The Impact of Hospital Overcrowding on Quality of Care: Evidence from China

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chen Chen ◽  
Jinglin Song ◽  
Shaoyang Zhao ◽  
Leming Zhou ◽  
Hong Chen
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Care ◽  
Mortality Rate ◽  
Instrumental Variable ◽  
Staffing Levels ◽  
Unit Increase ◽  
Number Of Visits ◽  
Hospital Days ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Different Levels

Abstract Background This study examines the impact of healthcare staffing levels on the quality of healthcare services. Methods We use data from a 10% random sample of inpatients in a city in China from January 2014 to June 2019, and annual reports from healthcare providers to exclude disease types related to air pollution. The final analysis uses a sample of 1122 disease types and 862,722 cases from 517 hospitals. The impact of changes in hospital admissions on length of patients’ stay in hospitals (patient hospital days) and the mortality rate of patients is analyzed by building ordinary least squares and instrumental variable measurement models and comparing the differences in the impact of healthcare staffing levels on the quality of care between different levels of hospitals. Results The patient hospital days decrease and mortality rate increases with increased attendance. Using the instrumental variable method, for every one-unit increase in the number of visits to the hospital, there is a 5.87% decrease in patient hospital days and an increase in mortality of about 0.37%. Both results are significant at the 1% level. The impact of healthcare staffing level on the quality of care varies between different levels of hospitals. The quality of care in tertiary hospitals is most affected by the number of visits, with an average decrease of 4.36% in patient hospital days and an increase of 0.27% in mortality for every one-unit increase in visits, significant at the 1% level. Conclusions Currently, China is in the transition period of a healthcare reform, and faces a large shortage of medical resources, there is considerable variation in healthcare staffing across different tiers of hospital. Continued sole reliance by hospitals on increasing the working hours of medical staff to meet patients’ medical needs is not sustainable, and may even have a negative impact on the quality of medical services.

scholarly journals Impact Of Nurse Unionization On Fiscal Viability And Selected Measures Of Quality In Hospitals

2011 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jim Morey ◽  
Gary Scherzer ◽  
Hoseoup Lee ◽  
Kenneth Wallis ◽  
Laura Francis Gladney
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Quality Of Care ◽  
Institutional Care ◽  
Nurse Staffing ◽  
Financial Variables ◽  
Staffing Levels ◽  
Union Status ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0.5in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Seventy-three New York hospitals were examined to determine if a difference existed between hospitals with nursing unions versus those without as it pertains to fiscal viability and quality of care.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>Several financial variables were used to construct a fiscal viability index; and a quality index was created from selected mortality and procedural measures that may be used to measure specific aspects of institutional care.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>The premise that the union status of a hospital&rsquo;s nursing staff will influence fiscal viability and quality is based on the impact that unionization may have on staffing and cost per patient.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>The literature is replete with studies that assess the relationship between nurse staffing levels and quality.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>In some cases there is a clear and compelling relationship, but in others, it is indeterminate. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp;</span>Utilizing union status, selected employee variables, and financial and quality of care indices, four statistical models were prepared to explain these the interaction of these variables <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp;</span></span></span></p>

scholarly journals Trading quality for quantity? Evidence from patient level data in China

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (9) ◽  
pp. e0257127
Author(s):  
Jinglin Song ◽  
Chen Chen ◽  
Shaoyang Zhao ◽  
Leming Zhou ◽  
Hong Chen
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Care ◽  
Mortality Rate ◽  
Hospital Mortality ◽  
Hospital Admission ◽  
Medical Staff ◽  
Hospital Admissions ◽  
Medical Services ◽  
Medical Quality ◽  
The Impact

In China, overcrowding at hospitals increases the workload of medical staff, which may negatively impact the quality of medical services. This study empirically examined the impact of hospital admissions on the quality of healthcare services in Chinese hospitals. Specifically, we estimated the impact of the number of hospital admissions per day on a patient’s length of stay (LOS) and hospital mortality rate using both ordinary least squares (OLS) and instrumental variable (IV) methods. To deal with potential endogeneity problems and accurately identify the impact of medical staff configuration on medical quality, the daily air quality index was selected as the IV. Furthermore, we examined the differential effects of hospital admissions on the quality of care across different hospital tiers. We used the data from a random sample of 10% of inpatients from a city in China, covering the period from January 2014 to June 2019. Our final regression analysis included a sample of 167 disease types (as per the ICD-10 classification list) and 862,722 patient cases from 517 hospitals. According to our results, the LOS decreased and hospital mortality rate increased with an increasing number of admissions. Using the IV method, for every additional hospital admission, there was a 6.22% (p < 0.01) decrease in LOS and a 1.86% (p < 0.01) increase in hospital mortality. The impact of healthcare staffing levels on the quality of care varied between different hospital tiers. The quality of care in secondary hospitals was most affected by the number of admissions, with the average decrease of 18.60% (p < 0.05) in LOS and the increase of 6.05% (p < 0.01) in hospital mortality for every additional hospital admission in our sample. The findings suggested that the supply of medical services in China should be increased and a hierarchical diagnosis and treatment system should be actively promoted.

