Using administrative databases to evaluate the quality of medical care: a conceptual framework

Prevalence and determinants of potentially inappropriate medication use in Hong Kong older patients: a cross-sectional study

OBJECTIVES

To assess the prevalence of potentially inappropriate medication (PIM) use in Hong Kong older patients visiting general outpatient clinics (GOPCs) between 2006 and 2014 and to identify factors associated with PIM use among older adults visiting GOPCs in 2014.

DESIGN

Cross-sectional study.

SETTING

GOPC.

PARTICIPANTS

Two study samples were constructed including a total of 844 910 patients aged 65 and above from 2006 to 2014 and a cohort of 489 301 older patients in 2014.

MEASUREMENTS

Two subsets of the 2015 American Geriatrics Society Beers criteria-PIMs independent of diagnosis and PIMs due to drug-disease interactions-were used to estimate the prevalence of PIM use over 12 months. PIMs that were not included in the Hospital Authority drug formulary or with any specific restriction or exception in terms of indication, dose or therapy duration were excluded. Characteristics of PIM users and non-PIM users visiting GOPCs in 2014 were compared. Independent associations between patient variables and PIM use were assessed by stepwise multivariable logistic regression analysis.

RESULTS

The 12-month period prevalence of PIM use decreased from 55.56% (95% CI 55.39% to 55.72%) in 2006 to 47.51% (95% CI 47.37% to 47.65%) in 2014. In the multivariable regression analysis, the strongest factor associated with PIM use was the number of different drugs prescribed (adjusted OR, AOR 23.01, 95% CI 22.36 to 23.67). Being female (AOR 0.89, 95% CI 0.85 to 0.87 for males vs females) and having a greater number of GOPC visits (AOR 1.83, 95% CI 1.78 to 1.88) as well as more than six diagnoses (AOR 1.43, 95% CI 1.36 to 1.52) were associated with PIM use.

CONCLUSIONS

The overall prevalence of PIM use in older adults visiting GOPCs decreased from 2006 to 2014 in Hong Kong although the prevalence of PIM use was still high in 2014. Patients with female gender, a larger number of medications prescribed, more frequent visits to GOPCs, and more than six diagnoses were at higher risk for PIM use.

[Experiences of an Initiative Qualitätsmedizin reviewer]

BACKGROUND

The quality of medical care is on a high level in hospitals, yet variations in quality as well as room for improvement can often be identified. This potential can be made visible by active error management. The Initiative Qualitätsmedizin (IQM) carries out a quality measurement based on routine data. Furthermore, it commits to the transparency of the results by publication. Other means for quality improvement include peer review.

METHODS

Peer reviews serve to clarify statistical abnormalities with the applied quality indicators without using reprisals. Reviews take place following accepted analysis criteria and are subject to explicit rules concerning the process. The peer teams are comprised of members from several providers. Each review is ended with a summarized record including a proposed solution as well as a time frame. It is essential that all participants are satisfied after finishing the peer review. The subsequent implementation is the responsibility of the head of medicine.

CONCLUSION

It is a challenge, especially in the field of medicine, to change long-standing learned and practised processes. To bring one's daily actions to the attention by others publicly might yet be another and even bigger challenge. The willingness to undergo such a process and to accept the resulting criticism is being experienced and accepted very differently.

Impact of major video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery on care quality

Background

The objective of this study was to investigate the impact of a program of major video-assisted surgery on care quality in a Unit of Thoracic Surgery.

Methods

A descriptive comparative study was conducted of 793 major thoracic procedures performed between 2009 and 2012. Quality indicators and hospital performance before [2009-2010] and after (2011 and 2012) the implementation of the program.

Results

The incidence of surgical complications decreased significantly from 6.32%/7.88% (2009/2010, respectively) to 1.87%/1.67% (2011/2012, respectively) [95% CI for 7.08% (4.20-9.96%); 95% CI for 1.76% (0.44-3.08%) P<0.001, respectively]. The mean hospital stay was reduced from 8.5/7.8 days in 2009/2010, respectively, to 6.3/5.8 days in 2011/2012, respectively. Mortality rates were 0.57%, 0.60%, 0.93% and 0.43% in 2009, 2010, 2011, and 2012, respectively (P=0.624, 95% CI: -0.6, 0.7). The percentages of emergency readmissions in 2009/2010 were 1.16%/1.23%, respectively vs. 2.80%/0.84% in 2011/2012.

Conclusions

The implementation of the video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS) program in the unit of Thoracic Surgery Care resulted in a significant improvement in care quality, with a reduction of length of hospital stay, but without any changes in mortality or the percentage of readmissions at 30 post-operative days.

