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Objectives The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is actively testing bundled payments models. This study sought to identify relevant details for 90-day post-discharge Emergency Department (ED) visits of Medicare beneficiaries following total joint replacement (TJR) surgery meeting eligibility for a CMS bundled payment program. Methods The CMS research identifiable file for the State of Texas for 2011-2012 was used to identify patients who underwent TJR. Qualifying inpatient claims were linked to 90-day post-discharge ED claims. The claims associated with live discharge were divided into three cohorts; elective total hip replacement (THR), emergent (THR) and total knee replacement (TKR). The frequency, distribution, diagnoses, and disposition for these ED visits were identified and stratified by timing within the post-discharge period as well as discharge diagnosis. Visits were correlated with age, gender, joint replaced, and fracture. Results There were 50,838 TJR surgeries in Texas in 2011-2012 that would have been eligible for inclusion in the CMS defined CJR program. A total of 12,747 ED visits by 9,299 patients occurred in the 90-days post-discharge period. Visits to the ED by patients 85 and older predominated in the case of THR performed secondary to a hip fracture. Patients 65-74 predominated in both elective surgery categories. There were 2370 ED visits within 90 days of 10,786 elective total hip replacements; of which 55.5% were discharged home, 34.6% were hospitalized or transferred and 6.9% were admitted to observation. Of the 3438 ED visits among 8475 emergent hip replacement cases; 22.4% were discharged home, 50.2% were hospitalized or transferred and 5.3% were admitted to observation. Of the 6939 visits among 31,387 knee replacement cases; 61.9% were discharged home, 30.6% were readmitted or transferred, and 7.1% were admitted to observation. The discharge diagnoses varied by volume and timing in the post-discharge period. The most prevalent diagnoses across groups included injury/trauma, physiologic decompensation, cardiopulmonary events, and infection. Conclusions ED services are frequent for Medicare total joint replacement bundle-eligible patients within the post-discharge period. ED utilization, discharge diagnosis and disposition varied by age, and elective and emergent surgeries. The ED is an important site for identifying and managing post-operative adverse outcomes. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

For rectal cancer, it is unknown how use of radiation, treatment cost, and survival differ based on hospital teaching designation.Private insurance claims data linked with the Pennsylvania Cancer Registry were used to identify rectal cancer patients undergoing surgery from 2004 to 2006. Patients with missing data of interest were excluded. Hospitals were characterized as follows: large (≥200 beds) versus small size (200 beds), teaching versus nonteaching, and urban versus rural. Logistic regression was used to model the use of neoadjuvant radiotherapy, and Cox proportional hazards models were used to compare cancer-specific survival between hospital types.A total of 432 patients were analyzed. There was no difference in the distribution of cancer stages among the various hospital types (all p 0.20). Teaching hospitals were associated with significantly higher utilization of neoadjuvant radiotherapy for stage II and III cancers compared with nonteaching facilities (57 vs. 28 %; p 0.0001). On multivariate analysis, teaching status was the only hospital designation associated with use of neoadjuvant radiation (p 0.001); hospital size and rural/urban designation were not significant. Nonteaching hospitals were more likely to use adjuvant radiotherapy for stage II and III disease (13 vs. 30 %; p 0.01). Teaching hospitals had lower odds of death from rectal cancer when evaluating all stages [hazard ratio (HR) = 0.35; p 0.0001] with similar costs of inpatient treatment (teaching: US $30,769 versus nonteaching: US $26,892; p = 0.22).Teaching designation was associated with higher incidence of neoadjuvant radiotherapy for stage II and III disease, with improved cancer-specific survival compared with nonteaching hospitals, and with similar treatment costs.

