Baseline utilisation of specialist disability services in Ireland. ESRI Working Paper No.644 December 2019

The objective of this paper is to analyse the data on specialist disability services available in Ireland. The paper provides a baseline utilisation profile of selected services which can be used to project future service demand and expenditure. The limitations of the currently available data in providing a comprehensive picture of specialist disability services in Ireland are also outlined

Economic Evaluation of Palliative Care in Ireland

This report examines the cost of providing palliative care in Ireland for individuals facing life-threatening illnesses, outcomes for patients and families resulting from that care, and the patterns and variations among the measures studied. Focusing their examination on three regional areas, researchers found:Wide variations in the availability of palliative care services across the regions.Significant differences in how those services are resourced and models of care.Despite the variation in availability and models of care, costs remain broadly the same across regions.Among the conclusions from examination of key outcomes for the patients:High patient satisfaction with palliative care services across all regions.Where available, hospice care is easier to access and rated more highly on every quality measure than in-hospital care.The ability to access in-hospice services in the last three months of life would be preferable for patients and may provide savings within hospitals

Evidence on the Cost and Cost-effectiveness of Palliative Care: A Literature Review

In the context of limited resources, evidence on costs and cost-effectiveness of alternative methods of delivering health-care services is increasingly important to facilitate appropriate resource allocation. Palliative care services have been expanding worldwide with the aim of improving the experience of patients with terminal illness at the end of life through better symptom control, coordination of care and improved communication between professionals and the patient and family.The aim of this paper is to present results from a comprehensive literature review of available international evidence on the costs and cost-effectiveness of palliative care interventions in any setting (e.g. hospital-based, home-based and hospice care) over the period 2002 -- 2011. Key bibliographic and review databases were searched and the quality of retrieved papers was assessed against a set of 31 indicators developed for this review.A total of 46 papers met the criteria for inclusion in the review, examining the cost and/or utilisation implications of a palliative care intervention with some form of comparator. The main focus of these studies was on direct costs with little focus on informal care or out-of-pocket costs. The overall quality of the studies is mixed, although a number of cohort studies do undertake multivariate regression analysis.Despite wide variation in study type, characteristic and study quality, there are consistent patterns in the results. Palliative care is most frequently found to be less costly relative to comparator groups, and in most cases, the difference in cost is statistically significant

Recent trends in the caesarean section rate in Ireland 1999 - 2006

This paper explores levels and trends in the prevalence of caesarean section delivery in Ireland between 1999 and 2006. Over this period the caesarean section rate in Ireland increased by almost one quarter. Using data from the Irish National Perinatal Reporting System we examine the contribution of maternal, birth/infant and hospital characteristics on the rise in the caesarean section rate over the period. International evidence suggests that earlier gestational age of child, older maternal age at birth, higher socio-economic status of mother and birth within a private hospital all increase the risk of caesarean section. Controlling for changes in the prevalence of these and other risk factors between 1999 and 2006 only explains half of the increase in the caesarean section rate amongst singleton delivery first time mothers. This suggests that changes in physician behaviour over the period may well play a significant role

Paying more to wait less: Estimating the cost of reducing Ireland’s public hospital waiting lists. ESRI Working Paper 688 December 2020.

Larger and longer waiting lists for public hospital appointments and treatment have been a significant challenge in Irish healthcare for decades. The issue has been further exacerbated by COVID-19 in 2020 with the cancellation of elective activity in public hospitals for several months. The aim of this analysis is to estimate the activity and expenditure required to clear the accumulated backlog and account for future service demand. We estimate that to clear the backlog of cases and keep pace with demand over a period of five years, additional expenditure excluding any associated capital costs of up to €1.1bn would be required

Utilisation of public acute hospital services in Ireland — Baseline analysis for the Hippocrates model. ESRI Survey and Statistical Report Series 100 December 2020.

The Hippocrates Model provides estimates and projections of public and private healthcare demand for a range of Irish health and social care services and has been extended to project capacity and expenditure for public hospital care. The first report from the Hippocrates Model, published in 2017, presented a baseline for projection based on data from 2015. This report updates that baseline analysis using 2018 data. Using a range of administrative data sources, the report provides age and sex utilisation profiles for public acute hospital services. It covers emergency department and outpatient department attendances, and day-patient and in-patient discharges

Waiting times for publicly funded hospital treatment: How does Ireland measure up? ESRI Research Bulletin 202109 March 2021.

This paper examines how public hospital waiting times are measured in Ireland and outlines a new method for measuring waiting times which allows for comparison with a broad range of OECD countries

Pharmaceuticals Delivery in Ireland. Getting a Bigger Bang for the Buck

Ireland

Utilisation of publicly financed dental and optical services in Ireland – Baseline analysis for the Hippocrates Model. ESRI Survey and Statistical Report Series 99.

This report analyses the types of data available on dental and optical services in a community setting and considers how these might be incorporated into the Hippocrates Model. The Hippocrates Model provides estimates and projections of healthcare demand, capacity and expenditure for a range of Irish health and social care services

Utilisation of specialist disability services in Ireland - Baseline analysis for the Hippocrates model. ESRI Survey and Statistical Report Series 89 June 2020.

This report analyses available data on specialist disability services in Ireland to establish a baseline for inclusion in the Hippocrates Model of Healthcare Demand and Expenditure