Journal articles on the topic 'Ambulatory sensitive hospitalisations'
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Partanen, Veli-Matti, Martti Arffman, Kristiina Manderbacka, and Ilmo Keskimäki. "Mortality related to ambulatory care sensitive hospitalisations in Finland." Scandinavian Journal of Public Health 48, no. 8 (August 5, 2020): 839–46. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1403494820944722.
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Aims: Hospitalisations for ambulatory care sensitive conditions are used as an outcome indicator of access to and quality of primary care. Evidence on mortality related to these hospitalisations is scarce. This study analysed the effect of ambulatory care sensitive condition hospitalisations to subsequent mortality and time or geographical trends in the mortality indicating variations in ambulatory care sensitive conditions outcomes. Methods: This retrospective cohort study used individual-level data from national registers concerning ambulatory care sensitive condition hospitalisations. Crude and age-adjusted 365-day mortality rates for the first ambulatory care sensitive condition-related admission were calculated for vaccine-preventable, acute, and chronic ambulatory care sensitive conditions separately, and for three time periods stratified by gender. The mortality rates were also compared to mortality in the general Finnish population to assess the excess mortality related to ambulatory care sensitive condition hospitalisations. Results: The data comprised a total of 712,904 ambulatory care sensitive condition hospital admissions with the crude 365-day mortality rate of 14.2 per 100 person-years. Mortality for those hospitalised for vaccine-preventable conditions was approximately 10-fold compared to the general population and four-fold in chronic and acute conditions. Of the 10 most common ambulatory care sensitive conditions, bacterial pneumonia and influenza and congestive heart failure were associated with highest age-standardised mortality rates. Conclusions: Hospitalisations for ambulatory care sensitive conditions were shown to be associated with excess mortality in patients compared to the general population. Major differences in mortality were found between different types of ambulatory care sensitive condition admissions. There were also minor differences in mortality between hospital districts. These differences are important to consider when using preventable hospital admissions as an indicator of primary care performance.
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Pongiglione, Benedetta, Aleksandra Torbica, and Michael K. Gusmano. "Inequalities in avoidable hospitalisation in large urban areas: retrospective observational study in the metropolitan area of Milan." BMJ Open 10, no. 12 (December 2020): e042424. http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2020-042424.
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ObjectiveSignificant inequalities in access to healthcare system exist between residents of world megacities, even if they have different healthcare systems. The aim of this study was to estimate avoidable hospitalisations in the metropolitan area of Milan (Italy) and explore inequalities in access to healthcare between patients and across their areas of residence.DesignRetrospective observational study.SettingPublic and accredited private hospitals in the metropolitan area of Milan. Data obtained from the hospital discharge database of the Italian Health Ministry.Participants472 579 patients hospitalised for ambulatory care sensitive conditions and resident in the metropolitan area of Milan from 2005 to 2016.Outcome measureAge-adjusted rates of avoidable hospitalisations; OR for hospital admissions with ambulatory care sensitive conditions.MethodsAge-adjusted rates of avoidable hospitalisations in the metropolitan area of Milan were estimated from 2005 to 2016 using direct standardisation. For the hospitalised population, multilevel logistic regression model with patient random effects was used to identify patients, hospitals and municipalities’ characteristics associated with risk of avoidable hospitalisation in the period 2012–2016.ResultsThe rate of avoidable hospitalisation in Milan fell steadily between 2005 and 2016 from 16.6 to 10.5 per 1000. Among the hospitalised population, the odds of being hospitalised with an ambulatory care sensitive condition was higher for male (OR 1.42, 95% CI 1.36 to 1.48), older (OR 1.012, 95% CI 1.01 to 1.014), low-educated (elementary school vs degree OR 4.23, 95% CI 3.72 to 4.81) and single (vs married OR 2.08, 95% CI 2.01 to 2.16) patients with comorbidities (OR 1.47, 95% CI 1.38 to 1.56); avoidable admissions were more frequent in public non-teaching hospitals while municipality’s characteristics did not appear to be correlated with hospitalisation for ambulatory care sensitive conditions.ConclusionsThe health system in metropolitan Milan has experienced a reduction in avoidable hospitalisations between 2005 and 2016, quite homogeneously across its 134 municipalities. The study design allowed to explore inequalities among the hospitalised population for which we found specific sociodemographic disadvantages.
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Yi, Seung Eun, Vinyas Harish, Jahir Gutierrez, Mathieu Ravaut, Kathy Kornas, Tristan Watson, Tomi Poutanen, Marzyeh Ghassemi, Maksims Volkovs, and Laura C. Rosella. "Predicting hospitalisations related to ambulatory care sensitive conditions with machine learning for population health planning: derivation and validation cohort study." BMJ Open 12, no. 4 (April 2022): e051403. http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2021-051403.
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ObjectiveTo predict older adults’ risk of avoidable hospitalisation related to ambulatory care sensitive conditions (ACSC) using machine learning applied to administrative health data of Ontario, Canada.Design, setting and participantsA retrospective cohort study was conducted on a large cohort of all residents covered under a single-payer system in Ontario, Canada over the period of 10 years (2008–2017). The study included 1.85 million Ontario residents between 65 and 74 years old at any time throughout the study period.Data sourcesAdministrative health data from Ontario, Canada obtained from the (ICES formely known as the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences Data Repository.Main outcome measuresRisk of hospitalisations due to ACSCs 1 year after the observation period.ResultsThe study used a total of 1 854 116 patients, split into train, validation and test sets. The ACSC incidence rates among the data points were 1.1% for all sets. The final XGBoost model achieved an area under the receiver operating curve of 80.5% and an area under precision–recall curve of 0.093 on the test set, and the predictions were well calibrated, including in key subgroups. When ranking the model predictions, those at the top 5% of risk as predicted by the model captured 37.4% of those presented with an ACSC-related hospitalisation. A variety of features such as the previous number of ambulatory care visits, presence of ACSC-related hospitalisations during the observation window, age, rural residence and prescription of certain medications were contributors to the prediction. Our model was also able to capture the geospatial heterogeneity of ACSC risk in Ontario, and especially the elevated risk in rural and marginalised regions.ConclusionsThis study aimed to predict the 1-year risk of hospitalisation from ambulatory-care sensitive conditions in seniors aged 65–74 years old with a single, large-scale machine learning model. The model shows the potential to inform population health planning and interventions to reduce the burden of ACSC-related hospitalisations.
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Vuik, Sabine I., Gianluca Fontana, Erik Mayer, and Ara Darzi. "Do hospitalisations for ambulatory care sensitive conditions reflect low access to primary care? An observational cohort study of primary care usage prior to hospitalisation." BMJ Open 7, no. 8 (August 2017): e015704. http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2016-015704.
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ObjectivesTo explore whether hospitalisations for ambulatory care sensitive conditions (ACSCs) are associated with low access to primary care.DesignObservational cohort study over 2008 to 2012 using the Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD) and Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) databases.SettingEnglish primary and secondary care.ParticipantsA random sample of 300 000 patients.Main outcome measuresEmergency hospitalisation for an ACSC.ResultsOver the long term, patients with ACSC hospitalisations had on average 2.33 (2.17 to 2.49) more general practice contacts per 6 months than patients with similar conditions who did not require hospitalisation. When accounting for the number of diagnosed ACSCs, age, gender and GP practice through a nested case–control method, the difference was smaller (0.64 contacts), but still significant (p<0.001).In the short-term analysis, measured over the 6 months prior to hospitalisation, patients used more GP services than on average over the 5 years. Cases had significantly (p<0.001) more primary care contacts in the 6 months before ACSC hospitalisations (7.12, 95% CI 6.95 to 7.30) than their controls during the same 6 months (5.57, 95% CI 5.43 to 5.72). The use of GP services increased closer to the time of hospitalisation, with a peak of 1.79 (1.74 to 1.83) contacts in the last 30 days before hospitalisation.ConclusionsThis study found no evidence to support the hypothesis that low access to primary care is the main driver of ACSC hospitalisations. Other causes should also be explored to understand how to use ACSC admission rates as quality metrics, and to develop the appropriate interventions.
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Hildebrandt, Helmut, and Timo Schulte. "Reducing Hospitalisations for Ambulatory Care-sensitive Conditions in Integrated Care Systems." International Journal of Integrated Care 17, no. 5 (October 17, 2017): 314. http://dx.doi.org/10.5334/ijic.3631.
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Sheridan, A., F. Howell, and D. Bedford. "Hospitalisations and costs relating to ambulatory care sensitive conditions in Ireland." Irish Journal of Medical Science 181, no. 4 (March 8, 2012): 527–33. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11845-012-0810-0.
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Wilk, Piotr, Shehzad Ali, Kelly K. Anderson, Andrew F. Clark, Martin Cooke, Stephanie J. Frisbee, Jason Gilliland, et al. "Geographic variation in preventable hospitalisations across Canada: a cross-sectional study." BMJ Open 10, no. 5 (May 2020): e037195. http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2020-037195.
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ObjectiveThe objective of this study is to examine the magnitude and pattern of small-area geographic variation in rates of preventable hospitalisations for ambulatory care-sensitive conditions (ACSC) across Canada (excluding Québec).Design and settingA cross-sectional study conducted in Canada (excluding Québec) using data from the 2006 Canadian Census Health and Environment Cohort (CanCHEC) linked prospectively to hospitalisation records from the Discharge Abstract Database (DAD) for the three fiscal years: 2006–2007, 2007–2008 and 2008–2009.Primary outcome measurePreventable hospitalisations (ACSC).ParticipantsThe 2006 CanCHEC represents a population of 22 562 120 individuals in Canada (excluding Québec). Of this number, 2 940 150 (13.03%) individuals were estimated to be hospitalised at least once during the 2006–2009 fiscal years.MethodsAge-standardised annualised ACSC hospitalisation rates per 100 000 population were computed for each of the 190 Census Divisions. To assess the magnitude of Census Division-level geographic variation in rates of preventable hospitalisations, the global Moran’s I statistic was computed. ‘Hot spot’ analysis was used to identify the pattern of geographic variation.ResultsOf all the hospitalisation events reported in Canada during the 2006–2009 fiscal years, 337 995 (7.10%) events were ACSC-related hospitalisations. The Moran’s I statistic (Moran’s I=0.355) suggests non-randomness in the spatial distribution of preventable hospitalisations. The findings from the ‘hot spot’ analysis indicate a cluster of Census Divisions located in predominantly rural and remote parts of Ontario, Manitoba and Saskatchewan and in eastern and northern parts of Nunavut with significantly higher than average rates of preventable hospitalisation.ConclusionThe knowledge generated on the small-area geographic variation in preventable hospitalisations can inform regional, provincial and national decision makers on planning, allocation of resources and monitoring performance of health service providers.
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Russo, Letícia Xander, Timothy Powell-Jackson, Jorge Otavio Maia Barreto, Josephine Borghi, Roxanne Kovacs, Garibaldi Dantas Gurgel Junior, Luciano Bezerra Gomes, et al. "Pay for performance in primary care: the contribution of the Programme for Improving Access and Quality of Primary Care (PMAQ) on avoidable hospitalisations in Brazil, 2009–2018." BMJ Global Health 6, no. 7 (July 2021): e005429. http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmjgh-2021-005429.
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BackgroundEvidence on the effect of pay-for-performance (P4P) schemes on provider performance is mixed in low-income and middle-income countries. Brazil introduced its first national-level P4P scheme in 2011 (PMAQ-Brazilian National Programme for Improving Primary Care Access and Quality). PMAQ is likely one of the largest P4P schemes in the world. We estimate the association between PMAQ and hospitalisations for ambulatory care sensitive conditions (ACSCs) based on a panel of 5564 municipalities.MethodsWe conducted a fixed effect panel data analysis over the period of 2009–2018, controlling for coverage of primary healthcare, hospital beds per 10 000 population, education, real gross domestic product per capita and population density. The outcome is the hospitalisation rate for ACSCs among people aged 64 years and under per 10 000 population. Our exposure variable is defined as the percentage of family health teams participating in PMAQ, which captures the roll-out of PMAQ over time. We also provided several sensitivity analyses, by using alternative measures of the exposure and outcome variables, and a placebo test using transport accident hospitalisations instead of ACSCs.ResultsThe results show a negative and statistically significant association between the rollout of PMAQ and ACSC rates for all age groups. An increase in PMAQ participating of one percentage point decreased the hospitalisation rate for ACSC by 0.0356 (SE 0.0123, p=0.004) per 10 000 population (aged 0–64 years). This corresponds to a reduction of approximately 60 829 hospitalisations in 2018. The impact is stronger for children under 5 years (−0.0940, SE 0.0375, p=0.012), representing a reduction of around 11 936 hospitalisations. Our placebo test shows that the association of PMAQ on the hospitalisation rate for transport accidents is not statistically significant, as expected.ConclusionWe find that PMAQ was associated with a modest reduction in hospitalisation for ACSCs.
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Lugo-Palacios, David G., and John Cairns. "The financial and health burden of diabetic ambulatory care sensitive hospitalisations in Mexico." Salud Pública de México 58, no. 2 (March 2016): 33–40. http://dx.doi.org/10.21149/spm.v58i1.7665.
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De Prophetis, Eric, Vivek Goel, Tristan Watson, and Laura C. Rosella. "Relationship between life satisfaction and preventable hospitalisations: a population-based cohort study in Ontario, Canada." BMJ Open 10, no. 2 (February 2020): e032837. http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2019-032837.
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ObjectiveTo examine if low life satisfaction is associated with an increased risk of being hospitalised for an ambulatory care sensitive condition (ACSC), in comparison to high life satisfactionDesign and settingPopulation-based cohort study of adults from Ontario, Canada. Baseline data were captured through the Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS) and linked to health administrative data for follow-up information.Participants129 467 men and women between the ages 18 and 74.Main outcome measuresTime to avoidable hospitalisations defined by ACSCs.ResultsLife satisfaction was measured at baseline through the CCHS and follow-up information on ACSC hospitalisations were captured by linking participant respondents to hospitalisation records covered under a single payer health system. Within the study time frame (maximum of 14 years), 3037 individuals were hospitalised. Older men in the lowest household income quintile were more likely to be hospitalised with an ACSC. After controlling for age, sex, socioeconomic status (SES) and other behavioural factors, low life satisfaction at baseline had a strong relationship with future hospitalisations for ACSCs (HR 2.71; 95% CI 1.87 to 3.93). The hazards were highest for those who jointly had the lowest levels of life satisfaction and low household income (HR 3.80; 95% CI 2.13 to 6.73). Results did not meaningful change after running a competing risk survival analysis.ConclusionsThis study demonstrates that poor life satisfaction is associated with hospitalisations for ACSCs after adjustment for several confounders. Furthermore, the magnitude of this relationship was greater for those who were more socioeconomically disadvantaged. This study adds to the existing literature on the impact of life satisfaction on health system outcomes by documenting its impact on avoidable hospitalisations in a universal health system.
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Ackland, Michael J., Bernard CK Choi, and Zahid Ansari. "Guest Editorial: Indicators and Public Health Policy." Australian Journal of Primary Health 11, no. 3 (2005): 7. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/py05035.
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This issue includes a paper from the Victorian Department of Human Services, Australia, addressing applications of data on ambulatory care sensitive condition hospitalisations. This work has been very important for Victoria as it provides robust new indicators of access and quality of primary care services that have direct application to current public health policy. On the surface, this work appears to be the result of a simple set of analyses of routine hospitalisations data; commonplace data that are usually presented in bureaucratic reports that have a life gathering dust on the desks of public sector health administrators. How could such data excite anybody or provoke a practical policy or strategic response?
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Ansari, M. Z., D. Simmon s, W. G. Hart, F. Cicuttin i, N. J. Carson, N. I. A. G. Brand, M. J. Ackland, and D. J. Lang. "Preventable Hospitalisations for Diabetic Complications in Rural and Urban Victoria." Australian Journal of Primary Health 6, no. 4 (2000): 261. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/py00060.
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The objective of the study was to describe and explain variations in rates of hospital admissions for long-term complications of diabetes mellitus in rural and urban Victoria as an indicator of the adequacy of ambulatory care services. The Victorian Inpatient Minimum Database (VIMD), Health Insurance Commission data for 1998, Medical Labour Force Annual Survey 1998, Socioeconomic Indexes for Areas 1996 (SEIFA) and Accessibility/Remoteness Index of Australia (ARIA) were merged to determine the extent to which hospitalisation for complications of diabetes can be predicted from accessibility and utilisation of general practitioner services. The rural and urban differentials for long-term diabetic complications and their strong relationship with GP services, the degree of remoteness, lack of insurance, and Aboriginality reflect issues related to equity and access, patient and GP education, and inclination to seek care, all of which have implications for planning of primary health services in rural areas. This study describes a model for the analysis of ambulatory care sensitive conditions, and illustrates the important use of routine databases combined with other sources of information in quantifying the impact of factors related to primary care services.
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Lugo-Palacios, David G., and John Cairns. "Using ambulatory care sensitive hospitalisations to analyse the effectiveness of primary care services in Mexico." Social Science & Medicine 144 (November 2015): 59–68. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2015.09.010.
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Lichtl, Celina, and Kayvan Bozorgmehr. "Effects of introducing a walk-in clinic on ambulatory care sensitive hospitalisations among asylum seekers in Germany: a single-centre pre–post intervention study using medical records." BMJ Open 9, no. 12 (December 2019): e027945. http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2018-027945.
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ObjectiveMeasuring the effect of introducing a walk-in clinic on ambulatory care sensitive (ACS) hospitalisations among asylum seekers in a large state reception- and registration centre.Design and settingPre–post intervention study using anonymous account data from a university hospital functioning as referral facility for a state reception- and registration centre in the third largest German federal state.ParticipantsWe included all asylum seekers residing in the reception centre and admitted to the referral hospital between 2015 to 2017.InterventionsEstablishment of an interdisciplinary walk-in clinic in the reception centre (02/2016).Main outcome measuresInternational lists for ACS conditions for both adults and children were adapted and used to calculate the prevalence of ACS conditions among the population (primary outcome measure). The impact of the intervention on the outcome was analysed using a segmented Poisson regression to calculate incidence-rate ratios with respective 95% CIs, adjusted for age, sex and admission.ResultsThe prevalence of ACS hospitalisations changed over time, as did the effect of age, sex and quarter of admission. Introducing the walk-in clinic reduced the prevalence of ACS hospitalisations among asylum seekers compared with the period before establishment of the clinic (incidence-rate ratios (IRR)=0.80 (0.65 to 1.00), p=0.054), but the effect was attenuated after adjustment for time trends. The average difference in prevalence of ACS hospitalisations compared with the period before establishment of the clinic, corrected for pre-existing time trends, age and sex of asylum seekers was IRR=1.03 ((0.69 to 1.55), p=0.876).ConclusionsA walk-in clinic in reception centres may be effective to reduce ACS hospitalisations, but our study could not prove evidence for a measurable effect after full adjustment for time trends. Further research, ideally with parallel control groups, is required to establish evidence for the effectiveness of walk-in clinics in reception centres on reducing ACS hospitalisations.
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Gungabissoon, Usha, Gayan Perera, Nicholas W. Galwey, and Robert Stewart. "Potentially avoidable causes of hospitalisation in people with dementia: contemporaneous associations by stage of dementia in a South London clinical cohort." BMJ Open 12, no. 4 (April 2022): e055447. http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2021-055447.