We present data on presentation, treatment, and follow-up of 65 pediatric patients with primary hypertension treated over the past 12 years, including initial anthropometric data, pharmacologic treatment, time to control for both systolic and diastolic blood pressure (SBP/DBP), and maintenance of control over time. Data was normalized to standard deviation scores (SDS) for mathematical analysis, and antihypertensive medication dosages were converted to dosage equivalents for a single member of each antihypertensive class. We used multiple regression analysis and Kaplan- Meier survival curves to determine the time to control, medication, and dose effectiveness. Patients were seen for an average of seven visits over 25 months. Initial BPs averaged 134/71 mmHg (2.1/0.6 SDS). Patients were taller, heavier, and had higher body mass index than average for age and sex. By the fourth visit, SBP was90th percentile in 79%. Ninety percent could be controlled, although 32 lost control at some point (at least 16 due to noncompliance). At the last visit, 46 were controlled, and 5/8 patients off medication remained normotensive. Only angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors and beta-blockers demonstrated significant association with BP control. This is the first study to document the time to control of BP, and it can serve as an initial standard for quality assessment.

The availability of psychometrically sound and clinically relevant screening, diagnosis, and outcome evaluation tools is essential to high-quality palliative care assessment and management. Such data will enable us to improve patient evaluations, prognoses, and treatment selections, and to increase patient satisfaction and quality of life. To accomplish these goals, medical care needs more precise, efficient, and comprehensive tools for data acquisition, analysis, interpretation, and management. We describe a system for interactive assessment and management in palliative care (SIAM-PC), which is patient centered, model driven, database derived, evidence based, and technology assisted. The SIAM-PC is designed to reliably measure the multiple dimensions of patients' needs for palliative care, and then to provide information to clinicians, patients, and the patients' families to achieve optimal patient care, while improving our capacity for doing palliative care research. This system is innovative in its application of the state-of-the-science approaches, such as item response theory and computerized adaptive testing, to many of the significant clinical problems related to palliative care.

This article identifies empirically supported techniques for improving medical practice patterns by relying on both The Delta Group's professional change management experience and a thorough review of the literature relating to the essential characteristics of successful change management programs in health care. The purpose of this article is to provide health care professionals with an overview of the various change management techniques that have been widely regarded as having the greatest impact on the clinical and financial success of improvement programs before health care professionals initiate change management activities within their own organization.

The purpose of this case study was to ascertain the perceptions of health professionals who were located in six rural communities where hospital closure occurred, regarding the impact of closure on community residents. These health professionals were asked to respond to questions about effects of hospital closures on the availability of medical services such as emergency care, physician services, hospital services and nursing home care. To control for trends in medical services utilization that were unrelated to hospital closure, the study design included comparison areas where similar hospitals remained open. A standardized questionnaire was administered to three health professionals in each of the areas that experienced a hospital closure and also in the matched comparison areas. Interviews of the health professionals in closure areas provide evidence suggestive of some perceived negative effects of hospital closure on these communities. These negative effects include difficulty recruiting and retaining physicians, concern of residents about the loss of their local emergency room, and increased travel times to receive hospital services. The perceived effects of closure appeared to be mediated by the distance required for travel to the nearest hospital. Respondents perceived increased travel times to most significantly affect vulnerable populations, such as the elderly, the disabled and the economically disadvantaged. Respondents in the majority of comparison areas also reported access barriers for vulnerable populations. These barriers primarily center on problems of obtaining transportation and enduring the rigors of travel. Improvements in the availability of transportation to medical care may offer some stabilization to communities where hospitals closed; however, it also is the case that transportation improvements are needed to increase access to care in rural communities where hospitals remained open.

Article-at-a-Glance Background Today’s information requirements differ from those of the past, in terms of both the internal and external reporting needs of health care organizations. Demands for information are currently generated by physicians, quality managers, total quality management (TQM) teams, marketing staff, financial managers, regulators, insurance plans, accreditation agencies, purchasers, coalitions, and other customers. Discussion Health care organizations respond to these demands in different ways, depending on their size and type. Six aspects of information needs that would be relevant under managed competition are analyzed: standardization, linkages among data banks, risk adjustment, comprehensive institution-based indicators and information systems, comprehensive population-based indicators and information systems, and methods for protecting confidentiality of patient records. Recommendations Six recommendations to hospitals/managed care plans that decide to establish information management systems are made: set goals, set priorities, describe current system, identify external data sources, develop (a plan), and check back (reassess).

