The Dutch Hip Fracture Audit: evaluation of the quality of multidisciplinary hip fracture care in the Netherlands.

The nationwide Dutch Hip Fracture Audit (DHFA) is initiated to improve the quality of hip fracture care by providing insight into the actual quality of hip fracture care in daily practice. The baseline results demonstrate variance in practice, providing potential starting points to improve the quality of care. PURPOSE: The aim of this study is to describe the development and initiation of the DHFA. The secondary aim is to describe the hip fracture care in the Netherlands at the start of the audit and to assess whether there are differences in processes at baseline between hospitals. METHODS: Eighty-one hospitals were asked to register their consecutive hip fracture patients since April 2016. In 2017, the first full calendar year, the case ascertainment was determined at audit level. Three quality indicators were used to describe and assess the care process at audit and hospital level: the proportion of completed variables at discharge and at 3 months after operation, time to surgery and orthogeriatric management. RESULTS: Sixty (74%) hospitals documented 14,274 patients in the DHFA by December 2017. In 2017, the case ascertainment was 58% and the average proportion of completed variables was 77%: 91% at discharge and 30% at 3 months. The median time to operation was 18 h (IQR 7-23) for American Society of Anesthesiologists score (ASA) 1-2 patients and 21 h (IQR 13-27) for ASA 3-4 patients. Of patients aged 70 years and older, 78% received orthogeriatric management. At hospital level, all three indicators showed significant practice variance. CONCLUSION: Not all hospitals participate in the DHFA, and the data gathering process needs to be further optimized. However, the baseline results demonstrate an apparent variance in hip fracture practice between hospitals in the Netherlands, providing potential starting points to improve the quality of hip fracture care.

Geriatric fracture center: a multidisciplinary treatment approach for older patients with a hip fracture improved quality of clinical care and short-term treatment outcomes.

OBJECTIVE: Since April 1, 2008, patients aged ≥65 years presenting with a hip fracture at Ziekenhuisgroep Twente, Almelo (ZGT-A), The Netherlands, have been admitted to the geriatric fracture center (GFC) and treated according to the multidisciplinary treatment approach. The objective of this study was to evaluate how implementation of the treatment approach has influenced the quality of care given to older patients with hip fracture. DESIGN: Prospective cohort study with historical control group. METHOD: Two groups of patients with hip fracture were compared, 1 group was treated according to the new multidisciplinary treatment approach in 2009-2010, and the other group received the usual treatment in 2007-2008. The number of readmissions within 30 days after discharge was compared, and an analysis was carried out regarding the number of complications, the number of consultations with various specialists and with the geriatrician, and the duration of hospital stay. RESULTS: In all, 140 patients from 2009 to 2010 group and 90 patients from 2007 to 2008 group were included. In 2009-2010 group, the number of readmissions within 30 days dropped by 11 percentage points (P = .001). The incidence of the number of complications decreased with a median of 1 compared with 2007-2008 (P = .017) group. Delirium was diagnosed to be 6 percentage points more frequent. The median number of consultations with various specialists per patient decreased by 1 percentage point as a result of geriatrician cotreatment (P = .002). The median duration of hospital stay was 1 day shorter than that in 2007-2008 group. CONCLUSION: The use of the multidisciplinary treatment approach led to a significant reduction in the number of readmissions within 30 days after discharge. It appears to be associated with improved short-term treatment outcomes for older patients with a hip fracture.

[Multidisciplinary integrated care pathway for elderly patients with hip fractures: implementation results from Centre for Geriatric Traumatology, Almelo, The Netherlands]. / Multidisciplinair zorgpad voor oudere patiënten met een heupfractuur: resultaten van implementatie in het Centrum voor Geriatrische Traumatologie, Almelo.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effects of the implementation of a multidisciplinary treatment approach at Hospital Group Twente in Almelo, Netherlands, of hip fracture patients aged 65 years and older. DESIGN: Historical comparative cohort study. METHOD: Two groups of patients with hip fractures were retrospectively compared. One of these groups had been treated in 2009 according to the new, multidisciplinary treatment approach; the other in 2007 by usual means. Observations included the duration of hospital stay, as well as the numbers of complications, readmissions and consultations by other specialities. RESULTS: Included were 101 patients from 2009 and 69 from 2007. In 2009, the mean duration of hospital stay was 1 day longer than in 2007. Patients admitted to a nursing home for rehabilitation increased by 16 percentage points. The incidence of minor complications decreased by 7 percentage points; that of severe complications, 5 percentage points. The diagnosis of delirium was made significantly more often (15 percentage points more; p-value: 0.051). The rate of death decreased by 5 percentage points. The number of readmissions within 30 days declined by 14 percentage points (p-value: 0.001). Due to geriatric co-treatment (co-managed care), consultations by various specialities were fewer per patient. CONCLUSION: No reduction in the duration of hospital stay was achieved by implementation of the multidisciplinary treatment approach. It did appear that a relationship with better short-term treatment outcomes for the elderly with hip fractures existed.