Stefan C W Grzybowski | PubMed Health

PubMed2006

Defining rational hospital catchments for non-urban areas based on travel-time.

BACKGROUND: Cost containment typically involves rationalizing healthcare service delivery through centralization of services to achieve economies of scale. Hospitals are frequently the chosen site of cost containment and rationalization especially in rural areas. Socio-demographic and geographic characteristics make hospital service allocation more difficult in rural and remote regions. This research presents a methodology to model rational catchments or service areas around rural hospitals--based on travel time. RESULTS: This research employs a vector-based GIS network analysis to model catchments that better represent access to hospital-based healthcare services in British Columbia's rural and remote areas. The tool permits modelling of alternate scenarios in which access to different baskets of services (e.g. rural maternity care or ICU) are assessed. In addition, estimates of the percentage of population that is served--or not served--within specified travel times are calculated. CONCLUSION: The modelling tool described is useful for defining true geographical catchments around rural hospitals as well as modelling the percentage of the population served within certain time guidelines (e.g. one hour) for specific health services. It is potentially valuable to policy makers and health services allocation specialists.

British Columbia↗

PubMed2003

A physician peer support writing group.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Barriers to publication can be overcome through a peer support writing group in an academic department of family practice. This study describes the experience and outcomes of a writing group in a family practice department. METHODS: A writing group was established to provide collaboration in identifying potential research and/or writing projects, to assist individual faculty to complete unfinished work for submission, to match journals appropriate to the individual group member's work, and to provide peer support for faculty members through attention to group process. Resource materials included instructions for authors for various journals and writing support literature. Minutes were taken at each meeting, and the manuscripts presented were tracked. Individual publication records in CVs and citations in Index Medicus were used to generate pre-group and post-group publication records for group participants and nonparticipants. RESULTS: The writing group met 23 times in 36 months. Attendance ranged from 3 to 10 participants. Fifty writing projects were discussed, and 12 of the discussed manuscripts were published in indexed journals. The seven most frequent attendees increased their publications as first author from one publication over the 3 years prior to the writing group to 10 publications over the first 3 years of the writing group. Comparison of the attendees' publication records with nonparticipant members of the department demonstrated an increase in publication success for participants. CONCLUSIONS: A peer support writing group, emphasizing group process and respectful collaboration, has increased the publication frequency of faculty in a Canadian department of family practice.

British Columbia↗