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Influenza vaccination of hospital staff in Germany: a five-year survey on vaccination coverage and policies: identified deficits in influenza immunisation campaigns for hospital employees.

OBJECTIVES: Influenza vaccination of hospital staff is recommended by STIKO, the German committee for vaccination. A survey was conducted to assess compliance with this recommendation. The occupational health services of 25 hospitals participated in a survey and provided data by questionnaire on influenza vaccination and on hospital policies to promote coverage of employees. METHODS: Vaccination activities were monitored by occupational health services (OHS) for five consecutive years from 1997 to 2002. The hospital sample covered a total of 17,089 beds (3.23% of the hospital capacity in Germany) and a total number of 41,969 employees (4.39% of hospital staff). RESULTS: The proportion of hospitals actively offering influenza vaccination increased from 48 % in 1997/98 to 92% in 2001/02. Vaccination coverage of all staff in 1997 was only 3.3% and reached 8.4% in 2001/02. Coverage of vaccinating hospitals increased from 5.0% to 10.4%. Poster campaigns and managing board commitment had significant impact. CONCLUSIONS: Considerable progress has been made to involve more hospitals and to increase coverage for vaccination of hospital employees. Nevertheless, coverage levels remain unacceptably low. Recommendations are ignored extensively.

Germany↗

The effect of type of hospital and health insurance on hospital length of stay in Irbid, North Jordan.

The study aimed at examining the effects of type of hospital and health insurance status on hospital length of stay for three identified medical and surgical conditions. Medical records of 520 patients for the year 1991 were reviewed in one public and one private hospital. Comparison of hospital length of stay for the private (n = 185) versus public sector patients (n = 335) was carried out. The effect of presence of health insurance (n = 189) and the lack of it (n = 325) was also studied. It was found that the average length of stay in the public hospital was significantly longer than the private one (3.3 versus 2.7 days). In addition, insured patients had significantly longer hospital length of stay (3.3 versus 3.0 days). The results of the multi-variate analysis showed that after socioeconomic factors and clinical conditions of patients were adjusted for, the influence of hospital type and health insurance on hospital length of stay was about one day. The paper also discusses the need to base hospital cost-containment strategies on studies of hospital behaviour and performance.

Adolescent↗

Hospital variation in mortality after first acute myocardial infarction in Denmark from 1995 to 2002: lower short-term and 1-year mortality in high-volume and specialized hospitals.

BACKGROUND: This study used linked data from the National Hospital Registry to determine the factors that contribute to differences between hospitals in all-cause mortality after first acute myocardial infarction (AMI) between 1995 and 2002. METHODS: The study included 64,321 patients with their first admission for AMI between 1995 and 2002 and surviving the day of admission. Multilevel logistic regression was used to determine the relationships between regional and hospital characteristics and 28-day and 365-day mortality after adjusting for individual characteristics, period, and medical history. RESULTS: Tertiary cardiac care centers (odds ratio [OR], 0.80; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.67-0.96) and main regional hospitals (OR, 0.90; 95% CI, 0.80-0.99) had improved 28-day mortality compared with local hospitals. A 2-fold increase in annual total MI volume decreased 28-day mortality (OR, 0.91; 95% CI, 0.87-0.94) and 365-day mortality (OR, 0.95; 95% CI, 0.91-0.98). Differences between hospitals were more substantial for short-term mortality, such that patients were about twice as likely to die within 28 days in hospitals with the worst performance versus those with the best performance. Higher regional AMI incidence was associated with lower mortality before 2000; this disappeared after 2000. Other regional contextual characteristics had very modest effects on mortality. CONCLUSIONS: Type of hospital, and especially total MI volume at the hospital level, were significantly associated with mortality after AMI. Individual hospitals varied substantially in both short- and long-term mortality.

Adult↗

Patterns of malaria-related hospital admissions and mortality among Malawian children: an example of spatial modelling of hospital register data.

BACKGROUND: Malaria is a leading cause of hospitalization and in-hospital mortality among children in Africa, yet, few studies have described the spatial distribution of the two outcomes. Here spatial regression models were applied, aimed at quantifying spatial variation and risk factors associated with malaria hospitalization and in-hospital mortality. METHODS: Paediatric ward register data from Zomba district, Malawi, between 2002 and 2003 were used, as a case study. Two spatial models were developed. The first was a Poisson model applied to analyse hospitalization and minimum mortality rates, with age and sex as covariates. The second was a logistic model applied to individual level data to analyse case-fatality rate, adjusting for individual covariates. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: Rates of malaria hospitalization and in-hospital mortality decreased with age. Case fatality rate was associated with distance, age, wet season and increased if the patient was referred to the hospital. Furthermore, death rate was high on first day, followed by relatively low rate as length of hospital stay increased. Both outcomes showed substantial spatial heterogeneity, which may be attributed to the varying determinants of malaria risk, health services availability and accessibility, and health seeking behaviour. The increased risk of mortality of children referred from primary health facilities may imply inadequate care being available at the referring facility, or the referring facility are referring the more severe cases which are expected to have a higher case fatality rate. Improved prognosis as the length of hospital stay increased suggest that appropriate care when available can save lives. Reducing malaria burden may require integrated strategies encompassing availability of adequate care at primary facilities, introducing home or community case management as well as encouraging early referral, and reinforcing interventions to interrupt malaria transmission.

Adolescent↗

The financial condition of New York City voluntary hospitals: the first year of NYPHRM (New York Prospective Hospital Reimbursement Methodology).

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE STUDY. In 1983, for the first time since 1977, the average voluntary hospital in New York City did not incur a deficit. Nevertheless, voluntary hospitals in New York City continued to have a lower return on their assets than voluntary hospitals in the rest of the state, in the Mid-Atlantic region, and in the nation. New York City voluntary hospitals would need 85 percent of their total assets to repay their debt, while the comparison groups would use less than 60 percent. The annual rate of growth in hospital expenses among New York City voluntary hospitals declined from almost 12 percent between 1981 and 1982 to less than 9.5 percent between 1982 and 1983, which also was almost a full percentage point below the national rate of increase. Between 1982 and 1983, the value of uncompensated care provided by New York City voluntary hospitals increased from 3.4 percent to 3.7 percent of total operating expenses. Fourteen of the 49 New York City voluntary hospitals studied were financially stressed in 1983, compared to 18 in 1982. Without the additional revenues received from the NYPHRM pools, 10 more New York City voluntary hospitals would have had bottom-line deficits. More details on the financial condition of New York City voluntary hospitals in 1983, and first year of NYPHRM, follow. Definitions, data sources, and methods are described in an appendix to the report, which also includes a glossary of financial terms.

Costs and Cost Analysis↗

Specialty hospitals: can general hospitals compete?

The rapid increase in specialty cardiac, surgical, and orthopedic hospitals has captured the attention of general hospitals and policymakers. Although the number of specialty hospitals remains small in absolute terms, their entry into certain health care markets has fueled arguments about the rules of "fair" competition among health care providers. To allow the smoke to clear, Congress effectively stalled the growth in new specialty hospitals by temporarily prohibiting physicians from referring Medicare or Medicaid patients to specialty hospitals in which they had an ownership interest. During this 18-month moratorium, which expired June 8, 2005, two mandated studies of specialty hospitals provided information to help assess their potential effect on health care delivery. This issue brief discusses the research on specialty hospitals, including their payments under Medicare's hospital inpatient payment system, the quality and cost of care they deliver, their effect on general hospitals and on overall health care delivery, and the regulatory and legal environment in which they have proliferated. It concludes with open issues concerning physician self-referral and the role of general hospitals in providing a range of health care services.

Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, U.S.↗

Strategic change in hospitals: an examination of the response of the acute care hospital to the turbulent environment of the 1980s.