Assistance provided by physical therapists from primary health care to patients after stroke

Abstract Introduction: Motor impairments, which are prevalent in stroke subjects, require physical therapy (PT) rehabilitation. In primary care in the Brazilian Public Health System, PT are part of the Núcleo de Apoio à Saúde da Família (NASF). Objective: To describe the PT assistance provided to stroke patients in a primary healthcare center. Methods: The records of all stroke patients (n = 44; 69.23 ± 13.12 years) identified by the health professionals were analyzed. Using keyword recognition, frequency analysis of the services offered by the PT was performed. Subjects were classified according to the Modified Rankin Scale. Results: In the 44 records, 45.5% had a description of the assistance provided by any professional of the NASF and 36.4% of the PT care. PT care was provided at the subject’s home (94.2%) and at the healthcare center (5.8%). The PT practices were identified as: orientation (93.8%), evaluation (87.5%), exercises (50%), follow-up (37.5%), referral to another service or to undergrad PT students (18.8%), and referral to other NASF professionals (12.5%). Most of the subjects were classified as having mild/moderate disability. Conclusion: The minority of records had registration of attendance by the NASF PT. The majority of the sessions occurred at the subject’s home, which reveals a practice focused on individual care. The orientation was common, which illustrates that in primary care there is a focus on empowerment for health self-improvement. Follow-up was not common, despite clinical guidelines state that stroke subjects should be monitored at least once a year by the rehabilitation team.

Meta-analysis of population-based studies comparing risk of cerebrovascular accident associated with first- and second-generation antipsychotic prescribing in dementia

BACKGROUND

Second-generation antipsychotics (SGAs) are often prescribed in the treatment of Behavioral and Psychological Symptoms of Dementia (BPSD), however, their use has been discouraged in light of clinical trials suggesting that they cause an increased risk of cerebrovascular accidents (CVAs).

OBJECTIVE

Aim of the study was to assess relative risk of CVA in dementia patients prescribed SGA rather than first-generation antipsychotics (FGAs), through meta-analysis of population-based studies.

METHODS

A literature search was conducted using several relevant databases. Five studies were included in the review and data were pooled to conduct meta-analysis using the inverse variance method.

RESULTS

A total of 79,910 patients were treated with SGAs and 1287 cases of CVA were reported. Of 48,135 patients treated with FGAs, a total of 511 cases of CVA were reported. The relative risk of CVA was 1.02 (95% CI 0.56-1.84) for the SGA group. There was no significant difference in the risk of stroke (p = 0.96) between groups, but significant heterogeneity was found among the results of included studies (p < 0.001).

CONCLUSION

Meta-analysis of population-based data suggested that the use of SGAs as opposed to FGAs to control BPSD is not associated with significantly increased risk of CVA. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Quality of administrative health databases in Canada: A scoping review

OBJECTIVE

Administrative health databases are increasingly used to conduct population-based health research and surveillance; this has resulted in a corresponding growth in studies about their quality. Our objective was to describe the characteristics of published Canadian studies about administrative health database quality.

METHODS

PubMed, Scopus, and Google Advanced were searched, along with websites of relevant organizations. English-language studies that evaluated the quality of one or more Canadian administrative health databases between 2004 and 2014 were selected for inclusion. Extracted information included data quality concepts and measures, year and type of publication, type of database, and geographic origin.

SYNTHESIS

More than 3,000 publications were identified fromthe search. Twelve reports and 144 peer-reviewed papers were included. The majority (53.5%) of peer-review publications used databases from Ontario and Alberta, while 67% of the non-peer-review publications used data from multiple provinces/ territories. Almost all peer-reviewed papers (97.2%) were validation studies. Hospital discharge abstracts and physician billing claims were the most frequently validated databases. Approximately half of the publications (53.0%) validated case definitions and 37.7% focused on a chronic physical health condition.

CONCLUSION

Gaps in the Canadian administrative data quality literature include a limited number of studies evaluating data from the Maritimes and across multiple jurisdictions, newer data sources, validating methods for identifying individuals with mental illness, and assessing the completeness and serviceability of the data. Data quality studies can aid researchers to understand the strengths and limitations of the data.

Benchmarking in Thoracic Surgery. Third Edition

INTRODUCTION

Benchmarking entails continuous comparison of efficacy and quality among products and activities, with the primary objective of achieving excellence.

OBJECTIVE

To analyze the results of benchmarking performed in 2013 on clinical practices undertaken in 2012 in 17 Spanish thoracic surgery units.

