Cross-Network Directory Service: Infrastructure to enable collaborations across distributed research networks.

Introduction: Existing large-scale distributed health data networks are disconnected even as they address related questions of healthcare research and public policy. This paper describes the design and implementation of a fully functional prototype open-source tool, the Cross-Network Directory Service (CNDS), which addresses much of what keeps distributed networks disconnected from each other.

Methods: The set of services needed to implement a Cross-Directory Service was identified through engagement with stakeholders and workgroup members.

Intervening in global markets to improve access to HIV/AIDS treatment: an analysis of international policies and the dynamics of global antiretroviral medicines markets.

Background: Universal access to antiretroviral therapy (ART) in low- and middle-income countries faces numerous challenges: increasing numbers of people needing ART, new guidelines recommending more expensive antiretroviral (ARV) medicines, limited financing, and few fixed-dose combination (FDC) products. Global initiatives aim to promote efficient global ARV markets, yet little is known about market dynamics and the impact of global policy interventions.

Methods: We utilize several data sources, including 12,958 donor-funded, adult first-line ARV purchase transactions, to describe the market from 2002-2008.