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1.
S Afr Med J ; 109(10): 765-770, 2019 Sep 30.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-31635575

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Operating theatres account for a significant proportion of hospital costs. There is a paucity of data evaluating utilisation of South African (SA) state operating theatres. OBJECTIVES: To measure operating theatre utilisation and the rate of day-of-surgery cancellations (DOSCs) in a state hospital theatre complex. METHODS: A prospective audit of a state operating theatre complex at a Durban regional hospital was performed between 26 February and 26 April 2018. Times were collected for each theatre case from the entry of the patient into theatre to their departure to the post-anaesthetic care unit. This was done on weekdays between 08h00 and 16h00. The factors causing any delays and DOSCs were identified and recorded. RESULTS: Over the study period, 125 220 operative minutes were available for both elective and emergency operating theatres; 655 elective cases and 359 emergency cases were performed. Overall theatre utilisation was 55.2%, with actual operating time comprising only 36.9% of all available time. Non-operative time occupied 63.1% of all available time, split between late starts (9.3%), early list finishes (16.1%), changeover times (19.4%) and anaesthetic time (18.3%). The DOSC rate was 26.2%, with 232 cases cancelled on the day of surgery. Just under half of the DOSCs were avoidable. The most common reason for cancellation was lack of operative time. CONCLUSIONS: Measured theatre utilisation was higher than previously quoted figures for SA state hospitals, but below international benchmarks. A significant amount of time was wasted as a result of delayed first-case starts, prolonged changeovers and early terminations of lists, all of which contributed to a high DOSC rate. Before more theatre time can be made available, theatre users must first optimise use of currently available time. Further studies quantifying the effect of staff shortages in state operating theatres on inefficient use of time are required.


Subject(s)
Hospital Costs , Hospitals, State/statistics & numerical data , Operating Rooms/statistics & numerical data , Surgical Procedures, Operative/statistics & numerical data , Hospitals, State/economics , Humans , Medical Audit , Operating Rooms/economics , Operative Time , Prospective Studies , South Africa , Surgical Procedures, Operative/economics
2.
Pharmacoeconomics ; 32(3): 293-303, 2014 Mar.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-24190661

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: High pharmaceutical prices and over-prescribing of high-priced pharmaceuticals in Chinese hospitals has long been criticized. Although policy makers have tried to address these issues, they have not yet found an effective balance between government regulation and market forces. OBJECTIVE: Our objective was to explore the impact of market competition on pharmaceutical pricing under Chinese government regulation. METHODS: Data from 11 public tertiary hospitals in three cities in China from 2002 to 2005 were used to explore the effect of generic and therapeutic competition on prices of antibiotics and cardiovascular products. A quasi-hedonic regression model was employed to estimate the impact of competition. The inputs to our model were specific attributes of the products and manufacturers, with the exception of competition variables. RESULTS: Our results suggest that pharmaceutical prices are inversely related to the number of generic and therapeutic competitors, but positively related to the number of therapeutic classes. In addition, the product prices of leading local manufacturers are not only significantly lower than those of global manufacturers, but are also lower than their non-leading counterparts when other product attributes are controlled for. CONCLUSION: Under the highly price-regulated market in China, competition from generic and therapeutic competitors did decrease pharmaceutical prices. Further research is needed to explore whether this competition increases consumer welfare in China's healthcare setting.


Subject(s)
Drug Costs/legislation & jurisprudence , Drug Industry/economics , Drugs, Generic/economics , Hospitals, State/economics , China , Cost Control/legislation & jurisprudence , Costs and Cost Analysis , Economic Competition , Economics, Pharmaceutical , Government Regulation
3.
J Glaucoma ; 23(6): 355-9, 2014 Aug.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-23221907

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: To determine cost identification and acquisition cost comparison of surgical supplies for performing cataract and glaucoma procedures. METHODS: This is a nonrandomized comparative and cross-sectional study. Six health care systems [state-run charity hospital, a private university hospital, 2 ambulatory surgical centers (ASCs), and 2 Veterans Affairs Medical Centers] participated in the study. A list of input prices for disposable surgical items necessary for phacoemulsification with intraocular lens and for trabeculectomy with mitomycin-C (MMC), Ex-PRESS shunt placement, and Ahmed glaucoma valve (AGV) with scleral patch graft was administered to 6 facilities. The total acquisition costs for each surgery at each facility was calculated as the sum of necessary items' costs. All costs are expressed in 2011 US dollars. Total acquisition costs for phacoemulsification/intraocular lens, trabeculectomy with MMC, Ex-PRESS shunt and AGV with scleral patch graft implantation in different health care settings were the main outcome measures. RESULTS: The state-run hospital had the highest overall cost of disposable items for both cataract surgery ($648) and trabeculectomy with MMC ($339), whereas the Veterans Affairs Medical Centers had the lowest acquisition costs for cataract ($386) and the ASC ($96) for trabeculectomy. The ASC system had the lowest cost for both Ex-PRESS shunt ($707) and AGV ($865), whereas the University ($1352 for the Ex-PRESS) and the state ($1338 for AGV) had the highest cost. Average difference between total disposable item acquisition costs and Medicare payment after different surgeries per case is as follows: $544.29 for cataract surgery, $1834.50 for trabeculectomy, $763.30 for Ex-PRESS shunt, and $1315.00 for the AGV surgery. CONCLUSIONS: The ASC system had the lowest acquisition cost for disposable items for both cataract and glaucoma surgeries, whereas the university hospital and the state hospital carried the highest costs on an average. Among the 3 glaucoma procedures compared, trabeculectomy has the lowest acquisition costs for disposable items.


Subject(s)
Cataract/economics , Delivery of Health Care , Glaucoma Drainage Implants/economics , Glaucoma/economics , Lenses, Intraocular/economics , Phacoemulsification/economics , Trabeculectomy/economics , Ambulatory Care Facilities/economics , Cross-Sectional Studies , Disposable Equipment/economics , Hospitals, State/economics , Hospitals, University/economics , Hospitals, Veterans/economics , Humans , Middle Aged , Phacoemulsification/instrumentation , Trabeculectomy/instrumentation , Treatment Outcome
4.
Psychiatr Serv ; 64(4): 312-7, 2013 Apr 01.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-23318920

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: A previous study of recovery-oriented assertive community treatment (PACT) found large differences over three years in use of state psychiatric hospitals between PACT participants and consumers in a matched control group, especially for PACT participants with significant previous psychiatric hospitalization. This study extended these findings by examining the timing of PACT effects. METHODS: Generalized estimating equation models of monthly cost data for state, local, and crisis hospital use estimated the time-varying effects of participation in one of ten PACT teams in Washington State. Data from PACT participants (N=450) and propensity score-matched consumers (N=450) were included. Additional analyses determined whether effects differed by prior state hospital use. RESULTS: Differences in costs between PACT and control participants were largest immediately after PACT enrollment and tapered off. During the first quarter after enrollment, monthly per-person costs for state hospital use were $3,458 lower for PACT enrollees than for control participants. A composite measure of psychiatric hospital costs (state and local hospitals and local crisis stabilization units) declined by $3,539 monthly during the first quarter after PACT enrollment (p<.01). Differences were noted up to 27 months after enrollment, when the difference in the composite costs measure became insignificant compared with the prior quarter (months 25-27) (p>.05). Differences were larger for PACT enrollees with greater baseline state hospital use. CONCLUSIONS: The time-varying estimates may have implications for the length and intensity of ACT enrollment. However, the optimum time for receipt of ACT services needs to be considered in the context of outcomes other than hospitalization alone.


Subject(s)
Community Mental Health Services , Hospitals, Psychiatric/statistics & numerical data , Hospitals, State/statistics & numerical data , Mental Disorders/rehabilitation , Adult , Case-Control Studies , Community Mental Health Services/economics , Female , Hospitals, Psychiatric/economics , Hospitals, State/economics , Humans , Longitudinal Studies , Male , Mental Disorders/economics , Middle Aged , Retrospective Studies , Time Factors , Treatment Outcome , Washington
5.
Psychiatr Serv ; 64(4): 318-23, 2013 Apr 01.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-23318948

