Comparison of diagnosis-based risk adjustment methods for episode-based costs to apply in efficiency measurement.

BACKGROUND: The recent rising health spending intrigued efficiency and cost-based performance measures. However, mortality risk adjustment methods are still under consideration in cost estimation, though methods specific to cost estimate have been developed. Therefore, we aimed to compare the performance of diagnosis-based risk adjustment methods based on the episode-based cost to utilize in efficiency measurement. METHODS: We used the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service-National Patient Sample as the data source. A separate linear regression model was constructed within each Major Diagnostic Category (MDC). Individual models included explanatory (demographics, insurance type, institutional type, Adjacent Diagnosis Related Group [ADRG], diagnosis-based risk adjustment methods) and response variables (episode-based costs). The following risk adjustment methods were used: Refined Diagnosis Related Group (RDRG), Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI), National Health Insurance Service Hierarchical Condition Categories (NHIS-HCC), and Department of Health and Human Service-HCC (HHS-HCC). The model accuracy was compared using R-squared (R2), mean absolute error, and predictive ratio. For external validity, we used the 2017 dataset. RESULTS: The model including RDRG improved the mean adjusted R2 from 40.8% to 45.8% compared to the adjacent DRG. RDRG was inferior to both HCCs (RDRG adjusted R2 45.8%, NHIS-HCC adjusted R2 46.3%, HHS-HCC adjusted R2 45.9%) but superior to CCI (adjusted R2 42.7%). Model performance varied depending on the MDC groups. While both HCCs had the highest explanatory power in 12 MDCs, including MDC P (Newborns), RDRG showed the highest adjusted R2 in 6 MDCs, such as MDC O (pregnancy, childbirth, and puerperium). The overall mean absolute errors were the lowest in the model with RDRG ($1,099). The predictive ratios showed similar patterns among the models regardless of the  subgroups according to age, sex, insurance type, institutional type, and the upper and lower 10th percentiles of actual costs. External validity also showed a similar pattern in the model performance. CONCLUSIONS: Our research showed that either NHIS-HCC or HHS-HCC can be useful in adjusting comorbidities for episode-based costs in the process of efficiency measurement.

Impacts of the Pandemic on Social Determinants of Health in an Academic Emergency Department.

INTRODUCTION: The coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic caused significant disruptions in daily life. Given the role that social determinants of health play in the overall well-being of individuals and populations, we wanted to determine the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on our patient population in the emergency department (ED). METHODS: We adapted the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services social risk assessment to assess changes to participants' social situations throughout the COVID-19 pandemic from January 2020-February 2021. The survey was administered within the ED to individuals selected by a convenience sample of patients who were stable enough to complete the form. RESULTS: We received 200 (66%) responses from the 305 patients approached. Worsened food access was reported by 8.5% (17) of respondents, while 13.6% (27) reported worsened food concern since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The odds of worsened food access were higher among non-Whites (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 19.17, 95% confidence interval [CI] 3.33-110.53) and females (aOR 9.77, CI 1.51-63.44). Non-Whites had greater odds of worsened food concern (aOR 15.31, CI 3.94-59.54). Worsened financial difficulty was reported by 24% (48) of respondents. The odds of worsened financial difficulty were higher among females (aOR 2.87, 95% CI 1.08-7.65) and non-Whites (aOR 10.53, CI 2.75-40.35). CONCLUSION: The COVID-19 pandemic has worsened many of the social determinants of health found within communities. Moreover, vulnerable communities were found to be disproportionately affected as compared to their counterparts. Understanding the challenges faced by our patient populations can serve as a guide on how to assist them more comprehensively.

A Structural Competency Framework for Emergency Medicine Research: Results from a Scoping Review and Consensus Conference.

