This fully revised and corrected edition of the International Classification of Primary Care 2e (ICPC-2) is indispensable for anyone wishing to use the international classification system for classificaton of morbidity data in a primary care setting. The concept of ICPC-2 has not been changed but the main body of the actual classification (chapter 10) has been completely revised to reflect the adequate use for an individual patient record and for research purposes. This now brings the printed version of ICPC-2 completely in-line with the electronic version previously only available through the Oxford Website for the journal Family Practice. ICPC-2 is patient-oriented rather than disease or provider-oriented. It encompasses both the patient's reason for encounter and the patient's problem. ICPC-2 is extensively used internationally and includes a detailed conversion system for linking the ICPC and ICD-10 codes published by WHO, additional inclusion criteria, and cross-referencing rubrics. ICPC-2 It has been developed based on the recognition that building the appropriate primary care systems to allow the assessment and implementation of health care priorities is possible only if the right information is available to health care planners.

Towards a better understanding of how medicines are used in society Drug Utilization Research (DUR) is a discipline which combines aspects of pharmacotherapy, epidemiology, and health services research into an interdisciplinary set of methods for analyzing and assessing the prescribing, dispensing and consumption of medicines. It combines both qualitative and quantitative approaches to facilitate the safe and effective use of pharmaceuticals. Drug Utilization Research: Methods and Applications provides a comprehensive introduction to this discipline, prepared by an international team of authors with broad experience in numerous fields. Now reorganized and updated to reflect the latest research and global challenges, it is an indispensable resource for understanding the use of pharmaceuticals. Readers of the second edition of Drug Utilization Research will find: New chapters on methods, including more hands-on guidance on how to plan and conduct different types of drug utilization A section on specific applications in areas such as psychotropics, opioids, cancer drugs, antibacterials, and cardiovascular drugs A new section with case studies illustrating applications of DUR in different continents Detailed treatment of subjects including DUR and health policy, DUR in specific populations, and many more Drug Utilization Research is ideal for epidemiologists, pharmacists, physicians, nurses and others interested in drug use and its outcomes.

This User’s Guide is intended to support the design, implementation, analysis, interpretation, and quality evaluation of registries created to increase understanding of patient outcomes. For the purposes of this guide, a patient registry is an organized system that uses observational study methods to collect uniform data (clinical and other) to evaluate specified outcomes for a population defined by a particular disease, condition, or exposure, and that serves one or more predetermined scientific, clinical, or policy purposes. A registry database is a file (or files) derived from the registry. Although registries can serve many purposes, this guide focuses on registries created for one or more of the following purposes: to describe the natural history of disease, to determine clinical effectiveness or cost-effectiveness of health care products and services, to measure or monitor safety and harm, and/or to measure quality of care. Registries are classified according to how their populations are defined. For example, product registries include patients who have been exposed to biopharmaceutical products or medical devices. Health services registries consist of patients who have had a common procedure, clinical encounter, or hospitalization. Disease or condition registries are defined by patients having the same diagnosis, such as cystic fibrosis or heart failure. The User’s Guide was created by researchers affiliated with AHRQ’s Effective Health Care Program, particularly those who participated in AHRQ’s DEcIDE (Developing Evidence to Inform Decisions About Effectiveness) program. Chapters were subject to multiple internal and external independent reviews.

This edition is the most updated since its inception, is the essential text for students and professionals working in and around epidemiology or using its methods. It covers subject areas - genetics, clinical epidemiology, public health practice/policy, preventive medicine, health promotion, social sciences and methods for clinical research.

This third edition of the International Classification of Primary Care (ICPC-3) is indispensible for anyone wishing to use the international classification system for classification of morbidity data in a primary care setting. Distilling the many standards that are applied internationally in primary & community care and public health to offer a telescopic view, the classification has been completely rewritten to reflect the continued shift in the health paradigm of primary care and public health towards the person rather than the disease or provider. The content of ICPC-3 remains closely ‘linked’ to relevant related international classifications. The ICPC-3 also contributes to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, specifically to Goal 3 and its target of ensuring healthy lives and promoting well-being for all at all ages.

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 13th International Conference on Artificial Intelligence: Methodology, Systems, and Applications, AIMSA 2008, held in Varna, Bulgaria in September 2008. The 30 revised full papers presented together with the 10 posters were carefully reviewed and selected from 109 submissions. The papers are organized in topical sections on agents; natural language processing and text analysis; machine learning and information retrieval; knowledge representation and reasoning; constraints, heuristics and search; applications; posters.