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ObjectivesTo estimate the frequency of all-cause and ambulatory care sensitive condition (ACSCs)-related hospitalisations among individuals with dementia. In addition, to investigate differences by stage of dementia based on recorded cognitive function.SettingData from a large London dementia care clinical case register, linked to a national hospitalisation database.ParticipantsIndividuals aged ≥65 years with a confirmed dementia diagnosis with recorded cognitive function.Outcome measuresAcute general hospital admissions were evaluated within 6 months of a randomly selected cognitive function score in patients with a clinical diagnosis of dementia. To evaluate associations between ACSC-related hospital admissions (overall and individual ACSCs) and stage of dementia, an ordinal regression was performed, modelling stage of dementia as the dependant variable (to facilitate efficient model selection, with no implication concerning the direction of causality).ResultsOf the 5294 people with dementia, 2993 (56.5%) had at least one hospitalisation during a 12-month period of evaluation, and 1192 (22.5%) had an ACSC-related admission. Proportions with an all-cause or ACSC-related hospitalisation were greater in the groups with more advanced dementia (all-cause 53.9%, 57.1% and 60.9%, p 0.002; ACSC-related 19.5%, 24.0% and 25.3%, p<0.0001 in the mild, moderate and severe groups, respectively). An ACSC-related admission was associated with 1.3-fold (95% CI 1.1 to 1.5) increased odds of more severe dementia after adjusting for demographic factors. Concerning admissions for individual ACSCs, the most common ACSC was urinary tract infection /pyelonephritis (9.8% of hospitalised patients) followed by pneumonia (7.1%); in an adjusted model, these were each associated with 1.4-fold increased odds of more severe dementia (95% CI 1.2 to 1.7 and 1.1 to 1.7, respectively).ConclusionsPotentially avoidable hospitalisations were common in people with dementia, particularly in those with greater cognitive impairment. Our results call for greater attention to the extent of cognitive status impairment, and not just dementia diagnosis, when evaluating measures to reduce the risk of potentially avoidable hospitalisations.
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Lumme, Sonja, Kristiina Manderbacka, Martti Arffman, Sakari Karvonen, and Ilmo Keskimaki. "Cumulative social disadvantage and hospitalisations due to ambulatory care-sensitive conditions in Finland in 2011─2013: a register study." BMJ Open 10, no. 8 (August 2020): e038338. http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2020-038338.
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ObjectivesTo study the interplay between several indicators of social disadvantage and hospitalisations due to ambulatory care-sensitive conditions (ACSC) in 2011─2013. To evaluate whether the accumulation of preceding social disadvantage in one point of time or prolongation of social disadvantage had an effect on hospitalisations due to ACSCs. Four common indicators of disadvantage are examined: living alone, low level of education, poverty and unemployment.DesignA population-based register study.SettingNationwide individual-level register data on hospitalisations due to ACSCs for the years 2011–2013 and preceding data on social and socioeconomic factors for the years 2006─2010.ParticipantsFinnish residents aged 45 or older on 1 January 2011.Outcome measureHospitalisations due to ACSCs in 2011–2013. The effect of accumulation of preceding disadvantage in one point of time and its prolongation on ACSCs was studied using modified Poisson regression.ResultsPeople with preceding cumulative social disadvantage were more likely to be hospitalised due to ACSCs. The most hazardous combination was simultaneously living alone, low level of education and poverty among the middle-aged individuals (aged 45–64 years) and the elderly (over 64 years). Risk ratio (RR) of being hospitalised due to ACSC was 3.16 (95% CI 3.03–3.29) among middle-aged men and 3.54 (3.36–3.73) among middle-aged women compared with individuals without any of these risk factors when controlling for age and residential area. For the elderly, the RR was 1.61 (1.57–1.66) among men and 1.69 (1.64–1.74) among women.ConclusionsTo improve social equity in healthcare, it is important to recognise not only patients with cumulative disadvantage but also—as this study shows—patients with particular combinations of disadvantage who may be more susceptible. The identification of these vulnerable patient groups is also necessary to reduce the use of more expensive treatment in specialised healthcare.
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Leutgeb, Rüdiger, Sarah Jane Berger, Joachim Szecsenyi, and Gunter Laux. "Potentially avoidable hospitalisations of German nursing home patients? A cross-sectional study on utilisation patterns and potential consequences for healthcare." BMJ Open 9, no. 1 (January 2019): e025269. http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2018-025269.
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ObjectivesDemand for nursing home (NH) care is soaring due to gains in life expectancy and people living longer with chronic illness and disability. This is dovetailing with workforce shortages across the healthcare profession. Access to timely and appropriate medical care for NH residents is becoming increasingly challenging and can result in potentially avoidable hospitalisations (PAHs). In light of these factors, we analysed PAHs comparing NH patients with non-NH patients.DesignCross-sectional study with claims data from 2015 supplied by a large German health insurance company within the federal state of Baden-Wuerttemberg.SettingOne-year observation of hospitalisation patterns for NH and non-NH patients.Participants3 872 245 of the 10.5million inhabitants of Baden-Wuerttemberg were covered.MethodsPatient data about hospitalisation date, sex, age, nationality, level of care and diagnoses were available. PAHs were defined based on international classification of diseases (ICD-10) diagnoses belonging to ambulatory care sensitive conditions (ACSCs). Adjusted ORs for PAHs for NH patients in comparison with non-NH patients were calculated with multivariable regression models.ResultsOf the 933 242 hospitalisations in 2015, there were 23 982 for 13 478 NH patients and 909 260 for 560 998 non-NH patients. Mean age of hospitalised NH patients and level of care were significantly higher than those of non-NH patients. 6449 PAHs (29.6%) for NH patients and 136 543 PAHs (15.02%) for non-NH patients were identified. The adjusted OR for PAHs was significantly heightened for NH patients in comparison with non-NH patients (OR: 1.22, CI (1.18 to 1.26), p<0.0001). Moreover, we could observe that more than 90% of PAHs with ACSCs were unplanned hospitalisations (UHs).ConclusionsLarge numbers of PAHs for NH patients calls for improved coordination of medical care, especially general practitioner service provision. Introduction of targeted training programmes for physicians and NH staff on health problem management for NH patients could perhaps contribute to reduction of PAHs, predominantly UHs.
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Silwal, Pushkar Raj, Daniel Exeter, Tim Tenbensel, and Arier Lee. "Understanding geographical variations in health system performance: a population-based study on preventable childhood hospitalisations." BMJ Open 12, no. 6 (June 2022): e052209. http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2021-052209.
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ObjectiveTo investigate interdistrict variations in childhood ambulatory sensitive hospitalisation (ASH) over the years.DesignObservational population-based study over 2008–2018 using the Primary Health Organisation Enrolment Collection (PHO) and the National Minimum Dataset hospital events databases.SettingNew Zealand primary and secondary care.ParticipantsAll children aged 0–4 years enrolled in the PHO Enrolment Collection from 2008 to 2018.Main outcome measureASH.ResultsOnly 1.4% of the variability in the risk of having childhood ASH (intracluster correlation coefficient=0.014) is explained at the level of District Health Board (DHB), with the median OR of 1.23. No consistent time trend was observed for the adjusted childhood ASH at the national level, but the DHBs demonstrated different trajectories over the years. Ethnicity (being a Pacific child) followed by deprivation demonstrated stronger relationships with childhood ASH than the geography and the health system input variables.ConclusionThe variation in childhood ASH is explained only minimal at the DHB level. The sociodemographic variables also only partly explained the variations. Unlike the general ASH measure, the childhood ASH used in this analysis provides insights into the acute conditions sensitive to primary care services. However, further information would be required to conclude this as the DHB-level performance variations.
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Eurich, Dean, Cerina Lee, Arsene Zongo, Jasjett K. Minhas-Sandhu, John G. Hanlon, Elaine Hyshka, and Jason Dyck. "Cohort study of medical cannabis authorisation and healthcare utilisation in 2014–2017 in Ontario, Canada." Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health 74, no. 3 (December 12, 2019): 299–304. http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/jech-2019-212438.
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BackgroundThe impact of medical cannabis on healthcare utilisation between 2014 and 2017 in Ontario, Canada. With cannabis legalisation in Canada and some states in the USA, high-quality longitudinal cohort research studies are of urgent need to assess the impact of cannabis use on healthcare utilisation.MethodsA matched cohort study of 9925 medical cannabis authorised adult patients (inhaled (smoked or vaporised) or orally consumed (oils)) at specialised cannabis clinics, and inclusion of 17 732 controls (not authorised) between 24 April 2014 and 31 March 2017 from Ontario, Canada. Interrupted time series and multivariate Poisson regression analyses were conducted. Medical cannabis impact on healthcare utilisation was measured over 6 months: all-cause physician visits, all-cause hospitalisation, ambulatory care sensitive conditions (ACSC)-related hospitalisations, all-cause emergency department (ED) visits and ACSC-related ED visits.ResultsFor medical cannabis patients compared with controls, there was an initial (within the first month) increase in physician visits (additional 4330 visits per 10 000 patients). However, a numerical reduction was noted over the 6-month follow-up, and no statistical difference was observed (p=0.126). Likewise, in hospitalisations and ACSC ED visits, there was an initial increase (44 per 10 000 people, p<0.05) but no statistical difference after follow-up (p=0.34). Conversely, no initial increase in all-cause ED visits was observed with a slight decrease (19 visits per 10 000 patients, p=0.014) in follow-up.ConclusionsAn initial increase (within first month) in healthcare utilisation may be expected among medical cannabis users that appears to wane over time. Proactive follow-up of patients using medical cannabis is warranted to minimise initial risks to patients and actively assess potential benefits/harms of ongoing use.
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Davydow, Dimitry S., Morten Fenger-Grøn, Anette Riisgaard Ribe, Henrik Søndergaard Pedersen, Anders Prior, Peter Vedsted, Jürgen Unützer, and Mogens Vestergaard. "Depression and risk of hospitalisations and rehospitalisations for ambulatory care-sensitive conditions in Denmark: a population-based cohort study." BMJ Open 5, no. 12 (December 2015): e009878. http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2015-009878.
