School Choice Litigation After Zelman and Locke

In the past 2 years, the United States Supreme Court has decided two important cases that will bear directly on legislation and litigation involving school choice programs that provide financial aid to parents of children attending religious schools. Those cases are Zelman v. Simmons-Harris (2002) and Locke v. Davey (2004). The reasoning in Zelman, along with the litigation in the lower courts leading up to that decision, provide useful insights that should prove helpful in drafting school choice legislation and successfully defending it in court when challenged. The decision in Locke may have implications for litigation involving challenges to state laws and constitutional provisions limiting aid to religious institutions and to students attending religious schools. Both cases are discussed below

Minimising treatment-associated risks in systemic cancer therapy

Aim of the review To review the consequences of drug-related problems (DRP) in systemic cancer therapy and identify specific contributions of the pharmacist to minimise treatment-associated risks. Method Searches in PubMed, Embase and the Cochrane Library were conducted. Bibliographies of retrieved articles were examined for additional references. Only papers in English between 1980 and 2007 were included. Results In systemic cancer therapy there is an enormous potential for DRP due to the high toxicity and the complexity of most therapeutic regimens. The most frequently reported DRP can be classified into adverse effects, drug–drug interactions, medication errors, and non-adherence. Pharmacists have enhanced efforts to assure quality and safety in systemic cancer therapy together with other health care providers. In consequence, oncology pharmacy has evolved as a novel specialist discipline. The endeavour to merge and co-ordinate individual activities and services of the pharmacist has led to pharmaceutical care concepts which aim at offering novel solutions to the various DRP. Conclusion Pharmaceutical care for cancer patients should be developed within research projects and integrated into disease management programs in order to ensure broad implementation

Distribution and determinants of patient satisfaction in oncology with a focus on health related quality of life

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Cancer patients usually undergo extensive and debilitating treatments, which make quality of life (QoL) and patient satisfaction important health care assessment measures. However, very few studies have evaluated the relationship between QoL and patient satisfaction in oncology. We investigated the clinical, demographic and QoL factors associated with patient satisfaction in a large heterogeneous sample of cancer patients.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A cohort of 538 cancer patients treated at Cancer Treatment Centers of America^®(CTCA) was assessed. A patient satisfaction questionnaire developed in-house by CTCA was used. It covered the following dimensions of patient satisfaction: hospital operations and services, physicians and staff, and patient endorsements for themselves and others. QoL was assessed using the European Organization for the Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire (QLQ-C30). The clinical, demographic and QoL factors were evaluated for predictive significance using univariate and multivariate logistic regression.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The mean age of our patient population was 54.1 years (SD = 10.5, range 17-86), with a slight preponderance of females (57.2%). Breast cancer (n = 124) and lung cancer (n = 101) were the most frequent cancer types. 481 (89.4%) patients were "very satisfied" with their overall experience. Age and several QoL function and symptom scales were predictive of overall patient satisfaction upon univariate analysis. In the multivariate modeling, only those with a score above the median on the fatigue measure (i.e. worse fatigue) had reduced odds of 0.28 of being very satisfied (p = 0.03).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Patient fatigue, as reported by the QoL fatigue scale, was an independent significant predictor of overall patient satisfaction. This finding argues for special attention and programs for cancer patients who report higher levels of fatigue given that fatigue is the most frequently reported symptom in cancer patients.</p

Strategies of age-adapted pharmacotherapy in renal failure

Many geriatric patients with multimorbidities have an increased risk for impaired renal function due to age and often the presence of comorbidities, such as diabetes mellitus, hypertension and heart failure. This impairment in kidney function in turn necessitates adjustments in drug therapy. A successful strategy for treating these patients includes treatment of the underlying diseases, a comprehensive review of the indications, selection of appropriate pharmacotherapeutic alternatives and for some drugs dose adjustment to the renal function. To achieve therapeutic success many patient individual factors, such as potentially complex medication regimens, polypharmacy, cognitive function and functional disabilities need to be considered when prescribing medications. This article describes the problems associated with drug therapy that is not adjusted to renal function and provides guidelines for assessment of the benefits and risks in patients with kidney failure. The characteristic features of geriatric patients in particular are considered and discussed

School Choice Litigation After Zelman and Locke

In the past 2 years, the United States Supreme Court has decided two important cases that will bear directly on legislation and litigation involving school choice programs that provide financial aid to parents of children attending religious schools. Those cases are Zelman v. Simmons-Harris (2002) and Locke v. Davey (2004). The reasoning in Zelman, along with the litigation in the lower courts leading up to that decision, provide useful insights that should prove helpful in drafting school choice legislation and successfully defending it in court when challenged. The decision in Locke may have implications for litigation involving challenges to state laws and constitutional provisions limiting aid to religious institutions and to students attending religious schools. Both cases are discussed below

El Correo de Cantabria : periódico de noticias, literario y de anuncios: Año XIII Número 64 - 1894 mayo 30

Copia digital. Madrid : Ministerio de Educación, Cultura y Deporte. Subdirección General de Coordinación Bibliotecaria, 201