The initiation, exploration, and development of hospital-based health technology assessment in China: 2005 ‒ 2022.

A hospital-based health technology assessment (HB-HTA) can provide the evidence needed to inform clinical decisions at the administrative level. With the implementation of a new round of medical and health care system reforms in China, such as the abolition of medical mark-ups, adoption of modern hospital management systems, reform of diagnosis related groups (DRGs) payment, and performance evaluations for public hospitals, medical institutions increasingly need HB-HTA. The development of HB-HTA in China can be divided into three phases: An initiation phase (2005-2014), a preliminary exploratory phase (2015-2017), and a rapid development phase (2018-present). HB-HTA has been used to manage medical consumables, medical devices, and medicines, but there are still problems and challenges in terms of concept recognition, the mode of development, and limited professionals and data. To promote and use HB-HTA in developing countries, we have identifies the development paths and recommendations for implementation based on a case study in China, which can be summarized as follows: enhancing the top-level design of HB-HTA, formulating HB-HTA guidelines, further promoting the main ideas of HB-HTA, concentrating on the training of evaluation personnel, establishing an HB-HTA network and paying attention to the flexibility of HB-HTA in the application process, and multi- stakeholder participation.

Impact of DRGs-based inpatient service management on the performance of regional inpatient services in Shanghai, China: an interrupted time series study, 2013-2019.

BACKGROUND: The asymmetry of information brings difficulty for government to manage public hospitals. Therefore, Jiading District of Shanghai has been establishing DRGs-based inpatient service management system (ISMS) to effectively compare the output of different hospitals through DRGs, reward desired hospital performance and enhance inpatient service capacity. However, the impact of the implementation of DRGs-based inpatient service management (ISM) policy in Jiading district is still unknow. We therefore conducted this study to evaluate the impact of DRGs-based ISM policy on the performance of inpatient service since its implementation in Jiading District, Shanghai, China in 2017. METHODS: Using an interrupted time series design, we analyzed quarterly data of seven DRGs-based performance measures from the ISMS which covered all five public hospitals in Jiading District from 2013 to 2019. We utilized the segmented linear regression model to assess the change of level and trend of performance indicators before and after ISM policy. Dickey-Fuller test was used to examine the stationary of the data. Durbin-Watson test was performed to check the series autocorrelation of indicators. RESULTS: Significant changes in the following indicators were observed since the implementation of ISM policy. The case-mix index (CMI) level decreased by 0.103 (P < 0.05), the trend increased by 0.008 (P < 0.05). The total weight level decreased by 3719.05 (P < 0.05), and the trend increased by 250.13 (P < 0.05). The time efficiency index (TEI) level increased by 0.12 (P < 0.05), and the trend decreased by 0.01 (P < 0.05). The cost efficiency index (CEI) level increased by 0.31 (P < 0.05), and the trend decreased by 0.02 (P < 0.05). No significant difference was found in the change of DRGs number, inpatient mortality of low-risk group cases (IMLRG) and inpatient mortality of medium-to-low risk group cases (IMMLRG). CONCLUSIONS: Findings highlight the role of ISM policy in improving the capacity and efficiency of regional inpatient service. Three prerequisites, including a good information system, high-quality EMR data, and a management team, are needed for other countries to implement their own ISM policy to help government manage public hospitals and improve the performance of regional inpatient service.