Evidence map›Paper›PMID 30105098›Full record

ArticleEmergency medicine international2018

Payment Reforms for Prehospital Care Services in a Middle Income Country: Assessing Implementation and Patient Outcomes Using a Mixed-Methods Approach.

Paibul Suriyawongpaisal, Samrit Srithamrongsawad, Pongsakorn Atiksawedparit, Khanisthar Phooseemungkun, Krongkan Bunchaiyai, Thanita Thongtan

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Emergency medicine international, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–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

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
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

6 authors.

Paibul SuriyawongpaisalDepartment of Community Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Ramathibodi Hospital, Mahidol University, Rama 6, Ratchatewi, Bangkok, Thailand.ORCID 0000-0002-4239-0233
Samrit SrithamrongsawadDepartment of Community Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Ramathibodi Hospital, Mahidol University, Rama 6, Ratchatewi, Bangkok, Thailand.
Pongsakorn AtiksawedparitDepartment of Emergency Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Ramathibodi Hospital, Mahidol University, Rama 6, Ratchatewi, Bangkok, Thailand.
Khanisthar PhooseemungkunNational Institute of Emergency Medicine, Ministry of Public Health, Tiwanond, Muang, Nonthaburi, Thailand.
Krongkan BunchaiyaiNational Institute of Emergency Medicine, Ministry of Public Health, Tiwanond, Muang, Nonthaburi, Thailand.
Thanita ThongtanDepartment of Physiology, Faculty of Science, Mahidol University, 272 Rama 6 Rd, Rajathevi, Bangkok 10400, Thailand.ORCID 0000-0002-0729-2451

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionFinancing health systems constitutes a key element of well-functioning healthcare system. Prior to 2015, two new financial arrangements (direct-pay and E-claim systems) were introduced on a voluntary basis which aimed to pool more financial resources and improve cash flow of prehospital care systems. The aims of this study were to (1) assess the effects of direct-pay system in terms of (a) timeliness of reimbursement to EMS agencies, (b) changes in clinical care processes, and (c) the outcomes of patient care as compared to previous system; (2) identify the reasons for or against EMS agencies to participate in direct-pay system mechanisms; (3) identify the emerging issues with potential to significantly further the advancement of EMS systems. Using a mixed-methods approach, retrospective datasets of 3,769,399 individual records of call responses from 2015 to 2017 were analyzed which compared EMS units with the direct-pay system against those without in terms of time flow of claim data and patient outcomes. For qualitative data, in-depth interviews were conducted.

resultsEMS units participating in both systems had the highest percentages of financial claim being made in time as compared to those not participating in any (p=0.012). However, there were not any practically meaningful differences between EMS units participating and not participating in either of the payment systems in terms of patient care such as appropriateness of response time, airway management, and outcome of treatment. Analysis of data from focus-group and individual interviews ended up with a causal loop diagram demonstrating potential explanatory mechanisms for those findings.

conclusionIt is evident that progress has been made in terms of mobilising more financial inputs and improving financial information flow. However, there is no evidence of any changes in patient outcomes and quality of care. Furthermore, whether the progress is meaningful in filling the gaps of financial demands of the prehospital care systems is still questionable. Room for future improvement of prehospital care systems was discussed with implications for other countries.

Identifiers

PMID30105098
PMCPMC6076922

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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.