Economies of scale and optimal size of maternity services in Belgium: A Data Envelopment Analysis.

This article uses a Data Envelopment Analysis to measure scale efficiency of maternity services in Belgium and estimate the minimum efficient scale in this context. Using administrative data for all maternity services in Belgium in 2016, the minimum efficient scale is estimated at 557 deliveries per year, which is above the currently prevailing norm of 400 deliveries per year. In particular, the closure of 17 small maternity services could improve efficiency without reducing accessibility. In addition to that, further efficiency gains could be attained by increasing the scale of maternity services up to at least 900 deliveries per year. Although most services are close to scale efficiency, the mean scale inefficiency level is 13% and low scores are mainly concentrated among the smallest services. These results are robust to changes in model specifications, bootstrapping and removal of outliers. In the current context of reform of the hospital and maternity landscape in Belgium, this study shows room for improvement and the possibility to generate substantial efficiency gains that could be reinvested in the healthcare system.

Impact of shortened length of stay for delivery on the required bed capacity in maternity services: results from forecast analysis on administrative data.

BACKGROUND: We examine the implications of reducing the average length of stay (ALOS) for a delivery on the required capacity in terms of service volume and maternity beds in Belgium, using administrative data covering all inpatient stays in Belgian general hospitals over the period 2003-2014. METHODS: A projection model generates forecasts of all inpatient and day-care services with a time horizon of 2025. It adjusts the observed hospital use in 2014 to the combined effect of three evolutions: the change in population size and composition, the time trend evolution of ALOS, and the time trend evolution of the admission rates. In addition, we develop an alternative scenario to evaluate the impact of an accelerated reduction of ALOS. RESULTS: Between 2014 and 2025, we expect the number of deliveries to increase by 4.41%, and the number of stays in maternity services by 3.38%. At the same time, a reduction in ALOS is projected for all types of deliveries. The required capacity for maternity beds will decrease by 17%. In case of an accelerated reduction of the ALOS to reach international standards, this required capacity for maternity beds will decrease by more than 30%. CONCLUSIONS: Despite an expected increase in the number of deliveries, future hospital capacity in terms of maternity beds can be considerably reduced in Belgium, due to the continuing reduction of ALOS.

Association between surgical volume and post-operative mortality and survival after surgical resection in lung cancer in Belgium: A population-based study.

OBJECTIVES: The existence of a relationship between hospital surgical volume and outcome after lung cancer surgery remains an ongoing debate. We aimed to evaluate the association between volume and 60-day mortality, 1- and 3-year observed survival (OS) in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients in Belgium. METHODS: Patients diagnosed with NSCLC in 2010-2011 were identified in the database of the Belgian Cancer Registry, excluding patients with multiple tumours. Regression models were applied to assess the relationship between hospital surgical volume, 60-day mortality and 1- and 3-year OS, adjusting for different patient and tumour characteristics. Surgical volume was taken into account as a continuous variable in the models. RESULTS: In 2010-2011 a total of 9,817 patients with NSCLC were diagnosed in Belgium and 2,084 of them underwent surgery. After adjusting for patient and tumour characteristics, a relationship between hospital surgical volume and patients' outcome was found. Postoperative mortality and survival improved with increasing annual surgical volume up to 10 interventions. However, no further gain in outcome has been observed above 10. While the 60-day postoperative mortality is 3.5% for hospitals with an annual volume larger than 10, the predicted mortality rate for a hospital with an annual volume of only 5 interventions is 6.5%. Similar results were observed for 1- and 3-year OS. CONCLUSION: In Belgium, a higher hospital surgical volume is associated with improved outcome in NSCLC patients after surgical resection. Minimally 10 surgical interventions per year seem to be required to achieve an optimal performance.

Patients with dementia in hospitals: a nation-wide analysis of administrative data 2010-2014.

PURPOSE: Considering the limited information available, the aim of the study was to examine the prevalence and characteristics of inpatients with dementia in Belgian general hospitals. METHODS: All admissions of inpatients aged at least 40 years with or without dementia were retrieved from the nationwide administrative hospital discharges database for the period 2010-2014. RESULTS: Admissions of inpatients aged 40 years or more with dementia have increased to reach 83,017 out of 1,285,593 admissions (6.46%) in general hospitals in 2014, mostly admitted through the emergency department (79.7%) and for another reason than dementia (85.9%). These patients stayed longer [19.2 days, standard deviation (sd) = 23.6, median = 13] than the average length of stay of patients of the same age (7.9 days, sd = 14.1, median = 17). Considering patients aged 75 years or more falling into the 20 most common pathology groups (of patients with dementia), the group with dementia spent 5 days more than the group without dementia. Patients admitted from home spent more time in hospital when they were discharged to a residential care facility than when they returned home (27.2 days versus 15.8 days). The in-hospital mortality was high in the first days of admission. CONCLUSIONS: The growing prevalence of patients with dementia in inpatient setting puts a high pressure on the hospital capacity planning and geriatric expertise. Moreover, as patients with dementia should be kept outside hospitals when possible for safety and quality matters, long-term organizational investments are required inside hospital and residential care settings as well as in community care.

