Improving the prevention and diagnosis of melanoma on a national scale: A comparative study of performance in the United Kingdom and Australia.

We undertook this study in light of an uncontrolled rise of melanoma incidence and mortality rates in the United Kingdom (UK). We aim to assess the effectiveness of prevention and early melanoma diagnosis in the UK's National Health Service (NHS) in comparison to the Australian system that has limited the melanoma rise. We compare the prevention campaigns against skin cancer and the stage at which melanoma is diagnosed.

A descriptive follow-up interview study assessing patient-centred outcomes: Salford Lung Study in Asthma (SLS Asthma).

The Salford Lung Study in Asthma (SLS Asthma) was a multicentre, randomised, controlled, open-label trial that assessed initiating once-daily, single-inhaler fluticasone furoate/vilanterol (FF/VI) 100 μg/25 μg or 200 μg/25 μg versus continuing usual care. A subgroup (n = 400) from SLS Asthma was enrolled in this exploratory, interview-based follow-up study. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected via questionnaires.

The future of the NHS: Plan B.

The NHS for England now has future plans for the next 10 years: but the documents say little about the problems -likely to be encountered. The paper outlines two main -problems - the poor record for expanding services out of -hospital and the crowding out effect of hospital spending - and it sets out some directions for future action to make sure that development continues in the out-of-hospital space.

Follow-up interviews from The Salford Lung Study (COPD) and analyses per treatment and exacerbations.

The Salford Lung Study in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (SLS COPD) was a 12-month, Phase III, open-label, randomised study comparing the effectiveness and safety of initiating once-daily fluticasone furoate 100 µg/vilanterol 25 µg (FF/VI) with continuing usual care (UC). Follow-up interviews were conducted among a subset of 400 patients who completed SLS COPD to further understand patients' experiences with treatment outcomes and the impact of COPD, and potential risk factors associated with higher rates of exacerbations during SLS COPD. Another objective was to explore how such patient-centred outcomes differed by randomised treatment.

Patient-reported outcomes with initiation of fluticasone furoate/vilanterol versus continuing usual care in the Asthma Salford Lung Study.

Background: The Asthma Salford Lung Study demonstrated the effectiveness and safety of initiating once-daily inhaled fluticasone furoate/vilanterol (FF/VI) versus continuing usual care (UC) in asthma patients in UK primary care [1]. Here, we report a detailed analysis of patient-reported outcome (PRO) endpoints.

Methods: Adults with symptomatic asthma maintained on inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) ± long-acting beta-agonists (LABA) were randomized 1:1 to initiate FF/VI (100 [200]/25 μg) or continue UC.

Salford Lung Study in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (SLS COPD): follow-up interviews on patient-centred outcomes.

This study investigated patient perceptions, experiences and management of COPD throughout the SLS COPD study. Follow-up interviews were conducted with 400 patients who completed SLS COPD; a mixed-methods approach was used to collect quantitative and qualitative information. Structured interviews using closed-ended questions were conducted with 360 patients, detailing aspects of background/lifestyle information and COPD.

Loss, transition and trust: perspectives of terminally ill patients and their oncologists when transferring care from the hospital into the community at the end of life.

Introduction: Most people prefer to die at home. However, most continue to die in hospital. Little is known about the impact on the patient of transferring care from acute sector specialist follow-up to the community.

What Is the Magnitude and Long-term Economic Cost of Care of the British Military Afghanistan Amputee Cohort?

Background: Personal protection equipment, improved early medical care, and rapid extraction of the casualty have resulted in more injured service members who served in Afghanistan surviving after severe military trauma. Many of those who survive the initial trauma are faced with complex wounds such as multiple amputations. Although costs of care can be high, they have not been well quantified before.

The effectiveness gap in COPD: a mixed methods international comparative study.

Background: There has been a large increase in treatment and in research on chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) from the common starting point of the original Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) study. There is currently little evidence on the degree of similarity and difference between national programmes or on the linkage between research and policy.

Aims: To review the evidence on programme development and the effectiveness gap from the UK, France, Germany, and Finland.

Increasing capacity for innovation in bureaucratic primary care organizations: a whole system participatory action research project.

Purpose: We wanted to identify what organizational features support innovation in Primary Care Groups (PCGs).

Methods: Our study used a whole system participatory action research model. Four research teams provided complementary insights.

Cost-effectiveness: seeking value for money in lower extremity wound management.

This article discusses the different methods of evaluating cost in relation to the outcomes of treatment, and reviews the evidence of cost-effectiveness (CE) in the management of chronic leg ulceration. In essence, the CE argument revolves around the need to demonstrate outcomes of treatment in relation to particular levels of financial input by the health providers. High CE allows for either the same number of patients to be treated more efficiently (at a lower cost) or more patients to be treated for the same financial input.

The economics of cancer care in the UK.

Cancer care accounts for an increasing proportion of global spending on healthcare, driven by an increased incidence caused by ageing populations, greater frequency from better treatments, and changes in care that have made cancer a chronic, controllable illness. The cost of cancer care has three components: direct and easily determined clinical costs (ie, medical costs); extra financial requirement of living with disease for the patient and their family (ie, morbidity costs); and loss of income from the premature death (ie, mortality costs). Effective planning of cancer services needs detailed consideration of the economics of care delivery-an area of research that has so far been lacking outside the USA.