Service Production and Patient Satisfaction in Primary Care

Context: The institutional setting for the study was the primary physician service in Norway, where there is a regular general practitioner scheme. Each inhabitant has a statutory right to be registered with a regular general practitioner. There are large differences between physicians in service production. Objective: We studied whether difference in services production between physicians has an effect on how satisfied patients are with the services that are provided. Methodology: Data about patient satisfaction were obtained from a survey of a representative sample of the population. We obtained data about how satisfied the respondents were with waiting time to get an appointment and with two aspects of the quality of care they actually received: the amount of time the physician spent with them, and to what extent they perceived that the physician took their medical problems seriously. The survey data were merged with data on service production for the primary physician that the respondent was registered with. Service production was measured as the number of consultations per person on the list, and as the number of laboratory tests per consultation. Results: There was a positive and relatively strong association between the level of service production of the general practitioners and patient satisfaction with waiting time for a consultation. The association was weaker for satisfaction with the quality of care the respondents actually received. Conclusion: A high level of service production can be justified, since it increases patient satisfaction, particularly satisfaction with access to services.primary physician services; patient satisfaction; service production; access

Regionalization and local hospital closure in Norwegian maternity care: the effect on neonatal and infant mortality

Objective. To study whether neonatal and infant mortality, after adjustments for differences in case-mix, were independent of the type of hospital in which the delivery was carried out. Data. The Medical Birth Registry of Norway provided detailed medical information for all births in Norway. Study design. Hospitals were classified into two groups: local hospitals/maternity clinics versus central/regional hospitals. Outcomes were neonatal and infant mortality. The data were analyzed using propensity score weighting to make adjustments for differences in case mix between the two groups of hospitals. This analysis was supplemented with analyses of 13 local hospitals that were closed. Using a difference-in-difference approach, the effects that these closures had on neonatal and infant mortality were estimated. Principal finding. Neonatal and infant mortality were not affected by the type of hospital where the delivery took place. Conclusion. A regionalized maternity service does not lead to increased neonatal and infant mortality. This is mainly because high risk deliveries were identified well in advance of the birth, and referred to a larger hospital with sufficient perinatal resources to deal with these deliveries

Patient allocations in general practice in case of patients' preferences for gender of doctor and their unavailability

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>In some countries every citizen has the right to obtain a designated general practitioner. However, each individual may have preferences that cannot be fulfilled due to shortages of some kind. The questions raised in this paper are: To what extent can we expect that preferences are fulfilled when the patients "compete" for entry on the lists of practitioners? What changes can we expect under changing conditions? A particular issue explored in the paper is when the majority of women prefer a female doctor and there is a shortage of female doctors.</p> <p>Findings</p> <p>The analysis is done on the macro level by the so called gravity model and on the micro level by recent theories of benefit efficient population behaviour, partly developed by two of the authors. A major finding is that the number of patients wanting a doctor of the underrepresented gender is less important than the strength of their preferences as determining factor for the benefit efficient allocation.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>We were able to generate valuable insights to the questions asked and to the dynamics of benefit efficient allocations. The approach is quite general and can be applied in a variety of contexts.</p

Changes in fetal and neonatal mortality during 40 years by offspring sex: a national registry-based study in Norway

Background There has been a considerable decline in fetal and neonatal mortality in the Western world. The authors hypothesized that this decline has been largest for boys, since boys have a higher risk of fetal and neonatal death. Methods The authors used data from the Medical Birth Registry about all births in Norway to study changes during 1967–2005 in mortality for boys and girls from the 23rd week of pregnancy until one month after birth. Absolute and relative yearly changes in fetal and neonatal death rates were estimated separately for boys and girls. Results From 1967 to 2005, the average annual reduction in the overall death rate was greater for boys: 0.47 per 1000 boys (95% CI: 0.45, 0.48) and 0.37 per 1000 girls (95% CI: 0.35, 0.39). These estimates were not affected by adjustments made for changes over time in maternal characteristics. The convergence in death rates by sex was strongest for the first week after birth: average annual reduction in the early neonatal death rate was 0.24 per 1000 boys (95% CI: 0.23, 0.25) and 0.17 per 1000 girls (95% CI: 0.16, 0.18). The death rates for boys and girls also converged during pregnancy and from one week to one month after birth. The relative reduction in death rates was quite similar for boys and girls: the overall death rate fell annually by 4.4% (95% CI: 4.3, 4.6%) for boys and by 4.2% (95% CI: 4.0, 4.4%) for girls. Conclusions During the period 1967–2005, the absolute reduction in fetal and neonatal death rates was greatest for boys. The relative reduction in mortality was about the same for both sexes, but the absolute reduction was greatest for boys since the mortality for boys began at a higher level. The convergence of death rates was not due to changes in the composition of mothers, suggesting that convergence has been caused by technological progress

