RESUMO
Background: CardioMEMS is a device suitable for telemedicine that is currently being evaluated by the Regional Health Technology Assessment (HTA) Committee of Tuscany. Two detailed HTA reports are available in the specialized literature, the results of which need to be transferred to our regional setting. These decisions in Tuscany are made by the so-called Centro Operativo HTA. Aim: To validate, with local cost-effectiveness data, the decision on CardioMEMS that will be made in the Tuscany region. Methods: Two detailed international HTA reports were rearranged and adapted to our regional setting to generate a simplified analysis that could form the basis of our decision. Two willingness-to-pay (WTP) thresholds of 20,000/quality-adjusted life year (QALY) and 50,000/QALY were considered. Results: Based on epidemiological and regulatory information, the target population in Tuscany for this device is 166 cases. The value-based price of CardioMEMS is estimated to be 4,332 and 16,662 at WTP thresholds of 20,000/QALY and 50,000/QALY, respectively. Its current price in Italy is 12,000. Conclusion: In our region, the introduction of CardioMEMS is likely to be gradual, around 50 patients/year (or 0.60 million/year at current price). This example highlights the need to adapt the information published in the international literature to the local context in which the approval decision is made. In this context, simplified analyses are easier to apply than complex Markov models.
RESUMO
BACKGROUND: The Italian National Health System was revised in the last 20 years, introducing new elements such as efficacy, efficiency and competitiveness. Devolution to regional authorities has created a quasi-market system where patients can choose the hospital in which to be treated. Patient mobility therefore becomes an indicator of perceived hospital quality and of financial flows between the regions of Italy. Previous studies analyzed patient mobility in general or by specific disease/diagnosis-related groups but there is a lack of research on the influence of severity of patient condition. The aim of the study was to describe patient mobility, crude and stratified by disease severity, in cardiac surgery units of three health areas (HAs) in Tuscany (Italy). METHODS: In this retrospective observational study, data was gathered from hospital discharge records obtained from the Tuscan Regional Health Agency, Italy. The three HAs (HA1, HA2, HA3) recorded 25,017 planned hospitalizations in cardiac surgery units in the period 2001-2007. Patients were stratified in four All Patient Refined Diagnosis Related Group (APR-DRG) severity levels. Gandy's nomogram was used to describe how HAs met health care demand and their capacity to attract patients. Cuzick's test was used to identify significant differences in time trends. RESULTS: Raw data showed that the HAs met their own local health care demand. Stratifying by APR-DRG severity, it emerged that capacity to meet local demand remained unchanged for zero-to-minor severity levels, but one HA was less able to meet demand for moderate severity levels or to attract patients from other HAs and Regions of Italy. In fact, HA3 showed a decrease in admissions of local residents. CONCLUSIONS: The study highlights important differences between the three HAs that were only revealed by severity stratification: unlike HA3, HA1 and HA2 seemed able to deal with local demand, even after severity stratification. Planners and researchers can benefit from risk stratification data, which provides more elements for correct comparisons and interventions. In the context of patient mobility, the present study is a step in that direction.
Assuntos
Acessibilidade aos Serviços de Saúde , Cardiopatias , Risco Ajustado , Viagem , Atenção à Saúde , Cardiopatias/cirurgia , Humanos , Classificação Internacional de Doenças , Itália , Nomogramas , Pesquisa Qualitativa , Estudos RetrospectivosRESUMO
The availability of Electronic Health Archives (EHA) has increased remarkably over the last twenty years. As part of a joint project of the Italian Association of Epidemiology (AIE) and the Italian Association of Medical Statistics and Clinical Epidemiology (SISMEC), a workgroup of experts was set up in 2005 with the aim of comparing various experiences and of standardizing the procedures by which electronic sources can be integrated. In particular, the workgroup's aim was to estimate the frequency of certain major diseases using standard algorithms applied to EHA. This volume is published with the purpose of making available in a common publication the methods and the results obtained. The results from a multicentre study using a standard approach to probabilistic record-linkage procedures are also included in a specific chapter. Eleven Italian centres from five Italian regions with an overall population of 11,932,026 collected and treated more than 21,374,426 records (year 2003) from five electronic information sources: death certificates, hospital discharge records (including outpatient discharges), drug prescriptions, tax- exemptions, and pathology records in order to estimate the frequency of the following diseases: diabetes, ischemic heart diseases, acute myocardial infarction, stroke, asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, obstructive lung diseases. For each pathology a specific algorithm was developed and used by all centres for the identification of the prevalent/incident cases of the selected diseases. Standardized methods were used to estimate the rates. The results confirm the need for a common standard approach to produce estimates based on EHA, considering the variability of the quality and of the completeness of the archives, and the difficulties of standardizing record-linkage operations in the various centres. The main achievement of this work was the elimination of the variability due to the use of different algorithms to identify cases using EHA.
Assuntos
Arquivos , Coleta de Dados/estatística & dados numéricos , Processamento Eletrônico de Dados/instrumentação , Epidemiologia/instrumentação , Epidemiologia/estatística & dados numéricos , Objetivos , Indicadores Básicos de Saúde , Área Programática de Saúde , Humanos , Itália/epidemiologia , Prontuários Médicos/estatística & dados numéricosRESUMO
AIM: to define an algorithm and implement it in various areas of Italy, in order to evaluate acute stroke incidence through current databases. SETTING: Lazio, Tuscana , Venezia AULSS 12, Torino ASL 5. PARTICIPANTS: resident-based population in the above mentioned 4 areas during 2002-2004. MAIN OUTCOME: Annual and triennal incidence rate (crude and standardized per 100,000 inhabitants with 95% CI) by sex and age classes (0-14, 15-34, 35-54, 55-64, 65-74, 75-84, 85+), standardized rate of mortality by sex and areas. METHODS: acute stroke incident cases during 2002-2004 in the 4 Italian areas were identified through hospitalization databases (SDO) and death causes (CM). The selection was made including hospitalization cases (no outpatients) and deceased people with a discharge or death code ICD9-CM 430*, 431*, 434*, 436* with no hospitalization for stroke diagnosis in the previous 60 months. Moreover, patients with 438* codes in secondary diagnoses and patients with hospital discharge from rehabilitation or long-hospital units were excluded. RESULTS: men have a higher crude incidence rate than women (+30%). The age-specific rates show a large variability among the areas for elderly people (65+ for men and 75+ for women), with higher rates in Toscana in both genders (cases per 100,000 inhabitants: 260.1 men; 193.1 women). Intermediate values were found in Torino and in Lazio; the lowest values are reported in Venezia (men: 182.5; women: 1368). Standardized mortality rates also present higher mortality levels in the two regional areas (Lazio and Toscana) and lower levels in the two urban areas (Torino and Venezia). CONCLUSIONS: It is not easy to evaluate the algorithm. Results seem compatible enough with other studies and show a certain consistency with current mortality data. Different socio-economical characteristics could account for differences in the estimated incidence among areas. However, diferences in the quality indicators suggest that a validation study with standardized diagnostic criteria will make quality evaluation of the algorithm possible.