scholarly journals Utilisation and safety of catheter ablation of atrial fibrillation in public and private sector hospitals

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Linh Ngo ◽  
Anna Ali ◽  
Anand Ganesan ◽  
Richard J Woodman ◽  
Robert Adams ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Little is known about the utilisation and safety of catheter ablation of atrial fibrillation (AF) among public and private sector hospitals. Aims To examine the uptake of AF ablations and compare procedural safety between the sectors. Method: Hospitalisation data from all public and private hospitals in four large Australian states (NSW, QLD, VIC and WA) were used to identify patients undergoing AF ablation from 2012 to 17. The primary endpoint was any procedure-related complications up to 30-days post-discharge. Logistic regression was used to evaluate the association between treatment at a public hospital and risk of complications adjusting for covariates. Results Private hospitals performed most of the 21,654 AF ablations identified (n = 16,992, 78.5 %), on patients who were older (63.5 vs. 59.9y) but had lower rates of heart failure (7.9 % vs. 10.4 %), diabetes (10.2 % vs. 14.1 %), and chronic kidney diseases (2.4 % vs. 5.2 %) (all p < 0.001) than those treated in public hospitals. When compared with private hospitals, public hospitals had a higher crude rate of complications (7.25 % vs. 4.70 %, p < 0.001). This difference remained significant after adjustment (OR 1.74 [95 % CI 1.54–2.04]) and it occurred with both in-hospital (OR 1.83 [1.57–2.14]) and post-discharge (OR 1.39 [1.06–1.83]) complications, with certain complications including acute kidney injury (OR 5.31 [3.02–9.36]), cardiac surgery (OR 5.18 [2.19–12.27]), and pericardial effusion (OR 2.18 [1.50–3.16]). Conclusions Private hospitals performed most of AF ablations in Australia with a lower rate of complications when compared with public hospitals. Further investigations are needed to identify the precise mechanisms of this observed difference.

2020 ◽  
Vol 41 (Supplement_2) ◽  
Author(s):  
L Ngo ◽  
A Ali ◽  
A Ganesan ◽  
R Woodman ◽  
A McGavigan ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Comparing outcomes of care between public and private hospitals is critical to inform patients and improve care quality. Purpose To compare complication rates following catheter ablation of atrial fibrillation (AF) up to 30-days post discharge between public and private hospitals. Methods We included patients ≥18 years who underwent AF ablation in the Australian states of New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, and Western Australia from 2010–2015. The primary outcome was the occurrence of any complication up to 30-days after discharge. The association between provider type and the risk of complications was examined using logistic regression with inverse probability of treatment weighting (IPTW) propensity scores to account for differences in measured confounders. The minimum strength of association required for an unmeasured confounder to nullify any observed association was estimated using the E value. Results We identified 18,074 AF ablations during the study period (mean age 62.3±11.4y, 28.8% female, 78.4% performed in private hospitals). Patients ablated at public hospitals were younger (59.3 vs. 63.1y, p&lt;0.001) but had higher rates of heart failure (10.3% vs. 7.7%, p&lt;0.001), diabetes (10.9% vs. 7.9%, p&lt;0.001), chronic kidney disease (4.9% vs. 2.2%, p&lt;0.001), and chronic lung diseases (4.2% vs. 3.6%, p=0.046) than those at private hospitals. The unadjusted rate of complications was higher in publics hospitals compared with private ones (7.59% vs. 5.26%, p&lt;0.001). After IPTW, there was good covariate balance with a median standardised difference of 0.006 (range 0.0–0.032) and the adjusted difference in procedural complication rates between two sectors remained significant (OR=1.46, 95% CI 1.24–1.73). The difference was mainly driven by an elevated risk of complications requiring cardiac surgery (OR=3.85, 95% CI 1.35–10.98), acute kidney injury (OR=2.95, 95% CI 1.12–7.74), cardiorespiratory failure (OR=2.69, 95% CI 1.19–6.04), postprocedural infection (OR=2.50, 95% CI 1.28–4.86), and bleeding (OR=1.26, 95% CI 1.02–1.56) (Figure 1). The disparity in the complication rates persisted when in-hospital (OR=1.41, 95% CI 1.16–1.70) and post-discharge (OR=1.52, 95% CI 1.12–2.07) complications were analysed separately. The E value was 1.79, suggesting that the disparity might plausibly be explained by unmeasured confounders. Conclusion AF ablation at a public hospital was associated with a 46% higher risk of complications compared with ablation at a private hospital, mainly driven by a higher risk of complications requiring cardiac surgery, acute kidney injury, cardiorespiratory failure, infections, and bleeding. The disparity could be due to differences in care quality between two sectors or explained by unmeasured confounders such as higher procedural complexity in public hospitals. Funding Acknowledgement Type of funding source: Foundation. Main funding source(s): The National Heart Foundation of Australia


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniela Moye-Holz ◽  
Margaret Ewen ◽  
Anahi Dreser ◽  
Sergio Bautista-Arredondo ◽  
Rene Soria-Saucedo ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: More alternatives have become available for the diagnosis and treatment of cancer in low- and middle-income countries. Because of increasing demands, governments are now facing a problem of limited affordability and availability of essential cancer medicines. Yet, precise information about the access to these medicines is limited, and the methodology is not very well developed. Objective: To assess the availability and affordability of essential cancer medicines in Mexico, and compare their prices against those in other countries of the region. Methods: We surveyed 21 public hospitals and 19 private pharmacies in 8 states of Mexico. Data were collected on the availability and prices of 49 essential cancer medicines. Prices were compared against those in Chile, Peru, Brazil, Colombia and PAHO’s Strategic Fund. Results: Of the various medicines, mean availability in public and private sector outlets was 61.2% and 67.5%, respectively. In the public sector, medicines covered by the public health insurance “People’s Health Insurance” were more available. Only seven (public sector) and five (private sector) out of the 49 medicines were considered affordable. Public sector procurement prices were 41% lower than in other countries of the region. Conclusions: The availability of essential cancer medicines, in the public and private sector, falls below World Health Organization’s 80% target. The affordability remains suboptimal as well. A national health insurance scheme could serve as a mechanism to improve access to cancer medicines in the public sector. Comprehensive pricing policies are warranted to improve the affordability of cancer medicines in the private sector.