Changes in strategies of hospitals responding to the turbulent health care environment of the 1980s are examined both in the aggregate and from the perspective of the individual hospital. The Miles and Snow typology is used to determine strategy type. Both investor-owned and not-for-profit hospitals were well represented in the broad mix of hospital types sampled. In addition, freestanding hospitals and members of multihospital systems were present in the sample. Last, hospitals of all sizes were included. Strategic change was evaluated by classifying hospitals by strategy type in each of two consecutive five-year time periods (1976 through 1980 and 1981 through 1985). Changes in reimbursement policies, the emergence of new technologies, changing consumer expectations, and new sources of competition made the environment for hospitals progressively more turbulent in the latter period and provided an opportune setting to evaluate strategic change. Results showed that a significant number of hospitals did change strategy as the environment changed, and in the direction anticipated. Logistic regression was used to determine whether prior strategy, type of ownership, system membership, or size would predict which hospitals would change strategy as the environment changed: only prior strategy was found to be a predictor of strategy change.

Economic Competition↗

In-hospital mortality for surgical repair of congenital heart defects: preliminary observations of variation by hospital caseload.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the impact of hospital caseload on in-hospital mortality for pediatric congenital heart surgery. DESIGN: Population-based, retrospective cohort study. SETTING: Acute care hospitals in California and Massachusetts. PATIENTS: Children undergoing surgery for congenital heart disease, identified by the presence of procedure codes indicating surgical repair of a congenital heart defect in computerized statewide hospital discharge abstract databases. Cases were grouped into four categories based on the complexity of the procedure. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Adjusted odds ratios (OR) for in-hospital death were estimated using generalized estimating equations that account for the intra-institutional correlation among patients. RESULTS: A total of 2833 cases at 37 centers were identified. Compared with centers performing > 300 cases per year, after controlling for patient characteristics, centers performing < 10 cases per year had an OR for in-hospital death of 7.7 (95% confidence interval (CI) [1.6-37.8]); 10 to 100 cases, OR = 2.9 (95% CI [1.6-5.3]); 101 to 300 cases, OR = 3.0 (95% CI [1.8-4.9]). Independent risk factors for mortality included procedure complexity category (P < .0001), use of cardiopulmonary bypass (P < .0001), young age at surgery (P = .001), and transfer from another acute care hospital (P < .0001). Few differences were found by hospital caseload in length of stay or total hospital charges. CONCLUSIONS: For children with a congenital heart defect who underwent surgery in California in 1988 or Massachusetts in 1989, the risk of dying in-hospital was much lower if the surgery was performed at an institution performing > 300 cases annually. This study was limited by the absence of clinical detail in discharge abstract databases. If these findings are corroborated by other studies, health care delivery strategies that direct children requiring surgical correction of congenital heart defects to high-volume centers may substantially reduce overall mortality.

California↗

Hospital ownership and the care of uninsured and Medicaid patients: findings from the National Hospital Discharge Survey 1979-1984.

From 1980 to 1984 Americans with no health insurance increased from 13.9% to 17.1% of the non-elderly population. Non-elderly persons covered by Medicaid declined from 6.2% to 5.6%. Previous studies of the share of the burden of uncompensated care borne by various provider groups present opposing findings. The National Hospital Discharge survey data presented here demonstrate that for-profit hospitals serve significantly lower percentages of uninsured discharges than secular or church-affiliated non-profit hospitals and public hospitals. The same pattern of differentials is observed with respect to Medicaid. On the whole the results of the survey tend to support the argument that private non-profit hospitals do indeed render greater public services in treating indigent patients than do for-profit hospitals. It must also be emphasized, however, that the results show all private hospitals falling somewhat short of the standard set by public hospitals in treating indigents. Thus, the continued shrinkage of the public hospital sector has serious policy implications.

Data Collection↗

Hospital privileges for family physicians at university hospitals.

