Globalization of health care delivery in the United States through medical tourism

This study highlights some of the inefficiencies in the U.S. health care system and determines what effect medical tourism has had on the U.S. and global health care supply chains. This study also calls attention to insufficient health communication efforts to inform uninsured or underinsured medical tourists about the benefits and risks and determines the managerial and cost implications of various surgical procedures on the global health care system into the future. This study evaluated 3 years (2005, 2007, and 2011) of actual and projected surgical cost data. The authors selected 3 countries for analysis: the United States, India, and Thailand. The surgeries chosen for evaluation were total knee replacement (knee arthroplasty), hip replacement (hip arthroplasty), and heart bypass (coronary artery bypass graft). Comparisons of costs were made using Monte Carlo simulation with variability encapsulated by triangular distributions. The results are staggering. In 2005, the amount of money lost to India and Thailand on just these 3 surgeries because of cost inefficiencies in the U.S. health care system was between 1.3 to 2 billion dollars. In 2011, because many more Americans are expected to travel overseas for health care, this amount is anticipated to rise to between 20 and 30.2 billion dollars. Therefore, more attention should be paid to health communication efforts that truly illustrate the benefits/risks of medical travel. The challenge of finding reliable data for surgeries performed and associated surgical cost estimates was mitigated by the use of a Monte Carlo simulation of triangular distributions. The implications from this study are clear: If the U.S. health care industry is unable to eliminate waste and inefficiency and thus curb rising costs, it will continue to lose surgical revenue to foreign health providers.

Effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of coronary artery bypass surgery versus drug eluting stents in Armenia: a feasibility study

We evaluated the cost-effectiveness of PCI with DES versus CABG in terms of preventing MACE (composite outcome of myocardial infarction (MI), repeat revascularization (RR), and death) after four years of procedure among patients with ischemic heart disease (IHD) treated at NMMC from January 1 2004 to December 31 2005. Patients who were more than 70 years old, who had prior revascularization (CABG or PCI), cardiogenic shock, end-stage renal disease defined as a serum creatinine>2 mg/dl, severe left ventricular dysfunction defined as a left ventricular ejection fraction<30%, or cancer at the time of admission were excluded from the sample. We also excluded patients whose procedures were covered by the Ministry of Health of Armenia (3 patients at the time of study). PCI and CABG patients were matched 1:1 for three important predictors that may potentially affect the selection of procedures and the outcomes--age (±3 years), gender, and diabetes mellitus status. Patients in the CABG group had significantly longer event-free survival times than patients in the PCI group (p<0.037, unadjusted difference) in 4.2 years of follow-up. CABG was less costly by $6,540 with preventing one more MACE compared to PCI with DES. According to our findings, CABG is a more cost-effective strategy than PCI with DES in terms of preventing RR, MI and death and saving costs. Prospective evaluation with longer time horizon would add more information to the results of our study, since the number of patients referred to the PCI replacement is increasing, the pricing is frequently changing, and there are new technologies in development.

Effect and cost of perioperative use of antibiotics in coronary artery bypass grafting: a randomized controlled study

BACKGROUND

Bacterial infections remain a serious complication following coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). The objective of the study was to determine the effectiveness of a guideline for the appropriate use of antibiotics in CABG during the perioperative period.

METHODS

Six hundred and fourteen hospitalized patients who had undergone CABG from January to June 2006 were randomly allocated to an intervention group and a control group. The data on the hospital stay, days of antibiotic used, types of prophylactic antibiotics used, surgical wound infection and pulmonary infection and antibiotic costs for the patients were compared.

RESULTS

The postoperative hospitalization days of the intervention group were significantly fewer than that for the control group (P < 0.05). The time of antibiotic use and post-infection treatment time were also significantly less in the intervention group than in the control group (P < 0.05). The average hospital daily cost and total cost of antibiotics were less in the intervention group than in the control group (P < 0.05). Compared with the control group, prophylactic antibiotic use in the intervention group was more reasonable.

