The National Service Framework for Older People (NSF), published recently by the Department of Health in England, represents a major initiative to improve services for this group of patients. It describes an ambitious 10-year plan to address ageism, person-centered care, hospital care,...

Today, privacy is a concern for many individuals. The United States has followed the path of other countries in strengthening the legislation to protect privacy. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996 was enacted to provide improved portability of health benefits...

US employers are facing an unprecedented opportunity to contribute toward positive, disruptive innovations in healthcare. The convergence of major trends will enable employers to exercise significant leverage in controlling healthcare costs and improving quality. US healthcare is ripe for...

The 1999 reform of the Italian healthcare system has softened the effects of the 1992 shift to market mechanisms and competition within healthcare by promoting cooperation and partnerships among providers and Local Health Units (LHUs). In addition, it has facilitated the completion of...

Diabetes mellitus has considerable and increasing importance in England. The burden of illness is concentrated in ethnic minority groups and socioeconomically deprived areas. Evidence for effective clinical care has increased following the results of the UK Prospective Diabetes Study but current...

If the disease management industry succeeds in producing effective solutions to many of the problems besetting today's healthcare delivery systems (such as misalignment of financial and care incentives, poor customer service, failure to provide useful preventative care, and a dearth of empirical...

The health of the international workforce has been an increasing area of concern for the last two decades. Globalization of the world economy and rapid technological changes continue to change the nature of work and employment practices, exposing employees to new and serious health risks. These...

Hypertension and diabetes mellitus are significant and independent risk factors for cardiovascular disease. Antihypertensive therapy reduces cerebrovascular and cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in patients with hypertension. Tight blood pressure (BP) control [target diastolic BP (DBP)...

The increasing speed at which new knowledge is generated and disseminated means that we have to learn knew ways of handling this information. Instead of trying to remember information in case we need it at a later date, we need to develop the skills of finding, appraising and using information...

There is now conclusive evidence to support the widely prescribed application of disease management programs in heart failure care. These strategies result in significant improvement in many barometers of care, including admission rates, prescription of disease modifying therapy, and improved...