Of the more than 350 family practice residency programs in the United States, 72 are affiliated with a medical school. Seventy-eight percent of these university programs hospitalize all or some of their patients at a university hospital. These hospitals grant various privileges to family physicians with the following frequencies: general medicine (94 percent), adult intensive care (50 percent), coronary care (65 percent), general pediatrics (81 percent), pediatric intensive care (29 percent), normal newborn nursery (79 percent), intensive care nursery (12 percent), routine obstetrics (77 percent), and high-risk obstetrics (31 percent). Sixteen (22 percent) of the university-based programs do not use a university hospital at all, either because the university hospital is too far away or because there is no university hospital. Only one program does not use the university hospital because of difficulty in obtaining privileges. Family physicians are unable to obtain various hospital privileges because of political reasons at the following percentages of university hospitals: general medicine (2 percent), adult intensive care (33 percent), coronary care (40 percent), general pediatrics (8 percent), pediatric intensive care (31 percent), newborn nursery (8 percent), intensive care nursery (29 percent), routine obstetrics (13 percent), and high-risk obstetrics (17 percent).

Coronary Care Units↗

Hospital and pharmacy characteristics associated with mortality rates in United States hospitals.

We attempted to determine hospital and pharmacy characteristics associated with mortality rates in 4864 United States hospitals. Data were obtained from the Health Care Financing Administration, the American Hospital Association, and the National Clinical Pharmacy Services survey. Univariate and multivariate regression models were used to determine which hospital characteristics were associated with mortality. A similar regression analysis was performed on 718 hospitals for which detailed pharmacy information was available. In a multivariate regression model, some characteristics of 4864 hospitals associated with reduced mortality rates were high-technology index (R2 = 0.09, p < 0.001), severity of illness (R2 = 0.048, p < 0.001), number of hospital beds (R2 = 0.016, p < 0.001), and medical personnel (R2 = 0.012, p < 0.001). This analysis accounted for 41% of the mortality rate variance. For the 718 hospitals and pharmacies, some of these characteristics were high-technology index (R2 = 0.157, p < 0.001), severity of illness (R2 = 0.07, p < 0.001), number of pharmacists/average daily census (R2 = 0.021, p < 0.001), and combined hospitalwide clinical pharmacy services (R2 = 0.016, p < 0.01). The results of this analysis were similar to those in the only other large study in this area, but that excluded pharmacy characteristics. This is the first study to show a statistically significant association between pharmacist and pharmacy variables and reduced hospital mortality rates.

Hospital Bed Capacity↗

The effect of performance-related pay of hospital doctors on hospital behaviour: a case study from Shandong, China.

BACKGROUND: With the recognition that public hospitals are often productively inefficient, reforms have taken place worldwide to increase their administrative autonomy and financial responsibility. Reforms in China have been some of the most radical: the government budget for public hospitals was fixed, and hospitals had to rely on charges to fill their financing gap. Accompanying these changes was the widespread introduction of performance-related pay for hospital doctors--termed the "bonus" system. While the policy objective was to improve productivity and cost recovery, it is likely that the incentive to increase the quantity of care provided would operate regardless of whether the care was medically necessary. METHODS: The primary concerns of this study were to assess the effects of the bonus system on hospital revenue, cost recovery and productivity, and to explore whether various forms of bonus pay were associated with the provision of unnecessary care. The study drew on longitudinal data on revenue and productivity from six panel hospitals, and a detailed record review of 2303 tracer disease patients (1161 appendicitis patients and 1142 pneumonia patients) was used to identify unnecessary care. RESULTS: The study found that bonus system change over time contributed significantly to the increase in hospital service revenue and hospital cost recovery. There was an increase in unnecessary care and in the probability of admission when the bonus system switched from one with a weaker incentive to increase services to one with a stronger incentive, suggesting that improvement in the financial health of public hospitals was achieved at least in part through the provision of more unnecessary care and drugs and through admitting more patients. CONCLUSION: There was little evidence that the performance-related pay system as designed by the sample of Chinese public hospitals was socially desirable. Hospitals should be monitored more closely by the government, and regulations applied to limit opportunistic behaviour. Otherwise, the containment of government financing for public facilities may result in an increase in the provision of unnecessary care, an increase in health costs to society, and a waste in social resources.

