RSV Burden and Its Impact on Pediatric Inpatient Bed Occupancy in Belgium: An Analysis of National Hospital Claims Data.

BACKGROUND: Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infections represent a substantial burden on pediatric services during winter. While the morbidity and financial burden of RSV are well studied, less is known about the organizational impact on hospital services (ie, impact on bed capacity and overcrowding and variation across hospitals). METHODS: Retrospective analysis of the population-wide Belgian Hospital Discharge Data Set for the years 2017 and 2018 (including all hospital sites with pediatric inpatient services), covering all RSV-associated (RSV-related International Classification of Diseases, 10th Version, Clinical Modification diagnoses) inpatient hospitalization by children under 5 years old as well as all-cause acute hospitalizations in pediatric wards. RESULTS: RSV hospitalizations amount to 68.3 hospitalizations per 1000 children less than 1 year and 5.0 per 1000 children 1-4 years of age and are responsible for 20%-40% of occupied beds during the peak period (November-December). The mean bed occupancy rate over the entire year (2018) varies across hospitals from 22.8% to 85.1% and from 30.4% to 95.1% during the peak period. Small-scale pediatric services (<25 beds) are more vulnerable to the volatility of occupancy rates. Forty-six hospital sites have daily occupancy rates above 100% (median of 9 days). Only in 1 of 23 geographically defined hospital networks these high occupancy rates are on the same calendar days. CONCLUSIONS: Pediatric services tend to be over-dimensioned to deal with peak activity mainly attributable to RSV. RSV immunization can substantially reduce pediatric capacity requirements. Enhanced collaboration in regional networks is an alternative strategy to deal with peaks and reduce capacity needs.

Improving hospital nurse staffing during the pandemic: Implementation of the 2019 Fund for Health Care Staff in Belgium.

Chronic hospital nurse understaffing is a pre-existing condition of the COVID-19 pandemic. With nurses on the frontline against the pandemic, safe nurse staffing in hospitals is high on the political agenda of the responsible ministers of Health. This paper presents a recent Belgian policy reform to improve nurse staffing levels. Although the reform was initiated before the pandemic, its roll-out took place from 2020 onwards. Through a substantial increase of the hospital budget, policy makers envisaged to improve patient-to-nurse ratios. Yet, this ambition was considerably toned down during the implementation. Due to a shortage of nurses in the labour market, hospital associations successfully lobbied to allocate part of the budget to hire non-nursing staff. Moreover, other healthcare settings claimed their share of the pie. Elements of international best-practice examples such as ward managers supernumerary to the team and increasing the transparency on staffing decisions were adopted. Other measures, such as mandated patient-to-nurse ratios, nurse staffing committees, or the monitoring or public reporting of ratios, were not retained. Additional measures were taken to safeguard that bedside staffing levels would improve, such as the requirement to demonstrate a net increase in staff to obtain additional budget, staffing plan's approval by local work councils and recommendation to base staff allocation on patient acuity measures. This policy process makes clear that the engagement of budgets is only a first step towards safe staffing levels, which needs to be embedded in a comprehensive policy plan. Future evaluation of bedside nurse staffing levels and nurse wellbeing is needed to conclude about the effectiveness of these measures and the intended and unintended effects they provoked.

Organisational models at the emergency department to reduce hospital admissions among paediatric patients: a systematic literature review.

Paediatric attendances at the emergency department (ED) are often admitted to the hospital less than 24 h to allow time for more extended evaluation. Innovative organisational models could prevent these hospital admissions without compromising safety or quality of delivered care. Therefore, this systematic review identifies evidence on organisational models at the ED with the primary aim to reduce hospital admissions among paediatric patients. Following the PRISMA guidelines, three bibliographic databases (Ovid Medline, Embase, and Cochrane Library) were searched. Studies on organisational models in Western countries, published between January 2009 and January 2021, which applied a comparative design or review and studied at least hospital admission rates, were included. Analyses were mainly descriptive because of the high heterogeneity among included publications. The primary outcome is hospital admission rates. Secondary outcomes are ED length of stay (LOS), waiting time, and patient satisfaction. Sixteen publications described several innovative organisational models ranging from the creation of dedicated units for paediatric patients, innovative staffing models to bringing paediatric critical care physicians to patients at rural EDs. However, the effect on hospital admission rates and other outcomes are inconclusive, and some organisational models may improve certain outcomes in certain settings or vice versa. It appears that a paediatric consultation liaison team has the most consistent effect on hospital admission rates and LOS of paediatric patients presenting with mental problems at the ED. Implementing new innovative organisational models at the ED for paediatric patients could be worthwhile to decrease hospital admissions. However, the existing evidence is of rather weak quality. Future service developments should, therefore, be conducted in a way that allows objective evaluation.