The purpose of this article is to briefly review the history of how quality and safety have been addressed in the United States by those who have been teaching medical students and residents, and then discuss why and how this training must change in the future to more effectively address the problems of improving healthcare quality and safety. Although it has become clear that the curriculum in medical schools should encompass quality and safety training, medical schools have been very slow to implement the reforms that are necessary to accomplish such a goal. These changes, although desirable from a rational perspective, involve basic changes in the culture of medical schools and teaching hospitals. Moreover, the cost of implementing these changes would be very large, and, if imposed by outside agencies, would likely constitute an unfunded mandate. It should also be noted that at the present time there are very few people who are well trained to develop and teach these classes. In order to accomplish the goal of improving patient safety, it is essential that we provide much more training and knowledge regarding patient safety to medical students, including knowledge of interventions known to be effective in preventing errors; education in technical performance; information about organizational and team issues; and training in disclosing errors to patients. This training should occur early in the training of professionals, preferably while they are still in school, if such training is to change the culture of medicine. Some suggestions and plans for implementation are discussed, using some innovative programs as examples. Mt Sinai J Med 78:834–841, 2011. © 2011 Mount Sinai School of Medicine

Adoption and meaningful use of electronic health record (EHR) systems is an important national goal. We under- took a pilot study to determine the level of adoption and barriers to implementation of meaningful use (MU) of EHR systems as defined by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) in US radiation oncology practices. Materials and Methods: We administered a Web-based sur- veyinstrumenttoaconveniencesampleof40departmentsofradiation oncology. We determined the current status of EHR system use at each facility, attitudes toward EHR systems, knowledge of MU criteria, plans and barriers to implementation, and whether selected interven- tions would be helpful with regard to compliance with MU criteria. Results: Twenty-one of 40 radiation oncology facilities com- pleted the survey, for a 53% response rate. Respondents were mostly large academic practices with a median of six (range, one to 32) full-time physicians and 70 (range, eight to 650) patients treated daily. Most facilities (81%) currently used an EHR system. The majority (84%) of facilities were aware of MU criteria, and of these, 67% expected to imple- ment MU-compliant systems by the year 1 reporting deadline of October 1, 2011. The most frequently cited barriers to implementation were high cost, difficulty integrating with hospital systems, and a lack of national guidelines for implementation. Conclusion: Most large academic radiation oncology prac- tices have already incorporated EHR systems into practice and plan to meet MU requirements. Further work should focus on assessment of needs for smaller practices. Radiation oncology-specific guidelines may improve widespread adoption.

We compared chronic care utilization in four major health systems in the U.S.: the military health system (TRICARE), the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Medicaid, and employer-sponsored commercial plans. Prevalence rates and key performance indicators were constructed from administrative data in federal fiscal year 2003 for eight chronic conditions: hypertension, major depression, diabetes, tobacco dependence, ischemic heart disease, severe mental illness, persistent asthma, and stroke. Continuously enrolled beneficiaries under 65 years old were studied: TRICARE (N = 2,963,987), VA (N = 2,114,739), Medicaid enrollees in five states (N = 5,554,974), and commercial insurance (N = 5,212,833). Condition-specific adjusted prevalence rates and measures were compared using the standardized rate ratio. For the majority of the conditions, the estimated prevalence rates were highest in the VA and Medicaid populations. Prevalence rates were generally lower in TRICARE and commercial plans. Medicaid beneficiaries had the highest hospitalization rates in four of the six conditions where hospitalization rates were measured. These results provide empirical evidence of differences in chronically ill patient populations in several of the major U.S. health insurance systems.

This paper reports on the development and application of multiple risk-adjusted measures of hospital performance (mortality, readmission, complications). The indices are based on patient-level data so they can be aggregated at any level (hospital, specialty, physician), are easy to use and interpret by hospitals, and provide an inexpensive method for evaluating hospital performance using existing databases. This paper focuses on the development of practical applications of these measures in the quality improvement process.

