This article discusses methods of organizing and checking administrative data banks to increase their usefulness for research and evaluation. Examples are drawn from the studies using the Manitoba Health Services Commission data bank. The various uses of both manual and computerized checks are...

Claims data from the Manitoba Health Services Commission on all health care contacts during the 2 years preceding and the 2 years following gallbladder surgery were used to describe the histories of patients prior to cholecystectomy, and to assess surgical outcomes. The study is unique in...

Administrative data are becoming increasingly available to health care researchers across North America and Europe. Such data sources are generally thought to be useful for documenting health care utilization. In this report, data from the provincial health insurance system in Manitoba, Canada...

Information-rich environments in Canada, Australia, and the United Kingdom have been built using record linkage techniques with population-based health insurance systems and longitudinal administrative data. This paper discusses the issues in extending population-based administrative data from...

During the past several years, budget cuts have forced hospitals in several countries to change the way they deliver care. Gilson (Gilson, L. (1998). Discussion: In defence and pursuit of equity. Social Science & Medicine, 47(12), 1891-1896) has argued that, while health reforms are designed to...

A standard cost list is a listing of recommended costs for a selected group of services. Standard costs are used in economic evaluation studies to eliminate that proportion of cost differences between interventions that are due to cost differences between providers. In this article we provide a...

Comparisons of the health status of 1971 and 1983 samples of elderly persons in Manitoba, Canada suggest that while elderly individuals were living longer in 1983, their health was poorer. This was true in both age- and sex-specific comparisons and in comparisons made of individuals in the two...

Asma Abdullah is a corporate trainer and specialist in intercultural management, training and education in Esso Production Malaysia Inc., Kuala Lumpur. She designs and conducts training courses in the human resource area for both national and expatriate employees. She is also a popular trainer...

With its expanding economy, ambitious population, and location at the center of the Asia‐Pacific Rim, Vietnam has discovered an increasingly important need to develop its managerial talents. In both government, state‐owned enterprises, and the rapidly growing private sector, organizations...

Most organised development efforts in developing countries have historically focused on health care, food sufficiency, infrastructure, or technical and vocational training. However, the need to enhance concurrently managerial and organisational capabilities has been increasingly recognised. This...