Hospital outcomes management: the Care Continuum and Health Outcomes Project.
The Care Continuum and Health Outcomes Project is part of a national initiative to build an outcomes management approach in health care. This paper examines the baseline performance of the study. In 1995-96, 7154 Australian Capital Territory hospital inpatients were selected to take part in a five-wave survey over six months. In addition to the survey, the project involved the unit record linkage of routine data collections. A total of 5668 people (79%) agreed to participate in the survey, with 85% of these people agreeing to release their Medicare data. There were significant variations in participation rates between hospitals and wards. Factors contributing to these variations included patient socioeconomic status, disease type and illness severity. In conclusion, the success in establishing the project indicates that it is possible to conduct a broad scientific study within the health system, and that there are strong implications that ongoing scientific evaluations can be embedded within routine clinical practice.
Shadbolt
B
B
Clinical Health Outcomes Centre, Epidemiology Unit, ACT Department of Health and Community Care, New South Wales.
McCallum
J
J
Bourne
M
M
Singh
M
M
D000328:Adult; D003266:Continuity of Patient Care / Q000458:organization & administration*; D003710:Demography; D003953:Diagnosis-Related Groups / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D017050:Episode of Care; D005260:Female; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D016304:Hospitals, Private / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000592:standards / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006779:Hospitals, Public / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000592:standards / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008498:Medical Record Linkage; D008875:Middle Aged; D009517:New South Wales; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care / Q000458:organization & administration*; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011787:Quality of Health Care; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires