Investing in Health

Investing in Health
Author: Irina Farquhar
Publisher: Elsevier
Total Pages: 476
Release: 2001-08-31
Genre: Juvenile Nonfiction
ISBN: 9780762306978

Public health has, for many years, been concerned with efforts to increase the efficiency of health care delivery, to measure changes in health care resource utilization and associated costs, and to link these changes to different types of interventions. These efforts, as well as collaboration between biopharmaceutical organizations, producers of medical devices, and managed care and public health organizations, have been enhanced by the opportunities created within the fast growing field of outcomes research. This volume presents studies contributing to the enhancement of the outcomes research paradigm by incorporating economic and social interactions within the health care delivery, clinical decision-making and outcomes systems. A multidisciplinary team of scientists in the fields of outcomes research, pharmacoeconomics, public health, health services research, and health economics address such complex problems as: benefits and cost of advancements in genetic technologies; methodologies for constructing health care utilization and cost estimates; and the effect of insurance type on resource utilization and health outcomes. Other studies consider both the types of drugs purchased and the prices paid, pharmaceutical spending and health outcomes, incremental advantages of newer treatments, willingness to pay measurements, disease-specific impacts on human capital and quality of life, and modelling clinical trial results. One of the most important findings in this book is the description of the role of low energy in the symptomatology of depression and its strong relationship with absenteeism, work productivity and social functioning. Another paper documents the disease-specific mortality, case-fatality and annual health care utilization in diabetics and establishes the association of respiratory conditions with elevated mortality among diabetics. The work contains other papers which provide significant results in cardiovascular, infectious, central nervous system disease areas as well as in quality of life and health outcomes measurements.

The Clinical and Ethical Practice of Neuromodulation – Deep Brain Stimulation and Beyond

The Clinical and Ethical Practice of Neuromodulation – Deep Brain Stimulation and Beyond
Author: Markus Christen
Publisher: Frontiers Media SA
Total Pages: 84
Release: 2018-01-15
Genre:
ISBN: 2889453731

Neuromodulation is among the fastest-growing areas of medicine, involving many diverse specialties and affecting hundreds of thousands of patients with numerous disorders worldwide. It can briefly be described as the science of how electrical, chemical, and mechanical interventions can modulate the nervous system function. A prominent example of neuromodulation is deep brain stimulation (DBS), an intervention that reflects a fundamental shift in the understanding of neurological and psychiatric diseases: namely as resulting from a dysfunctional activity pattern in a defined neuronal network that can be normalized by targeted stimulation. The application of DBS has grown remarkably and more than 130,000 patients worldwide have obtained a DBS intervention in the past 30 years—most of them for treating movement disorders. This Frontiers Research Topics provides an overview on the current discussion beyond basic research in DBS and other brain stimulation technologies. Researchers from various disciplines, who are working on broader clinical, ethical and social issues related to DBS and related neuromodulation technologies, have contributed to this research topic.

Beyond Assessment of Quality of Life in Schizophrenia

Beyond Assessment of Quality of Life in Schizophrenia
Author: A. George Awad
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 226
Release: 2016-06-14
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 331930061X

This book fills a significant research gap in how to integrate quality of life data into relevant clinical care plans, and to broaden its applicability to pharmacoeconomic studies of antipsychotic medications and health policy decision-making. It also presents an argument for reformulating the concept of health-related quality of life in schizophrenia as a bio-psycho-social construct, which provides an opportunity to better explore the many factors underpinning the concept itself. Internationally renowned experts from different scientific backgrounds and scopes of expertise each make arguments for the need to invigorate quality of life as a concept in schizophrenia, by broadening its usefulness for clinical and research efforts. The book represents an important addition to the extensive contributions of its editors, Dr. A. George Awad and Dr. Lakshmi N.P. Voruganti, to the field of quality of life.