INTRODUCTION: The application of structural competency and structural vulnerability to emergency medicine (EM) research has not been previously described despite EM researchers routinely engaging structurally vulnerable populations. The purpose of this study was to conduct a scoping review and consensus-building process to develop a structurally competent research approach and operational framework relevant to EM research. METHODS: We conducted a scoping review focused on structural competency and structural vulnerability. Results of the review informed the development of a structural competency research framework that was presented throughout a multi-step consensus process culminating in the 2021 Society for Academic Emergency Medicine Consensus Conference. Feedback to the framework was incorporated throughout the conference. RESULTS: The scoping review produced 291 articles with 123 articles relevant to EM research. All 123 articles underwent full-text review and data extraction following a standardized data extraction form. Most of the articles acknowledged or described structures that lead to inequities with a variety of methodological approaches used to operationalize structural competency and/or structural vulnerability. The framework developed aligned with components of the research process, drawing upon methodologies from studies included in the scoping review. CONCLUSION: The framework developed provides a starting point for EM researchers seeking to understand, acknowledge, and incorporate structural competency into EM research. By incorporating components of the framework, researchers may enhance their ability to address social, historical, political, and economic forces that lead to health inequities, reframing drivers of inequities away from individual factors and focusing on structural factors.

Feasibility of Capturing Adverse Events From Insurance Claims Data Using International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision, Codes Coupled to Present on Admission Indicators.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study was to investigate the feasibility of using administrative data to screen adverse events in Korea. METHODS: We used a diagnosis-related groups claims data set and the information of the checklist of healthcare quality improvement (a part of the value incentive program) to verify adverse events in fiscal year 2018. Adverse events were identified using patient safety indicator (PSI) clusters and a present on admission indicator (POA). The PSIs consisted of 19 clusters representing subcategories of adverse events, such as hospital-acquired infection. Among the adverse events identified using PSI clusters, "POA = N," which means not present at the time of admission, was only deemed as the case in the final stage. We compared the agreement on the occurrence of adverse events from claims data with a reference standard data set (i.e., checklist of healthcare quality improvement) and presented them by PSI cluster and institution. RESULTS: The cases of global PSI for any adverse event numbered 27,320 (2.32%) among all diagnostic codes in 2018. In terms of institutional distribution, considerable variation was observed throughout the clusters. For example, only 13.2% of institutions (n = 387) reported any global PSI for any adverse event throughout the whole year. The agreement between the reference standard and the claims data was poor, in the range of 2.2% to 10.8%, in 3 types of adverse events. The current claims data system (i.e., diagnostic codes coupled to POA indicators) failed to capture a large majority of adverse events identified using the reference standard. CONCLUSIONS: Our results imply that the coding status of International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision, codes and POA indicators should be refined before using them as quality indicators.

Influence of Society for Academic Emergency Medicine Foundation's Research Training Grant on postaward academic federal funding.

OBJECTIVES: The objective was to measure the impact of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine Foundation's (SAEMF) Research Training Grant (RTG) by comparing academic success in grant recipients versus non-recipient applicants. Our primary outcome was subsequent federal funding as a principal investigator (PI) or multiple principal investigator (MPI). Our secondary outcomes included subsequent K-award funding, R-series funding, R01 funding, and academic productivity measured by first author peer-reviewed publications. METHODS: The authors examined all SAEMF RTG applicants from 2002 through 2019 (n = 109). Data were collected using the National Institutes of Health RePORTER database, a literature search using PubMed, and an online survey sent to all RTG applicants. Relative risks (RRs) with 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) were calculated. RESULTS: Over 18 years, 18 of 109 (16.5%) RTG applicants were awarded by SAEMF. Subsequent federal funding as PI or MPI was obtained by 11 of the 18 RTG recipients compared to 29 of the 91 nonrecipients (61% vs. 33%, RR = 1.9; 95% CI = 1.2-3.1). The RTG award was also associated with increased probability of receiving a federal Career Development Award (K-series) (RR 2.0; 95% CI 1.1-3.9) and R-series award (RR 2.0; 95% CI 1.1-3.9) but not an R01 award (RR 2.1; 95% CI 0.8-5.3). The median number of first-authored peer reviewed manuscripts did not differ between RTG award recipients (14, IQR 8,44) and nonrecipients (14, IQR 6,30) (p = 0.5) though RTG recipients had a higher percentage of their publications as a first author (49% vs. 33%, p = 0.04). CONCLUSIONS: SAEMF RTG awards were associated with increased probability of future federal funding, including career development awards and R-series awards but not R01 awards. RTG recipients also had a higher percentage of their peer reviewed publications as first author.