Economies of scale and optimal size of maternity services in Belgium: A Data Envelopment Analysis.

This article uses a Data Envelopment Analysis to measure scale efficiency of maternity services in Belgium and estimate the minimum efficient scale in this context. Using administrative data for all maternity services in Belgium in 2016, the minimum efficient scale is estimated at 557 deliveries per year, which is above the currently prevailing norm of 400 deliveries per year. In particular, the closure of 17 small maternity services could improve efficiency without reducing accessibility. In addition to that, further efficiency gains could be attained by increasing the scale of maternity services up to at least 900 deliveries per year. Although most services are close to scale efficiency, the mean scale inefficiency level is 13% and low scores are mainly concentrated among the smallest services. These results are robust to changes in model specifications, bootstrapping and removal of outliers. In the current context of reform of the hospital and maternity landscape in Belgium, this study shows room for improvement and the possibility to generate substantial efficiency gains that could be reinvested in the healthcare system.

Safe nurse staffing policies for hospitals in England, Ireland, California, Victoria and Queensland: A discussion paper.

OBJECTIVE: The association between higher registered nurses (RN) staffing (educational level and number) and better patient and nurse outcomes is well-documented. This discussion paper aims to provide an overview of safe staffing policies in various high-income countries to identify reform trends in response to recurring nurse workforce challenges. METHODS: Based on a scan of the literature five cases were selected: England (UK), Ireland, California (USA), Victoria and Queensland (Australia). Information was gathered via a review of the grey and peer-reviewed literature. Country experts were consulted for additional information and to review country reports. RESULTS: The focus of safe staffing policies varies: increasing transparency about staffing decisions (England), matching actual and required staffing levels based on patient acuity measurement (Ireland), mandated patient-to-nurse ratios at the level of the nurse (California) or the ward (Victoria, Queensland). Calibration of the number of patients by the number of nurses varies across cases. Nevertheless, positive effects on the nursing workforce (increased bedside staffing) and staff well-being (increased job satisfaction) have been consistently documented. The impact on patient outcomes is promising but less well evidenced. CONCLUSION: Countries will have to set safe staffing policies to tackle challenges such as the ageing population and workforce shortages. Various approaches may prove effective, but need to be accompanied by a comprehensive policy that enhances bedside nurse staffing in an evidence-based, objective and transparent way.

The financial impact of SBRT for oligometastatic disease: A population-level analysis in Belgium.

INTRODUCTION: There is a steady rise in Stereotactic Body RadioTherapy (SBRT) utilization in oligometastatic disease (OMD). This may generate important financial consequences for radiotherapy budgets. The National Institute for Health and Disability Insurance of Belgium (NIHDI) initiated a coverage with evidence development (CED) project for innovative radiotherapy, including SBRT, in 2011. A cost calculation and budget estimation for SBRT in the OMD setting was carried out. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Predictive growth scenarios for future uptake of SBRT for OMD in Belgium were developed using demographics and CED data. The provider cost of SBRT for OMD in Belgium was calculated using the Time-Driven Activity-Based Costing (TD-ABC) model developed by ESTRO-HERO, alimented with national data on resources, treatments and operational parameters, and compared to the new reimbursement. Combining these, the future financial impact of this novel treatment indication for healthcare providers and payers in Belgium was evaluated. RESULTS: The number of 428 OMDs treated with SBRT in Belgium in 2017 is expected to increase between 484 and 2073 courses annually by 2025. A provider cost of €4360 per SBRT was calculated (range: €3488-€5654), whereas the reimbursement covers between €4139 and €4654. Large variations in potential extra provider costs by 2025 ensue from the different scenarios, ranging between €1,765,993 and €9,038,754. Provider costs and reimbursement show good agreement. CONCLUSION: Although the financial impact of SBRT for OMD in Belgium is forecasted to remain acceptable, even in extreme scenarios, further clinical trials and real-life clinical and financial monitoring with prospective data gathering are necessary to refine the data.

