Pay-for-performance (P4P) programs have been introduced into the Canadian medical system in the last decades. This paper examines the underlying characteristics of P4P and describes both their advantages and drawbacks. Most P4P programs provide the advantage of rewarding medical acts, thus providing an incentive to take on complex patients. There is a variety of nuanced P4P initiatives, which provide financial incentive according to differing criteria, based on quality measures, incentives, and/or benchmark structures. However, there is no conclusive evidence demonstrating that P4P programs provide better value for money than traditional pay schemes, regardless of particular structural choices. Some evidence has even shown that P4P may be detrimental, especially in disadvantaged and high-risk populations. Additionally, there are a number of ethical and practical concerns that arise with the use of P4P, such as the risk of financial incentives being misused or misinterpreted and patients being refused or referred during treatment. P4P initiatives require careful examination and the creation of solid, evidence-based criteria for evaluation and implementation in Canadian medical systems.

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Intensive care unit (ICU) costs have doubled since 2000, totalling 108 billion dollars per year. Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) has a prevalence of 10.4% and a 28-day mortality of 34.8%. Noninvasive ventilation (NIV) is used in up to 30% of cases. A recent randomized controlled trial by Patel et al. (2016) showed lower intubation rates and 90-day mortality when comparing helmet to face mask NIV in ARDS. The population in the Patel et al. trial was used for cost analysis in this study. Projections of cost savings showed a decrease in ICU costs by $2527 and hospital costs by $3103 per patient, along with a 43.3% absolute reduction in intubation rates. Sensitivity analysis showed consistent cost reductions. Projected annual cost savings, assuming the current prevalence of ARDS, were $237538 in ICU costs and $291682 in hospital costs. At a national level, using yearly incidence of ARDS cases in American ICUs, this represents $449 million in savings. Helmet NIV, compared to face mask NIV, in nonintubated patients with ARDS, reduces ICU and hospital direct-variable costs along with intubation rates, LOS, and mortality. A large-scale cost-effectiveness analysis is needed to validate the findings.

The present study is an extension of previous work on the dreams of pregnant women, with a large sample from pregnancy and postpartum. In total, 143 pregnant women completed dream diaries during 3 distinct periods. Also, 125 nonpregnant women completed a dream diary on 1 occasion. Pregnancy-and motherhood-related oneiric characteristics, as well as negative versus positive dream elements, were coded by 2 independent judges. Results revealed that pregnant women experienced more direct in-dream representations of pregnancy and motherhood than the comparison group. However, no differences in oneiric emotional content were observed between the 2 groups. Results support the continuity hypothesis with respect to thematic representations of pregnancy but are inconclusive regarding emotional content.