Emergency psychiatric assessment, treatment, and healing (EmPATH) unit decreases hospital admission for patients presenting with suicidal ideation in rural America.

OBJECTIVES: The objective was to evaluate the impact of an emergency psychiatric assessment, treatment, and healing (EmPATH) unit in the emergency department (ED) on hospital admissions, ED length of stay, and 30-day follow-up for patients presenting with suicidal ideation or attempt. METHODS: This study was a before-and-after analysis of introducing the EmPATH unit within a Midwestern academic medical center on outcomes of adult patients (≥18 years) presenting with suicidal ideation or suicidal attempt. The primary outcome in this study was the change in proportion of inpatient psychiatric admission of suicidal patients presenting to the ED before and after implementation of the EmPATH unit. Secondary outcomes compared were changes in proportion of any admission, incomplete admission defined as discharge from the ED after admission request placed, outpatient follow-up, return ED visits within 30 days of admission, and ED boarding time. Association between the EmPATH unit implementation and categorical outcomes were determined using log-binomial regression to estimate relative risks (RRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Continuous outcomes were log-transformed and generalized estimating equations were used to examine as the mean difference by time period. RESULTS: There were 962 patients presenting with suicidal ideation (n = 435 before EmPATH unit, n = 527 after EmPATH unit). Compared to the pre-EmPATH-unit period, there was a reduction in psychiatric admission (RR = 0.48, 95% CI = 0.40 to 0.56), any admission (RR = 0.65, 95% CI = 0.58 to 0.73), incomplete admission (RR = 0.22, 95% CI = 0.11 to 0.43), and 30-day return to the ED (RR = 0.74, 95% CI = 0.56 to 0.98). ED boarding time among admitted patients was reduced by approximately two-thirds both in admitted patients (RR = 0.34, 95% CI = 0.30 to 0.39) and among those with incomplete admissions (RR = 0.37, 95% CI = 0.23 to 0.61). There was a 60% increase in a 30-day follow-up care established at the time of discharge (RR = 1.60, 95% CI = 1.40 to 1.82). CONCLUSIONS: The introduction of the EmPATH unit has improved management of patients presenting to the ED with suicidal attempts/ideation by reducing ED boarding and unnecessary admissions and establishing post-ED follow-up care.

Mobile Crisis Outreach and Emergency Department Utilization: A Propensity Score-matched Analysis.

INTRODUCTION: Mental health and substance use disorder (MHSUD) patients in the emergency department (ED) have been facing increasing lengths of stay due to a shortage of inpatient beds. Previous research indicates mobile crisis outreach (MCO) reduces long ED stays for MHSUD patients. Our objective was to assess the impact of MCO contact on future ED utilization. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective chart review of patients presenting to a large Midwest university ED with an MHSUD chief complaint from 2015-2018. We defined the exposure as those who had MCO contact and any MHSUD-related ED visit within 30 days of MCO contact. The MCO patients were 2:1 propensity score-matched by demographic data and comorbidities matched to patients with no MCO contact. Outcomes were all-cause and psychiatric-specific reasons for return to the ED within one year of the index ED visit. We report descriptive statistics and odds ratios (OR) to describe the difference between the two groups, and hazard ratios (HR) to estimate the risk of return ED visit. RESULTS: The final sample included 106 MCO and 196 non-MCO patients. The MCO patients were more likely to be homeless (OR 14.8; 95% confidence interval [CI],1.87, 117), less likely to have adequate family or social support (OR 0.51; 95% CI, 0.31, 0.84), and less likely to have a hospital bed requested for them in the index visit by ED providers (OR 0.50; 95% CI, 0.29, 0.88). For those who returned to the ED, the median time for all-cause return to the ED was 28 days (interquartile range [IQR]: 6-93 days) for the MCO patients and 88 days (IQR: 20-164 days) for non-MCO patients. The risk of all-cause return to the ED was greater among MCO patients (67%) compared to non-MCO patients (49%) (adjusted HR: 1.66; 95% CI, 1.22, 2.27). CONCLUSION: The MCO patients had less family and social support; however, they were less likely to require hospitalization for each visit, likely due to MCO involvement. Patients with MCO contact presented to the ED more frequently than non-MCO patients, which implies a strong linkage between the ED and MCO in our community. An effective referral to community service from the ED and MCO and collaboration could be the next step to improve healthcare utilization.