Payment systems and incentives in dentistry

In this commentary, we discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the following incentive-based remuneration systems in dentistry: fee-for-item fee-for-service remuneration, per capita remuneration, a mixed payment system (a combination of fee-for-item fee-for-service remuneration and per capita remuneration) and pay-for-performance. The two latter schemes are fairly new in dentistry. Fee-for-item Fee-for-service payments secure high quality, but lead to increased costs, probably due to supplier-induced demand. Per capita payments secure effectiveness, but may lead to under-treatment and patient selection. A mixed payment scheme produces results somewhere between over- and under-treatment. The prospective component (the per capita payment) promotes efficiency, while the retrospective component (the fee-for-service payment) secures high quality of the care that is provided. A pay-for-performance payment scheme is specifically designed towards improvements in dental health. This is done by linking provider reimbursements directly to performance indicators measuring dental health outcomes and quality of the services. Experience from general health services is that pay-for-performance payment has not been very successful. This is due to significant design and implementation obstacles, and lack of provider acceptance. A major criticism of all the incentive-based remuneration schemes is that they may undermine the dentists’ intrinsic motivation for performing a task. This is a crowding-out effect, which is particularly strong when monetary incentives are introduced for care that is cognitively demanding and complex, for example as in dentistry. One way in which intrinsic motivation may not be undermined, is to introduce a fixed salary component into the remuneration scheme. Dentists would then be able to choose their type of contract according to their abilities and their preferences for non-monetary rewards as opposed to monetary rewards. If a fixed salary component cannot be introduced into the remuneration scheme, the fees should be “neutral”; i.e. they should just cover the costs of the services provided. This is one way in which supplier-induced demand can be limited, and costs contained. © 2016 Wile

The impact of education on dental health- ways to measure causal effects

To our knowledge, there are no studies in which a possible causal effect of education on dental health has been examined. Such studies are needed to predict whether more schooling for people with poor dental health improves their dental health. Within social science, and in economics in particular, several methods have been developed to make causal inferences of the relationship between education and general health. These methods, which are based on observational data, are relevant to use for estimating a possible causal effect of education on dental health. This commentary provides an overview of the state of the art of the following methods: the use of instrumental variables, twin studies and a regression discontinuity design. Using these methods, reversed causality and the omission of a third variable that influences both education and dental health can be controlled for. In that way, an unbiased estimate of the effect of education on dental health can be obtained. To implement each of the methods correctly, several criteria have to be fulfilled. These criteria are outlined and discussed below. © 2017 Wile

Improvements in Dental Health and Dentists’ Workload in Norway, 1992 to 2015

Objectives There has been a marked improvement in dental health in Norway during the last few decades. What effect has this had on provision of dental services, and how has private dental practitioners’ assessment of their workload changed? Methods The data were from 2 large surveys of private dental practitioners carried out in 1992 (n = 1056) and 2015 (n = 1237). An analysis of nonresponders showed that they were evenly distributed according to their age, gender, and the region in which their practice was located. Thus, the samples were representative of private dental practitioners. For 1 representative week in practice, the practitioners were asked to report the number of visits and the number of patients who received 1 or more of the following items of treatment: filling, crown, bridge, denture, root filling, extraction, and periodontal treatment. As a measure of patient supply, the responses from the following questions were used: “Based on an overall assessment of economy, workload, and other personal factors, is the number of regular patients adequate? If not, do you wish to have more patients or fewer patients?” Results From 1992 to 2015, the annual number of visits per practitioner decreased by 23%. The number of patients per practitioner who received fillings, crowns, bridges, dentures, root fillings, or extractions decreased by 50% or more. The decrease was largest for practitioners younger than 35 years and for men. The proportion of practitioners who reported a deficit of patients increased from 20% to 37%. Conclusions Many dentists will have too few patients and a fall in income in the years to come is expected