METHODS

Study data were obtained from the basic minimum data set for hospitalization, registered in 2012. Data from hospital discharge reports were submitted by the participating groups, but staff from the corresponding departments did not intervene in data collection. Study cases all involved hospital discharges recorded in the participating sites. Episodes included were respiratory surgery (Major Diagnostic Category 04, Surgery), and those of the thoracic surgery unit. Cases were labelled using codes from the International Classification of Diseases, 9th revision, Clinical Modification. The refined diagnosis-related groups classification was used to evaluate differences in severity and complexity of cases.

RESULTS

General parameters (number of cases, mean stay, complications, readmissions, mortality, and activity) varied widely among the participating groups. Specific interventions (lobectomy, pneumonectomy, atypical resections, and treatment of pneumothorax) also varied widely.

CONCLUSIONS

As in previous editions, practices among participating groups varied considerably. Some areas for improvement emerge: admission processes need to be standardized to avoid urgent admissions and to improve pre-operative care; hospital discharges should be streamlined and discharge reports improved by including all procedures and complications. Some units have parameters which deviate excessively from the norm, and these sites need to review their processes in depth. Coding of diagnoses and comorbidities is another area where improvement is needed.

Health care performance comparison using a disease-based approach: the EuroHOPE project

This article describes the methodological challenges associated with disease-based international comparison of health system performance and how they have been addressed in the EuroHOPE (European Health Care Outcomes, Performance and Efficiency) project. The project uses linkable patient-level data available from national sources of Finland, Hungary, Italy, The Netherlands, Norway, Scotland and Sweden. The data allow measuring the outcome and the use of resources in uniformly-defined patient groups using standardized risk adjustment procedures in the participating countries. The project concentrates on five important disease groups: acute myocardial infarction (AMI), ischemic stroke, hip fracture, breast cancer and very low birth weight and preterm infants (VLBWI). The essentials of data gathering, the definition of the episode of care, the developed indicators concerning baseline statistics, treatment process, cost and outcomes are described. The preliminary results indicate that the disease-based approach is attractive for international performance analyses, because it produces various measures not only at country level but also at regional and hospital level across countries. The possibility of linking hospital discharge register to other databases and the availability of comprehensive register data will determine whether the approach can be expanded to other diseases and countries.

Inappropriate medication use among the elderly: a systematic review of administrative databases

Background

Inappropriate medication use (IMU) by elderly people is a public health problem associated with adverse effects on health. There are a number of methods for identifying IMU, some involving clinical judgment and others, consensually generated lists of drugs to be avoided. This review aims to describe studies that used information from insurance company and social security administrative databases to assess IMU among community-dwelling elderly and to present the risk factors most often associated with IMU.

Methods

The paper search was conducted in Medline and Embase, using descriptors combined with free terms in the title or abstract. The limits applied were: publication date from January 1990 to June 2010, species (human) and publication type (excluding editorials, letters and reviews). Excluded were: case studies; studies in hospitals, nursing homes, or hospital emergency departments; studies of specific drugs or groups of drugs; studies exclusively of subgroups of ill, frail elderly or rural populations. Additional studies were identified from reference lists. Data were selected and extracted after independent reading by two of the authors, with disagreements resolved by a third author. The primary outcome assessed was prevalence of IMU, defined as the proportion of elderly who received at least one inappropriate medication.

Results

Of the 628 studies, 19 met the inclusion criteria, 78.9% of them conducted in the USA. All papers included used explicit criteria of inappropriateness, most commonly Beers criteria (73.7%) in their three versions (1991, 1997 and 2002). Other methods used included Zhan, which is derived from on Beers criteria and was applied in 21% of the papers selected. The study found that prevalence of IMU ranged from 11.5% to 62.5%. Only 68.4% of the studies included examined inappropriate use-related factors, the most important being female sex, advanced age and larger number of drugs.

Conclusions

The results show that the prevalence of IMU among community-dwelling elderly is high and depends partly on the method used to evaluate improper use. Besides the diversity of methods, other factors, such as patient sex, age and number of drugs used concurrently, appear to have influenced the estimates of IMU.

A methodological approach for register-based evaluation of cost and outcomes in health care

INTRODUCTION

In health care, measures of performance are needed at producer level for improving the treatment processes and at system level for steering purposes. In addition, measures that enable reliable comparisons of producers with respect to each other should encourage them to develop their treatment processes to attain better positioning in benchmarking.

