Evaluation of the condition of inpatients in acute care hospitals in Japan: A retrospective multicenter descriptive study.

This retrospective, multicenter, descriptive study aimed to evaluate the conditions of inpatients in acute care hospitals using the Severity of a Patient's Condition and Extent of a Patient's Need for Medical/Nursing Care tool. The study included 4 234 253 patients admitted to acute care hospitals in Japan between April 2019 and March 2020. Electrocardiographic monitoring, provision of respiratory care, and administration of antiarrhythmic agent injections and treatment were performed in a sterile room for >20%, >10%, and <1% of patient-days, respectively. More than 40% of inpatients needed support with performing activities of daily living, such as dressing and undressing, turning over, and oral care. The proportion of patients requiring daily medical/nursing care was generally high at the beginning of hospitalization, gradually decreased, and subsequently increased. Patients in acute care hospitals in Japan were not hospitalized unnecessarily early or for inappropriately long periods, and the efficiency of medical care improved over time. The Severity of a Patient's Condition and Extent of a Patient's Need for Medical/Nursing Care tool is useful for evaluating patient conditions in acute care hospitals.

History and Profile of Diagnosis Procedure Combination (DPC): Development of a Real Data Collection System for Acute Inpatient Care in Japan.

DPC, which is an acronym for "Diagnosis Procedure Combination," is a patient classification method developed in Japan for inpatients in the acute phase of illness. It was developed as a measuring tool intended to make acute inpatient care transparent, aiming at standardization of Japanese medical care, as well as evaluation and improvement of its quality. Subsequently, this classification method came to be used in the Japanese medical service reimbursement system for acute inpatient care and appropriate allocation of medical resources. Furthermore, it has recently contributed to the development and maintenance of an appropriate medical care provision system at a regional level, which is accomplished based on DPC data used for patient classification. In this paper, we first provide an overview of DPC. Next, we will look back at over 15 years of DPC history; in particular, we will explore how DPC has been refined to become an appropriate medical service reimbursement system. Finally, we will introduce an outline of DPC-related research, starting with research using DPC data.

Change of foulant concentration in an anaerobic membrane bioreactor.

Anaerobic membrane bioreactors (AnMBRs) have many advantages, such as producing methane gas for energy generation and little excess sludge. However, membrane fouling is a serious problem because the foulant, which causes the membrane to foul, may get rejected by the membrane and accumulate in the reactor, resulting in an acceleration of membrane fouling. However, there is no information related to a change in the foulant concentration in an AnMBR. Therefore, we examined the changes in the foulant concentration in the reactor, related to membrane fouling in an AnMBR. For the influent, reactor solution, and effluent, the concentration of each component of the foulant was analyzed by using a liquid chromatography-organic carbon detector (LC-OCD). It was found that fouling in the AnMBR was closely related to the components in the reactor, and the main foulant of the ultrafiltration (UF) membrane was biopolymers (BPs). BP accumulated in the reactor because of a high rejection by the UF membrane. However, once the BP accumulated in the reactor was biodegraded, the concentration of BP decreased with time even under a high organic loading rate of 1.9kg TOC/m3/day.

The relationship between sedative drug utilization and outcomes in critically ill patients undergoing mechanical ventilation.

OBJECTIVES: The objectives of this study were to describe current sedative drug utilization patterns in critically ill patients undergoing mechanical ventilation (MV) in intensive care units (ICUs) in Japanese hospitals and to elucidate the relationship of these utilization patterns with patient clinical outcomes. METHOD: Analysis of hospital claims data derived from the Quality Indicator/Improvement Project identified 12,395 critically ill adult patients who had undergone MV while hospitalized in the ICUs of 114 Japanese hospitals and had been discharged between April 2008 and March 2010. Descriptive statistics were calculated for the daily utilization of sedative drugs, opioids, and muscle relaxants in this patient sample, and the relationship between drug utilization and patient outcomes using Cox proportional hazards analysis were examined. RESULTS: Of the 12,395 patients included in the analysis, 7300 (58.9 %), 580 (4.7 %), and 671 (5.4 %) received sedative drugs, opioids, and muscle relaxants, respectively, for ≥2 days after intubation. Compared to the other patient groups, there was a higher proportion of males in the group given sedative drugs and the patients were significantly younger (P < 0.001). Propofol was the most frequently used sedative drug, followed by benzodiazepines, barbiturates, and dexmedetomidine. The mortality rate was lower and ventilator weaning was earlier among patients who received only propofol than among those who received only benzodiazepines. Muscle relaxants were associated with increased duration of MV. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first study based on a large-scale analysis in Japan to elucidate sedative drug utilization patterns and their relationship with outcomes in critically ill patients. The most commonly used sedative was propofol, which was associated with favorable patient outcomes. Further prospective research must be conducted to discern effective sedative drug utilization.

[Lifetime medical expenditures of smokers and nonsmokers].