CONCLUSIONS

The guideline for the appropriate use of antibiotics in CABG during the perioperative period is effective strategies for reducing antibiotic costs, the time of antibiotic use and post-infection treatment time without compromising the patients' clinical outcome.

Do bad report cards have consequences? Impacts of publicly reported provider quality information on the CABG market in Pennsylvania

Since 1992, the Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council (PHC4) has published cardiac care report cards for coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery providers. We examine the impact of CABG report cards on a provider's aggregate volume and volume by patient severity and then employ a mixed logit model to investigate the matching between patients and providers. We find a reduction in volume of poor performing and unrated surgeons' volume but no effect on more highly rated surgeons or hospitals of any rating. We also find that the probability that patients, regardless of severity of illness, receive CABG surgery from low-performing surgeons is significantly lower.

Admissions for CABG procedure in the elderly: was there a change in access to teaching hospitals after 1997?

The purpose of the study is to identify patient attributes associated with teaching hospital admissions in the elderly for coronary artery bypass graft (CABG), and to determine whether admission patterns in teaching hospitals by vulnerable subgroups of the elderly changed during 1997 to 2001, a period with significant changes in CABG admission patterns and financial situation faced by teaching hospitals. The study sample comprises elderly residents in two states, New York and Pennsylvania, and uses Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project State Inpatient data of the Agency for Health Care Research and Quality. Patient characteristics in major teaching hospitals are compared with those in rest of hospitals in a logistic regression framework using a pre-/postdesign, and controlling for county characteristics and resources, distance to hospitals, and hospital size and volume of procedures. Significant patient characteristics associated with a higher likelihood of admission to teaching hospitals included racial/ethnic minority status, transfer cases, Medicaid and private health maintenance organization insurance. A lower volume of CABG cases and an increased propensity to admit more complex cases characterized the admission patterns in teaching hospitals during 1997 to 2001. Although higher use of teaching hospitals by racial/ethnic minorities persisted, access for Medicaid patients disproportionately declined.

Clinical outcome and cost in patients with off-pump vs. on-pump coronary artery bypass surgery

General concept and major emphasis on off-pump coronary artery bypass surgery (OPCAB) is maintaining quality of care and patient safety while reducing cost and resource utilization. OPCAB probably avoids the potential complications of cardiopulmonary bypass. However its acceptance depends on clinical and economic outcome. The aim of this study is to compare clinical and economic outcome of off-pump and on pump coronary artery bypass surgery. This is a report of an analytic cross-sectional study on 304 patients underwent coronary artery bypass surgery that were randomized into conventional on pump and off-pump groups. Variables and costs were obtained for each group and these data were analyzed using parametric methods. There was no difference between the two groups with respect to perioperative and intraoperative patient's variables. OPCAB reduced the need for postoperative transfusion requirement (P<0.05) which was statistically significant and showed a trend towards reduction of morbidity although didn't reach statistical significance (P>0.05). There were no statistically significant differences in surgical re exploration and length of stay between the two groups. The mean cost for an on pump surgery was 8312000 ± 2859 Rials per patient that was significantly higher than an off-pump surgery. Based on the findings of this study, clinical outcome has no statistically significant difference between on pump and off-pump CABG but the costs are significantly higher in the on pump group.

[Advantages of off-pump coronary bypass surgery over conventional coronary bypass surgery]

Comparison between off-pump coronary bypass surgery ( OP-CABG )and conventional CABG ( C-CABG ) remains a controversial issue.