2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 28-34
Author(s):  
Sadaf Zia ◽  
Maisam Abbas Onali ◽  
Hina Yousuf ◽  
Aria Masoom ◽  
Asna Shahab ◽  
...  

Background: The issues pertaining to postgraduate medical education have been debated for long but there has been little contribution to this literature from developing countries. Therefore, a need to make an accurate assessment regarding current status of postgraduate training in Pakistan was felt and feedback from residents is the cornerstone of such an assessment. The objective of our study was to document perceptions of FCPS trainees of medical and surgical disciplines in private and public tertiary care hospitals of Karachi, Pakistan.Material and Methods: This was a cross sectional survey of the medical and surgical FCPS trainees in three hospitals (1 public and 2 private) of Karachi Pakistan, conducted over a period of two months (1st November 2018 to 31st December 2018). A total of 325 participants selected by convenient sampling technique were included in the study. Data was collected through structured self-developed questionnaire and analyzed by SPSS version 16.0.Results: The percentage of postgraduate trainees in private hospitals working for more than 80hours/week is higher than those working in public sector hospitals (59.4% versus 42.4%). Topic presentation and Academic meetings (Conferences, Workshops and CMEs) were the most preferred teaching strategies in Postgraduate training (77.4% and 77.5%). About 62.7% of the residents believed that their program was in line with CPSP guidelines. Public sector hospitals were better in terms of medical benefits giving partial cover (62.8%) than private sector (P-value <0.001). Majority of trainees at private sector hospitals seemed satisfied with their working environment than at public hospital (77.5% versus 12.5%) (P-value <0.001). Trainees perceived that the security arrangements at both public and private hospitals were not adequate, but in case of emergency private hospitals seemed to have better security response as compared to public hospitals (89% versus 23%) with a significant difference of <0.001.Conclusions: Perception of most of the postgraduate trainees is that they are being adequately trained for the challenges of an independent physician or surgeon.Key words: Postgraduate training programs, Medical education, Trainees perception  


2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement 2) ◽  
pp. 220s-220s
Author(s):  
D. Moye Holz ◽  
M. Ewen ◽  
A. Dreser ◽  
S. Bautista ◽  
R. Soria ◽  
...  

Background: More alternatives are becoming available for the diagnosis and treatment of cancer in low- and middle-income countries. Yet, because of increasing demands, many governments are now facing the dilemma of making essential cancer medicines available to all while keeping them affordable. Precise information about current access to these medicines is limited, and there's no systematic methodology in place to do so. Aim: To assess the availability and affordability of essential cancer medicines in Mexico, and compare their prices (public sector procurement and patient prices) against those in other countries of the region. Methods: We adapted the WHO/HAI methodology. We surveyed 21 public hospitals and 19 private pharmacies in 8 states of Mexico. Data were collected on the availability and prices of 49 essential cancer medicines (each strength and dose-form specific). Prices were compared against those in Chile, Peru, Brazil, Colombia and PAHO's Strategic Fund. Results: Of the various medicines, mean availability in public and private sector outlets was 61.2% and 67.5%, respectively. In the public sector, medicines covered by the public health insurance “People's Health Insurance” (SPS) were slightly more available. Only 7 (public sector) and 5 (private sector) out of 49 medicines were deemed affordable. Overall, public sector procurement prices were 41% lower than in other countries of the region. Conclusion: The availability of essential cancer medicines, in the public and private sector, falls below WHO's 80% target. The affordability remains suboptimal as well. A national health insurance scheme could serve as a mechanism to improve access to cancer medicines in the public sector. Comprehensive pricing policies are warranted to improve the affordability of cancer medicines in the private sector.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniela Moye-Holz ◽  
Margaret Ewen ◽  
Anahi Dreser ◽  
Sergio Bautista-Arredondo ◽  
Rene Soria-Saucedo ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: More alternatives have become available for the diagnosis and treatment of cancer in low- and middle-income countries. Because of increasing demands, governments are now facing a problem of limited affordability and availability of essential cancer medicines. Yet, precise information about the access to these medicines is limited, and the methodology is not very well developed. Objective: To assess the availability and affordability of essential cancer medicines in Mexico, and compare their prices against those in other countries of the region. Methods: We surveyed 21 public hospitals and 19 private pharmacies in 8 states of Mexico. Data were collected on the availability and prices of 49 essential cancer medicines. Prices were compared against those in Chile, Peru, Brazil, Colombia and PAHO’s Strategic Fund. Results: Of the various medicines, mean availability in public and private sector outlets was 61.2% and 67.5%, respectively. In the public sector, medicines covered by the public health insurance “People’s Health Insurance” were more available. Only seven (public sector) and five (private sector) out of the 49 medicines were considered affordable. Public sector procurement prices were 41% lower than in other countries of the region. Conclusions: The availability of essential cancer medicines, in the public and private sector, falls below World Health Organization’s 80% target. The affordability remains suboptimal as well. A national health insurance scheme could serve as a mechanism to improve access to cancer medicines in the public sector. Comprehensive pricing policies are warranted to improve the affordability of cancer medicines in the private sector.


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