Use of health insurance data to identify and quantify the prevalence of main comorbidities in lung cancer patients.

BACKGROUND: Identifying comorbidities in lung cancer patients is a complex process in population-based studies and no gold standard exists. The current study aims to identify and measure the main comorbidities using administrative health insurance data, which were available on a population-based level. METHOD: A literature search was conducted to identify comorbidities in lung cancer patients and to select Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical codes to measure them. For each patient, the volume of delivered relevant drugs for each comorbidity in the year preceding the diagnosis of lung cancer was computed, based on the Defined Daily Doses reimbursed. Case definition rules were set by comparing the identification of comorbidities via health insurance data with the reporting of them in the medical files in a sample of hospitals. RESULTS: Four comorbidities were identified: chronic respiratory diseases, chronic cardiovascular diseases, diabetes mellitus and renal diseases. A very good to moderate agreement between the prevalence based on medical files versus health insurance data was obtained for diabetes mellitus (kappa = 0.83), chronic cardiovascular diseases (kappa = 0.64), chronic respiratory diseases (kappa = 0.48) but not for renal diseases (kappa = 0.22). Because only 27% of patients having renal diseases recorded in the medical files were identified using health insurance data, this comorbidity was not withheld. Among 12,839 lung cancer patients diagnosed in 2010-2011 in Belgium, 29.7% had chronic respiratory diseases, 57.5% had chronic cardiovascular diseases and 14.1% had diabetes mellitus. DISCUSSION: This study showed that it was possible to capture three major comorbidities in lung cancer patients using administrative health data, namely, diabetes mellitus, chronic cardiovascular diseases, and chronic respiratory diseases. However, the agreement was only moderate for the last one. A prerequisite for using this methodology is that administrative health data are available for all patients.

First- and second-line bevacizumab in ovarian cancer: A Belgian cost-utility analysis.

BACKGROUND: Currently, in Belgium, bevacizumab is reimbursed for ovarian cancer patients, based on a contract between the Minister and the manufacturer including confidential agreements. This reimbursement will be re-evaluated in 2018. OBJECTIVE: To support the reimbursement reassessment by calculating the cost-effectiveness of bevacizumab: (1) in addition to first-line chemotherapy; (2) in the treatment of recurrent ovarian cancer (platinum-sensitive or platinum-resistant). METHODS: A health economic model has been developed for the Belgian situation according to the Belgian guidelines for economic evaluations. The lifetime Markov model was set up from the perspective of the health care payer (government and patient), including direct healthcare related costs. Results are expressed as the extra costs per quality-adjusted life year (QALY). Calculations were based on results of four international trials. Both probabilistic and one-way sensitivity analyses were performed. RESULTS: Incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICERs) of first-line bevacizumab are on average 158 000/QALY (GOG-0218 trial) and 443 000/QALY (ICON7 trial). The most favourable scenario is based on the stage IV subgroup of the GOG-0218 trial (€52 000/QALY). Since subgroup findings are often exploratory and require confirmatory studies, results of the economic evaluation based on this subgroup analysis should be considered with caution. For second-line bevacizumab, ICERs are on average €587 000/QALY (OCEANS trial) and €172 000/QALY (AURELIA trial). Sensitivity analysis shows that results are most sensitive to the price of bevacizumab. CONCLUSION: From a health economic perspective, ICERs of bevacizumab are relatively high. The most favourable results are found for first-line treatment of stage IV ovarian cancer patients. Price reductions have a major impact on the estimated ICERs. It is recommended to take these findings into account when re-evaluating the reimbursement of bevacizumab in ovarian cancer.

