A moneymaking scan: Dual reimbursement systems and supplier-induced demand for diagnostic imaging.

In complex health systems with growing healthcare spending, combining reimbursement systems that incentivize cost-efficient healthcare provision within and across care sectors is key. This study investigates whether dual reimbursement systems lead hospitals to offset financial pressures in one care sector by inducing demand in another. We find that hospital imaging units induced demand for costly and unnecessary ambulatory imaging examinations reimbursed under fee-for-service, following a reform that introduced prospective payment and increased competition in the inpatient sector in Switzerland in 2012.

The determinants of individual health care expenditures in prison: evidence from Switzerland.

Background: Prison health systems are subject to increasing pressures given the specific health needs of a growing and aging prison population. Identifying the drivers of medical spending among incarcerated individuals is therefore key for health care governance in prisons. This study assesses the determinants of individual health care expenditures within the prisons of the canton of Vaud, a large region of Switzerland.

Exploring differences in healthcare utilization of prisoners in the Canton of Vaud, Switzerland.

Prison healthcare is an important public health concern given the increasing healthcare needs of a growing and aging prison population, which accumulates vulnerability factors and suffers from higher disease prevalence than the general population. This study identifies the key factors associated with outpatient general practitioner (GP), nursing or psychiatric healthcare utilization (HCU) within prisons. Cross-sectional data systematically collected by the prison medical staff were obtained for a sample of 1664 adult prisoners of the Canton of Vaud, Switzerland, for the year 2011.

Effect of Afobazole and Betaine on Cognitive Disorders in the Offspring of Rats with Streptozotocin-Induced Diabetes and Their Relationship with DNA Damage.

Cognitive activity in 60-day-old offspring of rats (intrauterine development in experimental streptozotocin-induced diabetes) was studied on the model of food-seeking behavior under conditions of free choice in a 6-arm maze. The formation of the food-procuring skill was significantly delayed, which attests to impairment of cognitive functions in these animals. Peroral administration of afobazole (10 and 50 mg/kg) and betaine (50 and 100 mg/kg) significantly and dose-dependently alleviated this disorder.

Effect of Afobazole and Betaine on DNA Damage in Placental and Embryonic Tissues of Rats with Experimental Streptozocin Diabetes.

DNA comet assay showed that the level of DNA damage in the placental and embryonic tissues of rats with streptozotocin-induced diabetes mellitus increased on gestation days 14 and 20. Afobazole and betaine administered per os effectively decreased the level of genotoxic damage; afobazole was most efficient in doses of 10 and 50 mg/kg and betaine in a dose of 100 mg/kg.