Journal Article↗

Within-year variation in hospital utilization and its implications for hospital costs.

Variability in demand for hospital services may have important effects on hospital costs, but this has been difficult to examine because data on within-year variations in hospital use have not been available for large samples of hospitals. We measure daily occupancy in California hospitals and examine variation in hospital utilization at the daily level. We find substantial day-to-day variation in hospital utilization, and noticeable differences between hospitals in the amount of day-to-day variation in utilization. We examine the impact of variation on hospital costs, showing that increases in variance are associated with increases in hospital expenditures, but that the effects are qualitatively modest.

Bed Occupancy↗

Child maltreatment related injuries: incidence, hospital charges, and correlates of hospitalization.

OBJECTIVE: This study was undertaken to determine the incidence, hospital charges, and correlates associated with inpatient treatment of child maltreatment related injuries. METHODS: The data were based on the 1995 Pennsylvania Hospital Discharge Data which included all Pennsylvania acute care hospitals that reported child maltreatment discharges. Per capita hospital discharge rates were computed for children discharged with child maltreatment related injuries according to selected variables. Odds ratios for child maltreatment related injury hospitalizations were also computed. RESULTS: A total of 348 maltreated injured children ages 0-19 years were discharged from Pennsylvania hospitals in 1995, representing an incidence rate of 10.8 per 100,000 persons. The total hospital charges for child maltreatment related injury discharges amounted to over $5.4 million, of which Medicaid alone paid for 45%. Compared to a random sample of non-maltreated injured children (n = 1052), maltreated injured children were found to be significantly younger, more likely to be females, and more likely to be Black. Child maltreatment related injury hospitalizations were more likely to be urgent and via physician referral or transfer from other health care facility. Maltreated injured children were three times as likely to die as other children. CONCLUSIONS: These findings indicate that injury from child maltreatment is a major cause of hospitalization of young children 5 years and younger and represents a significant cost to publicly financed health care. While hospital discharge data can be used for population-based surveillance of child maltreatment related trauma, there is need for improvement in the surveillance of these injuries.

Adolescent↗

Hospital- and patient-related characteristics determining length of hospital stay for hip and knee replacements.

Total hip arthroplasty (THA) and total knee arthroplasty (TKA) are among the most prestigious health care technologies. Their popularity has grown rapidly, and an increasing proportion of health care resources is allocated to them. We studied patient- and hospital-related factors that cause variation in a major determinant of hospital costs, the length of hospital stay (LOS) for THA and TKA. We gathered data on 10,288 hip and 5,173 knee patients with primary or secondary arthrosis from the Finnish Arthroplasty Register, which we linked with the Finnish Hospital Discharge Register. Patient- and hospital-related variations in LOS were explained using regression models. Of the patient-related factors, complications caused the greatest prolongation of hospital stay, but patient's age, gender, and charge category also influenced LOS. Hospital-related factors were major causes of LOS variation. In the hospitals the average case-mix-adjusted LOS ranged from less than a week to 3 weeks. The number of arthroplasties performed in hospital was inversely related to LOS. The within-hospital LOS figures for THA and TKA were strikingly similar and persistent.

Adult↗

Recommended modifications and applications of the Hospital Emergency Incident Command System for hospital emergency management.

