Objective: To evaluate the potential economic benefits of keeping a meningitis A vaccine at or near ambient temperature for up to 4 days during a mass vaccination campaign.
Methods: During a 10-day mass vaccination campaign against meningitis A in three regions of Chad in 2011, the costs associated with storage and transport of the vaccine in a traditional cold chain system were evaluated. A mathematical model was used to estimate the savings that could have been achieved if the vaccine had been stored at or near ambient temperature--in a "controlled temperature" chain--at the peripheral levels of the supply chain system.
Findings: The cost of the cold chain and associated logistics used in the campaign in Chad was 0.24 United States dollars (US$) per person vaccinated. In the modelled scenario for a controlled temperature chain, however, these costs dropped by 50% and were estimated to be only US$ 0.12 per person vaccinated.
Conclusion: The implementation of a "controlled temperature" chain at the most peripheral levels of the supply chain system--assuming no associated loss of vaccine potency, efficacy or safety--could result in major economic benefits and allow vaccine coverage to be extended in low-resource settings.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.2471/BLT.13.123471 | DOI Listing |
Omega (Westport)
January 2025
Department of History, Sogang University, Seoul, South Korea.
Under Japanese rule in 1912, cremation was legalized in Korea, marking a shift from a strictly prohibited practice to an accepted funeral option. Initially viewed as a Japanese custom, cremation gradually transformed into a "civilized" choice, a perspective pushed by Japanese colonial authorities and some Korean modernizers. However, this narrative overlooks the gradual acceptance of cremation among Koreans.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Med Internet Res
January 2025
Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, United States.
Health care is undergoing a "revolution," where patients are becoming consumers and armed with apps, consumer review scores, and, in some countries, high out-of-pocket costs. Although economic analyses and health technology assessment (HTA) have come a long way in their evaluation of the clinical, economic, ethical, legal, and societal perspectives that may be impacted by new technologies and procedures, these approaches do not reflect underlying patient preferences that may be important in the assessment of "value" in the current value-based health care transition. The major challenges that come with the transformation to a value-based health care system lead to questions such as "How are economic analyses, often the basis for policy and reimbursement decisions, going to switch from a societal to an individual perspective?" and "How do we then assess (economic) value, considering individual preference heterogeneity, as well as varying heuristics and decision rules?" These challenges, related to including the individual perspective in cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA), have been widely debated.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Pediatr Hematol Oncol
January 2025
Division of Pediatric Hematology, Oncology, and Stem Cell Transplantation, Department of Pediatrics, New York Medical College.
Purpose: Lumbar puncture is a frequently performed procedure for patients undergoing treatment for acute lymphoblastic leukemia. This brief procedure is frequently performed with sedation in young patients but with only local anesthesia in adults. Adolescent and young adult patients may be cared for by physicians with different training backgrounds and sedation preferences, making the utilization of sedation for lumbar punctures variable among providers.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Bras Nefrol
January 2025
Universidade Estadual Paulista, Faculdade de Medicina, Departamento de Clínica Médica, Botucatu, SP, Brazil.
Introduction: Unplanned initiation of renal replacement therapy (RRT) in chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients is a common situation worldwide. In this scenario, peritoneal dialysis (PD) has emerged as a therapeutic option compared to hemodialysis (HD). In planned RRT, the costs of PD are lower than those of HD; however, the literature lacks such analyses when initiation is urgent.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Healthc Manag
January 2025
Department of Health Policy and Management, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland.
Goal: This study aimed to compare the value of tax exemptions and community benefits across various nonprofit hospitals and show how hospital and geographical characteristics can explain the values.
Methods: Data from 2017 to 2021 Internal Revenue Service Form 990s were used to evaluate 17 types of community benefits in nonprofit hospitals and assess six categories of tax benefits. Descriptive analyses compared charity care, community benefits, and estimated tax exemptions among nonprofit hospitals while considering variations in teaching status, location (rurality), and US region.
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