The gap between a rising demand for health care services on the one side and scarce resources on the other, is leading to a growing pressure on decision-making processes. Hence, prioritization in medicine has become an increasingly important issue for assuring stability of health systems and improving the capability of health care. The present volume addresses normative dimensions of methodological and theoretical approaches, the legal basis behind priority setting as well as international experiences concerning the normative framework and the process of priority setting. It also examines specific criteria for prioritization and discusses economic evaluations. Contributing authors from a broad range of scientific disciplines discuss prioritization within an international dialogue.

Medical tourism has developed rapidly worldwide, especially in Asia, and one of the most important problems facing the patient-tourists is the selection of the optimum destination. In this paper, we present a novel multiple criteria group decision making (MCGDM) methodology to evaluate and rank the medical tourism destinations vague based on vague information.

This handbook is the definitive quick reference guide to clinical pharmacy, providing practising and student pharmacists with a wealth of practical information.

As a number of diseases emerge or reemerge thus stimulating new vaccine development opportunities to help prevent those diseases, it can be especially difficult for decision makers to know where to invest their limited resources. Therefore, it is increasingly important for decision makers to have the tools that can assist and inform their vaccine prioritization efforts. In this first phase report, the IOM offers a framework and proof of concept to account for various factors influencing vaccine prioritization-demographic, economic, health, scientific, business, programmatic, social, policy factors and public concerns. Ranking Vaccines: A Prioritization Framework describes a decision-support model and the blueprint of a software-called Strategic Multi-Attribute Ranking Tool for Vaccines or SMART Vaccines. SMART Vaccines should be of help to decision makers. SMART Vaccines Beta is not available for public use, but SMART Vaccines 1.0 is expected to be released at the end of the second phase of this study, when it will be fully operational and capable of guiding discussions about prioritizing the development and introduction of new vaccines.

Medical Devices Quality Management Systems: Strategy and Techniques for Improving Efficiency and Effectiveness is written for the needs of quality, compliance, and regulatory professionals in medical device companies. It includes secrets for developing an effective, yet efficient, Quality Management System (QMS) and explains how to create a vision, strategy, and tactical plans. Author Manz shares lessons on leadership, key roles and responsibilities within a medical device company, while also exploring the concepts of process ownership, individual accountability, and how to cultivate a culture of quality and compliance. This book is useful for all executive, functional leaders, and organizations in the highly regulated medical device industry. - Provides practical, real-world guidance on developing an effective and efficient Quality Management System - Presents a roadmap for QMS development - Covers techniques to assess current state - Includes discussions on tools, such as CAPA and Six Sigma that help define vision, strategy and quality plans

CliffsNotes NCLEX Cram Plan is the perfect way to review for your RN or PN nursing exam whether you have two months, one month, or even one week left to prepare! CliffsNotes NCLEX-RN Cram Plan uses calendars to create a specific study plan for test-takers depending on how much time they have left before they take the test. Also included is a specialized NCLEX-PN study plan, meaning that NCLEX-PN test-takers can use this book to pass their nursing exam, too! The NCLEX-RN test is taken by individuals who want to become a registered nurse; the NCLEX-PN test is taken by those who want to become a practical nurse. Features of this plan-to-ace-the-test product include: Timed, boxed calendars for preparing to take the test—2-month study calendar, 1-month study calendar, and 1-week study calendar Diagnostic test that helps test-takers pinpoint strengths and weaknesses so they can focus their review on topics in which they need the most help Subject reviews that succinctly cover need-to-know topics on the tests in a list format Model practice test with answers and explanations Administered by appointment year round, more than 230,000 candidates take the NCLEX-RN test annually, and almost 65,000 candidates take the NCLEX-PN. The average passing rate for each test is only 70%.

The focus of this thesis is needs in the context of health care priority setting. The notion of needs has a strong standing in health care policy; however, how the idea should be understood more specifically and how it should guide decisions about priority setting remain contentious issues. The aim of this thesis is to explore how needs should be characterised in health care priority setting. This matter is approached by, first, exploring and developing the conceptual structure of health care needs, and second, discussing and suggesting solutions to normative questions that arise when needs are characterised as a distributive principle. In the first article, the conceptual structure of needs in general and health care needs in particular is explored, and it is argued that a specific characterisation of health care needs is required. In the second article, the notion of health care needs is explored in relation to preferences for health care within the context of shared decision-making. The paper further discusses a number of queries that arise in the intersection between what the patient needs and what the patient wants. The third article discusses how a principle of need should handle questions about interpersonal aggregation. The paper characterises a principle of need which strikes a reasonable balance between giving priority to the worst off and the distribution of benefits with regard to interpersonal aggregation. The fourth article discusses how a principle of need should account for the fact that patients often are badly off due to several conditions rather than one single condition. It is argued that how badly off patients are should be understood as a function of how badly off these patients are when all of their conditions (for which they need health care) are considered. The frame story provides the terminological, theoretical, contextual, and methodological background for the discussion undertaken in this thesis. The conclusions of the articles are brought together and the discussion extended in the concluding discussion by sketching a number of conditions of adequacy for the concept and principle of need relevant for health care priority setting. Den här avhandlingen fokuserar på behov och behovsprinciper inom hälso- och sjukvården. Behov har länge haft en stark ställning inom hälso- och sjukvården men det är omdiskuterat hur begreppet ska förstås mer specifikt och framförallt hur det ska vara vägledande för prioriteringar inom hälso- och sjukvården. Syftet med den här avhandlingen är att karakterisera behov för sådana prioriteringar. Avhandlingen tar sig an detta syfte utifrån två ansatser. För det första, genom att undersöka och utveckla den begreppsliga strukturen hos vårdbehov och, för det andra, genom att diskutera samt ge förslag på lösningar på ett antal normativa frågor som uppstår när vårdbehov skall karakteriseras som en fördelningsprincip. I den första artikeln undersöks begreppen behov och vårdbehov utifrån den allmänfilosofiska diskussionen om behov. I artikeln karakteriseras begreppet vårdbehov på ett sätt som gör det lämpligt för prioriteringar inom hälsooch sjukvården. I den andra artikeln utforskas begreppet vårdbehov i relation till önskemål om vård inom ramen för delat beslutsfattande. I artikeln diskuteras också ett antal frågeställningar som aktualiseras i relation till den spänning som kan uppstå mellan patientens behov å ena sidan och patientens önskemål å andra sidan. I den tredje artikeln behandlas frågan om hur en behovsprincip bör hantera frågor som rör sammanvägning av olika personers behov. I artikeln karakteriseras och försvaras en behovsprincip som balanserar prioritet till de sämst ställda och hur hälsovinster bör fördelas. I den fjärde artikeln förs en diskussion om hur en behovsprincip bör göra reda för det faktum att patienter ofta lider av samsjuklighet snarare än av ett enskilt tillstånd. I artikeln drivs tesen att hur dåligt ställt en patient har det bör förstås som en funktion av hur dåligt ställt patienten har det när alla patientens tillstånd (för vilka patienten behöver vård) har tagits i beaktande, snarare än hur dåligt ställt patienten har det med avseende på det specifika tillstånd för vilket patienten skall behandlas. I kappan ges den terminologiska, kontextuella, teoretiska och metodologiska bakgrunden för diskussionen i avhandlingen. I en avslutande diskussion förs slutsatserna från artiklarna samman och diskussionen utvidgas genom att skissera ett antal adekvansvillkor för begreppet vårdbehov och behovsprinciper i vården.