The Hospital Emergency Incident Command System (HEICS), now in its third edition, has emerged as a popular incident command system model for hospital emergency response in the United States and other countries. Since the inception of the HEICS in 1991, several events have transformed the requirements of hospital emergency management, including the 1995 Tokyo Subway sarin attack, the 2001 US anthrax letter attacks, and the 2003 Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreaks in eastern Asia and Toronto, Canada. Several modifications of the HEICS are suggested to match the needs of hospital emergency management today, including: (1) an Incident Consultant in the Administrative Section of the HEICS to provide expert advice directly to the Incident Commander in chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear (CBRN) emergencies as needed, as well as consultation on mental health needs; (2) new unit leaders in the Operations Section to coordinate the management of contaminated or infectious patients in CBRN emergencies; (3) new unit leaders in the Operations Section to coordinate mental health support for patients, guests, healthcare workers, volunteers, and dependents in terrorism-related emergencies or events that produce significant mental health needs; (4) a new Decedent/Expectant Unit Leader in the Operations Section to coordinate the management of both types of patients together; and (5) a new Information Technology Unit Leader in the Logistics Section to coordinate the management of information technology and systems. New uses of the HEICS in hospital emergency management also are recommended, including: (1) the adoption of the HEICS as the conceptual framework for organizing all phases of hospital emergency management, including mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery; and (2) the application of the HEICS not only to healthcare facilities, but also to healthcare systems. Finally, three levels of healthcare worker competencies in the HEICS are suggested: (1) basic understanding of the HEICS for all hospital healthcare workers; (2) advanced understanding and proficiency in the HEICS for hospital healthcare workers likely to assume leadership roles in hospital emergency response; and (3) special proficiency in constituting the HEICS ad hoc from existing healthcare workers in resource-deficient settings. The HEICS should be viewed as a work in progress that will mature as additional challenges arise and as hospitals gain further experience with its use.

Emergency Medical Service Communication Systems↗

Hospitalization of patients with heart failure: National Hospital Discharge Survey, 1985 to 1995.

BACKGROUND: In the United States, heart failure has emerged as the leading first-listed diagnosis among hospitalized older adults. METHODS: The number and prevalence of hospitalizations, procedure use, and discharge outcomes for men and women aged >/=35 years hospitalized with heart failure were estimated from National Hospital Discharge Survey data for the years 1985 through 1995. RESULTS: In 10 years, the number of hospitalizations increased from 577,000 to 871,000 for a first-listed diagnosis and from 1.7 to 2.6 million for any diagnosis of heart failure. Almost 78% of men and 85% of women hospitalized with heart failure were aged >/=65 years. Among persons hospitalized with any diagnosis of heart failure, in-hospital mortality rate decreased from 1985 to 1995 whereas prevalence of discharge to long-term care increased. In 1995, 67% of male patients were discharged home, 12% were discharged to long-term care, and 8% died during hospitalization; the corresponding values for female patients were 58%, 21%, and 8%. Men had twice the prevalence of invasive cardiac procedures as did women during hospitalization. CONCLUSIONS: The growing burden of heart failure can be expected to increase during the next decade unless innovative interventions and primary and secondary prevention strategies are implemented.

Adult↗

Care in U.S. hospitals--the Hospital Quality Alliance program.

BACKGROUND: The Hospital Quality Alliance (HQA) is the first initiative that routinely reports data on hospitals' performance nationally. Heretofore, such data have been unavailable. METHODS: We used data collected by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services on 10 indicators of the quality of care for acute myocardial infarction, congestive heart failure, and pneumonia. The main outcome measures were hospitals' performance with respect to each indicator and summary scores for each clinical condition. Predictors of a high level of performance were determined with the use of multivariable linear regression. RESULTS: A total of 3558 hospitals reported data on at least one stable measure (defined as information obtained from discharge data from at least 25 patients) during the first half of 2004. Median performance scores (expressed as the percentage of patients who satisfied the criterion) were at least 90 percent for 5 of the 10 measures but lower for the other 5. Performance varied moderately among large hospital-referral regions, with the top-ranked regions scoring 12 percentage points (for acute myocardial infarction) to 23 percentage points (for pneumonia) higher than the bottom-ranked regions. A high quality of care for acute myocardial infarction predicted a high quality of care for congestive heart failure but was only marginally better than chance at predicting a high quality of care for pneumonia. Characteristics associated with small but significant increases in performance included being an academic hospital, being in the Northeast or Midwest, and being a not-for-profit hospital. CONCLUSIONS: Analysis of data from the new HQA national reporting system shows that performance varies among hospitals and across indicators. Given this variation and small differences based on hospitals' characteristics, performance reporting will probably need to include numerous clinical conditions from a broad range of hospitals.

Databases as Topic↗