Beyond Madness

Beyond Madness
Author: Rachel A. Pruchno
Publisher: JHU Press
Total Pages: 221
Release: 2022-04-26
Genre: Psychology
ISBN: 1421441446

Reveals proven solutions for bettering the lives of people with serious mental illness, their families, and their communities. Leading scientist and gifted storyteller Rachel A. Pruchno, PhD, was shocked to encounter misinformation, ignorance, and intolerance when she sought to help her daughter, newly diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Turning to the scientific literature, Dr. Pruchno eventually found solutions, but she realized many others would need help to understand the highly technical writing and conflicting findings. In Beyond Madness—part memoir, part history, and part empathetic guide—Dr. Pruchno draws on her decades as a mental health professional, her own family's experiences with mental illness, and extensive interviews with people with serious mental illness to discuss how individuals live with these illnesses, including bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and major depression. The book • presents real-world vignettes that vividly describe what it is like to experience some of the most troubling symptoms of a severe mental illness • offers practical advice for how individuals, family members, and communities can help people with a serious mental illness • explains how people with mental illness can find competent health care providers, identify treatment regimens, overcome obstacles to treatment, cope with stigma, and make decisions • provides insight into programs, such as Crisis Intervention Training, that can help people undergoing mental health crisis avoid jail and get the treatment they need • takes aim at the popular concept of "rock bottom" and reveals why this is such a harmful and simplistic approach • advocates for evidence-based care • documents examples of communities that have embraced successful strategies for promoting recovery • shows that people with serious mental illnesses can live productive lives Meticulously researched and engagingly written, Beyond Madness is a call to action and a promise of hope for everyone who cares about and interacts with the millions of people who have serious mental illness. Family members, friends, teachers, police, primary care doctors, and clergy—people who recognize that something is wrong but don't know how to help—will find the book's practical advice invaluable.

Placebo and Nocebo Effects in Psychiatry and Beyond

Placebo and Nocebo Effects in Psychiatry and Beyond
Author: Paul Enck
Publisher: Frontiers Media SA
Total Pages: 398
Release: 2020-10-08
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 2889660486

This eBook is a collection of articles from a Frontiers Research Topic. Frontiers Research Topics are very popular trademarks of the Frontiers Journals Series: they are collections of at least ten articles, all centered on a particular subject. With their unique mix of varied contributions from Original Research to Review Articles, Frontiers Research Topics unify the most influential researchers, the latest key findings and historical advances in a hot research area! Find out more on how to host your own Frontiers Research Topic or contribute to one as an author by contacting the Frontiers Editorial Office: frontiersin.org/about/contact.

Psychological Approaches to Cancer Care

Psychological Approaches to Cancer Care
Author: Teresa L. Deshields
Publisher: Hogrefe Publishing GmbH
Total Pages: 94
Release: 2022-06-13
Genre: Psychology
ISBN: 1616765119

A comprehensive, evidence-based guide to the role of psychology in cancer care Multidisciplinary authors provide a holistic overview Details the key principles and models of cancer-related distress Guides through assessment and treatment Illustrated with case studies Printable tools for clinical use More about the book Psychosocial oncology is a health psychology specialty that focuses on the psychological, behavioral, emotional, and social challenges faced by patients with cancer and their loved ones. Cancer can cause significant distress, and psychosocial interventions are known to be effective for helping patients and families navigate the many issues that can arise at any stage of the cancer continuum. This volume provides psychologists, physicians, social workers, and other health care providers with practical and evidence-based guidance on the delivery of psychological interventions to patients with cancer. The multidisciplinary team of authors succinctly present the key principles, history, and theoretical models of cancer-related distress and explore clinical assessment and interventions in cancer care, in particular psychological and psychiatric treatments, multidisciplinary care management, and supportive interventions. Case vignettes provide clear insights into diagnostic processes and treatment planning, and printable handouts and screening tools are invaluable for practitioners.

