts of any type will segment insurance markets, benefiting the healthy and wealthy at the expense of the chronically ill and the poor. Can these accounts be designed so as to achieve their positive effects and minimize negative effects?
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Despite wide state variation in commitment to home and community-based services (HCBS) for functionally impaired older persons, little is known about how such variation affects older adults' strategies to compensate for their functional limitations. This study examines the association of state HCBS expenditures with use of formal and informal personal assistance among non-institutionalized older Americans aged 70 and older with functional limitations. We conducted multilevel multinomial logistic regression analysis using data from the first wave of the Assets and Health Dynamics among the Oldest Old Survey, combined with data on state HCBS expenditures. Controlling for individuals' demographic, socioeconomic, and care needs factors, persons residing in states with higher HCBS expenditures were more likely to use formal personal assistance, but not less likely to use informal assistance. Our study suggests state variation in HCBS expenditures leads to inequitable access to formal personal assistance, especially among those with high functional limitations.
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Some dental educational institutions in North America have incorporated community-oriented programs into their curriculum. The purpose of this study was to investigate the potential for the clinical placement of Ontario's dental and dental hygiene students in community-based settings. Key informant interviews were used to collect data. The study group consisted of 15 key informants from 9 potential placement sites and 4 educational institutions in Toronto and London, Ontario. The textual data were analyzed qualitatively to identify important issues regarding a clinical placement program. Results showed that there is strong support for the placement of students in community-based clinics; however, the degree to which health centres can accommodate students varies. The majority would not set any limit on the types of dental services that students could provide as long as the services were within the students' competencies. Funding was identified as a barrier to the implementation of such a program, with most of the organizations not able to contribute financially. None would be able to provide sufficient supervision without additional funding. These results indicate that a clinical placement program would be a welcome addition to the training of dental and dental hygiene students, but that external funding for supervision and operational expenses must be available before a program can be instituted.
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