Changes in care in short-term general hospitals were monitored for three vulnerable subgroups of Medicare psychiatric patients: (1) those more than 75 years old, (2) those with comorbidities, and (3) those with one or more secondary diagnoses of psychiatric or substance abuse problems. Patterns of care studied for changes following institution of the Medicare Prospective Payment System (PPS) were volume of cases, average length of stay, discharge locations, and readmission rates. Results indicate that the changes occurring for the three subgroups were similar to the changes occurring for all Medicare psychiatric patients. After PPS was introduced in 1983, the average length of stay decreased, and a greater proportion of patients were discharged to other hospitals or home health care providers; however, rates of readmission to the same hospital did not increase.

The purpose of this study was to analyze changes in rates of unscheduled readmissions and changes in technical efficiency following the introduction of the Medicare Prospective Payment System (PPS). We developed the RiskAdjusted Readmissions Index (RARI), which allowed us to make comparisons in rates of unanticipated readmissions across hospitals and over time. Data envelopment analysis (DEA), a linear programming technique, was used to measure changes in technical efficiency by comparing the inputs used and the outputs produced across a cohort of hospitals, while adjusting for changes over time in case mix and case complexity. Rates of unscheduled readmissions and efficiency scores were computed for a sample of 245 hospitals for each year. Although both readmission rates and efficiency scores increased for most hospitals, there was no evidence that those hospitals that experienced the greatest increases in efficiency had the largest increases in their rates of unscheduled readmissions.

The proper positioning of patients before direct laryngoscopy is a key step that facilitates tracheal intubation. In obese patients, the 25 degree back-up or head-elevated laryngoscopic position, which is better than the supine position for tracheal intubation, is usually achieved by placing blankets or other devices under the patient's head and shoulders. This position can also be achieved by reconfiguring the normally flat operating room (OR) table by flexing the table at the trunk-thigh hinge and raising the back (trunk) portion of the table (OR table ramp). This table-ramp method can be used without the added expense of positioning devices, and it reduces the possibility of injury to the patient or providers that can occur during removal of such devices once tracheal intubation is achieved. In this study, we sought to determine if the table-ramp method of patient positioning was equivalent to the blanket method with regard to the time required for tracheal intubation.Eighty-five adults with a Body Mass Index30 kg/m(2), scheduled for elective surgery, consented to participate in this prospective randomized equivalence study conducted in a teaching hospital. The randomization scheme used permuted blocks with subjects equally allocated to be positioned using either the blanket method or the table-ramp method. The end-point in either case was to achieve a head-elevated position, where the patient's external auditory meatus and sternal notch were in the same horizontal plane. Although all patients were positioned by the same anesthesiologist, laryngoscopy and tracheal intubation were performed by trainees with various levels of expertise. Standard i.v. induction and tracheal intubation techniques were used. The time from loss of consciousness to the time after tracheal intubation when end-tidal CO(2) was detected was recorded. The effectiveness of mask ventilation and quality of laryngeal exposure were also noted.The mean time (SD) to tracheal intubation was 175 (66) s in the blanket group, as compared to 163 (71) s in the table-ramp group. Assuming the bounds for equivalence are -55,55 s, our study found a 95% confidence interval of -36.22, 13.52 s using two one-sided tests for equivalence corresponding to a significance level of 0.05. There was no difference in the number of attempts at laryngoscopy (P = 0.21) and tracheal intubation (P = 0.76) required to secure the airway between the two groups.Before induction of anesthesia, obese patients can be positioned with their head elevated above their shoulders on the operating table, on a ramp created by placing blankets under their upper body or by reconfiguring the OR table. For the purpose of direct laryngoscopy and tracheal intubation, these two methods are equivalent.

In this study we used information from discharge abstracts to develop three different risk-adjusted measures of hospital performance: a Risk-Adjusted Mortality Index, a Risk-Adjusted Readmissions Index, and a Risk-Adjusted Complications Index. The adjustments have face validity, and appear to account for much of the variation across hospitals in the rates of these adverse events. The indexes are stable over time, and are not biased with respect to hospital size, ownership, or teaching status. All three indexes appear to have construct validity when tested against the changes in hospital care that occurred when PPS was introduced.

