Quality of cancer care in Spain: recommendations of a patients' jury.

The aim of the study was to evaluate quality of cancer care in Spain through patient's views, experiences and perceptions; with the purpose of making recommendations to improve cancer care. A modified citizen's jury was organised with the participation of 30 members and four experts as witnesses. For 1 day jurors representing 13 of 17 Spanish Autonomous Communities were met to make recommendations for improving the quality of cancer care in Spain. Concerns were identified regarding care fragmentation, test delays, duplications and poor social and emotional support. Some recommendations highlighted the need to improve the access to psycho-oncology care as well as support in social care and counselling, addressing patients to specific care. Some strategies proposed by the jury included a 24-h call centre, continuity in palliative care and appropriate follow-up and support after the end of therapy. In conclusion, the experience of cancer should include access to multiple specialists, effective coordination of care, accurate information about the disease and treatment options, and timely attention to symptoms and psychosocial needs.

El paciente del siglo XXI / The XXI century patient

Estamos viviendo un cambio social en la sanidad sin precedentes en la historia de la humanidad. La sociología moderna intenta explicar este cambio mediante los conceptos de modernización reflexiva, vida o sociedad líquida o fin de la historia. Este cambio social se traduce en un nuevo modelo de pacientes más informado y con unas mayores expectativas con respecto a la sanidad y a la salud. Mayor información no supone mejor conocimiento y más responsabilidad sobre la salud. Para ello se requiere aumentar la consciencia social e individual de las personas como agentes de salud y como usuarios responsables. La Universidad de los pacientes aparece como proyecto orientado a aumentar la alfabetización sanitaria y cívica de la población y como necesidad de adaptar los sistemas sanitarios a las nuevas necesidades generadas por un nuevo modelo de usuario

We are experiencing a social change in health that is unprecedented in the history of humanity. Modern sociology attempts to explain this change using concepts of reflexive modernisation, liquid life or society, or the end of history. This social change results in a new model of patient who is better informed and has greater expectations with respect to healthcare and health. More information does not mean better understanding and more responsibility with respect to health. For this to occur, it is necessary to increase the social and individual conscience of people as health agents and as responsible users. The University of the Patients emerges as a project directed towards increasing the health and civic literacy of the population and from the need to adapt the health systems to the new needs generated by a new model of user

[The XXI century patient]. / El paciente del siglo XXI.

We are experiencing a social change in health that is unprecedented in the history of humanity. Modern sociology attempts to explain this change using concepts of reflexive modernisation, liquid life or society, or the end of history. This social change results in a new model of patient who is better informed and has greater expectations with respect to healthcare and health. More information does not mean better understanding and more responsibility with respect to health. For this to occur, it is necessary to increase the social and individual conscience of people as health agents and as responsible users. The University of the Patients emerges as a project directed towards increasing the health and civic literacy of the population and from the need to adapt the health systems to the new needs generated by a new model of user.

Screening and clinical management of prostate cancer. A cross-national comparison.

OBJECTIVES: The objectives of the study were to identify the current standards of clinical practice regarding prostate cancer screening in western Europe, Canada, and the United States, and to highlight major characteristics of current prostate cancer screening programs or patterns of practice. METHODS: We performed a semi-structured interview by means of a self-administered questionnaire sent by fax to 26 institutes pertaining to the International Network of Agencies for Health Technology Assessment. RESULTS: None of the countries surveyed had a formal national screening policy. Despite that, all the countries answering the questionnaire had discretionary, public-financed screening practices. Moreover, some scientific and professional organizations recommended population screening for prostate cancer, and few of the surveyed countries offered it as experimental practice within a randomized controlled trial. Survey results showed variation regarding screening policies, in particular test of choice, age cut-off points, and treatment prescribed for positive test results. CONCLUSIONS: Despite the lack of conclusive evidence on the benefits of prostate cancer screening, the availability of simple and easy-to-administer tests has lead to an enormous variation on screening policies around the world. Practice variations also affect prostate cancer therapy.

Could we measure the efficiency of prostate cancer treatment? A critical appraisal of economic evaluation studies.

The objective of this paper is to introduce the methodology of economic analysis in health care, and its application to the measurement of the efficiency analysis of prostate cancer treatment. We presented the methodology of economic analysis. To review its application in prostate cancer treatment, we performed a bibliographic search in the main biomedical databases (February 1988-January 2001) to identify economic evaluation studies that compared both costs and effects of prostate cancer treatments. The lack of economic studies for localized prostate cancer and the diversity of treatments for advanced prostate cancer make it difficult to make comparisons across studies and to make therapeutic recommendations.Prostate Cancer and Prostatic Diseases (2001) 4, 217-220.

Management of Helicobacter pylori in duodenal ulcer: a cost-effectiveness analysis.