Assessment of Public Perception Regarding Patient Engagement for Patient Safety in Korea.

OBJECTIVES: This study conducted a survey to examine how the general public in Korea perceives patient engagement for patient safety and to identify vulnerable groups and contents priorities of patient engagement education for the general public. METHODS: We developed a questionnaire based on previous studies and conducted one-on-one interviews with 600 individuals from the public. Then, we conducted descriptive statistical analyses (i.e., frequency, percentage, and averages) on the questionnaire items. Furthermore, we examined the individual differences of participants' sociodemographic characteristics in their responses to the questionnaire. RESULTS: The general public's awareness regarding accreditation programs for healthcare organizations was still low (47.4%). Nearly 60% of participants said that they did not agree with the practice of telling their own names and dates of birth before treatment. Approximately 80% of the participants would not ask medical staff to confirm washing their hands. Only half of the participants were aware of medical dispute mediation and arbitration programs. Nearly 90% of the participants agreed that patient safety is important. However, on participants' confidence in making the correct choice and safety in their treatment, the average score was 68.7 of 100 points. Participants tended to be less confident about engaging in patient safety activities if they were older, less educated, or had poor health status. CONCLUSIONS: Participants in this study believed that patient safety is an important issue, but they were not confident about choosing the correct medical institution or about receiving safe treatment.

Economic Evaluation of the Emergency Department After Implementation of an Emergency Psychiatric Assessment, Treatment, and Healing Unit.

OBJECTIVES: We sought to evaluate the impact of an emergency psychiatric assessment, treatment, and healing (EmPATH) unit on emergency department (ED) revenue, psychiatric boarding time, and length of stay (LOS). METHODS: We conducted a before-and-after economic evaluation of a single academic midwestern ED (60,000 annual visits) for all adult (≥18 years) patients before (December 2017-May 2018) and after (December 2018-May 2019) opening an EmPATH unit. These are outpatient hospital-based programs that provide emergent treatment and stabilization for mental health emergencies from ED patients. The Holt-Winters method was used to forecast pre-EmPATH expected ED levels of patients leaving without being seen, leaving against medical advice, eloping, or being transferred using 3 years of ED visits. ED revenues were calculated by finding the difference of pre-EmPATH expected and post-EmPATH observed values and multiplying by the revenue per visit. ED boarding time and LOS were obtained from the hospital's electronic medical record. RESULTS: There were 23,231 and 23,336 ED visits evaluated during the pre- and post-EmPATH unit periods. The ED generated an estimated additional $404,954 in the 6 months and $861,065 annually after the implementation of the EmPATH unit. The median (interquartile range [IQR]) psychiatric boarding time decreased from 212 (119-536) minutes to 152 (86-307) minutes (mean difference = 189 minutes, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 150 to 228 minutes) and median (IQR) LOS decreased from 351 (204-631) minutes to 334 (212-517) minutes (mean difference = 114 minutes, 95% CI = 87 to 143 minutes). CONCLUSION: The EmPATH unit had a positive impact on ED revenue and decreased ED boarding time and LOS for psychiatric patients.

Assessment of Hand Motor Function in a Non-human Primate Model of Ischemic Stroke.