To study the effectiveness of patient physician communications regarding health care choices at the end of life. We studied communications occurring between physicians and their patients who had either terminal cancer or congestive heart failure, with less than 6 months to live.This pilot study used in-person interviews with 22 physicians and 71 of their (matched) patients. Subjects provided paired responses to questions regarding their conversations related to end-of-life care, including resources, attitudes, and preferences. We calculated the concordance of patient and physician reports about these discussions. We examined the physicians' and the patients' agreement on the patient's diagnosis, and on whether a variety of care options were discussed. We then measured whether physicians' were aware of their patients' preferences for pain management and for place of death. Finally, we measured physicians' knowledge of whether religious/spiritual concerns or financial concerns had affected their patients' decisions regarding end-of-life care. Both bivariate and multivariate models were used.As a whole, the concordance scores were poor; however, concordance varied across domains of issues discussed. Patients with less education had significantly lower concordance scores.We have identified domains in which the physicians and patients may be least effective in discussing end-of-life care options. Findings may help in designing interventions to improve communication, especially for patients with less education.

Objective: To profile communication and recommendations reported by adults with terminal illness and explore differences by patient and physician characteristics. Method: This pilot was a cross-sectional study sample of 90 patients (39 Caucasian, 51 African American) with advanced heart failure or cancer. Participants completed an in-person, race-matched interview. Results: Participation was high (94%). Discussion about end-of-life topics was low. For example, only 30% reported discussion of advance directives, and 22% reported their physician inquired about spiritual support. Participants with cancer were significantly more likely to be receiving pain and/or symptom management at home, aware of prognosis, and participating in hospice. African American participants who were under the care of African American physicians were less likely to report pain and/or symptom management than other racial matches. Discussion: Although additional research on factors related to communication is important, initiation of patient-centered counseling by all physicians with seriously ill patients is essential.

Objectives: To describe physicians' end-of-life practices, perceptions regarding end-of-life care and characterize differences based upon physician specialty and demographic characteristics. To illuminate physicians' perceptions about differences among their African-American and Caucasian patients' preferences for end-of-life care.Design and methods: Twenty-four African-American and 16 Caucasian physicians (N= 40) participated in an in-person interview including 23 primary care physicians, 7 cardiologists, and 10 oncologists. Twenty-four practices were in urban areas and 16 were in rural counties.Results: Physicians perceived racial differences in preferences for end-of-life care between their Caucasian and African-American patients. Whereas oncologists and primary care physicians overwhelmingly reported having working relationships with hospice, only 57% of cardiologists reported having those contacts. African-American physicians were more likely than Caucasian physicians to perceive racial differences in their patients preferences for pain medication.Significance of results: Demographic factors such as race of physician and patient may impact the provider's perspective on end-of-life care including processes of care and communication with patients.

