Planning influenza vaccination programs: a cost benefit model.

Background: Although annual influenza vaccination could decrease the significant economic and humanistic burden of influenza in the United States, immunization rates are below recommended levels, and concerns remain whether immunization programs can be cost beneficial. The research objective was to compare cost benefit of various immunization strategies from employer, employee, and societal perspectives.

Methods: An actuarial model was developed based on the published literature to estimate the costs and benefits of influenza immunization programs.

Random fluctuations and validity in measuring disease management effectiveness for small populations.

One objective of a disease management (DM) program is the reduction of members' claims costs. A considerable amount of effort has been dedicated to standardizing the outcomes of DM measurement. An area that has not received as much attention is that of random fluctuations in measured outcomes and the related issue of the validity of outcomes subject to random fluctuation.