Infection control and changing health-care delivery systems.
In the past, health care was delivered mainly in acute-care facilities. Today, health care is delivered in hospital, outpatient, transitional care, long-term care, rehabilitative care, home, and private office settings. Measures to reduce health-care costs include decreasing the number of hospitals and the length of patient stays, increasing outpatient and home care, and increasing long-term care for the elderly. The home-care industry and managed care have become major providers of health care. The role of specialists in health-care epidemiology has changed accordingly.
Jarvis
W R
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Hospital Infections Program, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA. wrj1@cdc.gov
D000368:Aged; D000375:Aging; D000553:Ambulatory Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D003140:Communicable Disease Control / Q000191:economics / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000706:statistics & numerical data / Q000639:trends*; D003695:Delivery of Health Care / Q000191:economics / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000706:statistics & numerical data / Q000639:trends*; D006279:Health Maintenance Organizations / Q000706:statistics & numerical data / Q000639:trends; D006282:Health Personnel; D006299:Health Services for the Aged / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006699:Home Care Services / Q000191:economics / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000706:statistics & numerical data / Q000639:trends; D006801:Humans; D008511:Medicine; D013038:Specialization; D014481:United States