BACKGROUND Multiple treatment guidelines and practice standards have been developed regarding the management of patients with breast carcinoma. Few evaluations of the penetration and utility of these practice standards have been performed. In 1992, the American College of Surgeons (ACOS), the American College of Radiology, the College of American Pathologists, and the Society of Surgical Oncology collaborated in establishing standards for breast-conservation treatment (BCT). The authors sought to determine whether practice patterns for patients with breast carcinoma who underwent BCT were consistent with these standards 2 years after their dissemination and to establish whether compliance varied by the same patient and hospital variables that predicted for the amount of BCT performed. METHODS A study specific questionnaire was circulated to cancer registrars through the Commission on Cancer of the ACOS asking them to submit reports on patients with Stage I and II breast carcinoma who were diagnosed in 1994. Eight hundred forty-two predominantly community hospitals throughout the United States responded, yielding a total of 16,643 analyzable patients. The frequency of compliance to the 1992 published practice standards for 7097 patients who received BCT was determined. The variation in compliance rates by patient age, race, and insurance status and the treating hospital's geographic locations and cancer programs were evaluated. RESULTS Of the 22 standards that were evaluated in the areas of preoperative mammography (2 standards), labeling of the surgical specimen (3 standards), pathology report content (10 standards), radiation after lumpectomy (6 standards), and systemic therapy for patients with positive lymph nodes (1 standard), treatment adherence was ≥ 80% for 16 standards (73%). Poor compliance was demonstrated for six standards: the documentation of an abnormality's size in the mammogram report, labeling the lumpectomy specimen with the affected quadrant of the breast, spatial orientation of the lumpectomy specimen and inclusion of lymphatic/vascular invasion, ductal carcinoma in situ, and macroscopic margin assessment in the pathology report. Variation in compliance to a standard occurred frequently across the type of hospital cancer program and geographic region (77% for both), and variation occurred less across the patient variables of age (32%), race (41%), and payer (23%). There was not a pattern of more frequent compliance among variables associated with more BCT use. CONCLUSIONS Large-scale evaluation of the penetration of treatment standards is feasible. For patients who underwent lumpectomy, practice appeared to be consistent (≥ 80% compliance), with 73% of 22 treatment standards evaluated. The standards with poor compliance represent areas for targeted physician education and reevaluation. Significant differences in adherence to a standard were seen frequently based on a hospital's geographic location and type of cancer program. This emphasizes the importance of adequate dissemination of treatment standards to ensure penetration into medical practices of all types.Cancer 2003;97:893–904. © 2003 American Cancer Society. DOI 10.1002/cncr.11141

This study examines how the volume of privately insured services provided in hospital inpatient and outpatient departments changes in response to reductions in Medicare physician payments. We hypothesize that physicians consider relative payment rates when choosing which patients to treat in their practices. When Medicare reduces its payments for surgical procedures, as it did in the late 1980s, physicians are predicted to treat more privately insured patients because they become more lucrative. We use data from 182 hospitals for seventeen major procedures groups, covering a forty-five-month period between 1988 and 1991 that encompasses a twenty-four-month period before the reduction in Medicare fees and twenty-one months after the reduction. Our findings are consistent with the predictions for a number of procedure groups, but not for all of them. One implication of the findings is that societal savings from Medicare fee reductions are overstated if one does not also consider spillover effects in the private insurance market.

This study analyzes whether physicians charge their privately insured patients more—a practice known as cost shifting—in response to Medicare payment reductions. As part of congressional legislation in 1989 and 1990, Medicare reduced its payment rates for selected procedures by as much as 30 percent. Here we examine whether reductions in Medicare rates increase how much physicians charge privately insured patients. Our data provide no evidence that physicians respond to Medicare payment reductions by shifting costs to their privately insured patients.

This study describes patterns of antiviral drug use for patients hospitalized with chickenpox, herpes simplex, and herpes zoster infections, and also for a subgroup of herpes patients with severe infections (systemic infections, eye infections, encephalitis, hemorrhagic pneumonitis, and other severe conditions). Our findings demonstrate that there is great deal of variation in the use of antiviral drugs for these herpes patients, and that much of this variation is apparently unrelated to medical indications for antiviral drug use. Instead, patterns of use are associated with patient characteristics (age, race) and with hospital characteristics (location, teaching status, number of beds). Because these drugs are effective when used properly, treatment guidelines and protocols may be needed so that improved drug use will produce better patient outcomes.

The Healthcare Quality Educational Foundation (HQEF), in its quest to identify formal educational opportunities for healthcare quality leaders, determined that academia lacked a standardized curriculum for healthcare quality management. Because a majority of the members of the National Association for Healthcare Quality (NAHQ) expressed a need for master's degree programs, the foundation appointed a committee composed of academicians and quality management professionals to define a curriculum appropriate for a master's degree program with a concentration in healthcare quality management. This article identifies the HQEF's goals and outlines the activities undertaken by the committee to define guidelines for colleges and universities interested in developing master's degree programs.

