Constitution aims to bring an end to health economy warfare

A rough new constitution is being drawn up for the NHS in a bid to prevent health economies sliding into bitter 'Bradford-style' warfare in the era of foundations trusts and payment by results. The rules of engagement are part of a package of measures designed to rescue some of the government's flagship reforms amid warnings from audit chiefs on the impact of PbR.

Assessing the accuracy of administrative data in health information systems

BACKGROUND

Administrative data play a central role in health care. Inaccuracies in such data are costly to health systems, they obscure health research, and they affect the quality of patient care.

OBJECTIVES

We sought to prospectively determine the accuracy of the primary and secondary diagnoses recorded in administrative data sets.

RESEARCH DESIGN

Between March and July 2002, standardized patients (SPs) completed unannounced visits at 3 sites. We abstracted the 348 medical records from these visits to obtain the written diagnoses made by physicians. We also examined the patient files to identify the diagnoses recorded on the administrative encounter forms and extracted data from the computerized administrative databases. Because the correct diagnosis was defined by the SP visit, we could determine whether the final diagnosis in the administrative data set was correct and, if not, whether it was caused by physician diagnostic error, missing encounter forms, or incorrectly filled out forms.

SUBJECTS

General internal medicine outpatient clinics at 2 Veterans Administration facilities and a large, private medical center participated in this study.

MEASURES

A total of 45 trained SPs presented to physicians with 4 common outpatient conditions.

RESULTS

The correct primary diagnosis was recorded for 57% of visits. Thirteen percent of errors were caused by physician diagnostic error, 8% to missing encounter forms, and 22% to incorrectly entered data. Findings varied by condition and site but not by level of training. Accuracy of secondary diagnosis data (27%) was even poorer.

CONCLUSIONS

Although more research is needed to evaluate the cause of inaccuracies and the relative contributions of patient, provider, and system level effects, it appears that significant inaccuracies in administrative data are common. Interventions aimed at correcting these errors appear feasible.

Absence of socioeconomic variation in survival from colorectal cancer in patients receiving surgical treatment in one health district: cohort study

OBJECTIVE

To examine whether there is an association between patient deprivation status and survival from colorectal cancer among patients receiving treatment of the same type and quality.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

A survival study was conducted of all colorectal cancer patients diagnosed between 1991 and 1997 who received surgery either in the NHS district general hospital or the private hospital of one UK health district. The five-year survival rates, both all cause and colorectal cancer specific, were calculated for subgroups defined by patient age, gender, stage and deprivation status using Kaplan-Meier curves. Cox proportional hazards models were used to examine the influence of deprivation on five-year survival after adjusting for age, gender and stage.

RESULTS

There were 603 consecutive colorectal patients during the study period. Five-year all-cause and colorectal cancer-specific survival rates were 41% and 53%, respectively. There was no association between deprivation status and stage at diagnosis (P = 0.308). Multivariable proportional hazards modelling (adjusting for gender, age and tumour stage) demonstrated no association between deprivation status and survival.

CONCLUSION

In this single district study, no relationship between patient socioeconomic status and survival from colorectal cancer could be demonstrated. Consistency in the type and quality of treatment offered to patients by the same clinical teams may have been responsible for the equitable survival outcomes.

Determinants of caesarean section in Egypt: evidence from the demographic and health survey

This paper examines the impact of near birth complications and socio-demographic, healthcare and spatial characteristics of caesarean section in Egypt, using data on 4032 births from the 2000 Egypt Demographic and Health Survey. The hospital caesarean section rate was 22% in Egypt. Fever/vaginal discharge around delivery, birth weight, mother's age and education, birth order, residence and antenatal visits were important determinants of caesarean section. Variations by place of delivery were evident, although complications were more significant determinants of caesarean section in public settings and demographic characteristics were more important in private facilities. Unexpectedly, long labour and bleeding around delivery were not associated with caesarean section, particularly, in private hospitals. In view of the high and rising caesarean section rate in Egypt, monitoring the quality of maternity services in Egypt is imperative. An investigation of the forces sustaining the differential in determinants by place of delivery is needed.