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Lichtl, Célina, Sandra Claudia Gewalt, Stefan Noest, Joachim Szecsenyi, and Kayvan Bozorgmehr. "Potentially avoidable and ambulatory care sensitive hospitalisations among forced migrants: a protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysis." BMJ Open 6, no. 9 (September 2016): e012216. http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2016-012216.
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Grigoroglou, Christos, Luke Munford, Roger Webb, Navneet Kapur, Tim Doran, Darren Ashcroft, and Evangelos Kontopantelis. "Impact of a national primary care pay-for-performance scheme on ambulatory care sensitive hospital admissions: a small-area analysis in England." BMJ Open 10, no. 9 (September 2020): e036046. http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2019-036046.
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ObjectiveWe aimed to spatially describe hospital admissions for ambulatory care sensitive conditions (ACSC) in England at small-area geographical level and assess whether recorded practice performance under one of the world’s largest primary care pay-for-performance schemes led to reductions in these potentially avoidable hospitalisations for chronic conditions incentivised in the scheme.SettingWe obtained numbers of ACSC hospital admissions from the Hospital Episode Statistics database and information on recorded practice performance from the Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF) administrative dataset for 2015/2016. We fitted three sets of negative binomial models to examine ecological associations between incentivised ACSC admissions, general practice performance, deprivation, urbanity and other sociodemographic characteristics.ResultsHospital admissions for QOF incentivised ACSCs varied within and between regions, with clusters of high numbers of hospital admissions for incentivised ACSCs identified across England. Our models indicated a very small effect of the QOF on reducing admissions for incentivised ACSCs (0.993, 95% CI 0.990 to 0.995), however, other factors, such as deprivation (1.021, 95% CI 1.020 to 1.021) and urbanicity (0.875, 95% CI 0.862 to 0.887), were far more important in explaining variations in admissions for ACSCs. People in deprived areas had a higher risk of being admitted in hospital for an incentivised ACSC condition.ConclusionSpatial analysis based on routinely collected data can be used to identify areas with high rates of potentially avoidable hospital admissions, providing valuable information for targeting resources and evaluating public health interventions. Our findings suggest that the QOF had a very small effect on reducing avoidable hospitalisation for incentivised conditions. Material deprivation and urbanicity were the strongest predictors of the variation in ACSC rates for all QOF incentivised conditions across England.
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Carneiro, Vânia Cristina Campelo Barroso, Paulo de Tarso Ribeiro de Oliveira, Saul Rassy Carneiro, Marinalva Cardoso Maciel, and Janari da Silva Pedroso. "Impact of expansion of primary care in child health: a population-based panel study in municipalities in the Brazilian Amazon." BMJ Open 12, no. 3 (March 2022): e048897. http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2021-048897.
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ObjectivesConsidering the expansion of primary care in areas of difficult access in the Brazilian territory in recent decades, the aim of this study to evaluate the effect of the Family Health Strategy (FHS) expansion on hospitalisations due to ambulatory care-sensitive conditions (ACSCs) and mortality in children under 5 years of age in the state of Pará, Brazilian Amazon.MethodsA longitudinal analysis from 2008 to 2017 was conducted for data collected from the SUS’s database (DATASUS) using panel regression methods to determine the association between the expansion FHS coverage, ACSC rate, under 5 mortality rate and child mortality rate in municipalities of the state of Pará.ResultsThere was an expansion of 40% of the population coverage of the FHS, in the same period there were 347 468.55 hospitalisations due to ASCSs of children under 5 years of age in the public health network in the state of Pará, which represented a reduction of almost 28% (p value <0001), and significant reduction of almost 57.67% in government hospital expenditures with hospitalisations between 2008 and 2017. In this period, there was also a significant decrease in the mortality rate in children under 5 years of age.ConclusionsOur findings reinforce the importance of the public health protection for the child population and the positive impacts of FHS in the state of Pará, in the Brazilian Amazon. The government actions aimed at reducing regional health disparities and the effort to strengthen primary care can improve health indicators of children and be an important strategy to developing countries.
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Balogh, R. S., H. Ouellette-Kuntz, M. Brownell, and A. Colantonio. "Factors associated with hospitalisations for ambulatory care-sensitive conditions among persons with an intellectual disability - a publicly insured population perspective." Journal of Intellectual Disability Research 57, no. 3 (February 28, 2012): 226–39. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2788.2011.01528.x.
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Reid, Papaarangi, Sarah-Jane Paine, Braden Te Ao, Esther J. Willing, Emma Wyeth, Rhema Vaithianathan, and Belinda Loring. "Estimating the economic costs of Indigenous health inequities in New Zealand: a retrospective cohort analysis." BMJ Open 12, no. 10 (October 2022): e065430. http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2022-065430.
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ObjectivesDespite significant international interest in the economic impacts of health inequities, few studies have quantified the costs associated with unfair and preventable ethnic/racial health inequities. This Indigenous-led study is the first to investigate health inequities between Māori and non-Māori adults in New Zealand (NZ) and estimate the economic costs associated with these differences.DesignRetrospective cohort analysis. Quantitative epidemiological methods and ‘cost-of-illness’ (COI) methodology were employed, within a Kaupapa Māori theoretical framework.SettingData for 2003–2014 were obtained from national data collections held by NZ government agencies, including hospitalisations, mortality, outpatient and primary care consultations, laboratory and pharmaceutical usage and accident claims.ParticipantsAll adults in NZ aged 15 years and above who had engagement with the health system between 2003 and 2014 (deidentified).Primary and secondary outcome measuresRates of ‘potentially avoidable’ hospitalisations and mortality as well as ‘excess or underutilisation’ of healthcare were calculated, as the difference between actual rates for Māori and the rate expected if Māori had the same rates as non-Māori. These differences were then quantified using COI methodology to estimate the financial cost of ethnic inequities.ResultsIn this conservative estimate, health inequities between Māori and non-Māori adults cost NZ$863.3 million per year. Direct costs of NZ$39.9 million per year included costs from ambulatory sensitive hospitalisations and outpatient care, with cost savings from underutilisation of primary care. Indirect costs of NZ$823.4 million per year came from years of life lost and lost wages.ConclusionsIndigenous adult health inequities in NZ create significant direct and indirect costs. The ‘cost of doing nothing’ is predominantly borne by Indigenous communities and society. The net cost of adult health inequities to the government conceals substantial savings to the government from underutilisation of primary care and accident/injury care.
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Maffioli, Elisa Maria, Thiago Augusto Hernandes Rocha, Gabriel Vivas, Carlos Rosales, Catherine Staton, and Joao Ricardo Nickenig Vissoci. "Addressing inequalities in medical workforce distribution: evidence from a quasi-experimental study in Brazil." BMJ Global Health 4, no. 6 (November 2019): e001827. http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmjgh-2019-001827.
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BackgroundBrazil faces huge health inequality challenges since not all municipalities have access to primary care physicians. The More Doctors Programme (MDP), which started in 2013, was born out of this recognition, providing more than 18 000 doctors in the first few years. However, the programme faced a restructuring at the end of 2018.MethodsWe construct a panel municipality-level data between 2008 and 2017 for 5570 municipalities in Brazil. We employ a difference-in-differences empirical approach, combined with propensity score matching, to study the impacts of the programme on hospitalisations for ambulatory care sensitive conditions and its costs. We explore heterogeneous impacts by age of the patients, type of admissions, and municipalities that were given priority.FindingsThe MDP reduced ambulatory admissions by 2.9 per cent (p value <0.10) and the costs by 3.7 per cent (p value <0.01) over the mean. The reduction was driven by infectious gastroenteritis, bacterial pneumonias, asthma, kidney and urinary infections, and pelvic inflammatory disease. The results held on the subsample of municipalities targeted by the programme. By comparing the benefits of the programme from the reduction in the costs of ambulatory admissions to the total financial costs of the MDP, the impacts allowed the government to save at least BRL 27.88 (US$ 6.9 million) between 2014 and 2017.ConclusionAddressing inequalities in the distribution of the medical workforce remains a global challenge. Our results inform the discussion on the current strategy adopted in Brazil to increase access to primary healthcare in underserved areas.
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Sundmacher, Leonie, Diana Fischbach, Wiebke Schuettig, Christoph Naumann, Uta Augustin, and Cristina Faisst. "Which hospitalisations are ambulatory care-sensitive, to what degree, and how could the rates be reduced? Results of a group consensus study in Germany." Health Policy 119, no. 11 (November 2015): 1415–23. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.healthpol.2015.08.007.
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Dekker, Damaris, Jesse Kokaua, Glenda Oben, Jean Simpson, and Rose Richards. "Are there differences within pre-school aged Pacific peoples’ hospital presentations with preventable conditions?" Pacific Health Dialog 21, no. 1 (February 27, 2018): 27–36. http://dx.doi.org/10.26635/phd.2018.904.
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Aim. To describe the top five causes of preventable health conditions among Pacific children (Cook Island, Fijian, Niuean, Samoan, Tongan, Tokelauan) aged 0-4 years living in New Zealand (NZ), and to make comparisons of these rates with NZ’s population who were of neither Maori nor Pacific ethnicity (NMNP).
Method. This study is a retrospective analysis of preschool Ambulatory Sensitive Hospitalisations (ASH) by ethnicity. The data, from 2010 to 2014, was extracted from The National Minimum Dataset.
Results. The top five preventable health conditions among Pacific under 5’s were asthma and wheeze, gastroenteritis, dental, skin infections and pneumonia. Rates for all Pacific children with any of the ASH conditions were four to five times higher among Pacific, than among NMNP, from 2000 to 2014. Pacific children were also significantly more likely to present with bronchiectasis and rheumatic fever or rheumatic heart disease (RR 25.7 and 26.4 respectively).
