[Fraud in the health systems of Chile: a detection model].

Objectives: To develop a model for detecting cases of organized fraud in Chile based on data from the legal forms for medically authorized leave (formulario legal de licencia médica curativa-MAL) and to establish the relevance of this data to fraud detection.

Methods: A binomial logistic regression model was employed using four variables from the MAL form, a national requirement for illness-related work absences: the number of legal absences taken by a single person, the number of days authorized by the prescribing doctor, the total cost per illness, and a dichotic variable reflecting whether or not the diagnosis is one that can be proven. The analysis involved 4,079 MAL forms that had been submitted in 2003 to a private health provider and of which 356 were already identified as fraudulent by a panel of medical fraud experts.

[Work absenteeism in Chile according to the type of work place].

Background: The issue of medically justified work absenteeism has a great relevance in Chile at the present moment.

Aim: To analyze sick leaves among people working in hospitals, mines, automotive industry and universities.

Material And Methods: Analysis of 14 thesis and research papers about absenteeism in Chile.

[Cancer mortality in Chile: epidemiological considerations].

Malignancies are the second most important cause of mortality in Chile, accounting for 21.8% of total deaths. In comparison with other causes, cancer mortality shows an upward trend with increasing mortality rates from 99 to 118 per 100.

[Adult mortality in Chile].

Background: The study of mortality of human groups is important to judge the health conditions of population.

Aim: To study the main mortality features among Chilean adults.

Material And Methods: Information about mortality in Chile from the Instituto nacional de Estadísticas and The World Health Organization, was analyzed.

[Medical care in 7 Chilean cities].

Background: In countries with an intermediate development level such as Chile, health care is the main factor that improves the health status of the community.

Aim: To inform the results of morbidity and medical care surveys performed in the Chilean cities of Antofagasta, La Serena, Concepción, Temuco, Llay Llay, Tiltil y Lampa-Batuco.

Material And Methods: A random sample of 951 dwellings with 4,192 people was selected and studied three times, in 1995 and 1996.

[Characteristics and management of morbidity in seven Chilean cities].

Background: Health population inquiries give information about morbidity as perceived by people, the quality of medical care and the costs of diseases.

Aim: To inform the results on morbidity and medical care surveys performed in the Chilean cities of Antofagasta, La Serena, Concepción, Temuco, Llay Llay, Tiltil y Lampa-Batuco.

Material And Methods: A random sample of 951 dwellings with 4.

[Smoking in Santiago, 1993-94].

The aim of this work was to study smoking habits, alcohol and drug use and living standards in a random sample of 1000 dwellings and 4700 people of Santiago through periodic surveys during 1993 and 1994. Forty nine percent of dwellings had at least one inhabitant that was a daily smoker and 73% had at least one occasional smoker. Thirty seven percent of subjects older than 15 years were smokers (40% of men and 35% of women), 27% were presumably addicted to tobacco and 16% former smokers.

[Medical care in Santiago, 1993].

Results of morbidity and medical care surveys performed in Santiago in 1993-94 are presented in this paper. The study has been done in an aleatory population sample of 4,700 people coming from 1,000 dwellings. Main results are as following: The Health National Fund (FONASA) is the most important financing medical care's agency in Santiago (49% out of total population).

[Characteristics and management of morbidity in Santiago 1993].

Results of morbidity and medical care surveys of the Santiago's population are presented in this paper. A random sample of 1,000 dwellings with 4,700 people was selected and studied 3 times, in 1993 and 1994. All health events (acute and chronic morbidity, health examinations, dental care) and main features of medical care were registered in the interviews which covered a 2-week period each time.

[Breast neoplasm: health care and life quality in premature mortality].

Eight epidemiological indicators and eleven variables pertaining to the chilean population are analyzed regarding their possible relation to cancer of the breast. The observed and expected mortality rates are discussed. Multiple regression models are employed to evaluate their effect on health.

[Liver cirrhosis in Chile: epidemiologic considerations].

Liver cirrhosis is an important public health problem in Chile, accounting for 5% of all deaths, proportion that has increased 24 fold in the last 60 years. Chile has the highest death rate for cirrhosis in America and the second highest in the world, after Hungary. The risk of death and hospitalization for cirrhosis has increased significantly between 1950 and 1970, stabilizing thereafter in values near to 50 hospitalizations and 30 deaths/year per 100,000 inhabitants.

[Impact of health care in the reduction of the mortality of cervix neoplasms in the health services].

The importance of health care in the mortality caused by cervical uterine cancer in the age group 30 to 64 years is evaluated in the different health centers, excluding the effect of the quality or level of live in those areas. A model of multiple regression predicts the expected mortality rate according to the economic level of the population served by the health center. The different between the observed and predicted rates (the residual rate) is attributed to health care.

[Hospitalization in Chile: a critical analysis].

Main features of hospital stay in Chile are analyzed with special regard to incidence, geographic, sex and age variations, main causes and trends observed in the last decades. The annual admission rate in 1989 was 107 per 1000, twice the overall Latin American rate. Wide variations are observed among geographical areas, with relatively low use of hospital beds in the capital city of Santiago.

[Chilean hospitals: availability and productivity of the public and private sectors].

Hospital bed availability, trends in number of beds, productivity and administrative aspects in the public and private hospital sectors are analyzed. At present, there are 3.3 beds per 1000 population in Chile.

[Smoking and health in Chile].

Findings from a literature review on the smoking problem in Chile are presented. According to prevalence studies, nearly 40% of the general adult population in Chile smokes. The proportion of smokers is smaller among women than among men.

Health damage caused by the smoking habit in Chile.

The authors review available literature on tobacco use in Chile, devoting particular attention to smoking prevalences, smoking-related health problems, risk factors that tend to encourage smoking, and appropriate control measures. Overall, the available data indicate that roughly 40% of Chile's adult population smokes, that smoking among women is on the rise, that some 11% of both infant and general mortality can be linked to tobacco use, that smoking during pregnancy poses serious health risks, and that the attitudes of physicians and other health workers can have a crucial impact upon the smoking behavior of their patients.

[Health in Chile: reflections for the future].

The health situation in Chile is analyzed. The influence of geographic, ethnic, racial, demographic, socio-economic and cultural factors is considered. Strategies for prevention depend on the epidemiologic status of communities.

[Intrahepatic cholestasis in pregnancy and perinatal risk].

The main purpose of this study was to analyze the accuracy of severity criteria applied in cholestatic jaundice in pregnancy related to health problems in the newborn. The sample, 209 cases, is formed by the total of hospital patients discharges from the Pathologic Pregnancy Unit. Severe cholestatic jaundice (59.

[Medical care in 12 Chilean cities].

Frequency of diseases and accidents and the main aspects of medical care were studied in 12 larger Chilean cities, excluding the metropolitan area of Santiago. A survey of 4,737 individuals was performed in a random sample of homes and medical problems observed during a 2 week period were analyzed. A mean of 4.