Trends in the utilisation rates and acute hospital capacity needs for total hip replacements: results of an analysis of administrative data.

Total hip replacement surgery is the mainstay of treatment for end-stage hip arthritis. In 2014, there were 28227 procedures (incidence rate 252/100000 population). Using administrative data, we projected the future volume of total hip replacement procedures and incidence rates using two models. The constant rate model fixes utilisation rates at 2014 levels and adjusts for demographic changes. Projections indicate 32248 admissions by 2025 or an annual growth of 1.22% (incidence rate 273). The time trend model additionally projects the evolution in age-specific utilisation rates. 34895 admissions are projected by 2025 or an annual growth of 1.95% (incidence rate 296). The projections show a shift in performing procedures at younger age. Forecasts of length of stay indicate a substantial shortening. By 2025, the required number of hospital beds will be halved. Despite more procedures, capacity can be reduced, leading to organisational change (e.g. elective orthopaedic clinics) and more labour intensive stays.

Impact of shortened length of stay for delivery on the required bed capacity in maternity services: results from forecast analysis on administrative data.

BACKGROUND: We examine the implications of reducing the average length of stay (ALOS) for a delivery on the required capacity in terms of service volume and maternity beds in Belgium, using administrative data covering all inpatient stays in Belgian general hospitals over the period 2003-2014. METHODS: A projection model generates forecasts of all inpatient and day-care services with a time horizon of 2025. It adjusts the observed hospital use in 2014 to the combined effect of three evolutions: the change in population size and composition, the time trend evolution of ALOS, and the time trend evolution of the admission rates. In addition, we develop an alternative scenario to evaluate the impact of an accelerated reduction of ALOS. RESULTS: Between 2014 and 2025, we expect the number of deliveries to increase by 4.41%, and the number of stays in maternity services by 3.38%. At the same time, a reduction in ALOS is projected for all types of deliveries. The required capacity for maternity beds will decrease by 17%. In case of an accelerated reduction of the ALOS to reach international standards, this required capacity for maternity beds will decrease by more than 30%. CONCLUSIONS: Despite an expected increase in the number of deliveries, future hospital capacity in terms of maternity beds can be considerably reduced in Belgium, due to the continuing reduction of ALOS.

The introduction of hospital networks in Belgium: The path from policy statements to the 2019 legislation.

In April 2015, the Belgian Federal Minister for Social Affairs and Public Health launched an Action Plan to reform the hospital landscape. With the creation of "localregional clinical hospital networks" with their own governance structures, the plan follows the international trend towards hospital consolidation and collaboration. The major complicating factors in the Belgian context are (1) that policy instruments for the redesign of the hospital service delivery system are divided between the federal government and the federated authorities, which can result in an asymmetric hospital landscape with a potentially better distribution of clinical services in the Flanders hospital collaborations than in the other federated entities; and (2) the current regulations stipulate that only hospitals (and not networks) are entitled to hospital budgets. Although the reform is the most significant and drastic transformation of the Belgian hospital sector in the last three decades, networks mainly offer a framework in which hospitals can collaborate. More regulation and policy measures are needed to enhance collaboration and distribution of clinical services.

The role of governance in different types of interhospital collaborations: A systematic review.

CONTEXT: Financial challenges and the need for high-quality care have vastly increased the number of hospital collaborations in recent decades. The governance of these collaborations remains a challenge. The goal of this study is twofold: (1) to investigate the governance characteristics in an interhospital collaboration and (2) explore the impact on the performance of the interhospital collaboration. METHODS: A systematic review was conducted to provide a comprehensive overview of the evidence on governance in interhospital collaborations. Database searches yielded 9304 candidate articles, of which 26 studies fulfilled the inclusion criteria. FINDINGS: Governance in collaborations differs in collaboration structure, governance characteristics and contextual factors. Although outcome factors are influenced by contextual determinants and the collaboration structure itself, governance characteristics are of great importance. CONCLUSIONS: A critical challenge for managers is to successfully adapt collaborations structures and governance characteristics to rapidly changing conditions. Policy makers should ensure that new legislation and guidelines for internal governance can be adapted to different contextual factors. Research in the future should investigate the impact of governance as a dynamic process. More longitudinal case study research is needed to provide an in-depth view of the relationship between this process and the performance of a collaboration.