Conclusion. Pacific children aged 0-4 years are more likely to be exposed to health conditions that are considered preventable . The most common preventable health conditions experienced by Pacific children were asthma and wheeze, gastroenteritis, dental, skin infections and pneumonia. These findings highlight the importance of investing in effective prevention strategies to further investigate and address the underlying causes of these conditions.
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McDarby, Geraldine, and Breda Smyth. "Identifying priorities for primary care investment in Ireland through a population-based analysis of avoidable hospital admissions for ambulatory care sensitive conditions (ACSC)." BMJ Open 9, no. 11 (November 2019): e028744. http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2018-028744.
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BackgroundIn 2016, the Irish acute hospital system operated well above internationally recommended occupancy targets. Investment in primary care can prevent hospital admissions of ambulatory care sensitive conditions (ACSCs).ObjectiveTo measure the impact of ACSCs on acute hospital capacity in the Irish public system and identify specific care areas for enhanced primary care provision.DesignNational Hospital In-patient Enquiry System data were used to calculate 2011–2016 standardised bed day rates for selected ACSC conditions. A prioritisation exercise was undertaken to identify the most significant contributors to bed days within our hospital system. Poisson regression was used to determine change over time using incidence rate ratios (IRR).ResultsIn 2016 ACSCs accounted for almost 20% of acute public hospital beds (n=871 328 bed days) with adults over 65 representing 69.1% (n=602 392) of these. Vaccine preventable conditions represented 39.1% of ACSCs. Influenza and pneumonia were responsible for 99.8% of these, increasing by 8.2% (IRR: 1.02; 95% CI 1.02 to 1.03) from 2011 to 2016. Pyelonephritis represented 47.6% of acute ACSC bed days, increasing by 46.5% (IRR: 1.07; 95% CI 1.06 to 1.08) over the 5 years examined.ConclusionsPrioritisation for targeted investment in integrated care programmes is enabled through analysis of ACSC’s in terms of acute hospital bed days. This analysis demonstrates that primary care investment in integrated care programmes for respiratory ACSC’s from prevention to rehabilitation at scale could assist with bed capacity in acute hospitals in Ireland. In adults 65 years and over, including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients, the current analysis supports targeting community based pulmonary rehabilitation including pneumococcal and influenza vaccination programmes in order to reduce the burden of infection and hospitalisations. Further exploration of pyelonephritis is necessary in order to ascertain patient profile and appropriateness of admissions.
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Banham, David, Tony Woollacott, John Gray, Brett Humphrys, Angel Mihnev, and Robyn McDermott. "Recognising potential for preventing hospitalisation." Australian Health Review 34, no. 1 (2010): 116. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/ah09674.
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To identify the incidence and distribution of public hospital admissions in South Australia that could potentially be prevented with appropriate use of primary care services, analysis was completed of all public hospital separations from July 2006 to June 2008 in SA. This included those classified as potentially preventable using the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare criteria for selected potentially preventable hospitalisations (SPPH), by events and by individual, with statistical local area geocoding and allocation of relative socioeconomic disadvantage quintile. A total of 744 723 public hospital separations were recorded, of which 79 424 (10.7%) were classified as potentially preventable. Of these, 59% were for chronic conditions, and 29% were derived from the bottom socioeconomic status (SES) quintile. Individuals in the lowest SES quintile were 2.5 times more likely to be admitted for a potentially preventable condition than those from the top SES quintile. Older individuals, males, those in the most disadvantaged quintiles, non-metropolitan areas and Indigenous people were more likely to have more than one preventable admission. People living in more disadvantaged areas in SA appear to have poorer utilisation of effective primary care, resulting in preventable hospital admissions, than those in higher SES groups. The SA Health Care Plan, 2007–2016 is aimed at investing in improved access to primary care in those areas of most disadvantage. The inclusion of SPPHs in future routine reporting should identify if this has occurred. What is known about the topic?Ambulatory care sensitive conditions, or selected potentially preventable hospitalisation separations (SPPH), are an indicator of the availability and effectiveness of primary health care. SPPHs are increasingly reported by area level disadvantage. What does this paper add?This paper offers analysis by individuals. It shows around three-quarters of individuals had one potentially preventable public hospital separation. The rate among those living in the most disadvantaged areas was more than twice that of lowest disadvantage areas. What are the implications for practitioners?Realising the potential for preventing potentially avoidable hospitalisation may involve focus on particular target areas and subpopulations. Potentially preventable separations by area of disadvantage can assist with monitoring performance and evaluating policy and program initiatives. Analysis by numbers of individuals will enhance this further.
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Lynch, Kimberly A., David A. Ganz, Debra Saliba, Donald S. Chang, and Shelly S. de Peralta. "Improving heart failure care and guideline-directed medical therapy through proactive remote patient monitoring-home telehealth and pharmacy integration." BMJ Open Quality 11, no. 3 (July 2022): e001901. http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmjoq-2022-001901.
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To address ambulatory care sensitive hospitalisations in heart failure (HF), we implemented a quality improvement initiative to reduce admissions and improve guideline-directed medical therapy (GDMT) prescription, through proactive integration of remote patient monitoring-home telehealth (RPM-HT) and pharmacist consultations. Each enrolled patient (n=38) was assigned an RPM-HT registered nurse (RN), cardiology licensed independent provider (provider), and, if referred, a clinical pharmacy specialist (pharmacist). The RN called patients weekly and for changes detected by RPM-HT, while the pharmacist worked to optimise GDMT. The RN and pharmacist communicated clinical status changes to the provider for expedited management. Process measures were the percentage of outbound RN weekly calls missed per enrolled patient; the weekly percentage of provider interventions missed; and the number of initiative-driven diuretic changes. Outcome measures included eligible GDMT medications prescribed, optimisation of those medications, and the pre–post difference in emergency department (ED) visits/hospitalisations. After a 4-week run-in period, RN weekly calls missed per enrolled patient decreased from a mean of 21.4% (weeks 5–15) to 10.2% (weeks 16–23). Weekly missed provider interventions decreased from a mean of 15.1% (weeks 1–15) to 3.4% (weeks 16–23), with special cause variation detected. The initiative resulted in 43 diuretic changes in 21 patients. Among 34 active patients, 65 ED visits (0.16 per person-month) occurred in 12 months pre intervention compared with 8 ED visits (0.04 per person-month) for 6 intervention months (p<0.001). Among 16 patients referred to pharmacist, the per cent of eligible GDMT medications prescribed increased by 17.1% (p<0.001); the number of patients receiving all eligible medications increased from 3 to 11 (p=0.008). Similarly, the per cent optimisation of GDMT doses increased by 25.3% (p<0.001), with the number of patients maximally optimised on GDMT increasing from 1 to 6 (p=0.06). We concluded that a cardiology, RPM-HT RN and pharmacist team improved prescription of GDMT and may have reduced HF admissions.
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Cookson, Richard, Miqdad Asaria, Shehzad Ali, Brian Ferguson, Robert Fleetcroft, Maria Goddard, Peter Goldblatt, Mauro Laudicella, and Rosalind Raine. "Health Equity Indicators for the English NHS: a longitudinal whole-population study at the small-area level." Health Services and Delivery Research 4, no. 26 (September 2016): 1–224. http://dx.doi.org/10.3310/hsdr04260.
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BackgroundInequalities in health-care access and outcomes raise concerns about quality of care and justice, and the NHS has a statutory duty to consider reducing them.ObjectivesThe objectives were to (1) develop indicators of socioeconomic inequality in health-care access and outcomes at different stages of the patient pathway; (2) develop methods for monitoring local NHS equity performance in tackling socioeconomic health-care inequalities; (3) track the evolution of socioeconomic health-care inequalities in the 2000s; and (4) develop ‘equity dashboards’ for communicating equity findings to decision-makers in a clear and concise format.DesignLongitudinal whole-population study at the small-area level.SettingEngland from 2001/2 to 2011/12.ParticipantsA total of 32,482 small-area neighbourhoods (lower-layer super output areas) of approximately 1500 people.Main outcome measuresSlope index of inequality gaps between the most and least deprived neighbourhoods in England, adjusted for need or risk, for (1) patients per family doctor, (2) primary care quality, (3) inpatient hospital waiting time, (4) emergency hospitalisation for chronic ambulatory care-sensitive conditions, (5) repeat emergency hospitalisation in the same year, (6) dying in hospital, (7) mortality amenable to health care and (8) overall mortality.Data sourcesPractice-level workforce data from the general practice census (indicator 1), practice-level Quality and Outcomes Framework data (indicator 2), inpatient hospital data from Hospital Episode Statistics (indicators 3–6) and mortality data from the Office for National Statistics (indicators 6–8).ResultsBetween 2004/5 and 2011/12, more deprived neighbourhoods gained larger absolute improvements on all indicators except waiting time, repeat hospitalisation and dying in hospital. In 2011/12, there was little measurable inequality in primary care supply and quality, but inequality was associated with 171,119 preventable hospitalisations and 41,123 deaths amenable to health care. In 2011/12, > 20% of Clinical Commissioning Groups performed statistically significantly better or worse than the England equity benchmark.LimitationsGeneral practitioner supply is a limited measure of primary care access, need in deprived neighbourhoods may be underestimated because of a lack of data on multimorbidity, and the quality and outcomes indicators capture only one aspect of primary care quality. Health-care outcomes are adjusted for age and sex but not for other risk factors that contribute to unequal health-care outcomes and may be outside the control of the NHS, so they overestimate the extent of inequality for which the NHS can reasonably be held responsible.ConclusionsNHS actions can have a measurable impact on socioeconomic inequality in both health-care access and outcomes. Reducing inequality in health-care outcomes is more challenging than reducing inequality of access to health care. Local health-care equity monitoring against a national benchmark can be performed using any administrative geography comprising ≥ 100,000 people.Future workExploration of quality improvement lessons from local areas performing well and badly on health-care equity, improved methods including better measures of need and risk and measures of health-care inequality over the life-course, and monitoring of other dimensions of equity. These indicators can also be used to evaluate the health-care equity impacts of interventions and make international health-care equity comparisons.FundingThe National Institute for Health Research Health Services and Delivery Research programme.
