Outcomes of a financial incentive scheme for dementia care by dementia specialist teams in acute‐care hospitals: A difference‐in‐differences analysis of a nationwide retrospective cohort study in Japan

Background: Delirium is a distressing neurocognitive disorder that is common among terminally ill individuals, although few studies have described its occurrence in the acute care setting among this population. Aim: To describe the prevalence of delirium in patients admitted to acute care hospitals in Ontario, Canada, in their last year of life and identify factors associated with delirium. Design: Population-based retrospective cohort study using linked health administrative data. Delirium was identified through diagnosis codes on hospitalization records. Setting/participants: Ontario decedents (1 January 2014 to 31 December 2016) admitted to an acute care hospital in their last year of life, excluding individuals age of <18 years or >105 years at admission, those not eligible for the provincial health insurance plan between their hospitalization and death dates, and non-Ontario residents. Results: Delirium was recorded as a diagnosis in 8.2% of hospitalizations. The frequency of delirium-related hospitalizations increased as death approached. Delirium prevalence was higher in patients with dementia (prevalence ratio: 1.43; 95% confidence interval: 1.36–1.50), frailty (prevalence ratio: 1.67; 95% confidence interval: 1.56–1.80), or organ failure–related cause of death (prevalence ratio: 1.23; 95% confidence interval: 1.16–1.31) and an opioid prescription (prevalence ratio: 1.17; 95% confidence interval: 1.12–1.21). Prevalence also varied by age, sex, chronic conditions, antipsychotic use, receipt of long-term care or home care, and hospitalization characteristics. Conclusion: This study described the occurrence and timing of delirium in acute care hospitals in the last year of life and identified factors associated with delirium. These findings can be used to support delirium prevention and early detection in the hospital setting.

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Outcomes of women with congenital heart disease admitted to acute-care hospitals for delivery in Japan: a retrospective cohort study using nationwide Japanese diagnosis procedure combination database

BMC Cardiovascular Disorders ◽

10.1186/s12872-021-02222-z ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 21 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Manabu Nitta ◽

Sayuri Shimizu ◽

Makoto Kaneko ◽

Kiyohide Fushimi ◽

Shinichiro Ueda

Keyword(s):

Congenital Heart Disease ◽

Cohort Study ◽

Heart Disease ◽

Acute Care ◽

Retrospective Cohort Study ◽

Retrospective Cohort ◽

Congenital Heart ◽

Acute Care Hospitals ◽

Diagnosis Procedure Combination ◽

Great Complexity

Abstract Background The number of women with congenital heart disease (CHD) who are of childbearing age is increasing due to advancements in medical management. Nonetheless, data on the outcomes of delivery in women with CHD remain limited. Therefore, we conducted a retrospective cohort study using a nationwide database of deliveries by women with CHD. Methods Deliveries by women with CHD discharged from acute-care hospitals between April 2017 and March 2018 were identified based on the Diagnosis Procedure Combination database which covers almost all acute-care hospitals in Japan. By using this database, we tried to include relatively high-risk deliveries by women with CHD. Subjects were divided into three groups according to the underlying disease complexity: simple, moderate, and great complexity. The clinical characteristics and incidence of peripartum cardiovascular events were compared among the three groups. Results A total of 249 deliveries from 107 hospitals were included. The largest facility had 29 deliveries per year. Given the uncertainty of underlying cardiac anomalies, 48 women were excluded, and the remaining 201 women (median age, 32 years) were analyzed. In-hospital maternal death, use of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, intra-aortic balloon pump, pacemaker, and direct current cardioversion were not observed. Nine patients (4.5%) required intravenous diuretic administration. However, the difference in the frequency of diuretic use was not significant among the three groups (simple, 1.9%; moderate, 7.2%; great, 6.9%; P = 0.204). One participant required valve replacement surgery at 22 days after a successful cesarean section. As the disease complexity increased, deliveries occurred more frequently at university hospitals (simple, 41.7%; moderate, 52.2%; great, 72.4%; P = 0.013) and the length of hospitalization was significantly longer, with median durations of 9.0 (interquartile range [IQR] 7.0–11.0) days, 10.0 (IQR 8.0–24.0) days, and 11.0 (IQR 8.0–36.0) days in the simple, moderate, and great complexity groups, respectively (P = 0.002). Conclusions Appropriate patient selection and management by specialized tertiary institutions may contribute to positive outcomes in pregnancies in women with CHD.