METHODS

The main innovation of the Performance, Effectiveness, and Costs of Treatment episodes (PERFECT) project is to measure performance using existing linkable information available from registers within well-defined care episodes in a whole population. Finnish health care and related registers are used for constructing the disease-specific databases, with rich content on treatment processes and complete follow-up data.

RESULTS

The PERFECT project has developed numerous performance indicators that can be used to evaluate health policy actions as well as to create regional and hospital-level benchmarking data. In PERFECT, the idea is to eliminate individual-level variation from the performance indicators by using individual-level data and proper risk adjustment methods. The focus of our interest is in the variation at the producer or regional level.

CONCLUSIONS

Our experience shows that the utilization of population-level health care registers with an episode-of-care approach enables a continual system and producer-level performance measurement.

Importance of health system context for evaluating utilization patterns across systems

Measuring health services provided to patients can be difficult when patients see providers across multiple health systems and all visits are rarely captured in a single data source covering all systems where patients receive care. Studies that account for only one system will omit the out-of-system health-care use at the patient level. Combining data across systems and comparing utilization patterns across health systems creates complications for both aggregation and accuracy because data-generating processes (DGPs) tend to vary across systems. We develop a hybrid methodology for aggregation across systems, drawing on the strengths of the DGP in each system, and demonstrate its validity for answering research questions requiring cross-system assessments of health-care utilization. Positive and negative predictive probabilities can be useful to assess the impact of the hybrid methodology. We illustrate these issues comparing public sector (administrative records from the US Department of Veterans Affairs system) and private sector (billing records from the US Medicare system) patient level data to identify primary-care utilization. Understanding the context of a particular health system and its effect on the DGP is important in conducting effective valid evaluations.

Benchmarking in thoracic surgery

OBJECTIVE

Presentation of an experience in benchmarking in 13 university Spanish thoracic surgery services.

METHODS

The minimum basic data set (MBDS) for hospitalization, corresponding to 2007, including all registered hospital discharges, was used. The performance of the hospitals was compared using an external reference pattern (SN) and internal average (BMG). Cases were chosen in which a major pulmonary resection (lobectomy or pneumonectomy) was done for bronchogenic carcinoma. Performance indicators were the complexity of the casuistry (average weight and relative weight). Performance results indicators included average length of stay (preoperative, postoperative, and global lengths of stay were analyzed separately for lobectomies as well as pneumonectomies), complications, mortality, and urgent readmissions.

RESULTS

A total number of 4778 cases were analyzed, with major thoracic surgeries being prominent with 1779 (37.3%). For average weight, there was a dispersion between 2.5 and 5.68, with an average of 3.45 for the BMG and 3.43 for the SN. There were some very significant differences in morbidity, with groups having a gross rate of few complications (2.6%) up to many (16.1%). The mortality rate ranged between 1.6% and 6.6%. There were considerable differences in urgent readmissions, with gross rates between 2.6% and 7.3%, considering as points of reference 5.4% (BMG) and 4.7% (SN). Concerning the results of pulmonary resections for bronchogenic carcinoma, the index of pneumonectomies was between 8% and 29%. The average length of stay for lobectomy was between 6 and 9.5, with an average of 7 in BMG. In the case of pneumonectomies, it was between 6 and 26 days, with an average of 9 for BMG. Average preoperative stay also varied widely, between 0.2 and 2.4, while postoperative stay was between 7.5 and 12.1. The gross global rate of complications ranged from 2.7% to 36.7%, with points of reference of 15.6% (BMG) and 13.8% (SN). The complication rate ranged from 3% to 33%, with an average of 14.5% for lobectomies, with higher variability for pneumonectomies (0-58%).

CONCLUSIONS

Benchmarking could be an effective method for improving clinical management. A considerable variability was detected in our study among the participating groups.

Using secondary data sources for pharmacoepidemiology and outcomes research

The increased availability of electronic medical records and administrative health care databases is adding to the popularity of pharmacoepidemiology and outcomes research studies. Despite their availability, practitioners may be reluctant to use these databases because they lack familiarity with database research in general. The basic principles of research are the same regardless of the data source, but there are a few special considerations. When using secondary data sources for research purposes, special care must be taken to select an appropriate source to ensure that relevant information is available to answer the research question at hand. Special attention must also be paid to selecting the appropriate codes to represent the outcomes and exposures of interest; therefore, a general understanding of coding schemes is necessary. Although time may be saved by not prospectively collecting data, the process of manipulating the data for analysis in secondary databases can be complex. Analysis of data from secondary sources may require special procedures to overcome the lack of randomization. By familiarizing themselves with these special issues, practitioners can use secondary sources to conduct studies that make valuable contributions to the improvement of patient care.

