Activity-Based Funding of Hospitals and Its Impact on Mortality, Readmission, Discharge Destination, Severity of Illness, and Volume of Care: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Background: Activity-based funding (ABF) of hospitals is a policy intervention intended to re-shape incentives across health systems through the use of diagnosis-related groups. Many countries are adopting or actively promoting ABF. We assessed the effect of ABF on key measures potentially affecting patients and health care systems: mortality (acute and post-acute care); readmission rates; discharge rate to post-acute care following hospitalization; severity of illness; volume of care.     Methods: We undertook a systematic review and meta-analysis of the worldwide evidence produced since 1980. We included all studies reporting original quantitative data comparing the impact of ABF versus alternative funding systems in acute care settings, regardless of language. We searched 9 electronic databases (OVID MEDLINE, EMBASE, OVID Healthstar, CINAHL, Cochrane CENTRAL, Health Technology Assessment, NHS Economic Evaluation Database, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, and Business Source), hand-searched reference lists, and consulted with experts. Paired reviewers independently screened for eligibility, abstracted data, and assessed study credibility according to a pre-defined scoring system, resolving conflicts by discussion or adjudication.     Results: Of 16,565 unique citations, 50 US studies and 15 studies from 9 other countries proved eligible (i.e. Australia, Austria, England, Germany, Israel, Italy, Scotland, Sweden, Switzerland). We found consistent and robust differences between ABF and no-ABF in discharge to post-acute care, showing a 24% increase with ABF (pooled relative risk = 1.24, 95% CI 1.18–1.31). Results also suggested a possible increase in readmission with ABF, and an apparent increase in severity of illness, perhaps reflecting differences in diagnostic coding. Although we found no consistent, systematic differences in mortality rates and volume of care, results varied widely across studies, some suggesting appreciable benefits from ABF, and others suggesting deleterious consequences.     Conclusions: Transitioning to ABF is associated with important policy- and clinically-relevant changes. Evidence suggests substantial increases in admissions to post-acute care following hospitalization, with implications for system capacity and equitable access to care. High variability in results of other outcomes leaves the impact in particular settings uncertain, and may not allow a jurisdiction to predict if ABF would be harmless. Decision-makers considering ABF should plan for likely increases in post-acute care admissions, and be aware of the large uncertainty around impacts on other critical outcomes

Dyslipidemia and the risk of incident hypertension in a population of community-dwelling Brazilian elderly: the Bambuí cohort study of aging Dislipidemia e risco de incidência de hipertensão em uma população de idosos Brasileiros vivendo em comunidade: estudo de coorte de idosos de Bambuí

This study aimed to examine the prognostic value of lipid parameters for incident hypertension in elderly living in a community. The study included 306 (81% from total) persons aged > 60 years who were free of hypertension and of cardiovascular diseases at the baseline survey of the Bambuí Cohort Study of Aging. The cumulative incidence of hypertension over three years was 37.3%. The relative risk (RR) of incident hypertension decreased 0.92 for each unit of HDL-cholesterol (95%CI: 0.86-0.99) independent of several potential confounding factors. Individuals with HDL-cholesterol in the top tercile (> 55mg/dL) had a risk of hypertension halve that those in the bottom tercile (RR = 0.54; 95%CI: 0.33-0.90). Other lipid parameters had no significant effect on the outcome. High HDL-cholesterol showed an independent protective effect on subsequent development of hypertension in the elderly.<br>O objetivo do estudo foi examinar o valor prognóstico de parâmetros lipídicos para a incidência de hipertensão arterial em idosos vivendo na comunidade. A pesquisa incluiu 306 (81% do total) pessoas com idade > 60 anos que estavam livres de hipertensão e de doenças cardiovasculares na linha de base do Estudo de Coorte de Idosos de Bambuí. A incidência acumulada em três anos da hipertensão arterial foi de 37.3%. O risco relativo (RR) para a incidência da hipertensão diminuiu 0,92 para cada unidade de colesterol HDL (IC95%: 0,86-0,99), independente de vários potenciais fatores de confusão. Indivíduos com colesterol HDL no tercil superior (> 55mg/dL) apresentaram metade do risco de hipertensão que aqueles no tercil inferior (RR = 0,54; IC95%: 0,33-0,90). Os outros parâmetros lipídicos não apresentaram efeitos estatisticamente significantes sobre o evento. Valores mais altos de colesterol HDL apresentaram efeito protetor para o desenvolvimento da hipertensão em idosos