The Effect of Diagnosis-Related Groups on the Shift of Medical Services From Inpatient to Outpatient Settings: A National Claims-Based Analysis

2019 ◽  
Vol 31 (6) ◽  
pp. 499-509
Author(s):  
Changwoo Lee ◽  
Ji Man Kim ◽  
Ye-Soon Kim ◽  
Euichul Shin

The purpose of this study was to determine whether the introduction of diagnosis-related groups (DRGs) shifted the medical services from inpatient to outpatient settings. Using a difference-in-difference analysis, the changes in length of stay, outpatient visit days within 30 days before hospitalization, and outpatient visit days within 30 days after hospital discharge were evaluated. The length of stay was reduced after the DRG policy, consistent with previous studies. Outpatient visit days within 30 days before a hospital admission increased significantly after the policy change. In addition, outpatient visit days within 30 days after a hospital discharge increased in all the medical institutions excluding hospitals. The study findings are consistent with the expectation that providers respond to changes in the payment system to protect or enhance their economic interests. Health care providers in Korea responded to the DRG policy by reducing the intensity of inpatient treatment and transferring costs to outpatient settings.

2019 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 131

In Myanmar, the main challenge to provide quality healthcare by Universal Health Care approach is documented as low health services coverage with substantial wealth-based inequality. To achieve the effective health care system, strong medical care system is essential. Understanding on challenges and needs in provision of medical services among patients and health care providers is critical to provide quality care with desirable outcomes. The aim of the study was to explore the patients’ and health care providers’ perceptions on the challenges in provision of medical services at the Mandalay General Hospital. This was a qualitative study conducted at the tertiary level hospital (Mandalay General Hospital). The data was collected by using focus group discussions and in-depth interviews with hospitalized patients or attendants, healthcare providers such as medical doctors, nurses, laboratory scientists and hospital administrators in March 2017. The qualitative data was analyzed using themes by themes matrix analysis. Most patients were satisfied with the care provided by the doctors because they believed that they received quality care. However, some patients complained about long waiting time for elective operation, congested conditions in the ward, burden for investigations outside the hospital for urgent needs and impolite manners of general workers. Healthcare providers reported that they had heavy workload due to limited human and financial resources in the hospital, poor compliances with hospital rules and regulation among patients and attendants, and inefficient referral practices from other health facilities. Other challenges experienced by healthcare providers were lack of ongoing training to improve knowledge and skills, limited health infrastructure and inadequate medicinal supplies. The findings highlighted the areas needed to be improved to provide quality health care at the tertiary level hospital. The challenges and problems encountered in this hospital can be improved by allocating adequate financial and human resources. The systematic referral system and hospital management guidelines are needed to reduce workload of health staff.


2007 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 345-350 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniele Alcalá Pompeo ◽  
Maria Helena Pinto ◽  
Claudia Bernardi Cesarino ◽  
Renilda Rosa Dias Ferreira de Araújo ◽  
Nadia Antonia Aparecida Poletti

OBJECTIVE: To know the hospital discharge process in place and the nurses' performance in preparing patients for discharge. METHODS: A descriptive study using semi-structured interviews was used to collect data from 43 patients of medical-surgical units of a major teaching hospital in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. RESULTS: The majority of patients (83.72%) received tailored discharge instructions. However, a great number of patients (72.08%) reported discharge instructions were not given by nurses. Almost a half of patients (48.84%) reported that discharge instructions were given by their physicians. CONCLUSION: The findings of this study provide insights to improve the educational process of new nurses and their preparation to provide effective discharge instructions. There is also a need to design and implement a hospital discharge process that promotes the participation of interdisciplinary health care providers who are involved in patient clinical care. This discharge process might be an effective way to change health care providers' attitude toward discharge instructions.


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emily Rutherford ◽  
Roghinio Noray ◽  
Caolán Ó HEarráin ◽  
Kevin Quinlan ◽  
Aisling Hegarty ◽  
...  

BACKGROUND Escalating demand for specialist health care puts considerable demand on hospital services. Technology offers a means by which health care providers may increase the efficiency of health care delivery. OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to conduct a pilot study of the feasibility, benefits, and drawbacks of a virtual clinic (VC) in the general surgical service of a busy tertiary center. METHODS Patient satisfaction with current care and attitudes to VC were surveyed prospectively in the general surgical outpatient department (OPD; n=223). A subset of patients who had undergone endoscopy and day surgery were recruited to follow-up in a VC and subsequently surveyed with regard to their satisfaction (20/243). Other outcomes measured included a comparison of consultation times in traditional and virtual outpatient settings and financial cost to both patients and the institution. RESULTS Almost half of the patients reported barriers to prospective use of VCs. However, within the cohort who had been followed-up in the VC, satisfaction was higher than the traditional OPD (100% as compared with 187/223, 83.9%). Significant savings in both time (<italic>P</italic>=.003) and financial costs to patients and the institution were found. CONCLUSIONS For an appropriately selected group of patients, VCs offer a viable alternative to traditional OPD. This alternative can improve both patient satisfaction and efficiency of patient care.


