Critics predicted that competition would undermine equity by encouraging NHS hospitals to 'cherry-pick' profitable patients and avoid socio-economically disadvantaged patients who are less healthy and more difficult to treat.
This may explain why the studies including disadvantaged patients showed the most convincing results.
Recently, opioid use among socioeconomically disadvantaged patients in Ontario has increased substantially [ 17].
This may help individualize pain management regimens, especially in minority, rural or cognitively disadvantaged patients.
Our study provides insight into potential barriers to colorectal cancer screening facing disadvantaged patients served by community health centers.
These findings suggest that "activating" patients may be one means of improving cancer care for disadvantaged patients.
Despite being at high risk, disadvantaged patients may be less likely to receive preventive care in general practice.
They reported feelings of incompetence and powerlessness that prevented them from addressing certain issues with socioeconomically disadvantaged patients.
Making food or income support an integral part of TB treatment can be an important step in addressing the needs of socially disadvantaged patients.
The results indicated that medical residents subsequently felt encouraged to adopt a care approach that helped them overcome the social distance between themselves and their socioeconomically disadvantaged patients.
The study took place in the north east of England in 18 general practices based in urban, rural and semirural communities serving predominantly socioeconomically disadvantaged patients.