Audit of antipsychotic prescribing in a private psychiatric hospital

OBJECTIVES

There exists a substantial and growing body of evidence suggesting that antipsychotic medications are efficacious in the treatment of many non-psychotic psychiatric disorders. Although indications for the use of antipsychotics (particularly the atypicals) remain relatively narrow in Australia, psychiatrists seem to be using them for an expanding range of disorders in a variety of clinical settings. This has raised issues of cost-effectiveness and methods of funding of these medications. The present study aimed to quantify and describe the patterns of prescribing of antipsychotic medications in a large private psychiatric hospital. Another aim was to compare the findings with other published evidence, and consider the implications of antipsychotic use for current clinical practice in Australia.

METHODS

A retrospective review of the medical records of 100 consecutive patients admitted to a private psychiatric hospital was conducted. The data collected included demographic details, major psychiatric diagnoses, all medications prescribed during the admission and their doses and, in the case of antipsychotics, the target symptoms/conditions for which they were prescribed.

RESULTS

Fifty-nine per cent of inpatients received at least one dose of an antipsychotic during their admission. While all patients with psychotic illnesses were treated with antipsychotics, 57% of patients with primary mood disorders and 40% of patients with a primary anxiety disorder also received an antipsychotic. The most common indications for use of antipsychotics included the treatment of psychotic symptoms, augmentation of antidepressants, relief of anxiety symptoms and lessening of agitation, and control of difficult behaviours (including self-harm and aggression) associated with personality disorders. The most frequently used antipsychotic was olanzapine (22%), followed by chlorpromazine (20%), and quetiapine (14%). Eleven per cent of patients received a combination of two antipsychotics.

CONCLUSIONS

Antipsychotic medications were widely used in a private psychiatric inpatient setting for the treatment of non-psychotic disorders. This finding parallels those from other Australian studies of psychotropic prescribing patterns. The issues of clinical utility, cost-effectiveness and benefits of funding of these medications for such wider indications require further study and evaluation.

[Consistency between data sources and inter-observer reliability in the Study on Neonatal and Perinatal Morbidity and Mortality and Care in the City of Rio de Janeiro]

The objective of this study was to evaluate the quality of data in the research project entitled "Study on Neonatal and Perinatal Morbidity and Mortality and Care in the City of Rio de Janeiro", analyzing the completeness of patient records, inter-observer reliability, and concordance of collected data. The study interviewed a sample of 10,072 post-partum women, corresponding to 10.0% of the deliveries in the City of Rio de Janeiro. This article analyzed the concordance between data on patient records and the reproducibility of questionnaires by mean of rest/ retest, using common and prevalence-adjusted Kappa as well as the intra-class correlation coefficient. Losses totaled 4.5%, and the proportion of unknown data on patient records varied from 3.0 to 90.0%. Lower proportions were concentrated in the neonatal assessment and higher ones in the data on maternal hospital admission. There was a high concordance between the data reported by the mother and that written on the patient record, with the Kappa varying from 0.77 to 0.96. In the test/retest verification, Kappa varied from 0.61 to 0.94. This study demonstrated a high inter-observer reliability as well as reliability between the different data sources (interviewee and patient record).

Nuevas formas de gestión y su impacto en las desigualdades

In recent years in Spain the system of health foundations has been favoured among the so-called new ways of management, as a mechanism to increase the efficiency of public health centers. The purpose of our research is to compare the running of health foundations with hospitals managed in the traditional way who attend a population with similar characteristics. From the comparison between the two types of centers it has been deduced that foundations have less staff in all the categories (doctors, nurses, etc.), and offer fewer beds and operating theatres/1000 inhabitants. The numbers of admissions, surgical operations, emergencies services, and medical consultations/1000 inhabitants are all lower in the foundations, although only the latter case has statistical significance. Also, waiting lists for surgery are longer, and expenditure/1000 inhabitants per year is lower, in both cases statistically significant. From all this it has been deduced that the foundations spend less per inhabitant because they offer fewer health services to the reference population, something which creates access problems and is a source of inequality. The foundations exhibit a notable lack of transparency, which has limited the variables available for study and has made it difficult to carry out an investigation of quality between the two models.