Quality of care and variability in lung cancer management across Belgian hospitals: a population-based study using routinely available data.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the quality of care for all patients diagnosed with lung cancer in Belgium based on a set of evidence-based quality indicators and to study the variability of care between hospitals. DESIGN, SETTING, PARTICIPANTS: A retrospective study based on linked data from the cancer registry, insurance claims and vital status for all patients diagnosed with lung cancer between 2010 and 2011. Evidence-based quality indicators were identified from a systematic literature search. A specific algorithm to attribute patients to a centre was developed, and funnel plots were used to assess variability of care between centres. INTERVENTION: None. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: The proportion of patients who received appropriate care as defined by the indicator. Secondary outcome included the variability of care between centres. RESULTS: Twenty indicators were measured for a total of 12 839 patients. Good results were achieved for 60-day post-surgical mortality (3.9%), histopathological confirmation of diagnosis (93%) and for the use of PET-CT before treatment with curative intent (94%). Areas to be improved include the reporting of staging information to the Belgian Cancer Registry (80%), the use of brain imaging for clinical stage III patients eligible for curative treatment (79%), and the time between diagnosis and start of first active treatment (median 20 days). High variability between centres was observed for several indicators. Twenty-three indicators were found relevant but could not be measured. CONCLUSION: This study highlights the feasibility to develop a multidisciplinary set of quality indicators using population-based data. The main advantage of this approach is that not additional registration is required, but the non-measurability of many relevant indicators is a hamper. It allows however to easily point to areas of large variability in care.

Variability in elective day-surgery rates between Belgian hospitals - Analyses of administrative data explained by surgical experts.

BACKGROUND: In the last decades, day surgery has steadily and significantly grown in many countries, yet the increase has been uneven. There are large variations in day-surgery activity between countries, but also within countries between hospitals and surgeons. This paper explores the variability in day-care activity for elective surgical procedures between Belgian hospitals. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The administrative hospital data of all patients formally admitted in a Belgian hospital for inpatient or day-care surgery between 2011 and 2013 were analysed and summarized in graphs. During 11 expert meetings with ad-hoc surgical expert groups the variability in day-surgery share between hospitals was discussed in depth. RESULTS: The variability in day-care share between Belgian hospitals is considerable. For 37 out of 486 elective surgical procedures, the variability ranged between 0 and 100%. High national day-care rates do not preclude room for improvement for certain hospitals as for the majority of these procedures there are "low performers". According to the consulted clinical experts, the high variability in day-care share may for the greater part be explained by medical team related factors, customs and traditions, the lack of clinical guidelines, financial factors, organisational factors and patient related factors. CONCLUSION: If a further expansion of day surgery is envisaged in Belgium the factors that contribute to the current variability in day-surgery rates between hospitals should be addressed. In addition, a feedback system in which hospitals and health care providers have the figures on their percentage of procedures carried out in day surgery compared to other hospitals and care providers (benchmarking) and the monitoring of a number of quality indicators (e.g. unplanned readmission, unplanned inpatient stay, emergency department visit) should be installed.

The Belgian Health System Performance Report 2012: snapshot of results and recommendations to policy makers.

Following the commitments of the Tallinn Charter, Belgium publishes the second report on the performance of its health system. A set of 74 measurable indicators is analysed, and results are interpreted following the five dimensions of the conceptual framework: accessibility, quality of care, efficiency, sustainability and equity. All domains of care are covered (preventive, curative, long-term and end-of-life care), as well as health status and health promotion. For all indicators, national/regional values are presented with their evolution over time. Benchmarking to results of other EU-15 countries is also systematic. The policy recommendations represent the most important output of the report.

Cost-effectiveness of cardiac resynchronisation therapy for patients with moderate-to-severe heart failure: a lifetime Markov model.

Objective To assess the cost-effectiveness of cardiac resynchronisation therapy (CRT) both with CRT-P (biventricular pacemaker only) and with CRT-D (biventricular pacemaker with defibrillator) in patients with New York Heart Association (NYHA) functional class III/IV from a Belgian healthcare-payer perspective. Methods A lifetime Markov model was designed to calculate the cost-utility of both interventions. In the reference case, the treatment effect was based on the Comparison of Medical Therapy, Pacing and Defibrillation in Heart Failure trial. Costs were based on real-world data. Pharmacoeconomic guidelines were applied, including probabilistic modelling and sensitivity analyses. Results Compared with optimal medical treatment, on average 1.31 quality-adjusted life-years (QALY) are gained with CRT-P at an additional cost of €14 700, resulting in an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) of about €11 200/QALY. As compared with CRT-P, CRT-D treatment adds on average an additional 0.55 QALYs at an extra cost of €30 900 resulting in an ICER of €57 000/QALY. This result was very sensitive to the incremental clinical benefit of the defibrillator function on top of CRT. Conclusions Based on efficiency arguments, CRT-P can be recommended for NYHA class III and IV patients if there is a willingness to pay more than €11 000/QALY. Even though CRT-D may offer a survival benefit over CRT-P, the incremental clinical benefit appears to be too marginal to warrant a threefold-higher device price for CRT-D. Further clinical research should focus on the added value of CRT-D over CRT-P.