OBJECTIVE

To compare short and long term OP-CABG and C-CABG results in high-risk patients ( pts ), in absence of usual bias.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

A prospective observational study of 752 pts ( 252 pts with C-CABG and 500 with OP-CABG ) consecutively operated throughout 23 months by 4 surgeons largely experienced in both CABG modalities. For comparison of results, two groups ( Gr ) of pts were constituted - GrA, with 252 C-CABG pts, and GrB, with 252 OP-CABG pts - being the pts blindly matched for gender ( female sex - 51 pts ), age ( mean of 65 vs 64 yrs ), angiographic data ( 3 - VD ÷ left main - 92 % vs 90 % ), additive Euroscore ( mean of 4.6 vs 4.6 ), prior myocardial infarction ( 58 % vs 59 % ), history of diabetes ( 48 % vs 49 % ) or hypertension ( 83 % vs 83 % ). Other clinical data ( GrA vs GrB ): left ventricular dysfunction - 39 % vs 34 % ( NS ); logistic Euroscore - mean of 5.4 % vs 5.9 % ( NS ). Surgical results, in-hospital clinical evolution, in-hospital costs ( intra-operative and major post-operative costs ), and short-term ( mean of 50 days ) and long-term ( mean of 5 years ) follow-up were object of evaluation. Results ( GrA vs GrB ): 1 ) Nr of bypasses ÷ pt 2.9 vs 2.4 ( p < 0.01 ); nr of arterial conduits ÷ pt 1.2 vs 1.2; complete revascularization 60 % vs 60 %; surgical total time 155 ± 49 vs 136 ± 42 min ( p < 0.001 ); surgical total time in pts with 3 bypasses 157 ± 41 vs 156 ± 37 min ( NS ). 2 ) In-hospital post-operative evolution: inotropic support ( IS ) 46 % vs 29 % ( p < 0.001 ); heavy IS 14 % vs 6 % ( p < 0.025 ) ; uncomplicated post-operative course 18 % vs 26 % ( p < 0.025 ); significant CV events ( excluding atrial tachyarrhythmias ) 33 % vs 20 % ( p < 0.01 ); infection 22 % vs 14 % ( p < 0.05 ); severe complications 22 % vs 9.5 % ( p < 0.001 ); mean intensive care length of stay 4 vs 3 days ( p < 0.01 ); surgery-to-discharge length of stay 11.3 vs 9.8 days ( p ⋝ 0.05 ); in-hospital mortality ( HM ) 4.4 % vs 2.0 % ( NS ); HM + disabling chronic morbidity 7.5 % vs 3.2 % ( p < 0.05 ) . 3 ) In-hospital costs: intra-operative - superposable; post-operative - excess of about 900 euro ÷ pt in GrA. 4 ) Short-term follow-up: asymptomatic pts - 75 % vs 85 % ( p < 0.025 ); post-discharge complications - 8.3 % vs 7.7 % ( NS ); probability of being alive and asymptomatic + 17 % in GrB ( p < 0.01 ); mortality 0 % vs 0 %. 5 ) Long-term-follow-up ( 87 % vs 90 % pts ), at 5 years: pts alive with no clinical evidence of active coronary artery disease 72 % vs 75 % ( NS ); significant ÷ severe cardiac events of coronary origin 18.8 % vs 9.3 % ( p < 0.025 ); elective PTCA 4.8 % vs 2.3 % ( NS ); all-cause mortality 11.8 % vs 11.9 %; coronary mortality 6.9 % vs 4.4 % ( NS ).

CONCLUSIONS

In experienced hands and before high-risk pts, OP-CABG offers lesser post-operative risks than C-CABG, with clear and positive consequences on in-hospital costs and short-term follow-up. During long-term follow-up, the revascularization benefits obtained by OP-CABG are not inferior to those conferred by C-CABG, and a significant reduction of the incidence of severe cardiac events can even be seen in a particular subset of pts.

Saving lives, money and resources: drug and CABG/PCI use after myocardial infarction in a Swedish record-linkage study

BACKGROUND

Drug costs are increasing despite the introduction of cheaper generic drugs. The aim of the present study was to analyse the entire costs of hospital care, out-patient care, and the cost of drugs for 16 months following a myocardial infarction (MI) to see to what extent drug costs contribute to the overall costs of care.

METHODS

Diagnoses and costs for care as well as mortality data obtained from the Västra Götaland Region, Sweden, and drug costs from the Swedish Board of Health and Welfare, were merged in a computer file. Patients registered from 1 July 2005 to 30 June 2006 were followed from 28 days after an MI, with follow-up until 31 October 2006.