“No more tears!” A local TQM formula for health promotion

Given the fast diffusion and growing prominence of quality management in many industries, a new model for healthcare is designed which could serve as a serious contributor to health practices in third world countries. The aim of this research is to show the way that public and private hospitals in Cyprus function, and answer the question of how to increase total quality using public opinion in the healthcare industry in developing countries. Finally, having compared the total quality efforts of public and private hospitals in the Famagusta region of Cyprus, we conclude that the public sector is in a much worse position than the private sector in terms of total quality.

US hospital care for patients with HIV infection and pneumonia: the role of public, private, and Veterans Affairs hospitals in the early highly active antiretroviral therapy era

STUDY OBJECTIVES

We evaluated differences in processes and outcomes of HIV-related pneumonia care among patients in Veterans Affairs (VA), public, and for-profit and not-for-profit private hospitals in the United States. We compared the results of our current study (1995 to 1997) with those of our previous study that included a sample of patients receiving care during the years 1987 to 1990 to determine how HIV-related pneumonia care had evolved over the last decade.

SETTING/PATIENTS

The sample consisted of 1,231 patients with HIV infection who received care for Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (PCP) and 750 patients with HIV infection who received care for community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) during the years 1995 to 1997.

MEASUREMENT

We conducted a retrospective medical record review and evaluated patient and hospital characteristics, HIV-related processes of care (timely use of anti-PCP medications, adjunctive corticosteroids), non-HIV-related processes of care (timely use of CAP treatment medications, diagnostic testing, ICU utilization, rates of endotracheal ventilation, placement on respiratory isolation), length of inpatient hospital stay, and inpatient mortality.

RESULTS

Rates of timely use of antibiotics and adjunctive corticosteroids for treating PCP were high and improved dramatically from the prior decade. However, compliance with consensus guidelines that recommend < 8 h as the optimal time window for initiation of antibiotics to treat CAP was lower. For both PCP and CAP, variations in processes of care and lengths of in-hospital stays, but not mortality rates, were noted at VA, public, private not-for-profit hospitals, and for-profit hospitals.

CONCLUSIONS

This study provides the first overview of HIV-related pneumonia care in the early highly active antiretroviral therapy era, and contrasts current findings with those of a similarly conducted study from a decade earlier. Quality of care for patients with PCP improved, but further efforts are needed to facilitate the appropriate management of CAP. In the third decade of the epidemic, it will be important to monitor whether variations in processes of care for various HIV-related clinical diagnoses among different types of hospitals persist.

Comparison of three methods for estimating rates of adverse events and rates of preventable adverse events in acute care hospitals

OBJECTIVES

To compare the effectiveness, reliability, and acceptability of estimating rates of adverse events and rates of preventable adverse events using three methods: cross sectional (data gathered in one day), prospective (data gathered during hospital stay), and retrospective (review of medical records).

DESIGN

Independent assessment of three methods applied to one sample.

SETTING

37 wards in seven hospitals (three public, four private) in southwestern France.

PARTICIPANTS

778 patients: medical (n = 278), surgical (n = 263), and obstetric (n = 237).

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

The main outcome measures were the proportion of cases (patients with at least one adverse event) identified by each method compared with a reference list of cases confirmed by ward staff and the proportion of preventable cases (patients with at least one preventable adverse event). Secondary outcome measures were inter-rater reliability of screening and identification, perceived workload, and face validity of results.

RESULTS

The prospective and retrospective methods identified similar numbers of medical and surgical cases (70% and 66% of the total, respectively) but the prospective method identified more preventable cases (64% and 40%, respectively), had good reliability for identification (kappa = 0.83), represented an acceptable workload, and had higher face validity. The cross sectional method showed a large number of false positives and identified none of the most serious adverse events. None of the methods was appropriate for obstetrics.