Development of lengths of stay and DRG cost weights in dermatology from 2003 to 2006

BACKGROUND

The G-DRG per case payments are calculated annually on the basis of present output and cost data provided from German hospitals. The economic valuation of dermatology-related DRGs depends largely on inpatients' length of stay. At present, longitudinal analyses of dermatologic hospital data considering the development of length of stay under DRG conditions are not available.

METHODS

A multicenter, longitudinal study of clinical data from hospitals with different care levels was performed (n = 23). Frequent and relevant dermatologic diagnoses were grouped and analyzed over a time period of four years (2003-2006). The development of lengths of stay and of G-DRG cost weights were studied in detail. Descriptive statistical methods were applied.

RESULTS

After introduction of DRG, the data reveal a) reduction of length of stay in inpatient dermatology and b) after an initial abrupt rise, DRG valuation of dermatologic groups moderately decreased over time. Both trends changed most rapidly in the early years but reached a stable niveau in 2006. The study furthermore points out that not only length of stay, but also other type of costs influence DRG calculations.

CONCLUSIONS

German dermatology reflects the international trend showing reductions of length of stay after introduction of a DRG-based hospital funding system. The DRG calculation and valuation of inpatient services depend on the duration of hospital stay. However, increasing per diem costs resulting from higher performances of every inpatient bed day are also taken into account. Further reduction of length of stay must not threaten the quality of inpatient care in dermatology.

Rehabilitation and Disability Services' Quality Projects: A Comparison against the Australian Council on Healthcare Standards' Clinical Criteria

The Australian Council on Healthcare Standards (ACHS) Evaluation, Quality and Improvement (EQuIP 4)¹ standards provide a useful clinical and corporate framework for the analysis of quality projects by both health and disability services. Two ACHS EQuIP 4 clinical standards were used to compare quality projects conducted by community-based and on-site rehabilitation and disability services, as generated by a commercial database. Reliable information is a major asset for healthcare organisations, and the use of the ACHS clinical standards to interpret quality project data can overcome a lack of conceptual framework to interpret data. Key differences in the types of quality projects entered in the database by the rehabilitation and disability services may be attributed to the rehabilitation services' relationship with the client (patient), which is time-limited according to the clients' rehabilitation progress, while in comparison, disability services provide life-long support.

Nurse Practitioners as Attending Providers for Workers With Uncomplicated Back Injuries: Using Administrative Data to Evaluate Quality and Process of Care

OBJECTIVE

The objectives of this study were 1) to identify quality and process of care indicators available in administrative workers' compensation data and to document their association with work disability outcomes, and 2) to use these indicators to assess whether nurse practitioners (NPs), recently authorized to serve as attending providers for injured workers in Washington State, performed differently than did primary care physicians (PCPs).

METHODS

Quality and process of care indicators for NP and PCP back injury claims from Washington State were compared using direct standardization and logistic regression.

RESULTS

This study found little evidence of differences between NP and PCP claims in case mix or quality of care.

CONCLUSIONS

The process of care indicators that we identified were highly associated with the duration of work disability and have potential for further development to assess and promote quality improvement.

[Hospital Information Systems and their application in public health]

The objective of this study was to survey the scientific production of applications for data from the Hospital Information System of Brazil's Unified National System (SUS) in analyses of relevant Public Health issues. To find articles published in scientific journals from 1984 to 2003, the authors consulted the SciELO, MEDLINE, and Virtual Public Health Library databases. To locate monographs, theses, and dissertations, the authors consulted the websites of institutions providing Master's and doctoral courses in Public Health. A total of 76 articles were identified for the reference period, and they were classified into five categories with different analytical approaches. Although the Hospital Information System in the SUS has incomplete coverage and there are uncertainties about the reliability of its data, the range of studies showed internal consistency with current knowledge, reinforcing the system's importance and the need to understand its strengths and weaknesses.