RESULTS

Of 4,725 patients, 711 died before the start of the study and 721 during follow-up. Higher age [hazard ratio (HR, 95%CI) = 1.06 (1.05-1.07)], previous MI [HR = 1.31 (1.13-1.53)] and diabetes mellitus [HR = 1.34 (1.13-1.58)] were associated with increased mortality, which decreased with coronary interventions: CABG/PCI [HR = 0.19 (0.14-0.27)]. In a multivariable analysis, mortality was lower for patients taking simvastatin [HR = 0.62 (0.50-0.76)] and clopidogrel [HR = 0.58 (0.46-0.74)].

CONCLUSION

Costs for out-patient care accounted for 25% and drugs for 5% of total costs. If patients not treated with simvastatin or clopidogrel had received these drugs, an additional 154-306 lives might have been saved. Drug costs would be higher, but total costs lower. Thus, even expensive drugs may reduce overall costs.

Assessing the cost effectiveness of using prognostic biomarkers with decision models: case study in prioritising patients waiting for coronary artery surgery

OBJECTIVE

To determine the effectiveness and cost effectiveness of using information from circulating biomarkers to inform the prioritisation process of patients with stable angina awaiting coronary artery bypass graft surgery.

DESIGN

Decision analytical model comparing four prioritisation strategies without biomarkers (no formal prioritisation, two urgency scores, and a risk score) and three strategies based on a risk score using biomarkers: a routinely assessed biomarker (estimated glomerular filtration rate), a novel biomarker (C reactive protein), or both. The order in which to perform coronary artery bypass grafting in a cohort of patients was determined by each prioritisation strategy, and mean lifetime costs and quality adjusted life years (QALYs) were compared.

DATA SOURCES

Swedish Coronary Angiography and Angioplasty Registry (9935 patients with stable angina awaiting coronary artery bypass grafting and then followed up for cardiovascular events after the procedure for 3.8 years), and meta-analyses of prognostic effects (relative risks) of biomarkers.

RESULTS

The observed risk of cardiovascular events while on the waiting list for coronary artery bypass grafting was 3 per 10,000 patients per day within the first 90 days (184 events in 9935 patients). Using a cost effectiveness threshold of pound20,000- pound30,000 (euro22,000-euro33,000; $32,000-$48,000) per additional QALY, a prioritisation strategy using a risk score with estimated glomerular filtration rate was the most cost effective strategy (cost per additional QALY was < pound410 compared with the Ontario urgency score). The impact on population health of implementing this strategy was 800 QALYs per 100,000 patients at an additional cost of pound 245,000 to the National Health Service. The prioritisation strategy using a risk score with C reactive protein was associated with lower QALYs and higher costs compared with a risk score using estimated glomerular filtration rate.

CONCLUSION

Evaluating the cost effectiveness of prognostic biomarkers is important even when effects at an individual level are small. Formal prioritisation of patients awaiting coronary artery bypass grafting using a routinely assessed biomarker (estimated glomerular filtration rate) along with simple, routinely collected clinical information was cost effective. Prioritisation strategies based on the prognostic information conferred by C reactive protein, which is not currently measured in this context, or a combination of C reactive protein and estimated glomerular filtration rate, is unlikely to be cost effective. The widespread practice of using only implicit or informal means of clinically ordering the waiting list may be harmful and should be replaced with formal prioritisation approaches.

Cost-effectiveness of the Taxus paclitaxel-eluting stent in the Swedish healthcare system

OBJECTIVE

To analyse the cost-effectiveness of Taxus compared to a bare-metal stent in patients with coronary artery disease in the Swedish healthcare setting.

DESIGN

A decision-analytic model combining clinical data on revascularization rates with Swedish unit costs for medical resources and utility data from the literature.

