Targeted lung cancer screening in the age of immunotherapies and targeted therapies - an economic evaluation for Australia.

Background: The cost-effectiveness of different lung cancer screening strategies has been evaluated from an Australian public health system perspective using static models. In addition, the impact of novel therapies, including immunotherapies and targeted therapies, on the cost-effectiveness of lung cancer screening has not yet been evaluated comprehensively. We evaluated the benefits, harms and cost-effectiveness of a targeted national lung screening program in Australia, accounting for the increasing uptake of novel therapies, which informed the lung cancer screening recommendations of the Australian Medical Services Advisory Committee (MSAC).

Effectiveness of nurse-led interventions versus usual care to manage hypertension and lifestyle behaviour: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Aims: This review aimed to investigate the effectiveness of nurse-led interventions vs. usual care on hypertension management, lifestyle behaviour, and patients' knowledge of hypertension and associated risk factors.

Methods: A systematic review with meta-analysis was conducted following Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) guidelines.

The Cost of Uncontrolled Blood Pressure in Australian General Practice: A Modelling Study Using Electronic Health Records (MedicineInsight).

Background: Hypertension is the most common condition seen in Australian general practice. Despite hypertension being amenable to lifestyle modifications and pharmacological treatment, only around half of these patients have controlled blood pressure levels (< 140/90 mmHg), placing them at an increased risk of cardiovascular disease.

Objective: We aimed to estimate the health and acute hospitalisation costs of uncontrolled hypertension among patients attending general practice.

Predicted cardiovascular disease risk and prescribing of antihypertensive therapy among patients with hypertension in Australia using MedicineInsight.

Hypertension guidelines recommend that absolute cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk guide the management of hypertensive patients. This study aimed to assess the proportion of patients with diagnosed hypertension with sufficient data to calculate absolute CVD risk and determine whether CVD risk is associated with prescribing of antihypertensive therapies. This was a cross-sectional study using a large national database of electronic medical records of patients attending general practice in 2018 (MedicineInsight).

Mapping a decade of interventions to address the supportive care needs of individuals living with or beyond cancer: a scoping review of reviews.

Purpose: Individuals diagnosed with cancer have a range of supportive care needs that are often unmet despite substantial evidence supporting interventions to address them. Addressing this knowledge-translation gap represents a significant opportunity to improve health outcomes. A scoping review of reviews was conducted to map the breadth of evidence for interventions, highlighting those with an existing evidence base, as well as those requiring further research.

Pragmatic review of interventions to prevent inpatient hypoglycaemia.

Aims: This pragmatic review aimed to map and summarize the literature on model of care interventions to prevent inpatient hypoglycaemia. Model of care interventions were broadly defined as interventions that either directly target the workforce or where implementation had a strong workforce effect. The review intended to provide information for decision-makers in local health care settings regarding potential interventions to prevent inpatient hypoglycaemia in their local context.

Blood pressure control in Australian general practice: analysis using general practice records of 1.2 million patients from the MedicineInsight database.

Introduction: Hypertension is mostly managed in primary care. This study investigated the prevalence of diagnosed hypertension in Australian general practice and whether hypertension control is influenced by sociodemographic characteristics, duration since diagnosis or prescription of antihypertensive medications.

Methods: Cross-sectional study using a large national database of electronic medical records of patients attending general practice in 2017 (MedicineInsight).

Scoping review of Australian evaluations of healthcare delivery models: are we making the most of the evidence?

Objective Healthcare delivery models describe the organisation of healthcare practitioners and other resources to provide health care for a defined patient population. The organisation of health care has a predominant effect on the receipt of timely and appropriate health care. Efforts to improve healthcare delivery should be evidence informed, and large numbers of evaluations of healthcare delivery models have been undertaken.

Evaluations of healthcare delivery models in Australia: a scoping review protocol.

Objective: The aim of this review is to identify and describe the evidence base of published primary, comparative healthcare delivery model evaluations that require the employment of additional healthcare practitioners undertaken in Australia.

Introduction: In Australia, formal processes are utilized in assessing the value of new pharmaceuticals and medical services, which inform decisions on whether to list new items on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Schedule and Medicare Benefits Schedule, respectively. There are no formal processes to aid in decision making on the funding of new, evaluated healthcare delivery models.

Behavioral Economic Insights to Improve Medication Adherence in Adults with Chronic Conditions: A Scoping Review.

Background And Objective: Medication adherence is poor in patients with chronic conditions. Behavioral economic interventions may reduce biases that are associated with poor adherence. The objective of this review is to map the available evidence on behavioral economic interventions to improve medication adherence in adults with chronic conditions in high-income settings.

Behavioral economic insights to improve medication adherence in adults with chronic conditions: a scoping review protocol.

Objective: The objective of this review is to map the evidence on the use of behavioral economic insights to improve medication adherence in adults with chronic conditions.

Introduction: Medication non-adherence is a barrier to effectively managing chronic conditions, leading to poorer patient outcomes and placing an additional financial burden on healthcare systems. As the population ages and the prevalence of chronic disease increases, new ways to influence patient behavior are needed.

Correction: Costs and cost-effectiveness of LEEP versus cryotherapy for treating cervical dysplasia among HIV-positive women in Johannesburg, South Africa.

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Time to review policy on screening for, and managing, hypertension in South Africa: Evidence from primary care.

Background: Current policy in South Africa requires measurement of blood pressure at every visit in primary care. The number of patients regularly visiting primary care clinics for routine care is increasing rapidly, causing long queues, and unmanageable workloads.

Methods: We used data collected during a randomised control trial in primary care clinics in South Africa to estimate how changes in policy might affect workloads and improve identification of undiagnosed hypertension.