High quality of care did not imply increased hospital spending— nationwide cohort study among hip fracture patients

2018 ◽  
Vol 31 (7) ◽  
pp. 22-29
Author(s):  
Pia Kjær Kristensen ◽  
Rikke Søgaard ◽  
Theis Muncholm Thillemann ◽  
Kjeld Søballe ◽  
Søren Paaske Johnsen

Abstract Objective To examine whether fulfilment of process performance measures reflecting national guidelines is associated with in-hospital costs among hip fracture patients. Design Nationwide, population-based follow-up study. Setting Public hospitals in Denmark. Participants A total of 20 458 patients 65 years or older admitted with a hip fracture between 2010 and 2013. Intervention Quality of care defined as fulfilment of process performance measures reflecting recommendations from national clinical guidelines, which previously have been shown to be associated with lower mortality and readmission risk. The measures included systematic pain assessment; mobilisation within 24 h post-operatively; assessment of basic mobility before admission and discharge; and receiving a rehabilitation programme before discharge, anti-osteoporotic medication and fall prevention. Main outcome measures Total costs defined as the sum of hospital costs used for treating the individual patients according to the Danish Reference Cost Database. Results Within the index admission, fulfilling 50 to >75% of the performance measures was associated with lower adjusted costs (EUR 2643) than was fulfilling 0–50% of these measures (EUR 3544). The lower costs were mainly due to savings on further treatment and fewer bed days. Mobilisation within 24 h after surgery and assessment for need of anti-osteoporotic medication were associated with the largest cost differences, corresponding to adjusted cost differences of EUR 3030 and EUR 3538, respectively. The cost difference was lower when all costs related to hospitalisation within the first year were considered. Conclusions These findings indicate that high quality of care does not imply higher hospital spending and may be associated with cost savings.

2019 ◽  
Vol 65 (4) ◽  
pp. 373-401 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ansgar Wübker ◽  
Christiane Wuckel

Abstract What is the impact of private for-profit (PfP) hospital ownership on costs and quality of care? In light of a substantial and increasing share of PfP hospitals in many hospital markets like the USA or Germany, this is an important question. We estimate the effect of PfP ownership on hospital 30-day- and 1-year-mortality outcomes and hospital costs by focusing on heart attacks and pneumonia, two very common conditions in healthcare markets. We use rich administrative hospital data from Germany for the years 2006–2015. Applying differential distance as instrument for hospital choice, we imitate randomization of patients into PfP hospitals. Our results suggest that PfP hospitals have no higher mortality rates for heart attack treatment than public ones. For pneumonia patients, we even find lower 30-day-mortality rates of PfP hospitals compared to public hospitals. Finally, we show that PfP hospitals have higher hospital costs than public or private not-for-profit hospitals for both conditions.


2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (6) ◽  
pp. e001817 ◽  
Author(s):  
Apostolos Tsiachristas ◽  
David Gathara ◽  
Jalemba Aluvaala ◽  
Timothy Chege ◽  
Edwine Barasa ◽  
...  

IntroductionNeonatal mortality is an urgent policy priority to improve global population health and reduce health inequality. As health systems in Kenya and elsewhere seek to tackle increased neonatal mortality by improving the quality of care, one option is to train and employ neonatal healthcare assistants (NHCAs) to support professional nurses by taking up low-skill tasks.MethodsMonte-Carlo simulation was performed to estimate the potential impact of introducing NHCAs in neonatal nursing care in four public hospitals in Nairobi on effectively treated newborns and staff costs over a period of 10 years. The simulation was informed by data from 3 workshops with >10 stakeholders each, hospital records and scientific literature. Two univariate sensitivity analyses were performed to further address uncertainty.ResultsStakeholders perceived that 49% of a nurse full-time equivalent could be safely delegated to NHCAs in standard care, 31% in intermediate care and 20% in intensive care. A skill-mix with nurses and NHCAs would require ~2.6 billionKenyan Shillings (KES) (US$26 million) to provide quality care to 58% of all newborns in need (ie, current level of coverage in Nairobi) over a period of 10 years. This skill-mix configuration would require ~6 billion KES (US$61 million) to provide quality of care to almost all newborns in need over 10 years.ConclusionChanging skill-mix in hospital care by introducing NHCAs may be an affordable way to reduce neonatal mortality in low/middle-income countries. This option should be considered in ongoing policy discussions and supported by further evidence.