RESULTS

For patients of moderate risk, the average cost per patient at 12 months is 72,200 SEK for Taxus and 66,900 SEK for a bare-metal stent, while the average cost for high risk patients is nearly equivalent (73,000 vs. 71,700 SEK). The cost per revascularization avoided is generally favourable, while the incremental cost per QALY gained varies depending on the assumptions made; from 2,351,000 SEK for patients of moderate risk at 12-months to cost saving at 24 months for high risk patients. Budget impact scenarios at 12 months are cost-neutral.

CONCLUSION

The Taxus stent is cost-effective in high risk patients, particularly at 24 months. Although it may be less cost-effective for the general population, there is still a substantial offset of initial procedure costs through lower rate of repeat revascularizations.

Sex differences in resource use after on-pump and off-pump coronary artery bypass surgery: a propensity score-matched cohort

BACKGROUND

Previous studies have demonstrated that off-pump coronary artery bypass surgery (OPCAB) is associated with less use of hospital resources compared with on-pump coronary artery bypass surgery (ONCAB).

OBJECTIVE

To determine whether there is a sex effect between the two procedures regarding resource utilization.

METHODS

Between 1996 and 2004, 13,522 patients (10,637 men and 2885 women) underwent coronary artery bypass grafting surgery at the Toronto General Hospital (Toronto, Ontario). Among the men, 10,121 patients underwent ONCAB and 516 underwent OPCAB. The female population consisted of 2723 ONCAB and 162 OPCAB patients. Both groups were matched to standard preoperative risk factors. A propensity score macro-matched 471 OPCAB men to 471 ONCAB men, and 148 OPCAB women to 148 ONCAB women.

RESULTS

The mean (+/- SD) postoperative length of stay (7.5+/-6.5 days versus 6.4+/-5.5 days; P<0.0001) was significantly higher in ONCAB compared with OPCAB in the male population. The mean length of stay in the intensive care unit and the mean ventilation time was similar between the groups. However, in the female population, there were no differences in mean postoperative length of stay (8+/-5.9 days versus 8+/-6 days; P=0.4), mean length of stay in the intensive care unit (43+/-38 h versus 53+/-81 h; P=0.4) or mean ventilation time (9.8+/-9.7 h versus 11+/-13 h; P=0.8).

CONCLUSION

These results suggest that the benefits of OPCAB in terms of hospital resource use are influenced by sex. The potential beneficial effects are not demonstrated in the female population.

Effects of the Premier Hospital Quality Incentive Demonstration on Medicare patient mortality and cost

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the effects of the Premier Inc. and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Hospital Quality Incentive Demonstration (PHQID), a public quality reporting and pay-for-performance (P4P) program, on Medicare patient mortality, cost, and outlier classification.

DATA SOURCES

The 2000-2006 Medicare inpatient claims, Medicare denominator files, and Medicare Provider of Service files.

STUDY DESIGN

Panel data econometric methods are applied to a retrospective cohort of 11,232,452 admissions from 6,713,928 patients with principal diagnoses of acute myocardial infarction (AMI), heart failure, pneumonia, or a coronary-artery bypass grafting (CABG) procedure from 3,570 acute care hospitals between 2000 and 2006. Three estimators are used to evaluate the effects of the PHQID on risk-adjusted (RA) mortality, cost, and outlier classification in the presence of unobserved selection, resulting from the PHQID being voluntary: fixed effects (FE), FE estimated in the subset of hospitals eligible for the PHQID, and difference-in-difference-in-differences.

DATA EXTRACTION METHODS

Data were obtained from CMS. Principal Findings. This analysis found no evidence that the PHQID had a significant effect on RA 30-day mortality or RA 60-day cost for AMI, heart failure, pneumonia, or CABG and weak evidence that the PHQID increased RA outlier classification for heart failure and pneumonia.

CONCLUSIONS

By not reducing mortality or cost growth, this study suggests that the PHQID has made little impact on the value of inpatient care purchased by Medicare.