CONCLUSION

The prospective method of data collection may be more appropriate for epidemiological studies that aim to convince clinical teams that their errors contribute significantly to adverse events, to study organisational and human factors, and to assess the impact of risk reduction programmes.

Impact of private health insurance incentives on obstetric outcomes in NSW hospitals

The purpose of this study is to analyse the impact of changes in Australian private health insurance coverage as seen inNSW public and private hospital birth profiles, and identify trends in obstetric outcomes from 1997-2001. NSWMidwives Data Collection unit record data is analysed for women who gave birth to a live singleton baby of termgestation (=37weeks) and cephalic presentation in NSW hospitals during 1997 - 2001. Use of private hospitals forchildbirth has increased in conjunction with increases in private health insurance coverage. Although some obstetricinterventions have increased for both public and private hospitals over time, clinical factors do not explain the largedifferences in birth interventions and outcomes between NSW public and private hospitals. Incentives to increaseprivate health insurance coverage appear to be having a negative impact on childbirth, in terms of higher birthintervention and operative birth rates in NSW private hospitals.

Fatores associados à morbi-mortalidade perinatal em uma amostra de maternidades públicas e privadas do Município do Rio de Janeiro, 1999-2001

Este estudo compara os fatores sócio-demográficos, características biológicas das mães e a qualidade da assistência prestada em maternidades do Município do Rio de Janeiro. Participaram da amostra 10.072 gestantes que se hospitalizaram para o parto em 47 instituições selecionadas, no período 1999-2001. Dados foram coletados de entrevistas com as mães no pós-parto e de consulta aos prontuários médicos. Utilizou-se o teste chi2 para analisar a homogeneidade das proporções. São diferenciadas as condições de vida, de atenção ao parto e nascimento no Município do Rio de Janiero, sendo mais favoráveis no grupo social que utiliza os serviços de saúde das maternidades privadas, embora persistindo ali uma excessiva proporção de cesáreas e de transferência de recém-nascidos. O estrato composto pelas maternidades federais e municipais recebe a clientela materna e infantil com maior morbi-mortalidade, oferece acompanhamento de familiares na internação, obtendo das mães uma avaliação da atenção recebida mais positiva do que o outro segmento do SUS. As maternidades do estrato 2, representadas majoritariamente pelas instituições particulares conveniadas com o SUS, são as que mais recusam parturientes, produzindo um retardo no acompanhamento do trabalho de parto.

Gestational diabetes mellitus: Compliance with testing

An audit of birth records of two public and one private hospital was undertaken, over a 6-month period, to determine compliance with the local policy that all women are tested for gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). Overall 92.1% of women were tested for GDM. When those women who delivered their babies early or who had no prenatal care were excluded, then there was 95.3% compliance with the advice for universal testing.

How can we improve the quality of health care in Japan?

The World Health Report 2000 placed Japan first for overall health system attainment: a surprising development considering that, aside from discussing excessive expenditure, health care professionals and the Health Ministry have paid little attention recently to the quality of health care. Japan's free access policy and the universal health care system have actually fostered a very relaxed attitude toward evaluation. Concerned about the possible risks to patient safety, physicians established a volunteer association to promote quality health care issues. Then in 1995, the Japan Council for Quality Health Care (JCQHC) was founded to implement the third party accreditation of hospitals. Concurrent with the formation of the JCQHC, the sharply rising costs of malpractice litigation motivated the authorities and medical facilities to work toward protecting patient safety at different levels. Despite the WHO's positive review, critics maintain that significant inequities still exist in Japanese health care. Examples include, financial inequities between private and public hospitals, and the number and quality of hospitals and physicians between rural and urban areas. To protect patient safety and improve the quality of care, every effort must be made to eliminate inequities in the health care system. JCQHC accreditation is an important tool for furthering these efforts.