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: A previous study of a recovery-oriented assertive community treatment initiative (PACT) in Washington State found reductions in state psychiatric hospital use and related costs for PACT participants, especially in the first six months after enrollment and for consumers who were high users of the state psychiatric hospital before ACT enrollment. This study examined whether these outcomes varied by team fidelity to recovery-oriented ACT practices. METHODS: Generalized estimating equations (GEE) were used to examine the relationship between scores on the Tool for Measurement of Assertive Community Treatment (TMACT), a recently developed tool for assessing fidelity to recovery-oriented ACT, and the use of state hospitals, local hospitals, emergency departments, local crisis stabilization units, and arrests for 631 PACT consumers. These relationships were also examined for PACT consumers with any state hospital use (N=450) and those considered high users of the state hospital (≥ 96 days in two years before PACT enrollment). RESULTS: TMACT scores were associated (p<.01) with a decrease in the amount of use but not the probability of using state psychiatric hospitals, local hospital psychiatric inpatient units, and local crisis stabilization units. The marginal effects of higher TMACT scores on the probability and use of emergency departments or arrests were not statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides preliminary evidence for the predictive validity of the TMACT. Future research should examine the subscale structure of the TMACT as well as the association between TMACT fidelity and consumer well-being, quality of life, and other important person-centered outcomes.


Subject(s)
Community Mental Health Services/standards , Guideline Adherence , Hospitals, Psychiatric/statistics & numerical data , Hospitals, State/statistics & numerical data , Mental Disorders/rehabilitation , Practice Guidelines as Topic , Adult , Community Mental Health Services/economics , Female , Hospitals, Psychiatric/economics , Hospitals, State/economics , Humans , Longitudinal Studies , Male , Mental Disorders/economics , Middle Aged , Retrospective Studies , Treatment Outcome , Washington
6.
Psychiatr Serv ; 64(4): 303-11, 2013 Apr 01.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-23242485

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to assess the effectiveness of Washington State's PACT, a recovery-oriented assertive community treatment (ACT) initiative, in reducing state psychiatric hospital use. METHODS: A quasi-experimental design and administrative data were used to compare 450 PACT consumers and 450 propensity score-matched consumers receiving usual care. Generalized estimating equations (GEE) assessed the effects of PACT on use of state and local hospitals, emergency departments, crisis stabilization units, and arrests. The marginal effects of PACT were estimated for high users and low users of state hospitals at baseline. RESULTS: No difference between PACT participants and control participants was observed in the probability of having any state hospital use. A reduction in state hospital use of between 32 and 33 days per person per year was observed (p<.01). Reductions in state hospital costs were concentrated among PACT participants who had high state hospital use at baseline; cost reductions ranged from about $17,000 to $20,000 per person per year (p<.01). State hospital cost reductions were partially offset by increases in use of local services, with small but significant (p<.01) increases in local hospital use, use of emergency departments, and use of crisis stabilization services. CONCLUSIONS: PACT had its greatest effects for consumers who were high utilizers of state psychiatric hospitals at baseline. Contrary to studies and commentaries from the United Kingdom, ACT remains a viable intervention in areas where state hospitals are overused. Whether blending traditional ACT with recovery-oriented practices also promotes consumer recovery requires further study.


Subject(s)
Community Mental Health Services , Hospitals, Psychiatric/statistics & numerical data , Hospitals, State/statistics & numerical data , Mental Disorders/rehabilitation , Adult , Case-Control Studies , Community Mental Health Services/economics , Emergency Service, Hospital/economics , Emergency Service, Hospital/statistics & numerical data , Female , Hospitals, Psychiatric/economics , Hospitals, State/economics , Humans , Logistic Models , Male , Mental Disorders/economics , Middle Aged , Retrospective Studies , Treatment Outcome , Washington
9.
Psychiatr Serv ; 62(8): 871-7, 2011 Aug.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-21807824

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: Given financial difficulties precipitated by the flagging national economy, state policy makers are interested in the impact of Medicaid cutbacks on individuals with schizophrenia. Starting in 2003, the Oregon legislature eliminated all Medicaid coverage for large numbers of people, including many with schizophrenia. The objective of this project was to examine state psychiatric hospital utilization among persons with schizophrenia who maintained or lost Medicaid coverage. METHODS: This longitudinal cohort study examined Oregon schizophrenia patients who had used Medicaid mental health services before the state's massive Medicaid reductions. Data were obtained from the state mental health, Medicaid, and vital statistics agencies. The outcome measures were involuntary psychiatric admissions to general hospitals and to state psychiatric hospitals, respectively. There were three cohorts, which comprised those who lost Medicaid coverage in calendar year 2003 (N=435), those who lost Medicaid coverage in 2004 (N=187), and those who maintained Medicaid coverage throughout study years 2002-2004 (N=3,427). RESULTS: Cohort members were on average 43 years old, and the sample was 42% female and 88% white. Analyses controlling for age, gender, race-ethnicity, Medicaid eligibility, and Medicare coverage showed that persons who maintained Medicaid coverage had little change in state psychiatric hospitalization, whereas utilization increased markedly over time for those who lost Medicaid coverage (p<.003). There were few differences in utilization of general hospital psychiatric units. Loss of Medicaid coverage generally preceded hospitalization. CONCLUSIONS: State policies designed to decrease Medicaid enrollment may have led to increased use of state psychiatric hospitals by former Medicaid enrollees with schizophrenia.