Recent developments in pharmacologic prophylaxis of atrial fibrillation in patients undergoing surgical revascularization

Atrial fibrillation is a frequent complication after CABG. It occurs in 20-50% of patients, most often between the 2nd and 3rd postoperative day. About 40 % of patients experience more than 1 episode. Postoperative AF (POAF) is associated with an increase in adverse events and hospital stay and, therefore, costs of care. The incidence of POAF is not influenced by the technique of CABG with or without cardiopulmonary by-pass Neurohormonal activation, electrolyte imbalance, fluid overload, surgical practices and finally an exaggerated inflammatory response has been proposed to be etiological factor. Advanced age, history of AF or heart failure, COPD, postoperative withdrawal of beta-blockers are independent risk factors of postoperative AF. Conversely, postoperative administration of beta-blockers, ACE inhibitors, potassium supplementation and NSAID were associated with a reduced risk of POAF. Pharmacological strategies for prevention of POAF may be divided in two main groups : the first one encompasses the use of antiarrhythmic drugs (amiodarone, metoprolol, sotalol) before and /or after surgery and has been extensively investigated in the last two decades. Recently an Italian study has shown that PUFA administration during hospitalization in patients undergoing CABG significantly decreased the incidence of POAF and was associated with a shorter hospital stay. Since an exaggerated inflammatory reaction may play a significant role in POAF, treatments directed to antagonize inflammation are presently under investigation. Despite different action mechanisms both hydrocortisone and statins have been shown to decrease post-operative AF risk. These two prophylactic regimens are not mutually exclusive and some data suggest that their association may be useful to further decrease the risk of POAF.

Potential unrecognised costs of clopidogrel pretreatment in acute coronary syndrome

OBJECTIVE

To examine adherence in clinical practice to the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association (ACC/AHA) guideline recommendations of observing a 5-day waiting period after clopidogrel administration before undergoing coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery and to examine the costs of waiting.

METHODS

This retrospective study used a nationwide inpatient database (Solucient ACTracker) to identify patients who were admitted for acute coronary syndrome (ACS), and who had same-stay CABG. Cost of additional days of stay was estimated using regression analysis.

RESULTS

The recommended 5-day waiting was adhered to in 16.9% (n=3,809) of patients. The percentage of patients with ACS undergoing CABG surgery on day 0 was 14.6%. Adherence to the waiting was higher for teaching and rural hospitals; and in female and elderly patients and urgent admissions.

CONCLUSIONS

The recommended 5-day waiting for CABG surgery after clopidogrel treatment is poorly adhered to in clinical practice. This study was unable to determine specific reasons for the low adherence; however, there may be a compromise between the clinically urgent need for revascularisation and increased risk of bleeding, as well as economic costs associated with waiting. The cost of an additional hospital day in this group of patients was approximately £1,400 per day or £7,000 for 5 days. Thus, a full 5-day wait would have a significant economic impact on hospital costs.

Heart hospitals, medicare, and cross-subsidization

BACKGROUND

Compared with heart hospitals (HHs), does Medicare provide better reimbursement to traditional hospitals (THs)?

METHODS

Diagnosis Related Group (DRG)-specific data from Hospital Compare (www.hospitalcompare.hhs.gov) were used to compare Medicare reimbursement to hospitals in nine HH markets, representing 10% of the national HH market.

RESULTS

On average, markets contained 1.2 HHs and 8.1 THs. Average market size for invasive cardiac services was $13+/-8.4 million, with HHs having 36.1% of the market share. Compared with HHs, THs received significantly better reimbursement for coronary artery bypass graft (CABG: $20,281+/-3,047 HH versus $23,958+/-4,562 TH; p=0.004), percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI: $11,230+/-742 HH versus $13,347+/-2,662 TH; p<0.001), heart valve replacement ($33,710+/-4,056 HH versus $39,819+/-6,356 TH; p=0.001), pacemaker implantation ($11,245+/-706 HH versus $13,212+/-2,043 TH; p<0.001), heart failure ($5,622+/-489 HH versus $6,482+/-1,010 TH; p<0.001), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD: $4,893+/-802 HH versus $5,641+/-841 TH; p=0.013), pneumonia ($5,708+/-763 HH versus $6,456+/-1,136 TH; p=0.012), and diabetes ($4,115+/-355 HH versus $4,963+/-812 TH; p<0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

The excessive reimbursement granted to THs for non-cardiac services is likely to reflect a policy decision to assist these hospitals with their cross-subsidization of other services. If Medicare is to cut reimbursement to TH for CABG, PCI, or other services, Medicare should be asked to pay more for the services (e.g. emergency room care) that it currently reimburses only indirectly through the process of cross-subsidization.

