Latin America has been pouring money into healthcare, but the health of its people isn't improving as much as expected. Why is that? The answer might lie in how these countries use their resources. A recent study used a method called Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) to check the efficiency of healthcare systems in 23 countries across Latin America and the Caribbean. ...
Imagine waking up one August morning and finding both your arms in agony. It wasn’t the usual soreness from sleeping wrong; it was like your tendons were stuck in slow-moving mud. Sharp electric jolts shot through your fingers, sometimes reaching up to your chest. Holding anything was painful, even just resting your arms. Doctors seemed baffled. Days turned into mont...
Medical insurance fraud is no small issue. It's like a virus, threatening the health of insurance funds. To keep the system balanced and fair, we must tackle this problem head-on. This means looking at what causes fraud, how it happens, and what results from it. In China, researchers took a hard look at 180 fraud cases and reviewed 18 related policies. They used a t...
India is home to about half of the world's snakebite deaths. To tackle this problem, the country has rolled out a new National Action Plan. This plan has a clear goal: making sure everyone can access antivenom when they need it. It also focuses on improving healthcare systems and training doctors and nurses. Traditional healers are even being brought into the mix to ...
Imagine trying to figure out where all your pocket money goes. Now, replace "pocket money" with "healthcare budget" and "you" with "Australia's healthcare system. " That's what this new study is about. They've come up with a clever method called "cost mining" to dig into the costs of colorectal cancer care, from the first doctor visit to end-of-life care. This is cru...
When the COVID-19 pandemic swept across the globe, it upended economies, societies, and healthcare systems. But Denmark, a small European country, seemed to sail through with remarkable steadiness. This begs the question: what made Denmark's healthcare system and society so resilient against the pandemic's challenges? Let's dive in and explore the key lessons we can ...
In the vibrant landscape of Spain, a fresh focus is emerging around breast and gynecological cancer tests. Designed to detect individuals at risk, these tests are delivering more than just genetic insights. They’re also shedding light on the healthcare system’s responses. Talking to medical professionals and employing social science tools reveals a divide. Patients a...
Multimorbidity, or having multiple health issues at once, is a big challenge for healthcare systems worldwide. In the Netherlands, something called "care groups" were introduced to help combine different types of care for patients with chronic problems. But do Dutch general practice doctors really feel they can handle this integrated care? That's what this study want...
Breast cancer patients face a complex health system, making timely diagnosis and treatment challenging. Digital navigation tools can help, but finding affordable solutions in Malaysia’s public sector is tough. So, researchers at the University of Malaya Medical Centre (UMMC) created JURNI, a virtual app to guide patients through their cancer journey. JURNI is design...
In the US, the healthcare system can be a bit of a puzzle, with different health plans and policies that make it hard for patients to get the medications they need. This is especially true for people with immune-mediated inflammatory diseases (IMIDs), who need special treatments. We're suggesting a new way to make decisions about which medications should be available...