Although modest, sustained weight loss can decrease the risks of morbidity and mortality associated with obesity, medical approaches to the treatment of obesity can be very expensive and time-consuming. Adjunctive use of appetite suppressants in selected patients and use of gastroplasty in...

The rapid expansion of disease management continues. A multitude of stakeholders and marketplaces are now involved in providing cost-effective quality healthcare for individuals and populations. To help you keep up-to-date with the very latest developments in disease management, this section of...

Objective: To develop a method of value analysis which would facilitate an objective comparison of available angiotensin II antagonists as antihypertensive agents, in order to provide an adaptable framework which would allow for future developments in new product introduction and changes in...

The effectiveness of disease management programmes hinges on a combination of factors, all of which are important to consider when selecting a programme for implementation. This article provides a brief overview of disease management programmes commonly found in healthcare organisations,...

Hypertension is an important modifiable risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Despite compelling evidence for the benefits of various treatment strategies and an extensive program of public and professional education, management of hypertension remains suboptimal with marked interphysician...

Components of disease management that are applicable to the development of services for bioterrorism preparedness and response include collaborative practice models, population identification processes, reporting/feedback loops, process and outcome measurements, patient self-management...

Patients now have a more active role in medical decisions than ever before. Their growing participation has influenced the health industry enormously, and is undoubtedly an irreversible trend. With access to abundant health information, patients are more informed about disease, diagnosis, and...

Despite recent advances in the therapeutic management of asthma, the prevalence, morbidity and mortality of this chronic disease continue to increase in most countries. The financial burden associated with asthma has received increasing scrutiny in the medical literature over the past two...