Nationwide volume and mortality after elective surgery in cirrhotic patients

BACKGROUND

The outcomes after elective surgery in patients with cirrhosis have not been well studied.

STUDY DESIGN

We used the Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS) to identify all patients undergoing elective surgery for four index operations (cholecystectomy, colectomy, abdominal aortic aneurysm repair, and coronary artery bypass grafting) from 1998 to 2005. Elixhauser comorbidity measures were used to characterize patients' disease burden. Three distinct groups were created based on severity of liver disease: patients without cirrhosis (NON-CIRR), those with cirrhosis (CIRR), and patients with cirrhosis complicated by portal hypertension (PHTN). In-hospital mortality was the primary endpoint.

RESULTS

There were 22,569 patients with cirrhosis (of whom 4,214 had PHTN) who underwent 1 of the 4 index operations compared with approximately 2.8 million patients without cirrhosis having these operations. Patients with CIRR or PHTN were more likely to be women (49.5% versus 44.0%, p < 0.0001) and were less likely to be treated in a large hospital (62.8% versus 67.6%, p < 0.0001) than NON-CIRR patients. Length of hospital stay and total charges per hospitalization increased with severity of liver disease for all operations (p < 0.001, respectively). Adjusted mortality rates increased with increasing liver disease for each operation (cholecystectomy: CIRR hazard ratio [HR] 3.4, 95% CI 2.3 to 5.0; PHTN HR 12.3, 95% CI 7.6 to 19.9; colectomy: CIRR HR 3.7, 95% CI 2.6 to 5.2; PHTN HR 14.3, 95% CI 9.7 to 21.0; coronary artery bypass grafting: CIRR HR 8.0, 95% CI 5.0 to 13.0, PHTN HR 22.7, 95% CI 10.0 to 53.8; abdominal aortic aneurysm: CIRR HR 5.0, 95% CI 2.6 to 9.8, PHTN HR 7.8, 95% CI 2.3 to 26.5).

CONCLUSIONS

In-hospital mortality, length of stay, and total hospital charges are significantly higher after elective surgery in cirrhotic patients, even in the absence of portal hypertension. Careful decision-making about surgery in these patients is critical as the nationwide increase in hepatitis C and cirrhosis continues.

Hospital costs of coronary artery bypass grafting on elective coronary patients

OBJECTIVE

To assess hospital costs associated with coronary artery bypass grafting performed on elective coronary patients, and the relation of costs with the number of grafts.

METHODS

Descriptive prospective study carried out at Instituto Dante Pazzanese de Cardiologia in April, May and June of 2005. Coronary patients of different ages and both genders were included. Emergency patients, patients with other associated heart conditions and reoperation cases were excluded. Appropriate forms for the operating room, early postoperative period and for the final period in the ward were developed for the initial hospitalization phase preoperatively.

RESULTS

The procedure was performed on 103 patients, at an average cost of R$6,990.00 (US$2,784.98), at a minimum of R$5,438.69 (US$2,166.81), and maximum of R$11,778.96 (US$4,692.81); standard deviation was R$1,035.47 (US$412.54) and the confidence interval was 95%, ranging from R$6,790.33-R$7,190.27 (US$2,705.31-US$2,864.67). The total average cost for three to five bypass grafts was higher (R$7,148.05) than for one and two bypass grafts (R$6,659.29) and the difference was significant (p < 0.05).

CONCLUSION

The highest average costs were in the operating room (R$4,627.97), and in the early postoperative period (R$1,221.39), followed by costs incurred in the ward after the early postoperative period (R$840.04) and by the initial preoperative period in the ward (R$300.90).

