PubMed Health⌕ Search

SEARCH · PubMed Health

Results for “Voluntary Programs”

Explore indexed PubMed citations for clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health research. Read source abstracts and follow each citation to its original PubMed record.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 145 records · Page 8Linked to original sources
PubMed1980

Evaluating a voluntary second surgical opinion program.

Numerous problem areas were encountered in the evaluation of a voluntary second surgical opinion program. Some problems could be handled only on a conceptual level, while others require for their solution the integration of existing with new data sets. (1) Reliance on program participants to provide medical data was sensitivity tested and found to have minimal impact. (2) Program impact on hospital bed reduction was considered in the context of the total market and political environment in the region, and the anticipated duration of the program. A reasonable judgment was that almost the entire fixed component in the per diem cost of anticipated patient days foregone could be written off as part of the cost savings of the program. (3) As hospital reporting systems identify only average per diem costs, a methodology was developed to separate surgical from nonsurgical case costs. (4) Quality of care evaluation will incorporate a substratum of cases for which there exists a control group within the program user population. Outcome measures obtainable through survey interviews were identified.

Evaluation Studies as Topic↗
PubMed1990

The Pediatric Cardiac Care Consortium: a physician-managed clinical review program.

A voluntary physician-initiated and physician-managed clinical review program for pediatric cardiology uses clinical practice data and expected outcome to influence physicians to change their clinical behavior. The program offers a model for clinical review in situations where disease incidence is relatively low and physician performance is difficult to assess and evaluate. The program's major accomplishment is a collective pooling of data across cardiac centers that allows for statistical analysis and comparison not routinely possible at a single center because of sample size; a forum for comparison of different practice styles; and feedback to participants of actual, in contrast to anecdotal, results. The principles, structure, and format of the program can be applied to other specialty areas.

Cardiac Care Facilities↗
PubMed1986

In California, voluntary mass prenatal screening.

A statewide program in California to detect neural tube and other birth defects may revive enthusiasm for mass prenatal screening. Participation in the program is voluntary, but all expectant mothers are asked to sign a statement of "informed consent/refusal." So far California's program seems to be working well, but questions for the future include the level of participation, the possibility that normal fetuses will be aborted, the kinds of information given to women, and the elusive nature of free choice.

California↗
PubMed1998

The demand for health insurance by employees in a voluntary small group insurance program.

OBJECTIVES: This study examined the decisions of small group employees to enroll in prepaid plans offered through Healthcare Group of Arizona (HCGA), a state-sponsored and state-administered voluntary insurance program. METHODS: The study population included 653 potential employee enrollees who were offered the option of two health plans between January 1993 and June 1993, with 447 enrolling in one of the two plans. Data sources included two telephone surveys, HCGA administrative files, and enrollment application forms. RESULTS: The estimates of adjusted price elasticity were in the range of -0.12 to -0.24 for employees with prior insurance and were in the range of -0.42 to -0.51 for employees without prior insurance. The likelihood of enrolling in HCGA increased with log(income) and decreased with log(income) squared. The average income elasticity across income groups was 0.12. CONCLUSIONS: The results indicate that small group employees without prior insurance were more sensitive to the price of health insurance than those with prior insurance. Healthcare Group of Arizona health plans may have been viewed as inferior goods by high income employees possible because of their association with the Medicaid program.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

The early experience of a voluntary small group insurance program utilizing managed care plans.

HealthCare Group of Arizona (HCGA), a state-sponsored, voluntary health insurance purchasing program offering prepaid health plans to small businesses, became operational in 1988. This article summarizes the results from a wide-ranging evaluation of that program and discusses their implications. In general, enrollees were satisfied with their experience in their plans. HCGA did not appear to attract an adverse mix of health risks, and service utilization rates were consistent with HMO industry averages. However, these findings varied across health plans and the marketing approaches they adopted. Enrollment growth in HCGA has been steady, but premium subsidies may be necessary if HCGA is to substantially increase its enrollment of low-wage, uninsured workers.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1992

The community bioethics committee: a unique pathway out of bioethical dilemmas.

We believe that most bioethics committees as well as individual ethics consultants have major shortcomings in that they are unlikely to be open to serving the widest number of citizens who may need their services when facing bioethical dilemmas. The HDCC serves as a community resource, is open to all citizens, is free standing, and provides a wide variety of perspectives which can assist patients, their families, and healthcare providers to explore a range of values and options. The HDCC serves as a model for communities that seek to establish a bioethics resource. Further, the HDCC model permits the further exploration of ways in which important healthcare issues can be faced. AHD believes, in keeping with its mission, that the creation of the HDCC can increase the public's awareness of and involvement in healthcare issues. As B. Jennings reminds us, The mission of community health decisions projects is to stimulate a well-informed conversation where many voices are heard and all reasonable perspectives given due consideration. They not only inform, but also enable responsible civic participation and thoughtful health care decisionmaking. The HDCC model can serve to bring discussions on bioethical dilemmas out of secrecy into safer, yet more open, community fora.

Arizona↗
PubMed1990

International behavioral responses to a health hazard: AIDS.

This paper expands on Jonathan Mann's third wave of the AIDS pandemic: the epidemic of economic, social, political, and cultural reaction and response to the HIV infection and to AIDS. This worldwide epidemic is a major economic challenge, especially in Third World countries, which can ill afford additional health care costs. AIDS is also a harbinger of political and cultural conflicts between and among nations, states, institutions, and people everywhere. It may ultimately transform law as radically as it has health care practices. In terms of management, it is possible to approach AIDS much as we do natural and technological hazards. The biology and epidemiology of AIDS require a coordinated attack, involving research on vaccines and drugs, modification of human behavior and education of populations to arrest the disease. All of these require money, of which the United States was the major contributor before the Reagan years. Funding to the United Nations and WHO has since languished, jeopardizing the AIDS efforts of those two organizations.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed1998

An epidemiological and economic simulation model to evaluate the spread and control of infectious bovine rhinotracheitis in The Netherlands.

Bovine herpesvirus type I (BHV1), causing infectious bovine rhinotracheitis (IBR), was introduced in the Netherlands in 1971. In 1993, about 42% of the dairy cows had antibodies against BHV1. In the future, stricter requirements are anticipated regarding the health status of exported breeding cows and material. To support policymakers in their decisions on IBR eradication, a simulation model was developed in which the epidemiological and economic consequences of various control strategies were evaluated. This paper describes the model and provides an overview of some important outcomes. In the model, dairy herds were classified into different disease states based on (1) the reproduction ratio of the disease (R, defined as the number of secondary cases caused by one infectious animal) (2) the within-herd prevalence, within each value of R and (3) the expected number of infectious animals in an infectious herd within each prevalence range. The dynamic transition probability of a herd going from one state to another per week depends on direct contacts between animals, and other contacts such as transmission through fomites, indirect transmission through other species, airborne transmission and minor disease-specific routes such as venereal or iatrogenic transmission. Five control strategies, including both a voluntary vaccination program and a compulsory vaccination program for all dairy herds were evaluated. A voluntary vaccination program with 50% participation is not expected to lead to eradication of IBR. It appears that compulsory vaccination would be necessary to reach an IBR-free status.

Animals↗