Selected Health Conditions and Likelihood of Improvement with Treatment

Selected Health Conditions and Likelihood of Improvement with Treatment
Author: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
Publisher: National Academies Press
Total Pages: 319
Release: 2020-07-12
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 0309670950

The Social Security Administration (SSA) administers two programs that provide disability benefits: the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) program and the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program. SSDI provides disability benefits to people (under the full retirement age) who are no longer able to work because of a disabling medical condition. SSI provides income assistance for disabled, blind, and aged people who have limited income and resources regardless of their prior participation in the labor force. Both programs share a common disability determination process administered by SSA and state agencies as well as a common definition of disability for adults: "the inability to engage in any substantial gainful activity by reason of any medically determinable physical or mental impairment which can be expected to result in death or which has lasted or can be expected to last for a continuous period of not less than 12 months." Disabled workers might receive either SSDI benefits or SSI payments, or both, depending on their recent work history and current income and assets. Disabled workers might also receive benefits from other public programs such as workers' compensation, which insures against work-related illness or injuries occurring on the job, but those other programs have their own definitions and eligibility criteria. Selected Health Conditions and Likelihood of Improvement with Treatment identifies and defines the professionally accepted, standard measurements of outcomes improvement for medical conditions. This report also identifies specific, long-lasting medical conditions for adults in the categories of mental health disorders, cancers, and musculoskeletal disorders. Specifically, these conditions are disabling for a length of time, but typically don't result in permanently disabling limitations; are responsive to treatment; and after a specific length of time of treatment, improve to the point at which the conditions are no longer disabling.

Life Over Cancer

Life Over Cancer
Author: Keith Block
Publisher: Bantam
Total Pages: 610
Release: 2009-04-21
Genre: Health & Fitness
ISBN: 0553801147

Dr. Keith Block is at the global vanguard of innovative cancer care. As medical director of the Block Center for Integrative Cancer Treatment in Evanston, Illinois, he has treated thousands of patients who have lived long, full lives beyond their original prognoses. Now he has distilled almost thirty years of experience into the first book that gives patients a systematic, research-based plan for developing the physical and emotional vitality they need to meet the demands of treatment and recovery. Based on a profound understanding of how body and mind can work together to defeat disease, this groundbreaking book offers: • Innovative approaches to conventional treatments, such as “chronotherapy”–chemotherapy timed to patients’ unique circadian rhythms for enhanced effectiveness and reduced toxicity • Dietary choices that make the biochemical environment hostile to cancer growth and recurrence, and strengthen the immune system’s ability to attack remaining cancer cells • Precise supplement protocols to tame treatment side effects, relieve disease-related symptoms, and modify processes like inflammation and glycemia that can fuel cancer if left untreated • A new paradigm for exercise and stress reduction that restores your strength, reduces anxiety and depression, and supports the body’s own ability to heal • A complete program for remission maintenance–a proactive plan to make sure the cancer never returns Also included are “quick-start” maps to help you find the information you need right now and many case histories that will support and inspire you. Encouraging, compassionate, and authoritative, Life over Cancer is the guide patients everywhere have been waiting for.

Massachusetts General Hospital Comprehensive Clinical Psychiatry

Massachusetts General Hospital Comprehensive Clinical Psychiatry
Author: Theodore A. Stern
Publisher: Elsevier Health Sciences
Total Pages: 2883
Release: 2008-04-18
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 0323076912

The Massachusetts General Hospital is widely respected as one of the world's premier psychiatric institutions. Now, preeminent authorities from MGH present a reference that is carefully designed to simplify your access to the current clinical knowledge you need! A remarkably user-friendly organization - with abundant boxed summaries, bullet points, case histories, and algorithms - speeds you to the answers you need. In short, this brand-new reference delivers all the authoritative answers you need to overcome any clinical challenge, in a format that's easier to consult than any other source! Peerless, hands-on advice from members of the esteemed MGH Department of Psychiatry helps you put today's best approaches to work for your patients. The book's highly templated format - with abundant boxed overviews, bulleted points, case histories, algorithms, references, and suggested readings - enables you to locate essential information quickly.