Background: To compare the costs and effects of paliperidone extended release (ER), a new pharmaceutical treatment for the management of schizophrenia, with the most frequently prescribed oral treatments in Greece (namely risperidone, olanzapine, quetiapine, aripiprazole and ziprasidone) over a 1-year time period.
Aims To estimate the annual cost of treatment for Type 2 diabetic patients in Greece and investigate the effect of blood glucose regulation on patient cost.Methods A multipoint data collection procedure based on the patient records of 51 geographically distributed physicians was used in order to obtain the necessary data for the analysis and the construction of the patient cost model. Patients were classified as controlled (i.e. maintaining blood glucose regulation for the 1 year retrospective time frame of the analysis) and noncontrolled (the patients failing to do so in the specified time period). Cost categories included pharmaceutical expenditure, laboratory ⁄ diagnostic tests and consultation fees. Costs attributable to hospitalizations due to diabetic complications were not included. Calculations were based on 2007 fees and prices, and costs are expressed in Euros.Results The average annual cost of treatment for controlled patients was estimated at 981.72€ (95% confidence interval, 940.66-1023.01€), whereas for non-controlled patients it was 1566.12€ (95% confidence interval, 1485.42-1650.20€). Noncontrolled patients had 29.7% higher annual pharmaceutical costs (340.50 vs. 441.96€), 70% higher costs for laboratory ⁄ diagnostic tests (422.54 vs. 718.49€) and 85.5% higher consultation costs (218.68 vs. 405.67€) compared with their controlled peers. The average cost for a Type 2 diabetic patient in Greece, regardless of blood glucose regulation, was 1297.30€ (95% confidence interval, 1244.42-1349.61€).Conclusions Failing to control blood glucose levels within 'glycaemic goals', apart from the clinical consequences, can also have a significant financial impact, resulting in a 59.5% increase in the mean annual patient cost. Diabet. Med. 27, 679-684 (2010)
BackgroundPatients having chronic schizophrenia with frequent relapses and hospitalizations represent a great challenge, both clinically and financially. Risperidone long-acting injection (RIS-LAI) has been the main LAI atypical antipsychotic treatment in Greece. Paliperidone palmitate (PP-LAI) has recently been approved. It is dosed monthly, as opposed to biweekly for RIS-LAI, but such advantages have not yet been analysed in terms of economic evaluation.PurposeTo compare costs and outcomes of PP-LAI versus RIS-LAI in Greece.MethodsA cost-utility analysis was performed using a previously validated decision tree to model clinical pathways and costs over 1 year for stable patients started on either medication. Rates were taken from the literature. A local expert panel provided feedback on treatment patterns. All direct costs incurred by the national healthcare system were obtained from the literature and standard price lists; all were inflated to 2011 costs. Patient outcomes analyzed included average days with stable disease, numbers of hospitalizations, emergency room visits, and quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs).ResultsThe total annual healthcare cost with PP-LAI was €3529; patients experienced 325 days in remission and 0.840 QALY; 28% were hospitalized and 15% received emergency room treatment. With RIS-LAI, the cost was €3695, patients experienced 318.6 days in remission and 0.815 QALY; 33% were hospitalized and 17% received emergency room treatment. Thus, PP-LAI dominated RIS-LAI. Results were generally robust in sensitivity analyses with PP-LAI dominating in 74.6% of simulations. Results were sensitive to the price of PP-LAI.ConclusionsPP-LAI appears to be a cost-effective option for treating chronic schizophrenia in Greece compared with RIS-LAI since it results in savings to the health care system along with better patient outcomes.
Introduction: Overexposure to sun radiation and particularly its accumulation during childhood and adolescence is a significant risk factor for skin cancer development. The sun burn is particularly important. Aim: To estimate sun burn incidence in young pupils in a coastal area of Greece. Materials and Methods: Two surveys were conducted in a school population in the same district in Greece, over different periods of time, in young people 9 to 18 years old (n=2 977). Anonymous questionnaires were completed. Levels of significance were twotailed and statistical significance was set at p=0.05. SPSS 17.0 software was used for statistical analysis. Results: From the individual characteristics of the participants it was shown that the majority of them had dark hair and fair skin, whereas a significant percentage reported the existence of moles on face and their body (83.4% vs 68.1%). The sun burn incidence was high in adolescents and the younger pupils (41.9% vs 55.6%). The younger aged children who were living in an urban area had significantly higher rates of sun burn than those living in semi-urban areas (33.8% vs 24.8%, p=0.020). As far as the knowledge of pupils about the risks of sun radiation it was shown that the elementary school pupils had better knowledge than those at high school. Finally, those with better knowledge had the fewer sun burns (Mean 2.83 SD 0.87, p<0.001). Conclusions: The contribution of knowledge to the decrease of sun burn incidence is important as long as this is continuous. Therefore, the education should concern not only children but also teachers and parents in the context of continuous and systematic programs of health education.
The current financial crisis has negatively affected the women's ability to afford gynaecological examinations. Therefore, it is necessary to inform the population about the necessity of preventive gynaecological examinations starting from school age and at the same time, health information and promotion campaigns should be launched at a national level.
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