Regional variation of medical expenditures attributable to hypertension in China's middle-aged and elderly population.

Background: Hypertension is a prevalent and costly health condition in China. Little is known about variation of the inpatient and outpatient expenditures attributable to hypertension between prefecture-level administrative regions (PARs) and the drivers of such variation among China's middle-aged and elderly population.

Methods: We obtain data from China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Survey between 2011 and 2015, panel tobit models were used in our study to estimate differences across 122 PARs.

The impact of increasing expenditure on National Essential Public Health Services on the medical costs of hypertension in China: A difference-in-difference analysis.

Background: The prevention and control of hypertension should be an effective way to reduce deaths and it has been a high priority in China. In 2013, the Chinese government increased the subsidy standard for the National Essential Public Health Services Package (NEPHSP) from RMB 15 to RMB 30 per person, which was expected to cover 70 million hypertensions. This study explored the influence of increasing NEPHSP subsidy on outpatient and inpatient expenditure among patients with hypertension.

Incidence and risk factors of diabetes mellitus in the Chinese population: a dynamic cohort study.

Objective: Diabetes mellitus is a common condition often associated with an ageing population. However, only few longitudinal studies in China have investigated the incidence of diabetes and identified its risk factors. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the incidence and risk factors of diabetes in Chinese people aged ≥45 years using the harmonised China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) data.

Health technology assessment of medical devices: current landscape, challenges, and a way forward.

Background: Health Technology Assessment (HTA) has been widely recognized as informing healthcare decision-making, and interest in HTA of medical devices has been steadily increasing. How does the assessment of medical devices differ from that of drug therapies, and what innovations can be adopted to overcome the inherent challenges in medical device HTA?

Method: HTA Accelerator Database was used to describe the landscape of HTA reports for medical devices from HTA bodies, and a literature search was conducted to understand the growth trend of relevant HTA publications in four case studies. Another literature review was conducted for a narrative synthesis of the characteristic differences and challenges of HTA in medical devices.

Health care cost and benefits of artificial intelligence-assisted population-based glaucoma screening for the elderly in remote areas of China: a cost-offset analysis.

Background: Population-based screening was essential for glaucoma management. Although various studies have investigated the cost-effectiveness of glaucoma screening, policymakers facing with uncontrollably growing total health expenses were deeply concerned about the potential financial consequences of glaucoma screening. This present study was aimed to explore the impact of glaucoma screening with artificial intelligence (AI) automated diagnosis from a budgetary standpoint in Changjiang county, China.

Impacts of government supervision on hospitalization costs for inpatients with COPD: An interrupted time series study.

To address the remaining medical misconducts after the zero-makeup drug policy (ZMDP), e.g., over-examinations, China has given the priority to government supervision on medical institutions.

Effects of mineral trioxide aggregate and bioceramics on macrophage differentiation and polarization in vitro.

Background/purpose: Mineral trioxide aggregate (Pro-Root MTA, PR-MTA) and bioceramics (iRoot SP Injectable Root Canal Sealer, iR-BC) are used for making apical plugs used in apexification, repairing root perforations during root canal therapy, and treating internal root resorption. The purpose of the present in vitro study was to compare the biological effects of PR-MTA- and iR-BC-based dental sealers in the mouse macrophage cell line RAW 264.7.

Impact of the Global Budget Payment System on Expenditure of Cardiovascular Diseases: An Interrupted Time Series Analysis in Shanghai, China.

Since few studies evaluated the impact of the global budget payment system (GBPS) over time, and by expenditure type, this paper aims to evaluate the impact of the GBPS on expenditure of inpatients, and explores how hospitals curb the expenditure in patients with cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) in Shanghai. We built a time series model with the monthly expenditure of CVDs from 2009 to 2012. We evaluated the instant impact and trends impact of the GBPS and analyzed results based on medical expenditure types (e.

Does the leading pharmaceutical reform in China really solve the issue of overly expensive healthcare services? Evidence from an empirical study.

Background: Healthcare system reform of Sanming city has become a leading healthcare reform model in China. It has developed a rigorous pharmaceutical reform consisted of the Zero Mark-up Drug Policy and the Centralized Procurement of Medicine Policy to bring down drug expenses and total health expenditures. However, despite the credit and much attention have been given to Sanming's pharmaceutical reform, its impact still remains unclear.