Journal of epidemiology and community health
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J Epidemiol Community Health · Feb 2004
Impact of regionalisation of cardiac surgery in Emilia-Romagna, Italy.
Assessment of the impact of the regionalisation of cardiac surgery through the organisational form of a hub&spoke model introduced in the year 2000. ⋯ This study provides additional evidence on the benefit of regionalisation of cardiac surgery interventions. The system allowed each centre to reach the minimum caseload required to assure good quality of care. These findings suggest that policies aimed at increasing cooperation rather than competition among health service providers have a positive impact on quality of care. Timely referrals for surgery increased by 21% (95%CI: 1.12 to 1.31), and mean waiting times were reduced by 7.5 average days (95%CI: -10.33 to -4.71).