8th Health Services and Policy Research Conference, 2–4 December 2013, in Wellington, N.Z.
The 2013 Conference theme is ‘Doing better with less: Enhancing health system performance in difficult times.’ The organisers would like to particularly encourage abstract submissions on the following key subthemes: Achieving universal coverage, low costs for patients, and integrated care: 75 years of the Social Security Act in New Zealand; Improving indigenous health and reducing inequalities for indigenous populations; Improving Pacific health and reducing inequalities for Pacific populations;
- Understanding how well new forms of governance work to improve health system performance; Enhancing priority setting and disinvestment processes; Developing and evaluating new models of care; Enhancing quality and safety; Strengthening health services research methods. More information here
Editorial comment: There seem to be no limits to the madness that comes from our obsession with these gadgets. In the Independent (UK) on July 25th Jane Merrick wrote of seeing a toddler on a train platform drop his scooter onto the tracks while his mother was busy on her mobile. Another report in the same paper on the same day (by Tony Paterson) was about the presumed suicide of Carsten Schloter, chief executive of Swisscom. He had admitted 'suffering from stress inflicted on him by the mobile device that helped catapult him to success: his smartphone.' 