AIH versus prontuário médico no estudo do risco de óbito hospitalar no infarto agudo do miocárdio no Município do Rio de Janeiro, Brasil

O objetivo deste estudo é avaliar o desempenho do Sistema de Informações Hospitalares (SIH) em relação ao prontuário médico na análise dos fatores associados à variação do risco de óbito hospitalar no infarto agudo do miocárdio. O estudo envolveu uma amostra aleatória, estratificada por hospital, de 391 prontuários médicos sorteados com base nos 1.936 formulários de Autorização de Internação Hospitalar (AIH) registrados com o diagnóstico principal de infarto agudo do miocárdio no Município do Rio de Janeiro, Brasil, em 1997. Para estudo dos fatores associados à variação do risco de óbito hospitalar foram usados modelos logísticos a partir do SIH e do prontuário, com construção de curvas ROC para comparar desempenho relativo entre eles. O diagnóstico foi confirmado em 91,7% dos casos; a letalidade foi 20,6%. O modelo desenvolvido a partir do prontuário apresentou o melhor ajuste por incluir variáveis de gravidade e processo não disponíveis no SIH (concordância = 90,1%). O modelo derivado do SIH teve um menor poder explicativo (concordância = 70,6%), mas a correção de erros de digitação e informação através do prontuário não modificou significativamente seu desempenho. A maior limitação do SIH foi o elevado sub-registro do diagnóstico secundário.

Adverse events and death in stroke patients admitted to the emergency department of a tertiary university hospital

OBJECTIVES

To identify the occurrence of adverse events in stroke patients presenting to the emergency department of a tertiary university facility, and to disclose the categories of adverse events associated with death.

METHODS

This matched case-control study enrolled 468 patients admitted with stroke to the emergency department from March 1996 to September 1999. The cases comprised 234 consecutive deaths and the controls 234 discharged patients, matched for primary diagnosis and admission period. Adverse events, detected by chart review, were classified according to the degree of severity, immediate causes, and professional category. The association with death was analysed by conditional logistic regression.

RESULTS

Adverse events totaled 1218 and occurred in 295 patients: 932 events (76.5%) in 170 cases and 286 (23.5%) in 125 controls. Major adverse events equaled 54.1% of all events (659 episodes): 538 events in 143 cases and 121 in 65 controls. Diagnostic or therapeutic procedures and nursing activities accounted for 55.2% of events. Nursing (38.4%) and medical (31%) adverse events represented the most common related professional categories. A significant association with death was found for major adverse events, medical adverse events, and nosocomial infections, with adjusted odds ratio estimates of 3.74 [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.64-8.54], 3.71 (95% CI 1.61-8.53), and 3.22 (95% CI 1.21-8.59), respectively.

CONCLUSION

Adverse events, mostly severe, predominated among deceased patients, resulting mainly from diagnostic or therapeutic procedures and nursing activities. In spite of limitations concerning the observational retrospective nature of this study, we found that severe adverse events, medical adverse events, and nosocomial infections were significantly associated with death in stroke patients.

Comparison of self-report versus agency records of service utilization in a community sample of individuals with alcohol use disorders

Health services research has become an important area for evaluating the cost effectiveness of interventions. When used in treatment outcome research, the accuracy of self-report data is essential. The reliability and validity of self-report service utilization among alcohol and drug addicted individuals is questionable and largely unexplored. This study assessed the accuracy of self-report utilization of services compared to service record abstraction in a sample of treatment seeking individuals with alcohol use disorders. The results of the comparative analysis found that the level of agreement for some services, particularly medical, psychiatric and substance abuse inpatient admissions, and social service involvement was good. There was less agreement in emergency room visits and arrests. Factors related to discrepancies between self-report and records were explored.

Pesquisa avaliativa e epidemiologia: movimentos e síntese no processo de avaliação de programas de saúde

Este artigo enfoca alguns antecedentes da avaliação de programas de saúde e aponta a diversidade de teorias e métodos que informam o campo. Com o objetivo de fornecer subsídios para pesquisas avaliativas em HIV/AIDS, discutem-se alguns pressupostos clássicos da epidemiologia, em especial da teoria de inferência causal e seus limites na abordagem de enfermidades infecciosas. Argumenta-se que os debates recentes acerca da lógica e aplicabilidade dos estudos de tipo ecológico marcam interesses convergentes entre a epidemiologia e a pesquisa avaliativa, preocupada na incorporação de variáveis contextuais nos modelos de análise. Explicitam-se preceitos e tipologias da pesquisa avaliativa contemporânea com vistas à defesa de um modelo de análise de processos de saúde-doença na perspectiva da avaliação de ações e programas. Por fim, sublinham-se os propósitos comuns e movimentos convergentes da epidemiologia e da pesquisa avaliativa, que servem de referência à discussão sobre os limites e potencialidades do modelo proposto.

Report cards: relevance for nursing and patient care safety

The emergence of health care report cards in the North American environment is outlined. While it is evident that substantial activity has emerged, the majority of these initiatives excluded nursing, or use a broad indicator for nursing that may not provide meaningful representations of the quality of nursing care provided in the system and the relevance of this care to patient care safety. Given that nurses are the primary care provider in health care settings, this represents a significant gap in health care report cards. The pioneering work of the American Nurses Association (ANA) Nursing Report Card in the development and validation of report card indicators for nursing is discussed. Challenges related to data availability and data quality are identified. Potential opportunities for linking nursing practice outcomes to patient care quality and patient safety through a report card process are outlined.