2021 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yubraj Acharya ◽  
Nigel James ◽  
Rita Thapa ◽  
Saman Naz ◽  
Rishav Shrestha ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Nepal has made significant strides in maternal and neonatal mortality over the last three decades. However, poor quality of care can threaten the gains, as maternal and newborn services are particularly sensitive to quality of care. Our study aimed to understand current gaps in the process and the outcome dimensions of the quality of antenatal care (ANC), particularly at the sub-national level. We assessed these dimensions of the quality of ANC in 17 primary, public hospitals across Nepal. We also assessed the variation in the ANC process across the patients’ socio-economic gradient. Methods We used a convergent mixed methods approach, whereby we triangulated qualitative and quantitative data. In the quantitative component, we observed interactions between providers (17 hospitals from all 7 provinces) and 198 women seeking ANC and recorded the tasks the providers performed, using the Service Provision Assessments protocol available from the Demographic and Health Survey program. The main outcome variable was the number of tasks performed by the provider during an ANC consultation. The tasks ranged from identifying potential signs of danger to providing counseling. We analyzed the resulting data descriptively and assessed the relationship between the number of tasks performed and users’ characteristics. In the qualitative component, we synthesized users’ and providers’ narratives on perceptions of the overall quality of care obtained through focus group discussions and in-depth interviews. Results Out of the 59 tasks recommended by the World Health Organization, providers performed only 22 tasks (37.3%) on average. The number of tasks performed varied significantly across provinces, with users in province 3 receiving significantly higher quality care than those in other provinces. Educated women were treated better than those with no education. Users and providers agreed that the overall quality of care was inadequate, although providers mentioned that the current quality was the best they could provide given the constraints they faced. Conclusion The quality of ANC in Nepal’s primary hospitals is poor and inequitable across education and geographic gradients. While current efforts, such as the provision of 24/7 birthing centers, can mitigate gaps in service availability, additional equipment, infrastructure and human resources will be needed to improve quality. Providers also need additional training focused on treating patients from different backgrounds equally. Our study also points to the need for additional research, both to document the quality of care more objectively and to establish key determinants of quality to inform policy.


2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Balkew Asegidew Tegegn ◽  
Betregiorgis Zegeye Hailu ◽  
Birhanu Damtew Tsegaye ◽  
Gashaw Garedew Woldeamanuel ◽  
Wassie Negash

BACKGROUND: Inappropriate Tuberculosis (TB) diagnosis and treatment contributes to unfavorable health outcome among TB patients. Improving quality of healthcare service helps to avert TB related morbidity. Despite these facts, the level of quality of service is not known in the hospitals. Hence, the present study was conducted to assess the quality of care delivered to TB patients among publichospitals.METHODS: A facility-based cross-sectional study was conducted from March 15 to April 30, 2019 in North Shewa Zone, Amhara region, Ethiopia. All TB patients who had follow-up in the hospitals were included. This resulted in the involvement of 82 TB patients. Data was collected by trained data collectors using facility audit, clinical observation checklists, structured questionnaire and in-depth interview. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 20. Binary logistic regression analysis was done to identify the predictors of patients’ satisfaction.RESULTS: In this study, 82 respondents with a mean age of 36.48 (±13.27) years were participated. The mean quality score for structural dimension was 59.5%, and 53.7% of participants were found to be satisfied in outcome dimension. The mean score for process dimension of quality of service were 67.9%. Having TB symptoms were significantly associated with the level of patientsatisfaction towards TB care [AOR = 0.217, p = 0.015].CONCLUSION:Quality of TB services from structural and outcome dimension were low and higher in process dimension. Thus, careful attention on the quality of services will help to reduce the burden of TB.


Medical Care ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 44 (9) ◽  
pp. 862-869 ◽  
Author(s):  
Albert L. Siu ◽  
Kenneth S. Boockvar ◽  
Joan D. Penrod ◽  
R Sean Morrison ◽  
Ethan A. Halm ◽  
...  