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Carneiro, C. S. "Hospitalisation of ambulatory care sensitive conditions and access to primary care in Portugal." Public Health 165 (December 2018): 117–24. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.puhe.2018.09.019.
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Ansari, Zahid, Norman Carson, Adrian Serraglio, Toni Barbetti, and Flavia Cicuttini. "The Victorian Ambulatory Care Sensitive Conditions Study: reducing demand on hospital services in Victoria." Australian Health Review 25, no. 2 (2002): 71. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/ah020071.
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Ambulatory Care Sensitive Conditions (ACSCs) are those for which hospitalisation is thought to be avoidable ifpreventive care and early disease management are applied, usually in the ambulatory setting. The Victorian ACSCs study offers a new set of indicators describing differentials and inequalities in access to the primary healthcare systemin Victoria. The study used the Victorian Admitted Episodes Dataset (1999-2000) for analysing hospital admissions for diabetes complications, asthma, vaccine preventable influenza and pneumococcal pneumonia. The analyses were performed at the level of Primary Care Partnerships (PCPs). There were 12 100 admissions for diabetes complicationsin Victoria. There was a 12-fold variation in admission rates for diabetes complications across PCPs, with 13 PCPs having significantly higher rates than the Victorian average, accounting for just over half of all admissions (6114) and39 per cent total bed days. Similar variations in admission rates across PCPs were observed for asthma, influenza and pneumococcal pneumonia. This analysis, with its acknowledged limitations, has shown the potential for using theseindicators as a planning tool for identifying opportunities for targeted public health and health services interventions in reducing demand on hospital services in Victoria.
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Mendonça Guimarães, Raphael, Laís Pimenta Ribeiro dos Santos, Aline Gonçalves Pereira, and Leonardo Graever. "The effect of primary care policy changes on hospitalisation for ambulatory care sensitive conditions: notes from Brazil." Public Health 201 (December 2021): 26–34. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.puhe.2021.09.028.
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Balogh, R., M. Brownell, H. Ouellette-Kuntz, and A. Colantonio. "Hospitalisation rates for ambulatory care sensitive conditions for persons with and without an intellectual disability-a population perspective." Journal of Intellectual Disability Research 54, no. 9 (August 12, 2010): 820–32. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2788.2010.01311.x.
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Jan, Chyi-Feng Jeff, Che-Jui Jerry Chang, Shinn-Jang Hwang, Tzeng-Ji Chen, Hsiao-Yu Yang, Yu-Chun Chen, Cheng-Kuo Huang, and Tai-Yuan Chiu. "Impact of team-based community healthcare on preventable hospitalisation: a population-based cohort study in Taiwan." BMJ Open 11, no. 2 (February 2021): e039986. http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2020-039986.
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ObjectivesThe objective of this study was to explore the impact of Taiwan’s Family Practice Integrated Care Project (FPICP) on hospitalisation.DesignA population-based cohort study compared the hospitalisation rates for ambulatory care sensitive conditions (ACSCs) among FPICP participating and non-participating patients during 2011–2015.SettingThe study accessed the FPICP reimbursement database of Taiwan’s National Health Insurance (NHI) administration containing all NHI administration-selected patients for FPICP enrolment.ParticipantsThe NHI administration-selected candidates from 2011 to 2015 became FPICP participants if their primary care physicians joined the project, otherwise they became non-participants.InterventionsThe intervention of interest was enrolment in the FPICP or not. The follow-up time interval for calculating the rate of hospitalisation was the year in which the patient was selected for FPICP enrolment or not.Primary outcome measuresThe study’s primary outcome measures were hospitalisation rates for ACSC, including asthma/chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), diabetes or its complications and heart failure. Logistic regression was used to calculate the ORs concerning the influence of FPICP participation on the rate of hospitalisation for ACSC.ResultsThe enrolled population for data analysis was between 3.94 and 5.34 million from 2011 to 2015. Compared to non-participants, FPICP participants had lower hospitalisation for COPD/asthma (28.6‰–35.9‰ vs 37.9‰–42.3‰) and for diabetes or its complications (10.8‰–14.9‰ vs 12.7‰–18.1‰) but not for congestive heart failure. After adjusting for age, sex and level of comorbidities by logistic regression, participation in the FPICP was associated with lower hospitalisation for COPD/asthma (OR 0.91, 95% CI 0.87 to 0.94 in 2015) and for diabetes or its complications (OR 0.87, 95% CI 0.83 to 0.92 in 2015).ConclusionParticipation in the FPICP is an independent protective factor for preventable ACSC hospitalisation. Team-based community healthcare programs such as the FPICP can strengthen primary healthcare capacity.
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Afonso, Marcelo P. D., Helena E. Shimizu, Edgar Merchan-Hamann, Walter M. Ramalho, and Tarcisio Afonso. "Association between hospitalisation for ambulatory care-sensitive conditions and primary health care physician specialisation: a cross-sectional ecological study in Curitiba (Brazil)." BMJ Open 7, no. 12 (December 2017): e015322. http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2016-015322.
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IntroductionHospitalisation for ambulatory care-sensitive conditions (HACSCs) is frequently used as an indicator of the quality and effectiveness of primary healthcare (PHC) services around the world. The aim of the present study was to evaluate whether the PHC model (family health strategy (FHS) x conventional) and the availability of specialised PHC physicians is associated or not with total hospitalisation or HACSCs in the National Health System (SUS) of the municipality of Curitiba, Paraná state (PR), Brazil.MethodologyThis is a cross-sectional ecological study using multiple linear regression with socioeconomic and professional data from municipal health units (MHUs) between 1 April 2014 and 31 March 2015.ResultsAfter adjustment for age and sex and control of socioeconomic variables, the FHS model was associated with six fewer HACSCs a year per 10 000 inhabitants in relation to the conventional model and the availability of one family physician at each FHS model MHU per 10 000 inhabitants was associated with 1.1 fewer HACSCs for heart failure a year per 10 000 inhabitants. Basic specialists (clinicians, paediatricians and obstetrician/gynaecologists) and subspecialists showed no significant association with HACSC rates.ConclusionThese results obtained in a major Brazilian city reinforce the role of FHS as a priority PHC model in the country and indicate the potentially significant impact of specialising in family medicine on improving the health conditions of the population.
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Choo, Eunjung, Eunyoung Choi, Juhee Lee, Linda Siachalinga, Eun Jin Jang, and Iyn-Hyang Lee. "Assessment of the effects of methodological choice in continuity of care research: a real-world example with dyslipidaemia cohort." BMJ Open 11, no. 12 (December 2021): e053140. http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2021-053140.
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ObjectiveTo determine if the choice of methodological elements affects the results in continuity of care studies.DesignThis is a retrospective cohort study. The association between continuity of care and clinical outcome was investigated using the Continuity of Care Index. The association was explored in 12 scenarios based on four definitions of the relative timing of continuity and outcome measurements in three populations (three Ps × four Ts).SettingNational Health Insurance claims from all primary and secondary care facilities in South Korea between 2007 and 2015.ParticipantsParticipants were patients diagnosed with dyslipidaemia, made ≥2 ambulatory visits and were newly prescribed with ≥1 antihyperlipidaemic agent at an ambulatory setting in 2008. Three study populations were defined based on the number of ambulatory visits: 10 084 patients in population 1 (P1), 8454 in population 2 (P2) and 4754 in population 3 (P3).Main outcome measureHospitalisation related to one of the four atherosclerotic cardiovascular diseases, including myocardial infarction, stable or unstable angina, ischaemic stroke and transient ischaemic attack.ResultsConcurrent measure of continuity and outcome (T1) showed a significantly higher risk of hospitalisation (adjusted HRs: 2.73–3.07, p<0.0001) in the low continuity of care group, whereas T2, which measured continuity until the outcome occurred, showed no risk difference between the continuity of care groups. T3, which measured continuity as a time-varying variable, had adjusted HRs of 1.31–1.55 (p<0.05), and T4, measuring continuity for a predefined period and measuring outcomes in the remaining period, had adjusted HRs of 1.34–1.46 (p<0.05) in the low continuity of care. Within each temporal relationship, the effect estimates became more substantial as the inclusion criteria became stricter.ConclusionsThe study design in continuity of care studies should be planned carefully because the results are sensitive to the temporal relationship between continuity and outcome and the population selection criteria.
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Walsh, Mary, Sinéad Cronin, Fiona Boland, Mark Ebell, Emma Wallace, and Tom Fahey. "89 Geographical Variation of Emergency Hospital Admissions for Ambulatory Care Sensitive Conditions in Older Adults in the Republic of Ireland." Age and Ageing 48, Supplement_3 (September 2019): iii17—iii65. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/ageing/afz103.51.
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Abstract Background Hospitalisation for specific conditions considered to be `ambulatory-care sensitive' (ACS) could signify problems with primary or outpatient care access. The aims of this study are to quantify and explore potential causes for geographical variation across emergency hospital admissions for relevant ACS conditions in older adults in Ireland. Methods The number of emergency hospital admissions among adults aged 65+ with a diagnosis of an ACS condition between 2012-2016 were extracted from Ireland’s Hospital Inpatient Enquiry system according to condition, sex, age-group, residence area and year. Conditions included chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), congestive heart failure (CHF), diabetes complications, angina (excluding therapeutic procedures), pyelonephritis and urinary tract infections (UTI), dehydration and pneumonia. Age-sex standardised discharge rates (SDRs) were calculated for 21 areas. Systematic components of variance (SCV) quantified variation. Regression analyses were conducted between SDRs and year, unemployment rate, % urban population, General Practitioner (GP) supply, and % short emergency hospital stays. Results In total, 147,722 emergency hospital admissions (50 per 1,000 eligible population; 49% male) were included. COPD was the most common condition (31%), followed by pneumonia (22%), pyelonephritis/UTI (21%) and CHF (16%). CHF showed low geographic variation (SCV=2-3). COPD, diabetes, pyelonephritis/UTI and pneumonia showed high variation (SCV=4-12). Angina and dehydration showed very high variation (SCV=12-50). In multivariable analysis, higher unemployment was associated with higher SDRs for COPD. Lower GP supply was associated with higher SDRs for CHF, diabetes and pneumonia. Rurality was associated with SDRs for angina. Conclusion The rate of emergency admissions for ACS conditions studied is in line with research in the United States, although COPD and angina account for a higher proportion of admissions in our study. There is significant geographical variation in ACS admission rates among older adults in Ireland. Further research should explore local factors influencing emergency admission, particularly in socio-economically disadvantaged areas and those with lower GP supply.