[The Brazilian Hospital Information System and the acute myocardial infarction hospital care]

OBJECTIVE

To analyze the applicability of the Brazilian Unified Health System's national hospital database to evaluate the quality of acute myocardial infarction hospital care.

METHODS

It was evaluated 1,936 hospital admission forms having acute myocardial infarction (AMI) as primary diagnosis in the municipal district of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 1997. Data was collected from the national hospital database. A stratified random sampling of 391 medical records was also evaluated. AMI diagnosis agreement followed the literature criteria. Variable accuracy analysis was performed using kappa index agreement.

RESULTS

The quality of AMI diagnosis registered in hospital admission forms was satisfactory according to the gold standard of the literature. In general, the accuracy of the variables demographics (sex, age group), process (medical procedures and interventions), and outcome (hospital death) was satisfactory. The accuracy of demographics and outcome variables was higher than the one of process variables. Under registration of secondary diagnosis was high in the forms and it was the main limiting factor.

CONCLUSIONS

Given the study findings and the widespread availability of the national hospital database, it is pertinent its use as an instrument in the evaluation of the quality of AMI medical care.

Sistema de Informações Hospitalares como ajuste de risco em índices de desempenho

OBJETIVO: Analisar o uso do Sistema de Informações Hospitalares do Sistema Único de Saúde (SIH/SUS) no ajuste de risco das taxas de mortalidade hospitalar e avaliar a utilidade do índice de comorbidade de Charlson (ICC) no ajuste de risco de indicadores de desempenho. MÉTODOS: Foram selecionadas 40.299 internações ocorridas no Município do Rio de Janeiro entre dezembro de 1994 e dezembro de 1996. A medida de gravidade foi testada pelo ICC, que atribui pesos a 17 condições clínicas presentes nos diagnósticos secundários, a fim de obter a carga de morbidade do paciente (gravidade) independentemente do diagnóstico principal. Utilizou-se a regressão logística para avaliar o impacto do ICC na estimativa da chance de morrer no hospital. RESULTADOS: Nas internações selecionadas, observou-se que o ICC foi igual ou superior a um em apenas 5,7 % dos casos. Quando se aplicou o ICC combinado à idade, o percentual de casos com pontuação diferente de zero aumentou substancialmente. Os modelos testados apresentaram reduzida sensibilidade. CONCLUSÕES: Apesar de a presença de comorbidade ser importante na predição do risco de morrer, essa variável pouco discriminou a gravidade dos casos na base de dados do SIH/SUS, o que é explicado pela qualidade da informação diagnóstica nessa base de dados, na qual a idade é o preditor mais importante do risco de morrer, afora o diagnóstico principal. Apesar das limitações ainda existentes na qualidade da informação diagnóstica disponível no SIH/SUS, sugere-se o uso do ICC combinado como medida para ajuste do risco de morrer nas taxas calculadas a partir desses dados.

Quality of hospital discharge and physician data for type of breast cancer surgery

OBJECTIVE

The quality of coding for breast surgical procedures was examined by comparing hospital discharge abstracts and physician claims with data abstracted from records of women diagnosed with node-negative breast cancer from April 1, 1991, to December 31, 1991.

METHODS

The node-negative breast cancer cohort was linked with a population registry file. Hospital discharge abstracts and physician billing claims were retrieved for matched subjects. Overall agreement between two data sets was defined as the number of cases for which there was a match by specific type of procedure out of all eligible cases that were matched with the health care utilization file. Specific agreement was assessed by the kappa statistic, using only those records in the administrative data set that were coded for mastectomy or breast-conserving surgery.

RESULTS

Of 735 eligible cases in the node-negative breast cancer cohort, 655 (89.1%) were linked to a health care utilization file. Overall agreement between surgeon billing claims and charts was 95.4% (CI = 93.5, 96.9) for most definitive procedure. Agreement for breast surgery type was 98.1% (kappa = 0.96; CI = 0.87,1.0) for cases coded as breast-conserving surgery or mastectomy. When hospital discharge and chart data were compared, overall agreement was 86.2% (CI = 83.4, 88.8), whereas agreement for breast surgery type was 93.2% (kappa = 0.86; CI = 0.77, 0.94).