The impact of an ageing population on the required hospital capacity: results from forecast analysis on administrative data.

PURPOSE: In this study, we evaluate the impact of population ageing on the required hospital capacity. METHODS: We used hospital discharge (years 2003-2014) and population data to estimate the required hospital capacity by 2025 for older inpatients (≥ 75 years) taking into account population changes and trends in hospital admission rates and length of stay. In addition, we developed an alternative scenario to evaluate the impact of accelerated ageing based on the peaks in population ageing from 2030 onwards. RESULTS: The number of inpatient stays for our study population is expected to increase from 478,027 in 2014 to 590,313 in 2025 (+ 23.5%). The average length of stay is expected to decrease by 18.4% (- 2.3 days). As a consequence, the number of inpatient days and the required bed capacity will only increase by 42,709 days (+ 0.7%) and 72 beds (+ 0.4%), respectively. The accelerated ageing scenario shows that the increase between 2014 and 2025 is more pronounced for inpatient stays (+ 50.5%), inpatient days (+ 21.9%) and hospital beds (+ 21.1%). CONCLUSIONS: Ageing will, if no drastic policy actions are taken, impact the required hospital capacity. This can initially (by 2025) be more or less controlled by further reductions in length of stay. From 2030, it is expected that the required hospital bed capacity will increase exponentially with a pronounced shift between general acute care beds towards geriatric and chronic care beds. If policy makers want to revert this trend, substantial investments in hospital alternatives will be required.

Patients with dementia in hospitals: a nation-wide analysis of administrative data 2010-2014.

PURPOSE: Considering the limited information available, the aim of the study was to examine the prevalence and characteristics of inpatients with dementia in Belgian general hospitals. METHODS: All admissions of inpatients aged at least 40 years with or without dementia were retrieved from the nationwide administrative hospital discharges database for the period 2010-2014. RESULTS: Admissions of inpatients aged 40 years or more with dementia have increased to reach 83,017 out of 1,285,593 admissions (6.46%) in general hospitals in 2014, mostly admitted through the emergency department (79.7%) and for another reason than dementia (85.9%). These patients stayed longer [19.2 days, standard deviation (sd) = 23.6, median = 13] than the average length of stay of patients of the same age (7.9 days, sd = 14.1, median = 17). Considering patients aged 75 years or more falling into the 20 most common pathology groups (of patients with dementia), the group with dementia spent 5 days more than the group without dementia. Patients admitted from home spent more time in hospital when they were discharged to a residential care facility than when they returned home (27.2 days versus 15.8 days). The in-hospital mortality was high in the first days of admission. CONCLUSIONS: The growing prevalence of patients with dementia in inpatient setting puts a high pressure on the hospital capacity planning and geriatric expertise. Moreover, as patients with dementia should be kept outside hospitals when possible for safety and quality matters, long-term organizational investments are required inside hospital and residential care settings as well as in community care.

Varying viewpoints of Belgian stakeholders on models of interhospital collaboration.

BACKGROUND: Hospitals are increasingly parts of larger care collaborations, rather than individual entities. Organizing and operating these collaborations is challenging; a significant number do not succeed, as it is difficult to align the goals of the partners. However, little research has focused on stakeholders' views regarding hospital collaboration models or on whether these views are aligned with those of hospital management. This study explores Belgian hospital stakeholders' views on the factors affecting hospital collaborations and their perspectives on different models for Belgian interhospital collaboration. METHODS: Qualitative focus group study on the viewpoints, barriers, and facilitators associated with hospital collaboration models (health system, network, joint venture). RESULTS: A total of 55 hospital stakeholders (hospital managers, chairs of medical councils, chair of hospital boards and special interest groups) participated in seven focus group sessions. Collaboration in health care is challenging, as the goals of the different stakeholder groups are partly parallel but also sometimes conflicting. Hospital managers and special interest groups favored health systems as the most integrated form. Hospital board members also opted for this model, but believed a coordinated network to be the most pragmatic and feasible model at the moment. Members of physicians' organizations preferred the joint venture, as it creates more flexibility for physicians. Successful collaboration requires trust and commitment. Legislation must provide a supporting framework and governance models. CONCLUSIONS: Involvement of all stakeholder groups in the process of decision-making within the collaboration is perceived as a necessity, which confirms the importance of the stakeholders' theory. The health system is the collaboration structure best suited to enhancing task distribution and improving patient quality. However, the existence of networks and joint ventures is considered necessary in the process of transformation towards more solid hospital collaborations such as health systems.

