Evidence map›Paper›PMID 23651910›Full record

ArticleBMC health services research2013

The effect of activity-based financing on hospital length of stay for elderly patients suffering from heart diseases in Norway.

Jun Yin, Hilde Lurås, Terje P Hagen, Fredrik A Dahl

Abstract readComparative Study
In one paragraph

Article in BMC health services research, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 15 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
15citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

15 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

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  15. Review of Diagnosis-Related Group-Based Financing of Hospital Care.Health services research and managerial epidemiology
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Jun YinHelse Sør-Øst Health Services Research Centre, Akershus University Hospital, Lørenskog, Norway. jun.yin@ahus.no
Hilde Lurås
Terje P Hagen
Fredrik A Dahl

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundWhether activity-based financing of hospitals creates incentives to treat more patients and to reduce the length of each hospital stay is an empirical question that needs investigation. This paper examines how the level of the activity-based component in the financing system of Norwegian hospitals influences the average length of hospital stays for elderly patients suffering from ischemic heart diseases. During the study period, the activity-based component changed several times due to political decisions at the national level.

methodsThe repeated cross-section data were extracted from the Norwegian Patient Register in the period from 2000 to 2007, and included patients with angina pectoris, congestive heart failure, and myocardial infarction. Data were analysed with a log-linear regression model at the individual level.

resultsThe results show a significant, negative association between the level of activity-based financing and length of hospital stays for elderly patients who were suffering from ischemic heart diseases. The effect is small, but an increase of 10 percentage points in the activity-based component reduced the average length of each hospital stay by 1.28%.

conclusionsIn a combined financing system such as the one prevailing in Norway, hospitals appear to respond to economic incentives, but the effect of their responses on inpatient cost is relatively meagre. Our results indicate that hospitals still need to discuss guidelines for reducing hospitalisation costs and for increasing hospital activity in terms of number of patients and efficiency.

Indexed as

AgedAged, 80 and overAngina PectorisCatchment Area, HealthCentralized Hospital ServicesCross-Sectional StudiesFemaleFinancial Management, HospitalHeart DiseasesHeart FailureHumansLength of StayMaleMiddle AgedNorwayPatient Transfer

Identifiers

PMID23651910
PMCPMC3651263

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.