Andelija Arandelovic1, Anna Acampora2, Bruno Federico3, Francesco Profili4, Paolo Francesconi4, Walter Ricciardi2, Gianfranco Damiani2. 1. Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Department of Public Health, Rome, Italy. Electronic address: andelija.arandelovic@unicatt.it. 2. Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Department of Public Health, Rome, Italy. 3. Università di Cassino e del Lazio Meridionale, Cassino, Italy. 4. Regional Health Agency (ARS) of Tuscany, Florence, Italy.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: The objective of the study was to examine whether there are differences in the performance of long-term care programs between local health authorities, using preventable hospitalization as an indicator. METHODS: A retrospective cohort study compared the rate of preventable hospitalization for local health authorities in Tuscany (Italy) between January 2012 and September 2016. Several administrative datasets for the patients in long-term care programs were linked at the individual (patient) level. Elderly disabled patients 65 years of age and older in long-term care programs in Tuscany from both types of programs: nursing homes (n = 4 196) and home care (n = 15 659) were included in the study. RESULTS: The rate of preventable hospitalization differed considerably between local health authorities. Three out twelve local health authorities had a significantly lower and one had a significantly higher preventable hospitalization rate than the regional average. CONCLUSION: There was a large variation in the rate of preventable hospitalization among the local health authorities. Applying preventable hospitalization as an indicator for quality, with implications for periodical audit can be used for monitoring the performance of a long-term care program.
OBJECTIVE: The objective of the study was to examine whether there are differences in the performance of long-term care programs between local health authorities, using preventable hospitalization as an indicator. METHODS: A retrospective cohort study compared the rate of preventable hospitalization for local health authorities in Tuscany (Italy) between January 2012 and September 2016. Several administrative datasets for the patients in long-term care programs were linked at the individual (patient) level. Elderly disabled patients 65 years of age and older in long-term care programs in Tuscany from both types of programs: nursing homes (n = 4 196) and home care (n = 15 659) were included in the study. RESULTS: The rate of preventable hospitalization differed considerably between local health authorities. Three out twelve local health authorities had a significantly lower and one had a significantly higher preventable hospitalization rate than the regional average. CONCLUSION: There was a large variation in the rate of preventable hospitalization among the local health authorities. Applying preventable hospitalization as an indicator for quality, with implications for periodical audit can be used for monitoring the performance of a long-term care program.
Authors: Piotr Wilk; Shehzad Ali; Kelly K Anderson; Andrew F Clark; Martin Cooke; Stephanie J Frisbee; Jason Gilliland; Michael Haan; Stewart Harris; Soushyant Kiarasi; Alana Maltby; Kambiz Norozi; Robert Petrella; Sisira Sarma; Sarah S Singh; Saverio Stranges; Amardeep Thind Journal: BMJ Open Date: 2020-05-15 Impact factor: 2.692