Subject(s)
Hospitals, Psychiatric/economics , Hospitals, State/economics , Medicaid/economics , Schizophrenia/economics , Adult , Cohort Studies , Economic Recession , Female , Hospitalization/economics , Hospitalization/statistics & numerical data , Hospitals, General/statistics & numerical data , Hospitals, Psychiatric/statistics & numerical data , Hospitals, State/statistics & numerical data , Humans , Male , Oregon , Propensity Score , Schizophrenia/therapy , United States
10.
Histoire Soc ; 44(88): 331-54, 2011.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-22518888

ABSTRACT

Never is the fraught relationship between the state-run custodial mental hospital and its host community clearer than during the period of rapid deinstitutionalization, when communities, facing the closure of their mental health facilities, inserted themselves into debates about the proper configuration of the mental health care system. Using the case of Weyburn, Saskatchewan, site in the 1960s of one of Canada's earliest and most radical experiments in rapid institutional depopulation, this article explores the government of Saskatchewan's management of the conflict between the latent functions of the old-line mental hospital as a community institution, an employer, and a generator of economic activity with its manifest function as a site of care made obsolete by the shift to community models of care.


Subject(s)
Community-Institutional Relations , Deinstitutionalization , Health Facility Closure , Hospitals, State , Social Change , Socioeconomic Factors , Community-Institutional Relations/economics , Community-Institutional Relations/legislation & jurisprudence , Deinstitutionalization/economics , Deinstitutionalization/history , Deinstitutionalization/legislation & jurisprudence , Delivery of Health Care/economics , Delivery of Health Care/ethnology , Delivery of Health Care/history , Delivery of Health Care/legislation & jurisprudence , Employment/economics , Employment/history , Employment/legislation & jurisprudence , Employment/psychology , Health Facility Closure/economics , Health Facility Closure/history , Health Facility Closure/legislation & jurisprudence , History, 20th Century , Hospitals, State/economics , Hospitals, State/history , Hospitals, State/legislation & jurisprudence , Mental Health Services/economics , Mental Health Services/history , Mental Health Services/legislation & jurisprudence , Saskatchewan/ethnology , Social Change/history , Socioeconomic Factors/history , Unemployment/history , Unemployment/psychology
11.
Med Care Res Rev ; 68(1 Suppl): 55S-74S, 2011 Feb.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-21075753

ABSTRACT

In this article, a combination of data envelopment analysis, spreadsheet modeling and regression techniques is applied to a panel of nonprofit Washington State hospitals in an effort to determine whether (and if so, to what extent) inefficiency in one hospital cost center is shared with inefficiency in other cost centers. The findings suggest that a significant amount of inefficiency is shared across hospital cost centers. The authors further determine that certain cost centers contribute more to the overall performance of a given hospital than others. As such, managerial decisions and government policies designed to enhance hospital efficiency should be implemented differently, depending on the characteristics of the hospital in question.


Subject(s)
Efficiency, Organizational/standards , Hospitals, State/economics , Management Audit/economics , Hospitals, State/standards , Regression Analysis , Washington
12.
J Health Polit Policy Law ; 35(5): 743-69, 2010 Oct.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-21123669

ABSTRACT

After Hurricane Katrina, there was good reason to believe that a gaping window of opportunity had opened for Louisiana to revamp its safety-net health care system. But two years of discussions among stakeholders within Louisiana and extensive negotiations with federal officials resulted in no such change. This article argues that any explanation for this outcome needs to incorporate both structure and process. In terms of structure, the rules of the Medicaid disproportionate-share hospital (DSH) program give states substantial independent authority to decide which hospitals to fund. Federal authorities could not force Louisiana, which had historically turned its DSH money over to the state hospital system, to redirect it toward an insurance expansion. In the process of negotiation after Katrina, those who defended the institutions wedded to the prestorm status quo conducted a better strategy than their challengers. They narrowed the purview of the Louisiana Health Care Redesign Collaborative, set up to propose changes in the safety net to the federal government, such that the question of whether to rebuild Charity Hospital in New Orleans was off the table. Meanwhile, on a separate track, the state and the Department of Veterans Affairs successfully pursued a plan to jointly build replacement hospitals.