Improving the forecasting of hospital services: A comparison between projections and actual utilization of hospital services.

OBJECTIVES: To compare projected and observed hospital inpatient use in Belgium and to draw lessons from that comparison. METHODS: In 2005, projections for hospital service use were generated up to 2015, based on demographic change, substitution from inpatient to day care, and, the evolution of the average length of stay (LOS). The accuracy of the forecasts was assessed by comparing projected and observed population size, admissions and inpatient days, average LOS and percentage change in case mix. RESULTS: The demographic growth was underestimated. Overall, the baseline projection for hospital admissions was remarkably close to the observed figures but the underlying case mix diverged importantly. With substitution between inpatient and day care, the number of admissions was underestimated by 15%-40%. The number of days was projected to increase in every scenario, whereas a decreasing trend was observed mainly due to the faster decline in average LOS than projected. CONCLUSION: Hospital capacity planning is an important component of evidence informed policymaking. Projection results benefit from a well-designed methodology: choice of forecast groups, estimation models, selection criteria, and a sensitivity analysis of the results. To cope with the dynamic and continuously evolving context in which hospitals operate, regular updates to incorporate new data and to reassess estimated trends should be an integral part of the projection framework.

Hospital networks: how to make them work in Belgium? Facilitators and barriers of different governance models.

Objectives This study aims to identify the facilitators and barriers to governance models of hospital collaborations. The country-specific characteristics of the Belgian healthcare system and legislation are taken into account. Methods A case study was carried out in six Belgian hospital collaborations. Different types of governance models were selected: two health systems, two participant-governed networks, and two lead-organization-governed networks. Within these collaborations, 43 people were interviewed. Results All structures have both advantages and disadvantages. It is important that the governance model fits the network. However, structural, procedural, and especially contextual factors also affect the collaborations, such as alignment of hospitals' and professionals' goals, competition, distance, level of integrated care, time needed for decision-making, and legal and financial incentives. Conclusion The fit between the governance model and the collaboration can facilitate the functioning of a collaboration. The main barriers we identified are contextual factors. The Belgian government needs to play a major role in facilitating collaboration.

What Does the Public Want? Structural Consideration of Citizen Preferences in Health Care Coverage Decisions.

Background. Multi-criteria decision analysis can improve the legitimacy of health care reimbursement decisions by taking societal preferences into account when weighting decision criteria. This study measures the relative importance of health care coverage criteria according to the Belgian general public and policy makers. Criteria are structured into three domains: therapeutic need, societal need, and new treatments' added value. Methods. A sample of 4,288 citizens and 161 policy makers performed a discrete choice experiment. Data were analyzed using multinomial logistic regression analysis. Level-independent criteria weights were determined using the log-likelihood method. Results. Both the general public and policy makers gave the highest weight to quality of life in the appraisal of therapeutic need (0.43 and 0.53, respectively). The general public judged life expectancy (0.14) as less important than inconvenience of current treatment (0.43), unlike decision makers (0.32 and 0.15). The general public gave more weight to "impact of a disease on public expenditures" (0.65) than to "prevalence of the disease" (0.56) when appraising societal need, whereas decision makers' weights were 0.44 and 0.56, respectively. When appraising added value, the general public gave similar weights to "impact on quality of life" and "impact on prevalence" (0.37 and 0.36), whereas decision makers judged "impact on quality of life" (0.39) more important than "impact on prevalence" (0.29). Both gave the lowest weight to impact on life expectancy (0.14 and 0.21). Limitations. Comparisons between the general public and policy makers should be treated with caution because the policy makers' sample size was small. Conclusion. Societal preferences can be measured and used as decision criteria weights in multi-criteria decision analysis. This cannot replace deliberation but can improve the transparency of health care coverage decision processes.

Fairness in cost-benefit analysis: A methodology for health technology assessment.