BACKGROUND: Empirical eradication therapy of H. pylori has been proposed as a therapeutic alternative for duodenal ulcer. AIM: To identify the cost-effectiveness of empirical eradication therapy vs. test-and-treatment for the management of patients already diagnosed with a duodenal ulcer. METHODS: A decision analysis was performed to compare the cost-effectiveness of empirical eradication therapy of H. pylori diagnosed duodenal ulcer vs. eradication therapy after confirmatory diagnosis of Helicobacter pylori infection by means of several diagnostic tests. RESULTS: The empirical eradication therapy of duodenal ulcer was found to be the most effective and cost-effective strategy of all the alternatives. Amongst the alternatives, which included the previous performance of confirmatory diagnostic tests, the best cost-effectiveness ratio used a serology test. The model was robust in the face of changes in the values of therapeutic effectiveness, sensitivity and specificity of the diagnostic tests, prevalence of H. pylori infection in duodenal ulcer, duration of the antisecretory therapy, and number of medical visits. CONCLUSIONS: Based on our cost-effectiveness analysis, a treat approach is more effective and cost-effective than a test-and-treat approach in the clinical management of already diagnosed duodenal ulcer.

¿Qué estatina es más eficiente? Conceptos y aplicaciones en evaluación económica / Which statin is more efficient? Concepts and applications in economic evaluation

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[Evidence of the therapeutic effect of antihypertensive therapy: meta-analysis and meta-regression of randomized and controlled trials]. / Evidencia del efecto del tratamiento antihipertensivo: metaanálisis y metarregresión de ensayos controlados y aleatorizados.

BACKGROUND: Meta-analysis is one of the most useful methodologies in evidence-based medicine. The goal of this paper is to introduce meta-analysis and meta-regression in the synthesis of scientific evidence in the efficacy of antihypertensive therapy. METHODS: Data from 13 randomized controlled trial comparing active antihypertensive therapy with a non-therapeutic control have been analyzed. Data on trials following patients at least more than one year have been poole through random-effects models and meta-regression models. RESULTS: Pooled data from meta-analysis showed that antihypertensive therapy decreased the risk of adverse outcomes attributable to the disease, mainly stroke. Regression models indicated that this risk was independent from study duration and patients mean age. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study have showed the applicability and usefulness of data synthesis techniques in decision making in health care using hypertension as a case-study. This case-study allows us to make recommendations for research and therapy.

[Scientific evidence and antimicrobial therapy: A perfect couple?]. / Evidencia científica y terapia antimicrobiana: una pareja de hecho?

BACKGROUND: The dynamics of infectious diseases at the end of the century claims for the use of evidence-based medicine in clinical and public health decision-making. METHODS: Description of the methodological process of a systematic review of the evidence. RESULTS: Description of the stages of a systematic review of the evidence taking as case-study an example of the prevention of respiratory infection in acute care unit patients. CONCLUSION: The case-study described allows us to make recommendations based on the value of evidence to make clinical decisions on the use of antimicrobial therapy.

[The other side of the coin: socioeconomic analysis of antibiotic resistance]. / La otra cara de la moneda: análisis socioeconómico de las resistencias a los antibióticos.

BACKGROUND: The re-emergence of bacterial diseases and their negative consequences in terms of health and economic cost, have made this issue an important public health problem. The objective of this work is to review the economic literature about antibiotic resistance, and to suggest possible solutions in our health care context aimed to reduce their negative impact. METHODS: We made a bibliographic search in the main biomedical databases. Economic assessment studies published in Spanish, English, French or Italian and related to the appearance of antibiotic resistance were selected. Their main methodological characteristics and results were analysed. RESULTS: Two studies analysing the economic impact of the appearance of antibiotic resistance were identified. A minimum hospital cost of 1300 million dollars (in 1992), and a social cost between 100 and 30,000 million dollars (in 1989) were estimated. CONCLUSIONS: Economic analysis allows to quantify and assess the impact of several management strategies in relation with antibiotic administration, in terms of health and costs, and to choose the most cost-effective strategies. The identification of inappropriate consumption of antibiotics as a cause of a negative externality upon the rest of the society is basic to make health care professionals and public opinion conscious about this problem, and to develop strategies to reduce its negative impact.

[The patients' silence]. / El silencio de los pacientes.

We cannot speak about care nor cure without realizing that the concept of health care is designed to aid all the needs a patient has. And surely, only by placing ourselves in the patient's spot, trying to live inside his/her skin for a few minutes, we can comprehend the complexity of the situation which surrounds him/her. This is the way to understand, from all angles, that all efforts must be coordinated to attend to each patient's physical and emotional needs.

The Spanish health care system: lessons for newly industrialized countries.