2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (14) ◽  
pp. 2237-2243 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amy Burd ◽  
Richard L. Schilsky ◽  
John C. Byrd ◽  
Ross L. Levine ◽  
Vassiliki A. Papadimitrakopoulou ◽  
...  

Abstract The appetite for cutting-edge cancer research, across medical institutions, scientific researchers, and health care providers, is increasing based on the promise of true breakthroughs and cures with new therapeutics available for investigation. At the same time, the barriers for advancing clinical research are impacting how quickly drug development efforts are conducted. For example, we know now that under a microscope, patients with the same type of cancer and histology might look the same; however, the reality is that most cancers are driven by genomic, transcriptional, and epigenetic changes that make each patient unique. Additionally, the immunologic reaction to different tumor types is distinct among patients. The challenge for researchers developing new therapies today is vastly different than it was in the era of cytotoxics. Today, we must identify a sufficient number of patients harboring a rare mutation or other characteristic and match this to the right therapeutic option. This summary provides a guide to help inform the scientific cancer community about the benefits and challenges of conducting umbrella or basket trials (master trials), and to create a roadmap to help make this new and evolving form of clinical trial design as effective as possible.


2014 ◽  
Vol 4;17 (4;7) ◽  
pp. E503-E507 ◽  
Author(s):  
Padma Gulur

The increasing use of opioids to manage pain in the United States over the last decade has resulted in a subset of our population developing opioid tolerance. While the management of opioid tolerant patients during acute episodes of care is well known to be a challenge amongst health care providers, there is little in the literature that has studied opioid tolerance as a predictor of outcomes. We conducted a review on all admissions to Massachusetts General Hospital over a period of 6 months, from January 2013 to June 2013, and identified opioid tolerant patients at admission using the FDA definition of opioid tolerance. To compare risk adjusted groups, we placed opioid tolerant patients and control patients into groups determined by expected length of stay of less than 2 days, 2 to 5 days, 5 to 10 days, and greater than 10 days. Opioid tolerant patients were then compared to the control for outcomes measures including observed length of stay and readmission rates. Our results show that all opioid tolerant patients have a significantly longer length of stay and a greater 30 day all cause readmission rate than the control group (P < 0.01). This trend was found in the first 3 risk adjusted groups, but not in the fourth group where expected length of stay was greater than 10 days. The opioid tolerant population is at risk given the poorer outcomes and higher health care costs associated with their care. It is imperative that we identify opportunities for improvement and delineate specific pathways for the care of these patients. Key words: Opioid tolerance, opioid tolerant patient population, opioid tolerant patients, readmission rates, length of stay


2019 ◽  
Vol 32 (Supplement_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
J Platt ◽  
I Mitchell ◽  
C Bjornson ◽  
J A M Bailey

Abstract Introduction Esophageal atresia/tracheoesophageal atresia (EA/TEF) is a multisystem congenital anomaly. Initial treatment is complex and ongoing complications are numerous. Coordination of care has been shown to reduce costs and hospitalizations in complex populations. A previous study at our center demonstrated that children with EA/TEF lacked coordinated care. A multidisciplinary clinic was established to provide coordinated care, screen for complications, provide anticipatory guidance, and improve outpatient access. Methods This single-center retrospective cohort study included children with EA/TEF born between March 2005 and March 2011 and enrolled in the clinic. Patients with EA alone were excluded. A chart review was completed to identify demographics, hospitalizations, emergency visits, clinic visits, coordination of outpatient care, and adherence to the intended clinic schedule. Results Twenty-five patients were included; 84% had a C-type EA/TEF. Multidisciplinary clinics had an average of 4.3 health care providers (1.75 physicians) per visit. Adherence to the visit schedule was 91.4%. The average length of stay (46.2 + 37.9 days) for the initial hospital admission was similar to the previous study cohort. Subsequent hospital admissions were reduced in number and length of stay, most notably in the first two years of life (0–1 year: 1.28 + 1.2 admissions/patient; 10.7 + 19.1 days/admission; 1–2 years: 0.6 + 0.76 admissions/patient; 3.7 + 3.2 days/admission). Conclusions Multidisciplinary care clinics for medically complex children such as those with EA/TEF can improve care through coordination of visits with multiple health care providers and may contribute to reduced use of acute care services.