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Delivery of Palliative Care in Acute Care Hospitals: A Population-Based Retrospective Cohort Study Describing the Level of Involvement and Timing of Inpatient Palliative Care in the Last Year of Life

Journal of Palliative Medicine ◽

10.1089/jpm.2020.0056 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Colleen Webber ◽

Raphael Chan ◽

Mary Scott ◽

Catherine Brown ◽

Sarah Spruin ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Palliative Care ◽

Cohort Study ◽

Acute Care ◽

Retrospective Cohort Study ◽

Retrospective Cohort ◽

Acute Care Hospitals ◽

Population Based ◽

Level Of Involvement

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Hospitalization Outcomes of Delirium in Patients Admitted to Acute Care Hospitals in Their Last Year of Life: A Population-Based Retrospective Cohort Study

Journal of Pain and Symptom Management ◽

10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2020.10.029 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Colleen Webber ◽

Christine L. Watt ◽

Shirley H. Bush ◽

Peter G. Lawlor ◽

Robert Talarico ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Cohort Study ◽

Acute Care ◽

Retrospective Cohort Study ◽

Retrospective Cohort ◽

Acute Care Hospitals ◽

Population Based

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Physical restraint to patients with dementia in acute physical care settings: effect of the financial incentive to acute care hospitals

International Psychogeriatrics ◽

10.1017/s104161021700240x ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 30 (7) ◽

pp. 991-1000 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Miharu Nakanishi ◽

Yasuyuki Okumura ◽

Asao Ogawa

Keyword(s):

Acute Care ◽

Financial Incentive ◽

Physical Restraint ◽

Acute Care Hospitals ◽

Dementia Care ◽

Lower Percentage ◽

Public Healthcare ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Insurance Program ◽

Healthcare Insurance

ABSTRACTBackground:In April 2016, the Japanese government introduced an additional benefit for dementia care in acute care hospitals (dementia care benefit) into the universal benefit schedule of public healthcare insurance program. The benefit includes a financial disincentive to use physical restraint. The present study investigated the association between the dementia care benefit and the use of physical restraint among inpatients with dementia in general acute care settings.Methods:A national cross-sectional study design was used. Eight types of care units from acute care hospitals under the public healthcare insurance program were invited to participate in this study. A total of 23,539 inpatients with dementia from 2,355 care units in 937 hospitals were included for the analysis. Dementia diagnosis or symptoms included any signs of cognitive impairment. The primary outcome measure was “use of physical restraint.”Results:Among patients, the point prevalence of physical restraint was 44.5% (n= 10,480). Controlling for patient, unit, and hospital characteristics, patients in units with dementia care benefit had significantly lower percentage of physical restraint than those in any other units (42.0% vs. 47.1%; adjusted odds ratio, 0.76; 95% confident interval [0.63, 0.92]).Conclusions:The financial incentive may have reduced the risk of physical restraint among patients with dementia in acute care hospitals. However, use of physical restraint was still common among patients with dementia in units with the dementia care benefit. An educational package to guide dementia care approach including the avoidance of physical restraint by healthcare professionals in acute care hospitals is recommended.

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Hospital-based acute care in the last 30 days of life among patients with chronic disease that received early, late or no specialist palliative care: a retrospective cohort study of eight chronic disease groups

BMJ Open ◽

10.1136/bmjopen-2020-044196 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (3) ◽

pp. e044196

Author(s):

Madalene Earp ◽

Pin Cai ◽

Andrew Fong ◽

Kelly Blacklaws ◽

Truong-Minh Pham ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Palliative Care ◽

Cohort Study ◽

Heart Disease ◽

Chronic Disease ◽

Acute Care ◽

Retrospective Cohort Study ◽

Retrospective Cohort ◽

Hospital Admissions ◽

Specialist Palliative Care ◽

Icu Admission

ObjectiveFor eight chronic diseases, evaluate the association of specialist palliative care (PC) exposure and timing with hospital-based acute care in the last 30 days of life.DesignRetrospective cohort study using administrative data.SettingAlberta, Canada between 2007 and 2016.Participants47 169 adults deceased from: (1) cancer, (2) heart disease, (3) dementia, (4) stroke, (5) chronic lower respiratory disease (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)), (6) liver disease, (7) neurodegenerative disease and (8) renovascular disease.Main outcome measuresThe proportion of decedents who experienced high hospital-based acute care in the last 30 days of life, indicated by ≥two emergency department (ED) visit, ≥two hospital admissions,≥14 days of hospitalisation, any intensive care unit (ICU) admission, or death in hospital. Relative risk (RR) and risk difference (RD) of hospital-based acute care given early specialist PC exposure (≥90 days before death), adjusted for patient characteristics.ResultsIn an analysis of all decedents, early specialist PC exposure was associated with a 32% reduction in risk of any hospital-based acute care as compared with those with no PC exposure (RR 0.69, 95% CI 0.66 to 0.71; RD 0.16, 95% CI 0.15 to 0.17). The association was strongest in cancer-specific analyses (RR 0.53, 95% CI 0.50 to 0.55; RD 0.31, 95% CI 0.29 to 0.33) and renal disease-specific analyses (RR 0.60, 95% CI 0.43 to 0.84; RD 0.22, 95% CI 0.11 to 0.34), but a~25% risk reduction was observed for each of heart disease, COPD, neurodegenerative diseases and stroke. Early specialist PC exposure was associated with reducing risk of four out of five individual indicators of high hospital-based acute care in the last 30 days of life, including ≥two ED visit,≥two hospital admission, any ICU admission and death in hospital.ConclusionsEarly specialist PC exposure reduced the risk of hospital-based acute care in the last 30 days of life for all chronic disease groups except dementia.

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