Reduced influence of affective disorders on perioperative complication rates, length of hospital stay, and healthcare costs following spinal fusion for adolescent idiopathic scoliosis

2019 ◽  
Vol 24 (6) ◽  
pp. 722-727
Author(s):  
Aladine A. Elsamadicy ◽  
Andrew B. Koo ◽  
Megan Lee ◽  
Adam J. Kundishora ◽  
Christopher S. Hong ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Care ◽  
Idiopathic Scoliosis ◽  
Affective Disorder ◽  
Affective Disorders ◽  
Complication Rates ◽  
Total Cost ◽  
Adolescent Patients ◽  
Perioperative Complication ◽  
The Impact

OBJECTIVEIn the past decade, a gradual transition of health policy to value-based healthcare has brought increased attention to measuring the quality of care delivered. In spine surgery, adolescents with scoliosis are a population particularly at risk for depression, anxious feelings, and impaired quality of life related to back pain and cosmetic appearance of the deformity. With the rising prevalence of mental health ailments, it is necessary to evaluate the impact of concurrent affective disorders on patient care after spinal surgery in adolescents. The aim of this study was to investigate the impact that affective disorders have on perioperative complication rates, length of stay (LOS), and total costs in adolescents undergoing elective posterior spinal fusion (PSF) (≥ 4 levels) for idiopathic scoliosis.METHODSA retrospective study of the Kids’ Inpatient Database for the year 2012 was performed. Adolescent patients (age range 10–17 years old) with AIS undergoing elective PSF (≥ 4 levels) were selected using the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification coding system. Patients were categorized into 2 groups at discharge: affective disorder or no affective disorder. Patient demographics, comorbidities, complications, LOS, discharge disposition, and total cost were assessed. The primary outcomes were perioperative complication rates, LOS, total cost, and discharge dispositions.RESULTSThere were 3759 adolescents included in this study, of whom 164 (4.4%) were identified with an affective disorder (no affective disorder: n = 3595). Adolescents with affective disorders were significantly older than adolescents with no affective disorders (affective disorder: 14.4 ± 1.9 years vs no affective disorder: 13.9 ± 1.8 years, p = 0.001), and had significantly different proportions of race (p = 0.005). Aside from hospital region (p = 0.016), no other patient- or hospital-level factors differed between the cohorts. Patient comorbidities did not differ significantly between cohorts. The number of vertebral levels involved was similar between the cohorts, with the majority of patients having 9 or more levels involved (affective disorder: 76.8% vs no affective disorder: 79.5%, p = 0.403). Postoperative complications were similar between the cohorts, with no significant difference in the proportion of patients experiencing a postoperative complication (p = 0.079) or number of complications (p = 0.124). The mean length of stay and mean total cost were similar between the cohorts. Moreover, the routine and nonroutine discharge dispositions were also similar between the cohorts, with the majority of patients having routine discharges (affective disorder: 93.9% vs no affective disorder: 94.9%, p = 0.591).CONCLUSIONSThis study suggests that affective disorders may not have a significant impact on surgical outcomes in adolescent patients undergoing surgery for scoliosis in comparison with adults. Further studies are necessary to elucidate how affective disorders affect adolescent patients with idiopathic scoliosis, which may improve provider approach in managing these patients perioperatively and at follow-up in hopes to better the overall patient satisfaction and quality of care delivered.

scholarly journals Exploring the impact of pharmacist comprehensive annual care plans on perceived quality of chronic illness care by patients in Alberta, Canada

2021 ◽  
pp. 171516352110203
Author(s):  
Candace Necyk ◽  
Jeffrey A. Johnson ◽  
Ross T. Tsuyuki ◽  
Dean T. Eurich
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Care ◽  
Chronic Illness ◽  
Care Plan ◽  
Short Version ◽  
Chronic Illness Care ◽  
Online Questionnaire ◽  
Care Plans ◽  
Funding Program ◽  
The Impact