2021 ◽  
Vol 104 (Suppl. 1) ◽  
pp. S35-S39

Background: Ultrasound guided peripheral intravenous access (USGPIV) has derived benefits for the Emergency and Pre-hospital Management. However, no studies have yet been conducted that have focused upon Emergency Medical Services (EMS) personnel in Thailand. Objective: To introduce USGPIV cannulation to the health care providers of Emergency Medical Services and to examine the success rates of the first attempts at PIV cannulation. Materials and Methods: This prospective observational study was conducted with 49 EMS providers in August 2020. All respondents had been participants in a USGPIV workshop. Afterwards, the participants’ skills were evaluated in a Pre-hospital simulation model, which was conducted in a moving ambulance. The data, which was recorded, noted the number of attempts required to successfully obtain USGPIV access, as well as the participants’ opinions about using ultrasound in this procedure. Results: Among the 49 participants, the first attempt success rate was found to be at 57.14%. The participants’ genders, their years of work experience, their experience of performing PIV with real patients, and the categories of the Emergency Medical Services health care providers were determined not to be factors that had contributed to the success rate of the first attempts at USGPIV. Our study demonstrated a “High” level of satisfaction with regard to performing USGPIV with this ultrasound device (4 out of 5). However, the participants noted that some elements of the environment in the ambulance may have affected the success rate of performing this procedure. Conclusion: In this study, the success rate of the first attempts was found to be lower than in other studies. However, in regard to this simulation, implementing this procedure represents the first step towards assisting Thai EMS personnel to perform ultrasound procedures. Keywords: Ultrasound, Peripheral IV cannulation, Emergency medicine, Emergency medical services, Emergency medical personnel


Author(s):  
Clara Pott ◽  
Tom Stargardt ◽  
Udo Schneider ◽  
Simon Frey

Abstract This paper examines the behaviour of mental health care providers in response to marginal payment incentives induced by a discontinuous per diem reimbursement schedule with varying tariff rates over the length of stay. The analyses use administrative data on 12,627 cases treated in 82 psychiatric hospitals and wards in Germany. We investigate whether substantial reductions in marginal reimbursement per inpatient day led to strategic discharge behaviour once a certain length of stay threshold is exceeded. The data do not show gaps and bunches at the duration of treatment when marginal reimbursement decreases. Using logistic regression models, we find that providers did not react to discontinuities in marginal reimbursement by significantly reducing inpatient length of stay around the threshold. These findings are robust in terms of different model specifications and subsamples. The results indicate that if regulators aim to set incentives to decrease LOS, this might not be achieved by cuts in reimbursement over LOS.


1999 ◽  
Vol 27 (4) ◽  
pp. 297-315 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles P. Sabatino

This article details the results of a national survey conducted in 1999 of statewide laws and protocols providing for the creation and recognition of donot- resuscitate (DNR) orders effective in nonhospital settings. Applicable primarily to emergency medical services (EMS) personnel, most of these laws and protocols have been in existence for less than ten years, and there is little current comparative information on them. Such policies are commonly called out-of-hospital or prehospital DNR orders, although one state-Virginia-recently amended its DNR law to establish a durable DNR order applicable to all health care providers and all settings. I will refer to the laws and policies examined here interchangeably as out-of hospital DNR protocols or EMS-DNR protocols. The survey produced a descriptive snapshot of such laws and protocols in effect on a statewide basis as of March 1999.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tayebeh Baniasadi ◽  
Marjan Ghazisaeedi ◽  
Mehdi Hassaniazad ◽  
Sharareh R. Niakan Kalhori ◽  
Mehraban Shahi

Abstract Background: Understanding each of the factors affecting the length of hospitalization especially in surgery wards can play a major role in planning for the optimal use of hospital resources. This study aims to determine factors affecting the length of stay (LOS) in a surgical ward and then provide technology-based solutions .Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 310 records were selected by systematic random sampling from hospitalized patients in surgery ward of a general teaching hospital in Bandar Abbas, situated in sought of Iran. In order to determine the association of 26 variables (demographic, clinical, and non-clinical) with LOS, analytical and descriptive statistics were used. Then, the researchers reviewed relevant literature in PubMed, Scopus, and Google Scholar to introduce solutions based on health information technology (HIT) toward LOS optimization.Results: Mean and median of patients’ LOS in surgery ward were 3.30±3.71 and 2 days respectively. According to multivariate regression model, factors that exerted higher influence on length of stay includes number of para-clinical tests, surgeries, and consultation as well as type of referral and months of admission(p<0.05). Regarding HIT-based intervention, eleven general categories of suggestions were provided. Based on the findings, more accessible technologies such as hospital information system, picture archiving and communication system, telemedicine especially tele-consultation or tele-visit as well as electronic consultation and discharge planning tools alongside smart dashboards for institutions like the center under study in order to expedite the process of diagnosis and treatment, then optimizing LOS seem appropriate. Conclusions: It is important to move toward optimized LOS though understanding and control influential factors; standardize LOS along with continuous monitoring of performance indicators may help to utilize hospital resources more efficiently. HIT-based interventions may support health care providers and administrators to manage patients` admission, hospitalization, transfer, and discharge processes more properly. Keywords: Index; length of Stay; Hospital; Health Information Technology; Surgery_ward


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