Primary care efficiency measurement using data envelopment analysis: a systematic review

There is a gap between the demand and supply of efficiency analyses within primary care (PC), despite the threatening financial sustainability of health care systems. This paper provides a systematic literature review on PC efficiency analysis using Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA). We reviewed 39 DEA applications in PC, to understand how methodological frameworks impact results and influence the information provided to decision makers. Studies were combined using qualitative narrative synthesis. This paper reports data for each efficiency analysis on the: 1) evaluation context; 2) model specifications; 3) application of methods to test the robustness of findings; 4) presentation of results. Even though a consistent number of analyses aim to support policymakers and practice managers in improving the efficiency of their PC organizations, the results indicate that DEA -at least when applied to PC- is a methodology still in progress; it needs to be further advanced to meet the complexity that characterizes the production of PC outcomes. Future studies are needed to fill some gaps in this particular domain of research, such as on the standardization of methodologies and the improvement of outcome research in PC. Most importantly, further studies should include extensive uncertainty analyses and be based on good evidence-based rationales. We suggest a number of considerations to academics and researchers to foster the utility of efficiency measurement for the decision making purposes in P

Outcomes of a 3-year prospective surveillance in individuals at high-risk for pancreatic cancer

Introduction: Pancreatic cancer (PC) surveillance of high-risk individuals (HRI) is becoming more common worldwide, aiming at anticipating PC diagnosis at a pre-clinical stage. In 2015 the Italian Registry of Families at Risk of Pancreatic Cancer (IRFARPC) was created. We aimed to assess the prevalence and incidence of pancreatic findings, oncological outcomes, and harms seven years after the Italian Registry of Families at Risk of Pancreatic Cancer (IRFARPC) inception focusing on individuals with at least a 3-year follow-up or developing events before. Methods: HRI (subjects with family history or mutation carriers with/without family history were enrolled in 18 Centers. They underwent annual magnetic resonance with cholangiopancreatography or endoscopic ultrasound (NCT04095195). Results: During the study period (June 2015 - September 2022), 679 individuals were enrolled. Of these, 524 (77.2%) underwent at least baseline imaging, and 156 (29.8%) with at least a 3-year follow-up or pancreatic malignancy/pre-malignancy-related events, and represented the study population. Median age was 51 (IQR 16). Familial PC cases (FPC) accounted for 81.4% of HRI, and individuals with pathogenic variant (PV) for 18.6%. Malignant (n=8) and pre-malignant (1 PanIN3) lesions were found in nine individuals. Five of these 8 cases occurred in PV carriers, four in FPC cases (two tested negative at germline testing, and two others were not tested). Three of the 8 PC were Stage I. Five of the 8 PC were resectable, 3 Stage I, all advanced cases being prevalent. The 1-, 2-, and 3-year cumulative hazard of PC was 1.7%, 2.5% and 3%, respectively. Median overall and disease-free survival of resected PC patients were 18 and 12 months (95%CI not computable). Considering HRI who underwent baseline imaging, six pancreatic neuroendocrine neoplasms (one resected) and one low-yield surgery (low-grade mixed-IPMN) were also reported. Conclusion: PC surveillance in a fully public healthcare system is feasible, safe, and leads to early PC or pre-malignant lesions diagnoses, mostly at baseline but also over time