[Direct and indirect treatment cost of patient with ischaemic heart disease]

Authors of this paper attempted to evaluate the cost of treatment of hypothetical patient with ischaemic heart disease during the period 16 years. The medical costs (costs of medicines, diagnostic procedures, coronary angioplasty and bypass surgery) and indirect costs of lost productivity have been estimated.

"ProvenCareSM": a provider-driven pay-for-performance program for acute episodic cardiac surgical care

OBJECTIVE

To test whether an integrated delivery system could successfully implement an evidence-based pay-for-performance program for coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery.

METHODS

The program consisted of 3 components: (1) establishing implementable best practices; (2) developing risk-based pricing; (3) establishing a mechanism for patient engagement. Surgeons reviewed all class I and IIa "2004 American Heart Association/American College of Cardiology Guidelines for CABG Surgery" and translated them into 40 verifiable behaviors. These were imbedded within a new ProvenCareSM program and "hardwired" within the electronic health record system, including order sets, templates, and "time outs". Concurrently preoperative, inpatient, and postoperative care within 90 days was packaged into a fixed price. A Patient Compact was developed to highlight the importance of patient activation. All elective CABG patients treated between February 2, 2006 and February 2, 2007 were included (ProvenCareSM Group) and compared with 137 patients treated in 2005 (Conventional Care Group).

RESULTS

Initially, only 59% of patients received all 40 best practice components. At 3 months, program compliance reached 100%, but fell transiently to 86% over the next 3 months. Reliability subsequently increased to 100% and was sustained for the remainder of the study period. The overall trend in reliability was significant at P=0.001. Thirty-day clinical outcomes showed improved trends () but only the likelihood of discharge to home reached statistical significance. Length of stay decreased by 16% and mean hospital charges fell 5.2%.(Table is included in full-text article.)

CONCLUSION

A provider-driven pay-for-performance process for CABG, enabled by an electronic health record system, can reliably deliver evidence-based care, fundamentally alter reimbursement incentives, and may ultimately improve outcomes and reduce resource use.

Comparison of multiple drug-eluting stent percutaneous coronary intervention and surgical revascularization in patients with multivessel coronary artery disease: one-year clinical results and total treatment costs

PURPOSE

Consecutive patients with multivessel coronary artery disease treated with multiple drug-eluting-stent (DES) percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) (111 patients) or coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) (95 patients) on the basis of clinico-anatomical judgment were examined to investigate mediumterm clinical results and initial and total costs.

METHODS

Clinical and procedural characteristics, duration of hospital stay, initial and total costs and 12-month follow-up events were considered in both groups.

RESULTS

Previous revascularization procedures and acute coronary syndromes were more frequent in the PCI group, while triple-vessel and left main disease occurred more often in the CABG group. The mean number of treated vessels in multiple DES PCI was 2.7/patient, with 2.8 DES/patient. Complete revascularization was achieved in 70% of cases. Inhospital events were postprocedural non-Q-wave acute myocardial infarction in 5.4%, and 2 retroperitoneal hemorrhages. CABG was performed with a mean of 3.9 grafts/patient; 16 patients (17%) had early complications; mean hospital stay was significantly longer than for the PCI patients (23.5 +/- 10 vs. 5.3 +/- 3 days; p < 0.001). Twelve-month total mortality and acute myocardial infarction incidents were similar, while target vessel revascularization was significantly more frequent in the PCI group (12.6% PCI vs. 2.1% CABG; p < 0.001); cumulative major adverse cardiac events were not significantly different (15.3% PCI vs. 9.5% CABG; p = 0.271). Initial and final costs were lower for multivessel PCI with DES (20,050 +/- 2,702 for CABG vs. 10,214 +/- 4,184 for PCI; p < 0.001), but not completely covered by current DRG reimbursement.

CONCLUSIONS

Multiple DES PCI showed good earlyand medium-term results with substantially lower costs than CABG.