We discuss some of the challenges facing hospitals in developed nations, with special attention to the need to monitor and evaluate hospital performance. In particular, there is a need for quality indicators that measure the effects of treatment, and are risk-adjusted, so that valid comparisons of outcomes can be made across hospitals that treat different types of patients. Until recently, only very crude quality Indicators have been available for comparing the performance of different hospitals. We describe three risk-adjusted Indices for comparing the outcomes of hospital care, focusing on the construction and validation of these measures. We discuss the uses of these tools for Identifying problems and for monitoring outcomes of care within a hospital, including screening medical records for peer review, identifying variations in outcomes across various subgroups of physicians, and comparing changes in outcomes following various changes in the delivery system. Possible applications at the regional, national and international levels are then discussed, with special emphasis on the use of these tools for measuring the size of the gap between the efficacy of a technology, aa determined through randomized controlled trials under stringent protocols, and the effectiveness of the same technology once It is exported, and then used under true practice conditions in another country.

This paper describes the development of risk-adjusted mortality indices (RAMI) using 1985 MEDPAR data from 657 hospitals. The RAMI methodology is adopted from the Commission on Professional and Hospital Activities, however, both inhospital and post-discharge deaths are counted within time windows that vary by clinical condition. Five different RAMI measures (expected deaths/observed deaths) are developed, compared, and aggregated into various hospital characteristic strata. These measures vary by which discharge is held responsible for deaths within a time window, and whether or not inhospital deaths that occur beyond the time window are included. The RAMIs using varying time windows are compared with the RAMIs based upon inhospital deaths only. The inhospital RAMI was higher for the nonteaching hospitals (.95) as compared with the major and minor teaching institutions (.91 and .89). The RAMIs using the varying time windows, on the other hand, tend to be higher for the teaching institutions (e.g., 1.07 for major teaching hospitals; 0.99 for nonteaching hospitals).

The Commission on Professional and Hospital Activities (CPHA) developed the Risk-Adjusted Mortality Index (RAMI), a method for comparing hospital death rates using existing abstract or billing data. The method is comprehensive insofar as it includes all payers and all types of cases except neonates. RAMI was designed to differentiate among admissions on the basis of the patient characteristics that increase or reduce the risk of dying in the hospital. Using a large national data base, risk factors were determined empirically within each of 310 clusters based on diagnosis-related groups (DRGs). The model was very effective at predicting risk-adjusted outcomes, with a correlation of 0.98 between actual and predicted deaths in a sample of 300 hospitals. RAMI appears to be a powerful tool for using existing data to monitor changes over time in hospital death rates.

The results suggest that Prospective Payment System (PPS) prompted a reduction in the proportion of Medicare patients that were discharged, for whom the hospital considered the episode of care to be completed. The results also show a reduction in the proportion of patients discharged dead. When controlling for patient type, the results support the findings, but the magnitude of the change that might be attributed to PPS is somewhat smaller. Proportional changes in the input measures for all patients were next considered. The results indicate that fewer diagnostic tests, fewer laboratory tests, and fewer x-rays were used in 1984. Laboratory tests showed the most dramatic decrease. LOS decreased, but the drug input remained fairly constant. A productivity index that reflects the change in the input measure while controlling for patient type was developed. The results provide strong evidence of a productivity increase in all products for Medicare patients. The drug input did not contribute to the productivity increase. The 50 most frequent DRGs for Medicare patients were examined separately for productivity changes by product. The results further support the findings of an increase in productivity.

The present Medicare Diagnosis Related Group (DRG) classification system contains 95 DRG pairs, where one DRG of the pair contains patients within a distinct diagnostic category who are under 70 years of age with no comorbidities or complications (CCs). The other DRG of the pair contains patients in the same diagnostic category who are over 69 or who have CCs. This study examines whether it is appropriate for reimbursement purposes to group those patients who are 70 years of age or older but have no CCs with patients who have CCs. Our findings show that age alone, in the absence of CCs, increases length of stay and cost of care only slightly. In fact, using only CCs as a classification variable reduces the within-group variance more than the present classification based on both age and CCs. Therefore, it is inappropriate to group Medicare patients who are older than 70 years of age without CCs with Medicare patients who have CCs.