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Christian A Gericke

Publications and source records attributed to Christian A Gericke.

4 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

[Attempt to exclude invasive cardiology services in Poland--rationing, national sovereignty and European Union law].

One of the guiding principles of health policy in many European countries is equitable access to health care services. One of the life saving procedures is percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) performed after coronary angiography. Introducing payment for these procedures would limit access for low-income patients. Fortunately, despite political debate, invasive cardiology develops well in Poland. It is important to notice that within the European Union Polish citizens would be able to receive this treatment in other member states and, according to a European Court of Justice ruling, the costs would have to be reimbursed by the National Health Fund. The wider implication is that the 10 new EU member states now have to realise that health care is no longer a matter of national sovereignty - a fact legislators and health care managers in the 15 member states of the pre-accession EU are still struggling with.

Angioplasty, Balloon, Coronary↗
PubMed2005

Intervention complexity--a conceptual framework to inform priority-setting in health.

Health interventions vary substantially in the degree of effort required to implement them. To some extent this is apparent in their financial cost, but the nature and availability of non-financial resources is often of similar importance. In particular, human resource requirements are frequently a major constraint. We propose a conceptual framework for the analysis of interventions according to their degree of technical complexity; this complements the notion of institutional capacity in considering the feasibility of implementing an intervention. Interventions are categorized into four dimensions: characteristics of the basic intervention; characteristics of delivery; requirements on government capacity; and usage characteristics. The analysis of intervention complexity should lead to a better understanding of supply- and demand-side constraints to scaling up, indicate priorities for further research and development, and can point to potential areas for improvement of specific aspects of each intervention to close the gap between the complexity of an intervention and the capacity to implement it. The framework is illustrated using the examples of scaling up condom social marketing programmes, and the DOTS strategy for tuberculosis control in highly resource-constrained countries. The framework could be used as a tool for policy-makers, planners and programme managers when considering the expansion of existing projects or the introduction of new interventions. Intervention complexity thus complements the considerations of burden of disease, cost-effectiveness, affordability and political feasibility in health policy decision-making. Reducing the technical complexity of interventions will be crucial to meeting the health-related Millennium Development Goals.

Condoms↗
PubMed2004

Policies for disease prevention in Germany in the European context: a comparative analysis.

BACKGROUND: In Europe important differences exist concerning policies for the prevention of common diseases. In most cases these cannot be explained by the underlying epidemiology. However, successful policies should have a measurable effect on disease epidemiology. There has been little research comparing the effect of national preventive policies on disease-specific mortality. OBJECTIVES: To describe the mortality trends for three health problems representing the three levels of prevention in Germany and in selected European countries, which are of interest for the disease under question. To relate epidemiological trends to preventive policies at the national level and at the level of the European Union (EU). METHODS: Comparison of age-standardized mortality rates for road traffic accidents, cervical cancer and diabetes mellitus in the period 1970-2002, using routine data. Analysis of disease-specific prevention policies in countries that deviate from the general trend in the EU, with a special focus on developments in Germany. RESULTS: The development of mortality rates during the last 30 years for road traffic accidents, cervical cancer and diabetes mellitus varied substantially across Europe. Although the evidence linking specific public policies to epidemiological trends is sparse and often limited to ecological studies, a number of epidemiological changes can be plausibly linked to specific policies in the countries concerned. CONCLUSION: Successful preventive policies exist for all health problems reviewed. The current status of implementation of these policies can only be interpreted in the historical and political context of the countries concerned. The role of epidemiology to guide health policy decisions is under-utilized, as is the regulatory framework for disease and injury prevention at the level of the EU. Less formal policy measures such as European clinical guidelines are equally scarce. More rigorous comparative health services research is needed to formulate evidence-based policies for disease prevention.

Accidents, Traffic↗