Bmc Health Serv Res
-
Bmc Health Serv Res · Jan 2007
Hospital quality reports in Germany: patient and physician opinion of the reported quality indicators.
Starting in 2005, Germany's health law required hospital quality reports to be published every two years by all acute care hospitals. The reports were intended to help patients and physicians make informed choices of hospitals. However, while establishing the quality indicators that form the content of the reports, the information needs of the target groups were not explicitly taken into account. Therefore, the aim of our study was to determine patient and physician opinion of the relevance of the reported quality indicators for choosing or referring to a hospital. ⋯ Most of the content of Germany's hospital quality reports seems to be useful for patients and physicians and influence their choice of hospitals. However, the target groups revealed that approximately one third of the indicators (mostly hospital structural characteristics), were not useful and hence could have been omitted from the reports. To enhance the usefulness of the reports, indicators on patient experiences should be added.
-
Bmc Health Serv Res · Jan 2007
Influence of socioeconomic factors on medically unnecessary ambulance calls.
Unnecessary ambulance use has become a socioeconomic problem in Japan. We investigated the possible relations between socioeconomic factors and medically unnecessary ambulance calls, and we estimated the incremental demand for unnecessary ambulance use produced by socioeconomic factors. ⋯ Results of the study suggest that several socioeconomic factors, i.e., age, gender, household income, and possession of a car, influence a person's decision to call an ambulance in nonemergency situations. Hesitation to use an ambulance and knowledge of the city's primary emergency medical center are likely to be important factors limiting ambulance overuse. It was estimated that unnecessary ambulance use is increased approximately 10% to 20% by socioeconomic factors.
-
Bmc Health Serv Res · Jan 2007
Effect of a restrictive transfusion strategy on transfusion-attributable severe acute complications and costs in the US ICUs: a model simulation.
Nearly half of all patients in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) receive red blood cell (pRBC) transfusions (TFs), despite their associated complications. Restrictive transfusion strategy (Hemoglobin [Hb] < 7 g/dL) has been shown to reduce TF exposure. We estimated the potential annual reduction in transfusion-attributable severe acute complications (TSACs) and costs across the US ICUs with the adoption of restrictive strategy. ⋯ This model demonstrates that a restrictive transfusion strategy in appropriate at risk ICU patients is dominant and could result in improved quality of care and cost savings. Given the potential savings of 40,000 TSACs and nearly $1 billion, it is incumbent upon the intensivist community to promote more ubiquitous adoption of a clinically appropriate restrictive transfusion strategy in the ICU.
-
Bmc Health Serv Res · Dec 2006
Quality and effectiveness of different approaches to primary care delivery in Brazil.
Since 1994, Brazil has developed a primary care system based on multidisciplinary teams which include not only a physician and a nurse, but also 4-6 lay community health workers. This system now consists of 26,650 teams, covering 46% of the Brazilian population. Yet relatively few investigations have examined its effectiveness, especially in contrast with that of the traditional multi-specialty physician team approach it is replacing, or that of other existing family medicine approaches placing less emphasis on lay community health workers. Primary health care can be defined through its domains of access to first contact, continuity, coordination, comprehensiveness, community orientation and family orientation. These attributes can be ascertained via instruments such as the Primary Care Assessment Tool (PCATool), and correlated with the effectiveness of care. The objectives of our study are to validate the adult version of this instrument in Portuguese, identify the extent (quality) of primary care present in different models of primary care services, and correlate this extent with measures of process and outcomes in patients with diabetes, hypertension and coronary heart disease (CHD). ⋯ We hope to contribute not only by validating the PCATool-Adult Version for use in Brazil, but also by furnishing ample data concerning the appropriate mix of health care professionals in the primary care team, a question of international import. Once validated, future use of this instrument should help direct advances aiming at improving the quality of primary care in Brazil.
-
Bmc Health Serv Res · Jul 2006
Comparative StudyThe contribution of qualitative research in designing a complex intervention for secondary prevention of coronary heart disease in two different healthcare systems.
Developing complex interventions for testing in randomised controlled trials is of increasing importance in healthcare planning. There is a need for careful design of interventions for secondary prevention of coronary heart disease (CHD). It has been suggested that integrating qualitative research in the development of a complex intervention may contribute to optimising its design but there is limited evidence of this in practice. This study aims to examine the contribution of qualitative research in developing a complex intervention to improve the provision and uptake of secondary prevention of CHD within primary care in two different healthcare systems. ⋯ Qualitative research is integral to developing the design detail of a complex intervention and tailoring its components to address individuals' needs in different healthcare systems. The findings highlight how qualitative research may be a valuable component of the preparation for complex interventions and their evaluation.