Revisiting the Relationship between Managed Care and Hospital Consolidation

Objective. This paper analyzes whether the rise in managed care during the 1990s caused the increase in hospital concentration.
Data Sources. We assemble data from the American Hospital Association, InterStudy and government censuses from 1990 to 2000.
Study Design. We employ linear regression analyses on long differenced data to estimate the impact of managed care penetration on hospital consolidation. Instrumental variable analogs of these regressions are also analyzed to control for potential endogeneity.
Data Collection. All data are from secondary sources merged at the level of the Health Care Services Area.
Principle Findings. In 1990, the mean population-weighted hospital Herfindahl–Hirschman index (HHI) in a Health Services Area was .19. By 2000, the HHI had risen to .26. Most of this increase in hospital concentration is due to hospital consolidation. Over the same time frame HMO penetration increased three fold. However, our regression analysis strongly implies that the rise of managed care did not cause the hospital consolidation wave. This finding is robust to a number of different specifications.     

BiPAP ViSION 在慢性阻塞性肺疾病Ⅱ型呼吸衰竭的应用和护理

目的 探讨经鼻(面)罩双水平气道内正压通气(BiPAP)ViSION型呼吸机对慢性阻塞性肺疾病(COPD)伴Ⅱ型呼吸衰竭患者疗效及护理特点。方法 应用BiPAP ViSION型呼吸机对21例COPD伴Ⅱ型呼吸衰竭患者采用鼻/面罩连接单向呼气活瓣行双水平气道正压通气,观察其通气前后动脉血气及临床表现变化。结果 通气治疗后19例患者动脉血氧分压(PaO_2)及氧饱和度(SaO_2)明显升高(P<0.01),二氧化碳分压(PaCO_2)显著降低(P<0.05);肺性脑病症状消失,昏迷患者神志转清。2例病情恶化,其中1例改用有创通气后好转,1例拒绝有创通气死亡。结论BiPAP ViSION呼吸机治疗COPD伴Ⅱ型呼吸衰竭的疗效较为肯定,正确的护理对提高其疗效和减少并发症至关重要。     

中药泡洗治疗糖尿病足90例疗效分析

目的为了观察中药泡洗对糖尿病足的疗效。方法对90例糖尿病足患者用中药（方剂组成：桃仁、红花、桂枝、没药、乳香、花椒、川芎等各10g）水煎制后分为2袋各300ml配合足浴仪泡洗，2次，d，30min／次，10d为1疗程。结果全组90例患者显效66例，有效24例，总有效率100％。结论中药泡洗治疗糖尿病足疗效确切。     

健康教育在糖尿病病人中的应用

目的：通过对患者在住院过程中的系统教育，使患者了解自己疾病的知识，提高患者对糖尿病的认知水平和自我管理能力，养成良好的健康行为和生活方式，从而提高生活质量。方法：采用集体、个体、自学等形式进行教育。结果：通过培养，患者掌握了一些基本的操作技能，明显缩短了住院日，同时激发了护士与患者学习专业知识的热情，减少或延缓了并发症的发生。结论：①健康教育是一个护患双边活动过程。②通过教育，可不断提高护士的自身修养和专业知识水平。③健康教育是糖尿病患者学习糖尿病知识，提高自我护理能力的有效途径。     

Eligible Veterans'' Choice Between VA-covered and Non-VA-covered Dental Care

Veterans who were eligible for dental care in Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) facilities at no monetary cost responded to a mailed questionnaire. Seventy-one percent were aware that they were actually eligible for VA dental care. However, only 48 percent reported the VA as their only or primary source of dental care. Eligibility status, perceived quality of VA dental care, use of VA medical care, perception that one's income meets expenses, and perceived need for dental care were significant correlates of using the VA as one's current source of dental care. Level of formal education, perception that one's income meets expenses, transportation pattern, geographic distance from a VA facility, and eligibility status were significant correlates of using the VA as one's current medical care source. Research on VA utilization offers the opportunity to study issues of access to, and use of, a large public health care system whose patients largely receive care at no monetary cost. Veterans' use of VA dental and medical care is apparently influenced by a wide variety of factors, ranging from barriers to access to non-VA systems, to characteristics of the VA delivery system itself, to need for treatment.     

Department of Palliative Care in Bratislava and the development of the palliative care movement in Slovakia

 Slovakia is a country with no tradition of home care services and a long history of regarding death and dying as taboos and therefore institutionalising them. Increased attention to palliative care issues has resulted in some important changes, to the benefit of patients in need of palliative care. These include general availability of oral slow-release forms of strong opioids (cost completely reimbursed by the insurance companies), a developing network of home care agencies, and increased attention to the needs of palliative patients, especially among oncologists and pain specialists. In February 1995 the Department of Palliative Care was established within the National Cancer Institute in Bratislava. It has 19 in-patient beds and also an out-patient clinic. Although the primary goal is the improvement of the quality of life, several approaches that can prolong life without worsening its quality are also used. These include laser destruction of intraluminal gastrointestinal tumours, insertion of intraluminal stents, brachyradiotherapy, pleurodeses, percutaneous gastrostomy, percutaneous nephrostomy, palliative chemotherapy, treatment of hypercalcaemia. In 1995 the Palliative Care Section of the Association for Study and Treatment of Pain was established, as was thefirst Hospice Foundation.     

"托管制"条件下医疗服务质量监控的实践

无锡市卫生局在"托管制"条件下,转变政府职能,加强医疗服务质量监控,在依法管理的基础上,严把"导、评、赛、奖"四个控制环节.     

What methods do stakeholders prefer for feeding back performance data: a qualitative study in palliative care.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the opinions of stakeholders (service commissioners and providers) on how performance data should be presented, in order to develop effective feedback methods to facilitate the use of these data in decision making. DESIGN: A qualitative analysis of semi-structured face-to-face and telephone interviews. League tables and fictional box plots were presented as an illustrative guide. The themes covered in the interviews were the effectiveness of these two feedback formats, their positive and negative characteristics, and ideas for new and improved feedback mechanisms. PARTICIPANTS: Thirty-six stakeholders representing a range of clinical and non-clinical roles within palliative care and the wider health care system across a variety of statutory and non-statutory organizations from London and the West Midlands. RESULTS: Box plots were received more positively than league tables, and qualitative information was considered more appropriate than pictorial feedback. Conventional methods such as league tables and box plots were judged to lack essential information on which important decisions could be based, such as additional contextual information and the methodological assumptions of the instrument. Both feedback methods were considered useful as an impetus to further discussion. There was a consensus that feedback should be constructive and able to be adapted to the organizational realities in which UK health services function. CONCLUSION: Qualitative research was viewed as the right evidence for gaining an understanding of the quality of end of life care. Stakeholders highlighted the importance of the lay perspective, which requires approaches that illuminate the subjective meanings of patient experience.     

实施责任护士竞聘制的做法与成效

目的 :营造良性竞争的机制和氛围 ,全面提高护理质量。方法 :通过资格认定、理论技术考试、民主测评及双项选择 ,由护理部聘任。结果 :较好地进行了人力资源的开发 ,竞聘上岗后的护士有责任感和使命感 ,工作积极主动 ,自觉地成为科室各项工作的带头人。加之岗位工资的兑现 ,更有利于护士长在科室开展工作 ,使科室各项护理工作质量显著提高。结论 :良性的竞争运行机制 ,使优秀护理人才脱颖而出 ,体现能级对应的原则 ,从而使护理质量不断提高。