Ischemic stroke results from arterial occlusion and can cause irreversible brain injury. A non-human primate (NHP) model of ischemic stroke was previously developed to investigate its pathophysiology and for efficacy testing of therapeutic candidates; however, fine motor impairment remains to be well-characterized. We evaluated hand motor function in a cynomolgus monkey model of ischemic stroke. Endovascular transient middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) with an angiographic microcatheter induced cerebral infarction. In vivo magnetic resonance imaging mapped and measured the ischemia-induced infarct lesion. In vivo diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) of the stroke lesion to assess the neuroplastic changes and fiber tractography demonstrated three-dimensional patterns in the corticospinal tract 12 weeks after MCAO. The hand dexterity task (HDT) was used to evaluate fine motor movement of upper extremity digits. The HDT was modified for a home cage-based training system, instead of conventional chair restraint training. The lesion was localized in the middle cerebral artery territory, including the sensorimotor cortex. Maximum infarct volume was exhibited over the first week after MCAO, which progressively inhibited ischemic core expansion, manifested by enhanced functional recovery of the affected hand over 12 weeks after MCAO. The total performance time decreased with increasing success rate for both hands on the HDT. Compensatory strategies and retrieval failure improved in the chronic phase after stroke. Our findings demonstrate the recovery of fine motor skill after stroke, and outline the behavioral characteristics and features of functional disorder of NHP stroke model, providing a basis for assessing hand motor function after stroke.

Show Me the Money: Successfully Obtaining Grant Funding in Medical Education.

Obtaining grant funding is a fundamental component to achieving a successful research career. A successful grant application needs to meet specific mechanistic expectations of reviewers and funders. This paper provides an overview of the importance of grant funding within medical education, followed by a stepwise discussion of strategies for creating a successful grant application for medical education-based proposals. The last section includes a list of available medical education research grants.

Association of depression with socioeconomic status, anticardiolipin antibodies, and organ damage in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus: results from the KORNET registry.

OBJECTIVES: Depression is more common in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) compared to the general population. However, few studies have investigated risk factors of depression in SLE patients, and the results are inconsistent. This study evaluated the prevalence of, and risk factors for, depression in ethnically homogeneous Korean SLE patients. METHODS: In this study, 505 consecutive SLE patients were enrolled from the Korean Lupus Network registry. Demographic variables, clinical manifestations, laboratory findings, physician global assessment, and SLEDAI-2000 and SLICC damage index were recorded at enrolment. Patients were identified as having depressive symptoms using the Korean version of the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) with a cut-off ≥16, and categorised into four groups. Multivariable logistic regression analyses were performed to identify independent risk factors for depression defined as a BDI score ≥16. RESULTS: Of the 505 patients, 97 (19.2%) were diagnosed with depression. Patients with a higher BDI score were older, more likely to be a current smoker, and had a SLICC score >1. Conversely, they had lower income and educational levels. Regarding the serologic findings, patients with a higher BDI score had lower anti-double-stranded DNA positivity and higher anticardiolipin (aCL) positivity. On multivariate analysis, the following factors were associated with depression: current smoking status (OR 2.533, p=0.049), aCL-positivity (OR 2.009, p=0.035), and a SLICC damage index score >1 (OR 2.781, p=0.039). On the other hand, high-level education (OR 0.253, p=0.024) and a high income (OR 0.228, p=0.008) were negatively associated with depression. CONCLUSIONS: Our results show that depression is prevalent in patients with SLE and multiple factors are associated with depression in SLE. These data could help guide target programmes for those at high risk of depression in SLE.

Predictors of Return Visits Among Insured Emergency Department Mental Health and Substance Abuse Patients, 2005-2013.

INTRODUCTION: Our goal was to describe the pattern and identify risk factors of early-return ED visits or inpatient admissions following an index mental health and substance abuse (MHSA)-related ED visit in the United States. METHODS: We performed a retrospective cohort study using Optum Labs Data Warehouse, a nationally representative database containing administrative claims data on privately insured and Medicare Advantage enrollees. Authors identified patients presenting to an ED with a primary diagnosis of MHSA between 2005 and 2013 who were discharged home. Study inclusion required continuous insurance enrollment for the 12 months preceding and the 31 days following the index ED visit. During the study period we included only the first ED visit for each patient. RESULTS: A total of 49,672 (14.2%) had a return visit to the ED or had a hospitalization within 30 days following discharge. Mean time to the next ED visit or inpatient admission was 11.7 days. An increased age (age 65+ vs. age <18 years; OR 1.65, 95% CI [1.57 to 1.74]), chronic medical comorbidities (Hwang comorbidity 5+ vs 0; OR 1.31, 95% CI [1.27 to 1.35]), prior ED and inpatient utilization (4+ visits vs 0 visits; OR 5.59, 95% CI [5.41 to 5.78]) were associated with return visits within 30 days following discharge. CONCLUSION: In an analysis of nearly 350,000 ED visits for MHSA, 14.2 % of patients returned to the ED or hospital within 30 days. This study identified a number of factors associated with return visits for acute care.

Having a usual source of care and its associated factors in Korean adults: a cross-sectional study of the 2012 Korea Health Panel Survey.

BACKGROUND: Usual source of care (USC) is one of the hallmarks of primary care. We aimed to examine the status of having a USC and its patient-related sociodemographic factors among Korean adults. METHODS: Data were obtained from the 2012 Korea Health Panel survey. Panel participants were selected for the study who were aged 18 years or older and who replied to questionnaire items on having a USC (n = 11,935). RESULTS: Of the participants, 21.5% had a usual place and 13.9% had a usual physician. Reasons for not having a USC were seldom being ill (66.1%), the preference to visit multiple medical institutions (27.9%), and others. The private community clinic was the most common type of usual place (57.0%). In patient-reported attributes of care provided by a usual physician, the percentages of positive responses for comprehensiveness and coordination were 67.2% and 34.5%, respectively. By institution type, primary care clinics showed the lowest percentage (32.8%) of positive responses for coordination. Adjusted odds ratios of having a usual physician were 3.77 (95% confidence interval, CI: 3.75-3.79) for those aged 65 years or older (vs. aged 18-34 years), 1.31 (CI: 1.30-1.31) for females (vs. males), 0.72 (CI: 0.72-0.73) for unmarried people (vs. married), 1.16 (CI: 1.16-1.16) for college graduates or higher (vs. elementary school graduate or less), 0.64 for the fifth quintile (vs. the first quintile) by household income, 1.53 (CI: 1.52-1.54) for Medical Aid (vs. employee health insurance) for type of health insurance, and 4.09 (CI: 4.08-4.10) for presence (vs. absence) of a chronic diseases. CONCLUSIONS: The proportion of Korean adults who have a USC is extremely low, the most influential factor of having a USC is having a chronic disease or not, and Korean patients experience much poorer health care coordination than do patients in other industrialized countries. The findings of this study will give insight to researchers and policy makers regarding the potential facilitators of and barriers to promoting having a USC in the general Korean public.

Costly Lessons From the 2015 Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus Outbreak in Korea.

Since the Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) outbreak in the Republic of Korea (hereafter Korea) began on May 11, 2015, a total of 186 persons have been infected by the MERS coronavirus, 38 of whom have died. With this number, Korea becomes second only to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in the ranking of cumulative MERS cases. In this paper Korea's unique experience of an outbreak of MERS will be summarized and discussed briefly.

Can a health information exchange save healthcare costs? Evidence from a pilot program in South Korea.

OBJECTIVE: Governments and institutions across the world have made efforts to adopt and diffuse the health information exchange (HIE) technology with the expectation that the technology would improve the quality and efficiency of care by allowing providers online access to healthcare information generated by other providers at the point of care. However, evidence concerning the effectiveness of the technology is limited hindering the wide adoption of a HIE. The objective of this study was to assess impacts of a HIE on healthcare utilization and costs of patient episodes at a tertiary care hospital following referrals by clinic physicians. MATERIAL/METHODS: We studied 1265 HIE and 2702 non-HIE episodes after physicians referred patients from 35 HIE and 59 non-HIE clinics to Seoul National University Bundang Hospital (SNUBH) during a 17-month period from June 2009. We examined 9 measures of healthcare utilization and the magnitude of clinical information exchanged in 4 categories. We estimated the savings resulting from HIE use through linear regression models with dummy variables for HIE participation and patient classification codes controlling the case-mix differences between HIE and non-HIE cases. RESULTS: The total charges incurred by the HIE group during episodes at SNUBH were approximately 13% lower (P<0.001), and the charges for clinical laboratory tests, pathological diagnosis, function tests, and diagnostic imaging were 54% (P<0.001), 76% (P<0.001), 73% (P<0.001), and 80% (P<0.001) lower for the HIE group than for the non-HIE group. SNUBH physicians had access to more clinical information for HIE than for non-HIE patients. CONCLUSIONS: HIE technology improved physicians' access to past clinical information, which appeared to reduce diagnostic test utilization and healthcare costs. The payer was the major beneficiary of HIE cost savings whereas providers paid for the technology. Fair allocation of benefits and costs among stakeholders is needed for wide HIE adoption.

Estimation of minimally important differences in the EQ-5D and SF-6D indices and their utility in stroke.

BACKGROUND: The aim of the present study was to estimate minimally important differences (MIDs) in EQ-5D and SF-6D indices and to explore the responsiveness of EQ-5D and SF-6D indices in stroke. METHODS: We used observational longitudinal survey data of EQ-5D and SF-36 that were administered to stroke patients at baseline and at 10 months. A range of MIDs for both indexes was estimated using anchor-based approaches. The modified Rankin scale and the Barthel index were used as an anchor. RESULTS: The MID estimates for EQ-5D ranged from 0.08 to 0.12 and those for SF-6D ranged from 0.04 to 0.14 in stroke patients. The MID values for these two utility measures differed in absolute magnitude, as the SF-6D index has wider range that that of the EQ-5D index. CONCLUSIONS: The MID values for these two utility measures differed in absolute magnitude, as the SF-6D index has wider range that that of the EQ-5D index. These MID estimates may assist the interpretation of health related quality of life assessments related to health care intervention in stroke patients.

Deriving a mapping algorithm for converting SF-36 scores to EQ-5D utility score in a Korean population.

BACKGROUND: There is no research on mapping algorithms between EQ-5D and SF-36 in Korea. The aim of this study was to derive a predictive model for converting the SF-36 health profile to the EQ-5D index using data from several studies. METHODS: Individual data (n = 2211) were collected from three different studies and separated into derivation (n = 1660) and internal validation sets (n = 551). Data from 123 colon cancer patients were analyzed for external validation. The prediction models were analyzed using ordinary least-square (OLS) regression, two-part modeling, and multinomial logistic modeling using eight scale scores; two summary scores and the interaction terms of SF-36 were used as independent variables. The EQ-5D index using the Korean value set and each dimension of the EQ-5D were used as dependent variables. The mean absolute errors (MAE) and R2 values of the internal and external validation dataset were used to evaluate model performance. RESULTS: Our findings show that the three different scoring algorithms demonstrate similar performances in terms of MAE and R2. After considering familiarity and parsimony, the OLS model (including Physical Function, Bodily Pain, Social Function, Role Emotional, and Mental Health) was found to be optimal as the final algorithm for use in this study. The MAEs of the OLS models demonstrated consistent results in both the derivation (0.087-0.109) and external validation sets (0.082-0.097). CONCLUSION: This study provides mapping algorithms for estimating the EQ-5D index from the SF-36 profile using individual data and confirms that these algorithms demonstrate high explanatory power and low prediction errors.

Assessment of the quality of clinical practice guidelines in Korea using the AGREE Instrument.

The objective of this study was to conduct the systematic evaluation of methodological quality of clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) in Korea. The authors conducted a very comprehensive literature search to identify potential CPGs for evaluation. CPGs were selected which were consistent with a predetermined criteria. Four reviewers evaluated the quality of the CPGs using the Appraisal of Guidelines, Research and Evaluation (AGREE) Instrument. AGREE item scores and standardized domain scores were calculated. The inter-rater reliability of each domain was evaluated using the intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC). Consequently, 66 CPGs were selected and their quality evaluated. ICCs for CPG appraisal using the AGREE Instrument ranged from 0.626 to 0.877. Except for the "Scope and Purpose" and "Clarity and Presentation domains", 80% of CPGs scored less than 40 in all other domains. This review shows that many Korean research groups and academic societies have made considerable efforts to develop CPGs, and the number of CPGs has increased over time. However, the quality of CPGs in Korea were not good according to the AGREE Instrument evaluation. Therefore, we should make more of an effort to ensure the high quality of CPGs.