Stroke ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 44 (suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Devin R Harris ◽  
Robert Stenstrom ◽  
Eric Grafstein ◽  
Mark Collison ◽  
Grant Innes ◽  
...  

Background: The care of stroke patients in the emergency department (ED) is time sensitive and complex. We sought to improve quality of care for stroke patients in British Columbia (B.C.), Canada, emergency departments. Objectives: To measure the outcomes of a large-scale quality improvement initiative on thrombolysis rates and other ED performance measures. Methods: This was an evaluation of a large-scale stroke quality improvement initiative, within ED’s in B.C., Canada, in a before-after design. Baseline data was derived from a medical records review study performed between December 1, 2005 to January 31, 2007. Adherence to best practice was determined by measuring selected performance indicators. The quality improvement initiative was a collaboration between multidisciplinary clinical leaders within ED’s throughout B.C. in 2007, with a focus on implementing clinical practice guidelines and pre-printed order sets. The post data was derived through an identical methodology as baseline, from March to December 2008. The primary outcome was the thrombolysis rate; secondary outcomes consisted of other ED stroke performance measures. Results: 48 / 81 (59%) eligible hospitals in B.C. were selected for audit in the baseline data; 1258 TIA and stroke charts were audited. For the post data, 46 / 81 (57%) acute care hospitals were selected: 1199 charts were audited. The primary outcome of the thrombolysis rate was 3.9% (23 / 564) before and 9.3% (63 / 676) after, an absolute difference of 5.4% (95% CI: 2.3% - 7.6%; p=0.0005). Other measures showed changes: administration of aspirin to stroke patients in the ED improved from 23.7% (127 / 535) to 77.1% (553 / 717), difference = 53.4% (95% CI: 48.3% - 58.1%; p=0.0005); and, door to imaging time improved from 2.25 hours (IQR = 3.81 hours) to 1.57 hours (IQR 3.0), difference = 0.68 hours (p=0.03). Differences were found in improvements between large and small institutions, and between health regions. Conclusions: Implementation of a provincial emergency department quality improvement initiative showed significant improvement in thrombolysis rates and adherence to other best practices for stroke patients. The specific factors that influenced improvement need to be further explored.


Author(s):  
Sood Kisra ◽  
John Spertus ◽  
Faraz Kureshi ◽  
Philip G Jones ◽  
Mikhail Kosiborod ◽  
...  

Background: Diabetes mellitus (DM) is common among patients hospitalized with acute myocardial infarction (AMI). Although guideline-supported performance measures exist to improve care for each condition, prior work assessing the quality of care for diabetic patients after AMI has focused only on adherence to CAD performance measures. The quality of diabetic care these patients’ receive is unknown. Methods: Using data from a prospective AMI registry (TRIUMPH), we identified patients with known DM and examined whether DM-focused performance measures had been applied over the 12 months after discharge. We focused upon 3 DM guideline-supported performance measures: a dilated eye exam, detailed foot exam, and HgbA1C testing. For this analysis, we conducted univariate statistics to describe the frequencies with which diabetics reported receiving these DM performance measures and 4 CAD performance measures at their 12-month interview. Results: Among 1,343 patients with a known diagnosis of diabetes presenting with an AMI, a total of 791 (58.9%) completed the 12-month follow up interview. The mean age (SD) of the analytic cohort was 6111 years, with 60% being males and 63% Caucasian. The frequencies of reported receipt among the examined DM and CAD performance measures ranged from 57.3%- 82.2%, with ASA being the most common and a dilated eye exam being the least (Figure). Only 47% of patients reported receiving all three DM performance measures over the past 12 months, while 41.1% reported receiving either one or two, and 12% reported receiving none. Conclusion: In a large, multi-center cohort of diabetic AMI survivors we found that patient-reported receipt of 3 DM and 4 CAD performance measures is sub-optimal and there is significant room for improvement. Novel strategies and approaches for assessing the quality of care delivered to post-AMI diabetics in a multidimensional fashion remains vital for improving care and outcomes in this high-risk group of patients. Characters: 1,683 + figure 500. Limit 2,500


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