Subject(s)
Cyclonic Storms , Decision Making, Organizational , Disasters , Health Care Reform/organization & administration , Negotiating , State Government , Federal Government , Hospitals, State/economics , Hospitals, Veterans , Humans , Louisiana , Medicaid/economics , United States , United States Department of Veterans Affairs
13.
Soc Sci Med ; 71(10): 1872-81, 2010 Nov.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-20880623

ABSTRACT

Studies of hospital efficiency seldom lead to changes in practice, partly because recommendations are unspecific or results are not seen as robust. We describe a method to compare hospital costs that utilises patient-level data. We perform a two-stage analysis in which we first consider factors that explain costs among patients and then across hospital departments. We illustrate our approach by examining the costs and characteristics of almost one million patients admitted to 136 English NHS hospital obstetrics departments in 2005/2006. We identify those departments with significantly higher costs that need to take action.


Subject(s)
Hospital Costs , Hospitals, State/economics , Multilevel Analysis/methods , Obstetrics and Gynecology Department, Hospital/economics , Adult , Efficiency, Organizational , England , Female , Humans , Obstetrics and Gynecology Department, Hospital/organization & administration , Patients/statistics & numerical data , Pregnancy , State Medicine
14.
Afr J Psychiatry (Johannesbg) ; 13(2): 109-15, 2010 May.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-20473471

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: This paper aims to explore the options available for developing community-based care and improving the quality of care in psychiatric hospitals in Ghana. METHOD: Semi-structured interviews (SSIs) and focus group discussions (FGDs) were conducted: with a cross-section of stakeholders including health professionals, researchers, policy makers, politicians, users and carers. The SSIs and FGDs were recorded digitally and transcribed verbatim. Apriori and emergent themes were coded and analysed with NVivo version 7.0, using a framework analysis. RESULTS: Psychiatric hospitals in Ghana have a mean bed occupancy rate of 155%. Most respondents were of the view that the state psychiatric hospitals were very congested, substantially compromising quality of care. They also noted that the community psychiatric system was lacking human and material resources. Suggestions for addressing these difficulties included committing adequate resources to community psychiatric services, using psychiatric hospitals only as referral facilities, relapse prevention programmes, strengthening psychosocial services, adopting more precise diagnoses and the development of a policy on long-stay patients. CONCLUSION: There is an urgent need to build a credible system of community-based care and improve the quality of care in psychiatric hospitals in Ghana.


Subject(s)
Community Mental Health Services/standards , Health Services Research/methods , Hospitals, Psychiatric/standards , Hospitals, State/standards , Community Mental Health Services/economics , Focus Groups , Ghana , Hospitals, Psychiatric/economics , Hospitals, State/economics , Humans , Interview, Psychological , Qualitative Research
15.
Health Aff (Millwood) ; 28(3): 676-84, 2009.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-19414875

ABSTRACT

State hospitals were once the most prominent components of U.S. public mental health systems. But a major focus of mental health policy over the past fifty years has been to close these facilities. These efforts led to a 95 percent reduction in the country's state hospital population. However, more than 200 state hospitals remain open, serving a declining but challenging patient population. Using national and state-level data, this paper discusses the contemporary public mental hospital, the forces shaping its use, the challenges it faces, and its possible future role in the larger mental health system.


Subject(s)
Health Care Reform/trends , Health Policy/trends , Hospitals, Psychiatric/trends , Hospitals, State/trends , Mental Disorders/epidemiology , Mental Disorders/rehabilitation , Commitment of Mentally Ill/economics , Cooperative Behavior , Cost Control/trends , Cross-Sectional Studies , Dangerous Behavior , Forecasting , Health Care Reform/economics , Health Facility Closure/economics , Health Facility Closure/trends , Health Policy/economics , Health Services Needs and Demand/economics , Health Services Needs and Demand/trends , Hospitals, Psychiatric/economics , Hospitals, State/economics , Humans , Length of Stay/economics , Length of Stay/trends , Mental Disorders/economics , United States
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