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to examine which of the two groups have higher lifetime medical expenditures; male smokers or male nonsmokers. We conducted this investigation using a Japanese single cohort database to calculate long-term medical expenditures and 95% confidence intervals. METHODS: We first constructed life tables for male smokers and male nonsmokers from the age of 40 years after analyzing their mortality rates. Next, we calculated the average annual medical expenditures of each of the two groups, categorized into survivors and deceased. Finally, we calculated long-term medical expenditures and performed sensitivity analyses. RESULTS: The results showed that although smokers had generally higher annual medical expenditures than nonsmokers, the former's lifetime medical expenditure was slightly lower than the latter's because of a shorter life expectancy that resulted from a higher mortality rate. Sensitivity analyses did not reverse the order of the two lifetime medical expenditures. CONCLUSIONS: In conclusion, although smoking may not result in an increase in lifetime medical expenditures, it is associated with diseases, decreased life expectancy, lower quality of life (QOL), and generally higher annual medical expenditures. It is crucial to promote further tobacco control strategically by maximizing the use of available data.

Impact of treatment policies on patient outcomes and resource utilization in acute cholecystitis in Japanese hospitals.

BACKGROUND: Although currently available evidence predominantly recommends early laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) for the treatment of acute cholecystitis, this strategy has not been widely adopted in Japan. Herein, we describe a hospital-based study of patients with acute cholecystitis in 9 Japanese teaching hospitals in order to evaluate the impact of different institutional strategies in treating acute cholecystitis on overall patient outcomes and medical resource utilization. METHODS: From an administrative database and chart review, we identified 228 patients diagnosed with acute cholecystitis who underwent cholecystectomy between April 2001 and June 2003. In order to examine the relationship between hospitals' propensity to perform LC and patient outcomes and/or medical resource utilization, we divided the hospitals into three groups according to the observed to expected ratio of performing LC (LC propensity), and compared the postoperative complication rate, length of hospitalization (LOS), and medical charges. RESULTS: No hospital adopted the policy of early surgery, and the mean overall LOS among the subjects was 30.9 days. The use of laparoscopic surgery varied widely across the hospitals; the adjusted rates of LC to total cholecystectomies ranged from 9.5% to 77%. Although intra-operative complication rate was significantly higher among patients whom LC was initially attempted when compared to those whom OC was initially attempted (9.7% vs. 0%), there was no significant association between LC propensity and postoperative complication rates. Although the postoperative time to oral intake and postoperative LOS was significantly shorter in hospitals with high use of LC, the overall LOS did not differ among hospital groups with different LC propensities. Medical charges were not associated with LC propensity. CONCLUSION: Under the prevailing policy of delayed surgery, in terms of the postoperative complication rate and medical resource utilization, our study did not show the superiority of LC in treating acute cholecystitis patients. The timing of surgery and discharge was mainly determined by the institutional policy in Japan, rather than by the clinical course of the patient; however, considering the substantially less postoperative pain and shorter recovery time of LC compared to OC, LC should be actively applied for the treatment of acute cholecystitis. If the policy of early surgery were universally applied, the advantage of LC over OC may be more clearly demonstrated.

Health Economics of Nutrition Intervention in Asia: Cost of Malnutrition.

Asia has recorded the fastest economic growth in the world. However, some countries are still struggling with economic stagnation and poverty. Even in the emerging countries, there are economic disparities between urban and rural areas within a country. Reflecting the situations, nutritional issues in Asia came to be the antithetical situation of excess and insufficiency. The rate of overweight and obesity keeps increasing, especially in emerging countries. Meanwhile, underweight is still a critical problem in the region. Although the importance of nutrition is well recognized for social and economic development, it is difficult to identify the immediate outcome of nutrition interventions. Evidence-based decision-making is an important element of quality health care and efficiency and effectiveness are always key words. Along with enhanced attention to accountability and transparency of budget use in health services, attention to the economic evaluation of nutrition interventions has increased in recent years. In this symposium, we will review the current situation of nutritional issues and economic evaluation of nutrition interventions in Asia through experience of an international organization, the basis and trends for health care economics, and also efforts have been made in an Asian country. Discussion will be made about efficient and effective ways to evaluate projects/programmes for nutrition improvement.

Visualizing variations in organizational safety culture across an inter-hospital multifaceted workforce.