Factors influencing patient choice of hospitals in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

This study examined factors considered important in choosing a hospital. The sample consisted of 303 respondents selected from five randomly selected primary health care centres. The percentages of males, highly educated, high-income level, elder and private sector employees was higher in those choosing private sector hospitals, while marital status did not relate to type of hospital. The principal component analysis identified six factors accounting for 64% of the total variance. The most important component was 'medical services' accounting for 28% of the total variance. Stepwise discriminant analysis revealed that the main factors associated with choosing a hospital were medical services, accessibility, age, sex and education. Little importance was given to income and occupation. Future recommendations outline the need for consumers' perceptions, attitudes, suggestions and concerns to be taken into consideration when marketing the services to be provided.

The effects of nurse staffing on adverse events, morbidity, mortality, and medical costs

BACKGROUND

Nurse staffing levels are an important working condition issue for nurses and believed to be a determinant of the quality of nursing care and patient outcomes.

OBJECTIVES

To examine the effects of nurse staffing on adverse events, morbidity, mortality, and medical costs.

METHODS

Using two existing databases, the study sample included 232 acute care California hospitals and 124,204 patients in 20 surgical diagnosis-related groups. The adverse events included patient fall/injury, pressure ulcer, adverse drug event, pneumonia, urinary tract infection, wound infection, and sepsis. Multilevel analysis was employed to examine, simultaneously, the effects of nurse staffing and patient and hospital characteristics on patient outcomes.

RESULTS

Three statistically significant relationships were found between nurse staffing and adverse events. An increase of 1 hour worked by registered nurses (RN) per patient day was associated with an 8.9% decrease in the odds of pneumonia. Similarly, a 10% increase in RN Proportion was associated with a 9.5% decrease in the odds of pneumonia. Providing a greater number of nursing hours per patient day was associated with a higher probability of pressure ulcers. The occurrence of each adverse event was associated with a significantly prolonged length of stay and increased medical costs. Patients who had pneumonia, wound infection or sepsis had a greater probability of death during hospitalization.

CONCLUSION

Patients are experiencing adverse events during hospitalization. Care systems to reduce adverse events and their consequences are needed. Having appropriate nurse staffing is a significant consideration in some cases.

Different regional organisational models and the quality of health care: the case of coronary artery bypass graft surgery

OBJECTIVES

The Italian regions of Emilia-Romagna and Lombardy within the Italian National Health Service provide an opportunity to see if two different approaches to the organisation of care--one more hierarchical and planned, the other more competitive and market-like--influence its quality through examining the relationship between the number of coronary artery bypass grafts (CABGs) and the rate of in-hospital mortality using administrative data for the period 1996-1998.

METHODS

Descriptive statistics and logistic regression models were used.

RESULTS

The volume-outcome relation was statistically significant in both regions (odds ratio 0.71, P < 0.0001). Although CABG performance in Emilia-Romagna was slightly poorer than in Lombardy (OR 1.22, P < 0.05), the potential advantage in terms of the reduced risk of death for patients treated at high-volume versus low-volume hospitals was significantly greater. In Emilia-Romagna, the average performance advantage of high-volume units was more substantial in the case of private accredited hospitals than public hospitals (OR = 0.50, P < 0.0001 versus OR = 0.64, P < 0.0001). In Lombardy, the performance advantage of concentrating CABG procedures was greater in private research hospitals (OR = 0.67, P < 0.0001), whereas results were not statistically significant for the other types of hospital, indicating a good level of performance in both public and private hospitals even at low volumes. This also partially explained the lower mortality rate observed in that region.

CONCLUSIONS

The degree of hierarchical regionalisation versus market-like arrangements characterising the two systems produced contrasting effects in terms of the quality of CABG surgery. Lombardy's more competitive environment appeared to achieve better performance in terms of a slightly lower probability of adverse outcomes, in a system with no formal assessment of population need and very high per capita revascularisation rates. To improve performance in the more hierarchical system adopted in Emilia-Romagna would require considerable effort to increase CABG surgery in low-volume cardiac units, and to sharpen performance incentives.

New report card compares end-of-life care initiatives across the country

A report card from Last Acts and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation takes a first look on a state-by-state basis at how end-of-life care and related issues are approached by healthcare organizations across the country.