No abstract

Health technology refers to the instruments, equipment, drugs and procedures used in health care delivery, as well as the organizations supporting it. Health technology assessment, which is the process of conducting investigations to establish the criteria for efficacious, effective and efficient patient care, is becoming increasingly important in an era of diminishing resources. This survey of 39 community hospitals in southwestern Ontario found that improved purchasing strategies can result in substantial cost savings which can in turn be used to improve patient care. The study shows that optimizing the price of basic hospital commodities could save an average community hospital as much as $625,000 per year.

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Managed care, which is becoming increasingly prevalent in the United States, is virtually absent in Canada. Yet managed care, if implemented judiciously, has the potential to provide comprehensive, high quality care while containing spiraling healthcare expenditures. Managed care is also the foundation of integrated health systems, which have been widely discussed during the past few years. Then why has Canada been so slow to accept managed care? Since physicians have a great deal of influence on how healthcare is ultimately delivered, a group of Ontario physicians was surveyed to determine their perceptions of managed care. It was found that physicians were knowledgeable about the cost-containment capabilities of managed care but had misperceptions about managed care with respect to quality of patient care, preventive services and necessary medical care. Education and further research are recommended so that any debate about managed care, integrated systems or alternative physician payment can be meaningful, objective, beneficial and accurate.