Who had access to doctors before and after new universal capitated subsidies in New Zealand?

In 2002, the New Zealand government introduced universal capitated subsidies for general practitioner consultations amid a broader programme of reform intended to reduce inequities in access and encourage more preventive healthcare visits. While consultation numbers increased in the short run, the issue of cost barriers to access has once more garnered significant policy attention, with many commentators concerned that the funding necessary to maintain low fees has not kept up with cost pressures. A longer-term assessment is useful in understanding the relationship between evolving policy conditions and service use.This article explores how the distribution of access to GPs changed in the short and long run using New Zealand Health Survey data from 2002/03 to 2015/16. I find that the capitation subsidies were associated with improved access for indigenous Māori and more preventive visits as intended by 2006/07. However, from 2006/07 onward patients with the greatest health need began reporting fewer and less frequent doctors’ visits per annum. I discuss potential explanations, focussing on the role of capitation subsidies and the successor price-capping scheme. This research contributes evidence to international scholarship on the long-term factors necessary for universal capitated subsidisation to sustainably reduce access inequities, with attention to local nuance.     

Optimal Donor Selection During Verification Process: Which Factors Are Worth Knowing?

Background

The selection of optimal donor is crucial for successful hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). Thereby, it is appropriate to know, in addition to basic human leukocyte antigen (HLA) gene matches, other immunogenic or nonimmunogenic parameters predicting the outcome of transplant.

Actual 10-year survival after hepatic resection of colorectal liver metastases: what factors preclude cure?

Background

Hepatic resection of colorectal liver metastases is associated with long-term survival. This study analyzes actual 10-year survivors after resection of colorectal liver metastases, reports the observed rate of cure, and identifies factors that preclude cure.

Impact of transporter-mediated drug absorption, distribution, elimination and drug interactions in antimicrobial chemotherapy

A comprehensive list of drug transporters has recently become available as a result of extensive genome analysis. Membrane transporters play important roles in determining the pharmacokinetic aspects of intestinal absorption, tissue distribution, and the urinary and biliary excretions of a wide variety of therapeutic drugs. The identification and characterization of transporters responsible for the transfer of nutrients and xenobiotics, including drugs, is expected to provide a scientific basis for understanding drug disposition, as well as the molecular mechanisms of drug–drug/drug–food/drug–protein interactions and inter-individual/inter-species differences. This review focuses on the influence of transporters on the pharmacokinetics of β-lactam antibiotics, new quinolones, and other antimicrobial agents, as well as focusing on the drug–drug interactions associated with transporter-mediated uptake from the small intestine and transporter-mediated elimination from the kidney and liver.