CONCLUSION

Overall, definitive surgical procedure in the two administrative databases accurately reflected information recorded in patients' charts. Physician claims appeared to provide more accurate information than did hospital discharge data.

The feasibility of using automated data to assess guideline-concordant care for schizophrenia

This study examines the feasibility of using automated computer data versus written medical record data to identify patients receiving guideline concordant treatment for schizophrenia. Central elements of care derived from published practice guidelines for schizophrenia were examined for a convenience sample of 28 patients who received acute inpatient treatment. The results showed that automated data were superior to medical record data for identifying some elements of guideline-concordant treatment. Not only were the elements of care examined in this study clinically significant and within the current capabilities of the existing computer information system, but they are also likely related to patient outcomes. Implications for clinical care, future research, and health care quality improvement efforts are discussed.

Comparison between planned and unplanned readmissions to a department of internal medicine

The objective of this study was to assess the respective frequency of planned and unplanned early readmissions after discharge from an internal medicine department, and to identify and compare risk factors for these two types of readmissions. Readmissions within 31 days of discharge were identified as planned or unplanned based on analysis of discharge summaries. Time-failure methods were used to describe the risk of readmissions over time and to assess relationships between patient and index stay characteristics and risk of readmission. Of 5828 patients discharged alive, 730 (12.5%) were readmitted within 31 days. There were slightly more planned than unplanned readmissions (393 vs. 337). The difference in time-to-event functions was significant (P=0.04). The risk of planned readmission was increased for men, younger patients, and for patients discharged with a diagnosis of coronary heart disease, cardiac arrhythmia, and neoplastic disease. Increased risk of unplanned readmission was associated with index length of stay longer than 3 days, an increased number of comorbidities, and with a diagnosis of neoplastic disease. Planned readmissions constitute more than half of early readmissions to our internal medicine department. Therefore, a crude readmission rate is unlikely to be a useful indicator of quality of care. Several patient characteristics influence the risk of unplanned readmission, suggesting that case-mix adjustments are necessary when readmission rates are compared between institutions or tracked over time.

[Algorithm for establishing hospital admittance data based on the hospital information system in the Brazilian Unified Health System]

The authorization form for hospital admittance (AIH), an observation unit under the Hospital Information System of the Unified Health System (SIH/SUS), may represent a short-term hospital admittance or a longer hospital stay. This study presents an algorithm for composing admittance data based on the AIH forms, allowing for a proper assessment of hospital mortality, costs under the Unified Health System (SUS), and longer hospital stays, typical of chronic, terminal, and psychiatric patients.

Application of an analytic model to early readmission rates within the Department of Veterans Affairs

OBJECTIVES

Adverse outcome rates are increasingly used as yardsticks for the quality of hospital care. However, the validity of many outcome studies has been undermined by the application of one outcome to all patients in large, diagnostically diverse populations, many of which lack evidence of a link between antecedent process of care and the rate of the outcome, the underlying assumption of the analysis.

METHODS

To address this analytic problem, the authors developed a model that improves the ability to identify quality problems because it selects diseases for which there are processes of care known to affect the outcome of interest. Thus, for these diseases, the outcome is most likely to be causally related to the antecedent care. In this study of hospital readmissions, risk-adjusted models were created for 17 disease categories with strong links between process and outcome. Using these models, we identified outlier hospitals.

RESULTS

The authors hypothesized that if the model improved on identifying hospitals with quality of care problems, then outlier status would not be random. That is, hospitals found to have extreme rates in one year would be more likely to have extreme rates in subsequent years, and hospitals with extreme rates in one condition would be more likely to have extreme rates in related disease categories. It was hypothesized further that the correlation of outlier status across time and across diseases would be stronger in the 17 disease categories selected by the model than in 10 comparison disease categories with weak links between process and outcome.

CONCLUSIONS

The findings support all these hypotheses. Although the present study shows that the model selects disease-outcome pairs where hospital outlier status is not random, the causal factors leading to outlier status could include (1) systematic unmeasured patient variation, (2) practice pattern variation that, although stable with time, is not indicative of substandard care, or (3) true quality-of-care problems. Primary data collection must be done to determine which of these three factors is most causally related to hospital outlier status.

Measuring the effects of casemix on outcomes

Participation in the measurement of population health and health care outcomes has become an explicit professional duty for doctors, but comparisons are difficult to make because outcomes are conceptually complex and largely qualitative. Observational data, particularly from routine hospital statistics, are useful complements to experimental data provided that their variable quality is taken into account and adjustments are made to minimize bias and confounding and to allow for the effects of differences in casemix, which are problematic because of the nature of severity.