Provider volume and short term complications after elective total hip replacement: an analysis of Belgian administrative data.

The relationship between provider volume and short term complications after an elective total hip replacement was studied on Belgian hospital discharge administrative database from 2004. The analysis included 11 856 patients. Hospitals were classified in low-volume (< or = 60/interventions per year), medium volume (61-110) or high volume (>110). Surgeons were labelled low-volume (< or = 6), medium volume (7-20) or high volume (>20). After adjustment for age, sex, principal diagnosis and comorbidity, surgeon volume was much more predictive of short term complications than centre volume. Patients treated by small volume surgeons (respectively medium volume surgeons) had a 43% higher odds of complications than patients operated by high volume surgeons (respectively 37%). Despite some limitations, Belgian administrative hospital discharge databases can be used to assess the volume outcome relationship for orthopaedic surgery. The study has emphasized the need to closely monitor individual performance, for hospitals and surgeons. Providers requiring further auditing can be effectively identified with funnel plots used routinely in quality control programs.

Measuring appropriate use of antibiotics in pyelonephritis in Belgian hospitals.

Inappropriate use of antibiotics can induce antibiotic resistance, treatment failure, increased costs and even mortality. We developed a methodology for measuring guideline compliance of hospital antibiotic prescriptions in community-acquired acute pyelonephritis in Belgium. The claims and clinical data of all Belgian hospitalizations for community-acquired acute pyelonephritis were extracted from a nationwide administrative database. In a clinically homogeneous subset of patients, the percentage of patients who received a guideline-compliant prescription was calculated according to prescription guidelines disseminated in Belgium. In the group of non-pregnant adult female patients, 31% of the prescriptions were not in strict compliance with the guideline. Interhospital variability ranged from 0% to 100% compliance. We conclude that administrative databases can be used to analyze antibiotic prescription behavior in hospitals for homogeneous and clinically relevant patient groups. The interhospital variability observed in Belgian hospitals indicate that there is a clear room for improvement.

Methodology for calculating a country's need for positron emission tomography scanners.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to develop a methodology for calculating the need for positron emission tomography (PET) scanners in a country and illustrate this methodology for Belgium. METHODS: First, levels of evidence were assigned to PET in different indications according to a standard hierarchical classification system. The level reached depends on whether there is evidence on diagnostic accuracy, impact on diagnostic thinking, therapeutic impact, impact on patient outcomes, or cost-effectiveness. Second, the number of patients eligible for PET for each indication was derived from a registry of PET. Third, the number of PET scanners needed in Belgium was estimated for different baseline hypotheses about maximum annual capacity of a scanner and the minimally required level of evidence. RESULTS: The number of PET scanners needed crucially depends on the level of evidence considered acceptable for the implementation of PET: the higher the level of evidence required, the lower the number of PET scanners needed. Belgium needs at least three and at most ten PET scanners. This contrasts with the thirteen currently approved. CONCLUSIONS: Scientific evidence and information on the eligible population for a specific procedure are crucial elements for policy makers who wish to make evidence-based decisions about programming and planning of heavy medical equipment.

More is not better in the early care of acute myocardial infarction: a prospective cohort analysis on administrative databases.

AIMS: To assess the outcome and costs of patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) after initial admission to hospitals with or without catheterization facilities in Belgium. METHODS AND RESULTS: From a nationwide hospital register, we retrieved the data of 34 961 patients discharged during 1999-2001 with a principal diagnosis of AMI. They were initially admitted to hospitals without catheterization facilities (A), with diagnostic (B1) or interventional catheterization facilities (B2). Mortality has been recorded till the end of 2003 and re-admissions till the end of 2001. The mortality hazard ratio and 95% CI of 5 years mortality of A vs. B2 was 1.01 (0.97, 1.06) and of B1 vs. B2 was 1.03 (0.98, 1.09). Re-admission rates and 95% CI for cardiovascular reason per 100 patient-years were 23.5 (22.7, 24.3) for A, 23.8 (22.5, 25.1) for B1, and 22.0 (21.2, 22.9) for B2. The mean cost in hospital of a patient at low risk with a single stay was in A 4072 euro (median: 3,861; IQR: 4467-3476), in B1 5083 euro (median: 5153; IQR: 5769-4340), and in B2 7741 euro (median: 7553; IQR: 8211-7298). CONCLUSION: Services with catheterization facilities compared with services without them showed no better health outcomes, but delivered more expensive care.