RESUMO
Health maintenance organizations (HMOs) would appear to be a possible answer to the ever-increasing cost of health care. These organizations have made a remarkable impact on health care delivery since their inception. There is growing acceptance by the general public and the organizations are springing up all over the United States. This trend seems to attest to their popularity. Although not the final answer to the health-care dilemma, health maintenance organizations seem to provide a temporary solution to the problem while the search for a better solution continues.
Assuntos
Sistemas Pré-Pagos de Saúde/organização & administração , Controle de Custos , Sistemas Pré-Pagos de Saúde/economia , Estados UnidosRESUMO
Hypertension is perhaps the most common chronic disease in the United States, if not in the world. It is certainly the single most important chronic illness in which obtaining patient compliance to therapy is a challenging task. It is a lifelong, life-threatening condition, which may be completely asymptomatic in the afflicted individual. When this illness is detected early and given appropriate treatment, many of its complications, such as strokes, myocardial infarctions, renal disease, and retinal damage, can be prevented, or at least curtailed. The problem of noncompliance to therapy has been attacked in different ways by several investigators. The author believes that this problem can be approached using the following recommendations: thorough patient education, simplicity of therapy, elimination of drugs with serious side effects, and involvement of the patient and his family members in the therapeutic program. When these steps are taken, patient adherence to treatment usually improves, thus resulting in more effective management of hypertension and consequent reduction in its morbidity and mortality.
Assuntos
Saúde , Hipertensão/tratamento farmacológico , Cooperação do Paciente , Saúde da População Urbana , Adolescente , Adulto , Alcoolismo/complicações , Feminino , Humanos , Masculino , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Cidade de Nova Iorque , Áreas de PobrezaRESUMO
Listeria infections is an important cause of sepsis and meningitis in renal transplant patients. Prompt recognition and aggressive therapy are required to control this life-threatening infection. In 1972, one case of listeriosis occurred in a renal transplant recipient in our center; 1974, six more cases were detected within a period of nine months. All seven patients had Listeria sepsis, and three of the seven patients had both sepsis and meningitis. Antibiotic treatment resulted in remarkable improvement in the clinical state of all the patients in this study. Two patients later died of other unrelated causes.