This article summarizes the organization, financing, and delivery of health care services in Spain, and discusses the elements that made it possible to maintain high levels of health among the population, while spending comparatively fewer resources on the health care system than most industrialized countries. The case of Spain is of particular interest for newly industrialized countries, because of the fast evolution that it has undergone in recent years. Considered, by United Nations' economic standards, a developing country until 1964, Spain became in a few years the fastest growing economy in the world after Japan. By the early 1970s the infant mortality rate was already lower than in Britain or the United States.

[Efficacy and safety of thrombolytic therapy in pulmonary embolism: meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials]. / Eficacia y seguridad del tratamiento trombolítico en la tromboembolia pulmonar: metaanálisis de ensayos controlados y aleatorizados.

BACKGROUND: The role of thrombolytic agents in the treatment of pulmonary thromboembolism (PTE) remains a controversial issue. The objective of this study is to assess the efficacy and safety of thrombolytic therapy in the treatment of PTE by means of a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCT). METHODS: A bibliographic search of the main biomedical bibliographic databases was carried out and eight randomized controlled trials that fulfilled the inclusion criteria were found. Two blinded and independent evaluators assessed the quality of RCT according to Jadad scale, and selected the necessary data to fulfill the objective of this study. RESULTS: The selected trials were heterogeneous regarding the type of thrombolytic agent, the administration schedule, and the efficacy measures used. The methodological quality was 2 points in the Jadad scale as an average. No statistically significant differences in mortality nor in risk of PTE relapse were found between the group of patients receiving thrombolytic agents and the group not receiving them. Significant differences were found, however, between these two groups as regards the risk of bleeding events (OR = 2.62; CI 95%: 1.56-4.38). CONCLUSION: The results of these meta-analyses do not suggest the use of thrombolytic therapy in PTE in everyday clinical practice since measurable risks overcome potential benefits.

Which statin is most efficient for the treatment of hypercholesterolemia? A cost-effectiveness analysis.

A review of the cost-effectiveness literature indicated that the hydroxymethylglutaryl coenzyme A-reductase inhibitor fluvastatin is more cost-effective for achieving minor-to-moderate reductions in low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels than 3 other statins: lovastatin, pravastatin, and simvastatin. The main goal of this study was to verify the applicability of these conclusions to Spanish health care costs and patterns of resource consumption related to the treatment of hypercholesterolemia. A stochastic simulation model was used to predict both the costs and effects of treating high-risk hypercholesterolemic patients with fluvastatin, lovastatin, pravastatin, or simvastatin. Epidemiologic data were used to find a suitable theoretic probability distribution model for baseline LDL-C values in high-risk hypercholesterolemic patients. The model was then used to generate 10,000 random observations of baseline LDL-C values; the corresponding LDL-C values after a 2-year treatment period were predicted as a function of the baseline value and the percentage reduction expected with a particular statin and dose, according to the results obtained in 2 meta-analyses. The probability of treatment discontinuation was also taken into account using estimates obtained in usual practice. The effects of treatment were expressed as the rate of success in achieving the goal level of LDL-C, as defined in the current Spanish recommendations for the treatment of hypercholesterolemia. The average costs of treatment were computed from both the social and public-financing perspectives, including the cost of lipid-lowering drugs, physician visits, laboratory tests, and days off work, as appropriate. The occurrence of nonscheduled visits and workdays lost because of side effects were taken into account to compute indirect costs relevant to the social perspective. The potential costs of treating side effects were ignored. A cost-effectiveness analysis was performed to compare the cost-effectiveness ratios obtained with each of the 4 statins considered in this study. Model-based predictions of the effects, total costs, and cost-effectiveness ratios were made. Cost-effectiveness ratios were interpreted as the cost per patient meeting the goal of therapy, according to current Spanish recommendations. The data showed that fluvastatin had the lowest cost-effectiveness ratios when LDL-C levels required reduction to < or =25% of baseline levels. In this situation, fluvastatin was more cost-effective than lovastatin, pravastatin, or simvastatin from public-financing and social perspectives.

Trade-offs in prenatal detection of Down syndrome.

OBJECTIVES: This paper presents the results of different screening policies for prenatal detection of Down syndrome that would allow decision makers to make informed choices. METHODS: A decision analysis model was built to compare 8 screening policies with regard to a selected set of outcome measures. Probabilities used in the analysis were obtained from official administrative data reports in Spain and Catalonia and from data published in the medical literature. Sensitivity analyses were carried out to test the robustness of screening policies' results to changes in uptake rates, diagnostic accuracy, and resources consumed. RESULTS: Selected screening policies posed major trades-offs regarding detection rates, false-positive results, fetal loss, and costs of the programs. All outcome measures considered were found quite robust to changes in uptake rates. Sensitivity and specificity rates of screening tests were shown to be the most influential factors in the outcome measures considered. CONCLUSIONS: The disclosed trade-offs emphasize the need to comprehensively inform decision makers about both positive and negative consequences of adopting one screening policy or another.