Comparison of Models for the Prediction of Medical Costs of Spinal Fusion in Taiwan Diagnosis-Related Groups by Machine Learning Algorithms.

Objectives: The aims of this study were to compare the performance of machine learning methods for the prediction of the medical costs associated with spinal fusion in terms of profit or loss in Taiwan Diagnosis-Related Groups (Tw-DRGs) and to apply these methods to explore the important factors associated with the medical costs of spinal fusion.

Methods: A data set was obtained from a regional hospital in Taoyuan city in Taiwan, which contained data from 2010 to 2013 on patients of Tw-DRG49702 (posterior and other spinal fusion without complications or comorbidities). Naïve-Bayesian, support vector machines, logistic regression, C4.

Shared decision making in Taiwan.

The paper aims to introduce the current status of shared decision making (SDM) in Taiwan under its mixed health care system and single-payer health insurance system. With experiences in promoting both evidence based medicine and patient safety, the Joint Commission of Taiwan has implemented a nationwide SDM program under the aegis of the Ministry of Health and Welfare since 2016, incorporating multiple approaches such as developing patient decision aids (PDAs), executing the Medical Decision Aids Campaign, establishing a SDM platform, and integrating SDM in clinical practice. In this article, we share the positive and negative responses to the SDM program from hospitals, health care providers, and patients.

Epidemiological survey of orthopedic joint dislocations based on nationwide insurance data in Taiwan, 2000-2005.

Background: The epidemiology of acute orthopedic dislocations is poorly understood. A nationwide database provides a valuable resource for examining this issue in the Taiwanese population.

Methods: A 6-year retrospective cohort study of 1,000,000 randomly-sampled beneficiaries from the year 2005 was used as the original population.