RATIONALE, AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: To develop a reliable and valid questionnaire that can distinguish features of organizational culture for patient safety across subgroups such as hospitals, professions, management/non-management positions and units/wards. METHODS: We developed a Hospital Organizational Culture Questionnaire based on a conceptual framework incorporating items from a review of existing literature. The questionnaire was administered to hospital staff including doctors, nurses, allied health personnel, and administrative staff at six public hospitals in Japan. Reliability and validity were assessed through exploratory factor analysis, multitrait scaling analysis, Cronbach's alpha coefficient and multiple regression analysis using staff-perceived achievement of safety as the response variable. Discriminative power across subgroups was assessed with radar chart profiling. RESULTS: Of the 3304 hospital staff surveyed, 2924 (88.5%) responded. After exploratory factor analysis and multitrait analysis, the finalized questionnaire was composed of 24 items in the following eight dimensions: improvement orientation, passion for mission, professional growth, resource allocation prioritization, inter-sectional collaboration, responsibility and authority, teamwork, and information sharing. Construct validity and internal consistency of dimensions were confirmed with multitrait analysis and Cronbach's alpha coefficients, respectively. Multiple regression analysis showed that improvement orientation, passion for mission, resource allocation prioritization and information sharing were significantly associated with higher achievement in safety practices. Our questionnaire tool was able to distinguish features of safety culture among different subgroups. CONCLUSIONS: Our questionnaire demonstrated excellent validity and reliability, and revealed distinct cultural patterns among different subgroups. Quantitative assessment of organizational safety culture with this tool may further the understanding of associated characteristics of each subgroup and provide insight into organizational readiness for patient safety improvement.

Patient perceived priorities between technical skills and interpersonal skills: their influence on correlates of patient satisfaction.

OBJECTIVES: The study objective was to elucidate the differences in factors related to overall patient satisfaction levels among subgroups based on whether patients placed higher priorities on technical or interpersonal skills of health care personnel. METHODS: This questionnaire survey targeted 2341 patients discharged from five Japanese hospitals in 2007. Patients were grouped based on whether they prioritized technical or interpersonal skills by chi-squared automatic interaction detection (CHAID) analysis. Multiple regression analysis was used to compare and evaluate differences in various factors related to patient satisfaction among the subgroups. RESULTS: Survey respondent rate was 55.7% (1305 patients). CHAID analysis showed that patients, in particular those warded in surgery departments, tended to place a higher value on technical skills, although paediatric and rehabilitation patients also placed a high value on interpersonal skills. While it has been shown that non-surgical patients tended to prioritize interpersonal skills, our results revealed that patients warded in the surgery department who did not undergo operations still prioritized technical skills. These variation patterns among patient subgroups were further supported by regression analysis of overall patient satisfaction. In surgical patients, the 40- to 79-year-old subgroup regarded technical skills to be more important and the role of the doctor was found to be more associated with overall satisfaction. However, even among surgical patients, older patients placed higher values on interpersonal skills, and overall satisfaction was found to be more associated with health care professionals (besides doctors) and living arrangements. CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that differences in patient satisfaction levels could be influenced by different perspectives on prioritized skills.

Difference in lifetime medical expenditures between male smokers and non-smokers.

OBJECTIVES: It is controversial whether smokers have higher lifetime medical expenditures than non-smokers, because smokers have high annual medical expenditures but comparatively short lives. We examined differences in lifetime medical expenditures between them. METHODS: We constructed life tables for male smokers and non-smokers from 40 years of age. We calculated average annual medical expenditures of them categorized by survivors and deceased, which were used to examine differences in lifetime medical expenditures between them and perform sensitivity analyses. RESULTS: Smokers had a higher mortality rate, shorter life expectancy, and generally higher annual medical expenditures than non-smokers. We also observed tendencies for smokers to have higher inpatient expenditures, but non-smokers to have higher outpatient expenditures. Although non-smokers had lower long-term cumulative medical expenditures between 64 and 81 years of age, their lifetime medical expenditures were higher by a minimal amount. Sensitivity analyses did not change this result. CONCLUSIONS: Smoking may not cause increases in lifetime medical expenditures because smokers had lower lifetime medical expenditures than non-smokers. However, it was clear that smokers, especially survivors, often had higher annual medical expenditures than non-smokers. The importance of tobacco control is still relevant.

The subjective incremental cost of informed consent and documentation in hospital care: a multicentre questionnaire survey in Japan.

OBJECTIVE: To reveal the amount of time and financial cost required to obtain informed consent and to preserve documentation. METHODS: The questionnaire was delivered to all staff in six acute care public hospitals in Japan. We examined health care staff perceptions of the time they spent obtaining informed consent and documenting information. All data were collected in 2006 and estimates in the past week in 2006 were compared to estimates of time spent in a week in 1999. We also calculated the economic costs of incremental amounts of time spent in these procedures. RESULTS: In 2006, health care staff took about 3.89 hours [95% Confidence Interval (CI) 3.71-4.07] per week to obtain informed consent and 6.64 hours (95% CI 6.40-6.88) per week to write documentation on average. Between 1999 and 2006, the average amount of time for conducting informed consent was increased to 0.67 (P < 0.001) hours per person-week, and the average amount of time for documentation was increased to 0.70 (P < 0.001) hours per person-week. The annual economic cost of activities for informed consent and documentation in a 100-bed hospital increased from 117 755 to 449 402 US dollars. CONCLUSIONS: We found a considerable increase in time spent on informed consent and documentation, and associated cost over a 7-year time period. Although greater attention to the informed consent process should be paid to ensure the notions of patient autonomy and self-determination, the increased resources devoted to these practices must be considered in light of current cost containment policies.