Health services research
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Health services research · Mar 2000
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical TrialAre nonspecific practice guidelines potentially harmful? A randomized comparison of the effect of nonspecific versus specific guidelines on physician decision making.
To test the ability of two different clinical practice guideline formats to influence physician ordering of electrodiagnostic tests in low back pain. ⋯ The clarity and clinical applicability of a guideline may be important attributes that contribute to the effects of practice guidelines.
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Health services research · Mar 2000
Comparative StudyMultiple approaches to assessing the effects of delays for hip fracture patients in the United States and Canada.
To examine the determinants of postsurgery length of stay (LOS) and inpatient mortality in the United States (California and Massachusetts) and Canada (Manitoba and Quebec). ⋯ Statistical models that account for censoring and confounding yield conclusions that differ from those implied by descriptive statistics in administrative data. Longer wait time for hip fracture surgery does not explain the difference in postsurgery outcomes across countries.
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Health services research · Mar 2000
Relationships between in-hospital and 30-day standardized hospital mortality: implications for profiling hospitals.
To examine the relationship of in-hospital and 30-day mortality rates and the association between in-hospital mortality and hospital discharge practices. ⋯ SMRs based on in-hospital and 30-day mortality were relatively similar, although classification of hospitals as statistical outliers often differed. However, there was no evidence that in-hospital SMRs were biased by differences in post-discharge mortality or discharge practices.