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Muratov, Sergei, Justin Lee, Anne Holbrook, J. Michael Paterson, Jason Robert Guertin, Lawrence Mbuagbaw, Tara Gomes, et al. "Senior high-cost healthcare users’ resource utilization and outcomes: a protocol of a retrospective matched cohort study in Canada." BMJ Open 7, no. 12 (December 2017): e018488. http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2017-018488.
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IntroductionSenior high-cost users (HCUs) are estimated to represent 60% of all HCUs in Ontario, Canada’s most populous province. To improve our understanding of individual and health system characteristics related to senior HCUs, we will examine incident senior HCUs to determine their incremental healthcare utilisation and costs, characteristics of index hospitalisation episodes, mortality and their regional variation across Ontario.Methods and analysisA retrospective, population-based cohort study using administrative healthcare records will be used. Incident senior HCUs will be defined as Ontarians aged ≥66 years who were in the top 5% of healthcare cost users during fiscal year 2013 but not during fiscal year 2012. Each HCU will be matched to three non-HCUs by age, sex and health planning region. Incremental healthcare use and costs will be determined using the method of recycled predictions. We will apply multivariable logistic regression to determine patient and health service factors associated with index hospitalisation and inhospital mortality during the incident year. The most common causes of admission will be identified and contrasted with the most expensive hospitalised conditions. We will also calculate the ratio of inpatient costs incurred through admissions of ambulatory care sensitive conditions to the total inpatient expenditures. The magnitude of variation in costs and health service utilisation will be established by calculating the extremal quotient, the coefficient of variation and the Gini mean difference for estimates obtained through multilevel regression analyses.Ethics and disseminationThis study has been approved by Hamilton Integrated Research Ethics Board (ID#1715-C). The results of the study will be distributed through peer-reviewed journals. They also will be disseminated at research events in academic settings, national and international conferences as well as with presentations to provincial health authorities.
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Carey, Iain M., Fay J. Hosking, Tess Harris, Stephen DeWilde, Carole Beighton, and Derek G. Cook. "An evaluation of the effectiveness of annual health checks and quality of health care for adults with intellectual disability: an observational study using a primary care database." Health Services and Delivery Research 5, no. 25 (September 2017): 1–170. http://dx.doi.org/10.3310/hsdr05250.
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Background People with intellectual disability (ID) have poorer health than the general population; however, there is a lack of comprehensive national data describing their health-care needs and utilisation. Annual health checks for adults with ID have been incentivised through primary care since 2009, but only half of those eligible for such a health check receive one. It is unclear what impact health checks have had on important health outcomes, such as emergency hospitalisation. Objectives To evaluate whether or not annual health checks for adults with ID have reduced emergency hospitalisation, and to describe health, health care and mortality for adults with ID. Design A retrospective matched cohort study using primary care data linked to national hospital admissions and mortality data sets. Setting A total of 451 English general practices contributing data to Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD). Participants A total of 21,859 adults with ID compared with 152,846 age-, gender- and practice-matched controls without ID registered during 2009–13. Interventions None. Main outcome measures Emergency hospital admissions. Other outcomes – preventable admissions for ambulatory care sensitive conditions, and mortality. Data sources CPRD, Hospital Episodes Statistics and Office for National Statistics. Results Compared with the general population, adults with ID had higher levels of recorded comorbidity and were more likely to consult in primary care. However, they were less likely to have long doctor consultations, and had lower continuity of care. They had higher mortality rates [hazard ratio (HR) 3.6, 95% confidence interval (CI) 3.3 to 3.9], with 37.0% of deaths classified as being amenable to health-care intervention (HR 5.9, 95% CI 5.1 to 6.8). They were more likely to have emergency hospital admissions [incidence rate ratio (IRR) 2.82, 95% CI 2.66 to 2.98], with 33.7% deemed preventable compared with 17.3% in controls (IRR 5.62, 95% CI 5.14 to 6.13). Health checks for adults with ID had no effect on overall emergency admissions compared with controls (IRR 0.96, 95% CI 0.87 to 1.07), although there was a relative reduction in emergency admissions for ambulatory care-sensitive conditions (IRR 0.82, 95% CI 0.69 to 0.99). Practices with high health check participation also showed a relative fall in preventable emergency admissions for their patients with ID, compared with practices with minimal participation (IRR 0.73, 95% CI 0.57 to 0.95). There were large variations in the health check-related content that was recorded on electronic records. Limitations Patients with milder ID not known to health services were not identified. We could not comment on the quality of health checks. Conclusions Compared with the general population, adults with ID have more chronic diseases and greater primary and secondary care utilisation. With more than one-third of deaths potentially amenable to health-care interventions, improvements in access to, and quality of, health care are required. In primary care, better continuity of care and longer appointment times are important examples that we identified. Although annual health checks can also improve access, not every eligible adult with ID receives one, and health check content varies by practice. Health checks had no impact on overall emergency admissions, but they appeared influential in reducing preventable emergency admissions. Future work No formal cost-effectiveness analysis of annual health checks was performed, but this could be attempted in relation to our estimates of a reduction in preventable emergency admissions. Funding The National Institute for Health Research Health Services and Delivery Research programme.
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Eggleton, Kyle, Liane Penney, and Jenni Moore. "Measuring doctor appointment availability in Northland general practice." Journal of Primary Health Care 9, no. 1 (2017): 56. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/hc16036.
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ABSTRACT INTRODUCTION Primary care access is associated with improved patient outcomes. Availability of appointments in general practice is one measure of access. Northland’s demographics and high ambulatory sensitive hospitalisation rates may indicate constrained appointment availability. Our study aims were to determine appointment availability and establish the feasibility of measuring appointment availability through an automated process. METHODS An automated electronic query was created, run through a third party software programme that interrogated Northland general practice patient management systems. The time to third next available appointment (TNAA) was calculated for each general practitioner (GP) and a mean calculated for each practice and across the region. A research assistant telephone request for an urgent GP appointment captured the time to the urgent appointment and type of urgent appointment used to fit patients in. Regression analysis was used to determine the relationships between deprivation, patients per GP, and the use of walk-in clinics. RESULTS The mean TNAA was 2.5 days. 12% of practices offered walk-in clinics. There was a significant relationship between TNAA and increasing number of walk-in clinics. CONCLUSION The TNAA of 2.5 days indicates the possibility that routine appointments are constrained in Northland. However, TNAA may not give a reliable measure of urgent appointment availability and the measure needs to be interpreted by taking into account practice characteristics. Walk-in clinics, although increasing the availability of urgent appointments, may lead to more pressure on routine appointments. Using an electronic query is a feasible way to measure routine GP appointment availability.
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Keskimäki, I., M. Satokangas, S. Lumme, V.-M. Partanen, M. Arffman, and K. Manderbacka. "Are ambulatory care sensitive conditions a valid indicator for quality of primary health care?" European Journal of Public Health 30, Supplement_5 (September 1, 2020). http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/eurpub/ckaa165.461.
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Abstract Background Hospitalisations due to ambulatory care sensitive conditions (ACSCs) have been used for assessing access to and quality of primary health care (PHC) in many countries. To assess the validity of ACSCs for assessing PHC performance we carried out a series of studies on regional and sociodemographic variations and time trends in ACSC hospitalisations and related mortality. Methods Hospitalisations due to ACSCs in Finland in 1992-2013 came from the national Hospital Discharge Register. The data were linked to population at risk data and individual sociodemographic indicators from Statistics Finland, and subsequently to area indicators of population health and socioeconomics, and health care organisation. Depending on study questions, we analysed ACSCs divided into acute, chronic and vaccine-preventable causes using appropriate statistical methods, such as multilevel Poisson models and trajectory modelling. Results We found ACSC hospitalisations to be highly associated to subsequent mortality with 4-10-fold excess 1-year mortality compared to the general population. ACSC hospitalisations showed substantial regional variations which declined over the study period due to decreasing variations in hospitalisations related to chronic ACSCs. The variations were mainly attributed to the hospital district level. In detailed analyses, about a quarter of the variance in ACSC hospitalisations was explained by individual level socioeconomic and health factors. In addition, population health indicators and factors related to hospital care organisation explained up to one third of the variance. Conclusions At patient level a hospitalisation due to ACSC is a sentinel event and associated to a high risk of poor health outcomes. However, using ACSC for benchmarking PHC providers should be addressed with caution and differences in sociodemographic factors and (co)morbidity of populations at risk, and regional heath and hospital care arrangements should be taken into account. Key messages Variations in hospitalisations due to ambulatory care sensitive conditions may mainly be linked to other factors than access to and quality of primary health care. More research is needed to validate ambulatory care sensitive conditions for use in assessing primary health care.
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Loureiro da Silva, Cristina, João Victor Rocha, and Rui Santana. "Economic and financial crisis based on Troika’s intervention and potentially avoidable hospitalizations: an ecological study in Portugal." BMC Health Services Research 21, no. 1 (May 26, 2021). http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s12913-021-06475-4.
