Quality management of cutaneous melanoma: impact on short-term outcomes and costs.

Promoting standardization and quality assurance (QA) may guarantee better outcomes for patients and ensure a better allocation of healthcare system resources. The present study tested the association between process quality indicators of the clinical pathway for melanoma and both patient short-term mortality and budget utilization. Specific indicators were selected to assess quality of processes in different phases of the pathway as well as the pathway as a whole.

Adherence to Therapy, Physical and Mental Quality of Life in Patients with Multiple Sclerosis.

Ensuring multiple sclerosis (MS) patients' adherence to therapy is often challenging, but it is crucial to their survival and health-related quality of life (HRQoL). The aim of the present study was to outline connections between adherence, physical and mental HRQoL, levels of psychological readiness to engage in a treatment, levels of social support, anthropometric, socio-demographic and clinical factors in patients suffering from MS. This cross-sectional study involved a sample of 237 Italian MS patients.

Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer: Real-World Cost Consequence Analysis.

Purpose: The present work aimed at conducting a real-world data analysis on the management costs and survival analysis comparing data from non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cases diagnosed in the Veneto region before (2015) and after (2017) the implementation of a regional diagnostic and therapeutic pathway including all new diagnostic and therapeutic strategies.

Method: This study considered 254 incidental cases of NSCLC in 2015 and 228 in 2017 within the territory of the Padua province (Italy), as recorded by the Veneto Cancer Registry. Tobit regression analysis was performed to verify if total and each item costs (2 years after NSCLC diagnosis) are associated with index year, adjusting by year of diagnosis, sex, age, and stage at diagnosis.

Healthcare Service Usage and Costs for Elderly Patients with Obstructive Lung Disease.

Background: The worldwide prevalence of obstructive lung disease (OLD) is increasing, especially among people >65 years old, and nearly three in four adults with OLD have two or more comorbid conditions. This study describes the impact of such comorbidities on the healthcare service usage and related costs in a country with universal health coverage, basing on a large cohort of elderly patients with OLD and employing real-world data.

Methods: We carried out a retrospective cohort study on a large population of elderly (age >64 years) patients with OLD served by a Local Health Unit in northern Italy.

Health care service use and costs for a cohort of high-needs elderly diabetic patients.

Aims: To describe the impact of diabetes comorbidities on the health care services use and costs of a cohort of elderly patients with diabetes and high health care needs (HHCN), based on real-world data.

Methods: We focused on a cohort of diabetic patients with HHCN belonging to Resource Utilization Bands 4 and 5 according to the Adjusted Clinical Group (ACG) system. Their comorbidities were assessed using the clinical diagnoses that the ACG system assigns to single patients by combining different information flows.

Health status of female Moldovan migrants to Italy by health literacy level and age group: a descriptive study.

Background: Migration flows from Eastern Europe to Italy have been large and continue to grow. The purpose of this study was to examine the health status of a population of Moldovan migrant women, and their access to health care services in northern Italy, by age group and health literacy level.

Methods: We administered an ad-hoc questionnaire to adult Moldovan women.