We evaluate the introduction of various forms of antihypertensive treatments in France with a distribution-sensitive cost-benefit analysis. Compared to traditional cost-benefit analysis, we implement distributional weighting based on equivalent incomes, a new concept of individual well-being that does respect individual preferences but is not subjectively welfarist. Individual preferences are estimated on the basis of a contingent valuation question, introduced into a representative survey of the French population. Compared to traditional cost-effectiveness analysis in health technology assessment, we show that it is feasible to go beyond a narrow evaluation of health outcomes while still fully exploiting the sophistication of medical information. Sensitivity analysis illustrates the relevancy of this richer welfare framework, the importance of the distinction between an ex ante and an ex post approach, and the need to consider distributional effects in a broader institutional setting.

Variability in elective day-surgery rates between Belgian hospitals - Analyses of administrative data explained by surgical experts.

BACKGROUND: In the last decades, day surgery has steadily and significantly grown in many countries, yet the increase has been uneven. There are large variations in day-surgery activity between countries, but also within countries between hospitals and surgeons. This paper explores the variability in day-care activity for elective surgical procedures between Belgian hospitals. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The administrative hospital data of all patients formally admitted in a Belgian hospital for inpatient or day-care surgery between 2011 and 2013 were analysed and summarized in graphs. During 11 expert meetings with ad-hoc surgical expert groups the variability in day-surgery share between hospitals was discussed in depth. RESULTS: The variability in day-care share between Belgian hospitals is considerable. For 37 out of 486 elective surgical procedures, the variability ranged between 0 and 100%. High national day-care rates do not preclude room for improvement for certain hospitals as for the majority of these procedures there are "low performers". According to the consulted clinical experts, the high variability in day-care share may for the greater part be explained by medical team related factors, customs and traditions, the lack of clinical guidelines, financial factors, organisational factors and patient related factors. CONCLUSION: If a further expansion of day surgery is envisaged in Belgium the factors that contribute to the current variability in day-surgery rates between hospitals should be addressed. In addition, a feedback system in which hospitals and health care providers have the figures on their percentage of procedures carried out in day surgery compared to other hospitals and care providers (benchmarking) and the monitoring of a number of quality indicators (e.g. unplanned readmission, unplanned inpatient stay, emergency department visit) should be installed.

Out-of-Pocket Payments and Subjective Unmet Need of Healthcare.

We present a critical review of the literature that discusses the link between the level of out-of-pocket payments in developed countries and the share of people in these countries reporting that they postpone or forgo healthcare for financial reasons. We discuss the pros and cons of measuring access problems with this subjective variable. Whereas the quantitative findings in terms of numbers of people postponing care must be interpreted with utmost caution, the picture for the vulnerable groups in society is reasonably robust and unsurprising: people with low incomes and high morbidity and incomplete (or non-existent) insurance coverage are most likely to postpone or forgo healthcare for financial reasons. It is more surprising that people with high incomes and generous insurance coverage also report that they postpone care. We focus on some policy-relevant issues that call for further research: the subtle interactions between financial and non-financial factors, the possibility of differentiation of out-of-pocket payments between patients and between healthcare services, and the normative debate around accessibility and affordability.

The 2016 proposal for the reorganisation of urgent care provision in Belgium: A political struggle to co-locate primary care providers and emergency departments.

Internationally the number of emergency department (ED) visits is on the rise while evidence suggests that a substantial proportion of these patients do not require emergency care but primary care. This paper presents the Belgian 2016 proposal for the reorganisation of urgent care provision and places it into its political context. The proposal focused on re-designing patient flow aiming to reduce inappropriate ED visits by improving guidance of patients through the system. Initially policymakers envisaged, as cornerstone of the reform, to roll-out as standard model the co-location of primary care centres and EDs. Yet, this was substantially toned down in the final policy decisions mainly because GPs strongly opposed this model (because of increased workload and loss of autonomy, hospital-centrism, etc.). In fact, the final compromise assures a great degree of autonomy for GPs in organising out-of-hours care. Therefore, improvements will depend on future developments in the field and continuous monitoring of (un-)intended effects is certainly indicated. This policy process makes clear how important it is to involve all relevant stakeholders as early as possible in the development of a reform proposal to take into account their concerns, to illustrate the benefits of the reform and ultimately to gain buy-in for the reform.