Background: In 2012, the Government of Alberta introduced a funding program to remunerate pharmacists to develop a comprehensive annual care plan (CACP) for patients with complex needs. The objective of this study is to explore patients’ perceptions of the care they received through the pharmacist CACP program in Alberta. Methods: We invited 3442 patients who received a pharmacist-billed CACP within the previous 3 months and 6888 matched controls across Alberta to complete an online questionnaire. The questionnaire consisted of the short version Patient Assessment of Chronic Illness Care (PACIC-11), with 3 additional pharmacy-specific assessment questions added. Additional questions related to health status and demographics were also included. Results: Overall, most patients indicated a low level of chronic illness care by pharmacists, with few differences noted between CACP patients and non-CACP controls. Of note, controls reported higher quality of care for 5 domains within the adapted PACIC-like tool compared with CACP patients ( p < 0.05 for all). Interestingly, only 79 (44%) of CACP patients reported that they had received a CACP, whereas only 192 (66%) of control patients reported that they did not receive a care plan. In a sensitivity analysis including only these respondents, individuals who received a CACP perceived a significantly higher quality of chronic illness care across all PACIC domains. Conclusion: Overall, chronic illness care incentivized by the pharmacist CACP program in Alberta is perceived to be moderate to low. When limited to respondents who explicitly recognized receiving the service or not, the perceptions of quality of care were more positive. This suggests that better implementation of CACP by pharmacists may be associated with improved quality of care and that some redesign is needed to engage patients more. Can Pharm J (Ott) 2021;154:xx-xx.

scholarly journals Understanding the Link between Family Caregiver Quality of Life and the Care Provided to Older People With Dementia

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 153-154
Author(s):  
Afeez Hazzan
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Quality Of Care ◽  
Older People ◽  
Family Caregivers ◽  
Family Caregiver ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The United States ◽  
People With Dementia ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Dementia is one of the most rapidly growing diseases in the United States. In 2018, the direct costs to American society of caring for older people with dementia was approximately $277 billion. Primary informal caregivers are mainly responsible for the care of older people with dementia including Alzheimer’s disease. Caregivers perform a myriad of duties ranging from shopping for their loved ones’ groceries, helping with medications, and managing finances. The caregiving role becomes more demanding as the disease progresses over time, and studies have shown that the quality-of-life (QoL) experienced by caregivers of older adults who have dementia is lower than the QoL of caregivers for older people who do not have dementia. To the best of our knowledge, there has been no research conducted to investigate whether lower caregiver QoL affects the level or quality of care that caregivers provide to persons with dementia. In the current study, we interviewed family caregivers living in Rochester, New York to inquire about their quality of life and the care provided to older people living with dementia. Further, caregivers completed the 36-item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36) as well as a draft questionnaire for measuring the quality of care provided to older people living with dementia. Both quantitative and qualitative findings from this study reveals important relationships between family caregiver QoL and the care provided, including the impact of social support and financial well-being. The study findings could have significant impact, particularly for the provision of much needed support for family caregivers.

scholarly journals A Narrative Review of Clinical Decision Support for Inpatient Clinical Pharmacists

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (02) ◽  
pp. 199-207
Author(s):  
Liang Yan ◽  
Thomas Reese ◽  
Scott D. Nelson
Keyword(s):  
Patient Safety ◽  
Quality Of Care ◽  
Decision Support ◽  
Clinical Decision Support ◽  
Clinical Decision ◽  
Controlled Trials ◽  
Clinical Pharmacists ◽  
Randomized Controlled ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Objective Increasingly, pharmacists provide team-based care that impacts patient care; however, the extent of recent clinical decision support (CDS), targeted to support the evolving roles of pharmacists, is unknown. Our objective was to evaluate the literature to understand the impact of clinical pharmacists using CDS. Methods We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, and Cochrane Central for randomized controlled trials, nonrandomized trials, and quasi-experimental studies which evaluated CDS tools that were developed for inpatient pharmacists as a target user. The primary outcome of our analysis was the impact of CDS on patient safety, quality use of medication, and quality of care. Outcomes were scored as positive, negative, or neutral. The secondary outcome was the proportion of CDS developed for tasks other than medication order verification. Study quality was assessed using the Newcastle–Ottawa Scale. Results Of 4,365 potentially relevant articles, 15 were included. Five studies were randomized controlled trials. All included studies were rated as good quality. Of the studies evaluating inpatient pharmacists using a CDS tool, four showed significantly improved quality use of medications, four showed significantly improved patient safety, and three showed significantly improved quality of care. Six studies (40%) supported expanded roles of clinical pharmacists. Conclusion These results suggest that CDS can support clinical inpatient pharmacists in preventing medication errors and optimizing pharmacotherapy. Moreover, an increasing number of CDS tools have been developed for pharmacists' roles outside of order verification, whereby further supporting and establishing pharmacists as leaders in safe and effective pharmacotherapy.

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