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Abstract Background Hospitalisations for Ambulatory Care Sensitive Conditions (ACSC) cause harm to users and to health systems, as these events are potentially avoidable. In 2009, Portugal was hit by an economic and financial crisis and in 2011 it resorted to foreign assistance (“Memorandum of Understanding” (2011–2014)). The aim of this study was to analyse the association between the Troika intervention and hospitalisations for ACSC. Methods We analysed inpatient data of all public NHS hospitals of mainland Portugal from 2007 to 2016, and identified hospitalisations for ACSC (pneumonia, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, hearth failure, hypertensive heart disease, urinary tract infections, diabetes), according to the AHRQ methodology. Rates of hospitalisations for ACSC, the rate of enrollment in the employment center and average monthly earnings were compared among the pre-crisis, crisis and post-crisis periods to see if there were differences. A Spearman’s correlation between socioeconomic variables and hospitalisations was performed. Results Among 8,160,762 admissions, 892,759 (10.94%) were classified as ACSC hospitalizations, for which 40% corresponded to pneumonia. The rates of total hospitalisations and hospitalisations for ACSC increased between 2007 and 2016, with the central and northern regions of the country presenting the highest rates. No correlations between socioeconomic variables and hospitalisation rates were found. Conclusions During the period of economic and financial crisis based on Troika’s intervention, there was an increase in potentially preventable hospitalisations in Portugal, with disparities between the municipalities. The high use of resources from ACSC hospitalisations and the consequences of the measures taken during the crisis are factors that health management must take into account.
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Gygli, Niklaus, Franziska Zúñiga, and Michael Simon. "Regional variation of potentially avoidable hospitalisations in Switzerland: an observational study." BMC Health Services Research 21, no. 1 (August 21, 2021). http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s12913-021-06876-5.
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Abstract Background Primary health care is subject to regional variation, which may be due to unequal and inefficient distribution of services. One key measure of such variation are potentially avoidable hospitalisations, i.e., hospitalisations for conditions that could have been dealt with in situ by sufficient primary health care provision. Particularly, potentially avoidable hospitalisations for ambulatory care-sensitive conditions (ACSCs) are a substantial and growing burden for health care systems that require targeting in health care policy. Aims Using data from the Swiss Federal Statistical Office (SFSO) from 2017, we applied small area analysis to visualize regional variation to comprehensively map potentially avoidable hospitalisations for five ACSCs from Swiss nursing homes, home care organisations and the general population. Methods This retrospective observational study used data on all Swiss hospitalisations in 2017 to assess regional variations of potentially avoidable hospitalisations for angina pectoris, congestive heart failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, diabetes complications and hypertension. We used small areas, utilisation-based hospital service areas (HSAs), and administrative districts (Cantons) as geographic zones. The outcomes of interest were age and sex standardised rates of potentially avoidable hospitalisations for ACSCs in adults (> 15 years). Our inferential analyses used linear mixed models with Gaussian distribution. Results We identified 46,479 hospitalisations for ACSC, or 4.3% of all hospitalisations. Most of these occurred in the elderly population for congestive heart failure and COPD. The median rate of potentially avoidable hospitalisation for ACSC was 527 (IQR 432–620) per 100.000 inhabitants. We found substantial regional variation for HSAs and administrative districts as well as disease-specific regional patterns. Conclusions Differences in continuity of care might be key drivers for regional variation of potentially avoidable hospitalisations for ACSCs. These results provide a new perspective on the functioning of primary care structures in Switzerland and call for novel approaches in effective primary care delivery.
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Ansari, Zahid, Syed Imran Haider, Humaira Ansari, Tanyth de Gooyer, and Colin Sindall. "Patient characteristics associated with hospitalisations for ambulatory care sensitive conditions in Victoria, Australia." BMC Health Services Research 12, no. 1 (December 2012). http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1472-6963-12-475.
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Palapar, Leah, Laura Wilkinson-Meyers, Thomas Lumley, and Ngaire Kerse. "GP- and practice-related variation in ambulatory sensitive hospitalisations of older primary care patients." BMC Family Practice 21, no. 1 (October 24, 2020). http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s12875-020-01285-9.
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Abstract Background Reducing ambulatory sensitive hospitalisations (ASHs) is a strategy to control spending on hospital care and to improve quality of primary health care. This research investigated whether ASH rates in older people varied by GP and practice characteristics. Methods We identified ASHs from the national dataset of hospital events for 3755 community-dwelling participants aged 75+ enrolled in a cluster randomised controlled trial involving 60 randomly selected general practices in three regions in New Zealand. Poisson mixed models of 36-month ASH rates were fitted for the entire sample, for complex participants, and non-complex participants. We examined variation in ASH rates according to GP- and practice-level characteristics after adjusting for patient-level predictors of ASH. Results Lower rates of ASHs were observed in female GPs (IRR 0.83, CI 0.71 to 0.98). In non-complex participants, but not complex participants, practices in more deprived areas had lower ASH rates (4% lower per deprivation decile higher, IRR 0.96, CI 0.92 to 1.00), whereas main urban centre practices had higher rates (IRR 1.84, CI 1.15 to 2.96). Variance explained by these significant factors was small (0.4% of total variance for GP sex, 0.2% for deprivation, and 0.5% for area type). None of the modifiable practice-level characteristics such as home visiting and systematically contacting patients were significantly associated with ASH rates. Conclusions Only a few GP and non-modifiable practice characteristics were associated with variation in ASH rates in 60 New Zealand practices interested in a trial about care of older people. Where there were significant associations, the contribution to overall variance was minimal. It also remains unclear whether lower ASH rates in older people represents underservicing or less overuse of hospital services, particularly for the relatively well patient attending practices in less central, more disadvantaged communities. Thus, reducing ASHs through primary care redesign for older people should be approached carefully. Trial registration Australian and New Zealand Clinical Trials Register ACTRN12609000648224.
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Nørøxe, Karen Busk, Anette Fischer Pedersen, Anders Helles Carlsen, Flemming Bro, and Peter Vedsted. "Mental well-being, job satisfaction and self-rated workability in general practitioners and hospitalisations for ambulatory care sensitive conditions among listed patients: a cohort study combining survey data on GPs and register data on patients." BMJ Quality & Safety, August 19, 2019, bmjqs—2018–009039. http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmjqs-2018-009039.
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BackgroundPhysicians’ work conditions and mental well-being may affect healthcare quality and efficacy. Yet the effects on objective measures of healthcare performance remain understudied. This study examined mental well-being, job satisfaction and self-rated workability in general practitioners (GPs) in relation to hospitalisations for ambulatory care sensitive conditions (ACSC-Hs), a register-based quality indicator affected by referral threshold and prevention efforts in primary care.MethodsThis is an observational study combining data from national registers and a nationwide questionnaire survey among Danish GPs. To ensure precise linkage of each patient with a specific GP, partnership practices were not included. Study cases were 461 376 adult patients listed with 392 GPs. Associations between hospitalisations in the 6-month study period and selected well-being indicators were estimated at the individual patient level and adjusted for GP gender and seniority, list size, and patient factors (comorbidity, sociodemographic characteristics).ResultsThe median number of ACSC-Hs per 1000 listed patients was 10.2 (interquartile interval: 7.0–13.7). All well-being indicators were inversely associated with ACSC-Hs, except for perceived stress (not associated). The adjusted incidence rate ratio was 1.26 (95% CI 1.13 to 1.42) for patients listed with GPs in the least favourable category of self-rated workability, and 1.19 (95% CI 1.05 to 1.35), 1.15 (95% CI 1.04 to 1.27) and 1.14 (95% CI 1.03 to 1.27) for patients listed with GPs in the least favourable categories of burn-out, job satisfaction and general well-being (the most favourable categories used as reference). Hospitalisations for conditions not classified as ambulatory care sensitive were not equally associated.ConclusionsACSC-H frequency increased with decreasing levels of GP mental well-being, job satisfaction and self-rated workability. These findings imply that GPs’ work conditions and mental well-being may have important implications for individual patients and for healthcare expenditures.
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Moorin, Rachael. "Effect Measure Modification of Multimorbidity On the Association Between Regularity of General Practitioner Contact and Potentially Avoidable Hospitalisations." International Journal of Population Data Science 5, no. 5 (December 7, 2020). http://dx.doi.org/10.23889/ijpds.v5i5.1427.
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IntroductionRegular contact with a general practitioner (GP) has been shown to lower the risk of potentially avoidable hospitalisations (PAHs) independently of continuity of provider and frequency of contact. Multimorbidity affects between 55 and 98% people aged 65+ years and continues to place pressure on healthcare systems globally. However, little is known about its impact on the relationship between continuity of primary care and PAHs.
Objectives and ApproachA retrospective, longitudinal cohort study using survey data linked to routinely-collected administrative health data from the 45 and Up Study conducted in New South Wales, Australia was used to investigate the effect measure modification by multimorbidity on the relationship between regularity of GP contact and PAHs.
Multimorbidity was assessed using the Rx-Risk comorbidity score, which captures the number of condition groups, assigned based on medicine dispensing records, using a 5-year look-back period. PAHs were: (i) any unplanned hospitalisations, (ii) chronic ambulatory care sensitive conditions (ACSC) hospitalisations or (iii) unplanned ACSC hospitalisations. Multivariable logistic regression and population attributable fractions (PAF) were used to examine effect measure modification by multimorbidity.
ResultsHigher GP regularity was significantly associated with a reduction in the probability of each PAH type. This reduction diminished with increasing multimorbidity with the effect measure modification most apparent for chronic ACSC and unplanned chronic ACSC hospitalisations. The PAF of moving to the highest quintile of regularity significantly reduced with increasing multimorbidity. For example, a reduction in the PAF of unplanned ACSC hospitalisations of 31.1% was observed in those with a RX Risk score of >10 (17.8%) compared with those with no multimorbidity (48.9%).
Conclusion / ImplicationsWeakening of the relationship between GP visit regularity and PAHs with increasing levels of multimorbidity suggests a need to focus on improving primary care support to prevent PAHs for patients with multimorbidity.