Impact of Quality-based Procedures on orthopedic care quantity and quality in Ontario Hospitals

In 2012 the Ontario Ministry of Health introduced Quality-Based Procedures (QBPs), whereby for a selected set of medical interventions hospitals started to be reimbursed based on the price by volume formula, with the expectation that payments would be subsequently adjusted with respect to hospital performance on quality indicators. From the onset, unilateral hip and knee replacements were included in QBPs, whereas bilateral hip and knee replacements were added in 2014. In complement to QBPs, in 2012 the Health-Based Allocation Model (HBAM) was phased in allowing part of hospital funding to be tied to municipality-level patient and hospital characteristics. Using patient-level data from Canadian Discharge Abstract Database (DAD), we evaluate through a difference-in-difference approach the impact of QBPs/HBAM on the volume and quality of targeted procedures and other types of joint replacements plausibly competing for hospital resources. After controlling for patient, hospital and regional characteristics, we found a signi_cant decrease in acute length of stay associated to QBPs, as well as a marked shift towards patients being discharged home with/without post-operative supporting services. However, evidence with regards to spillover effects and quality improve ment across all joint replacement types is weak. Results are robust to various model specifications, and different estimation techniques, including matching methods and synthetic control groups

Relationships between work outcomes, work attitudes and work environments of health support workers in Ontario long-term care and home and community care settings

Abstract Background Our overarching study objective is to further our understanding of the work psychology of Health Support Workers (HSWs) in long-term care and home and community care settings in Ontario, Canada. Specifically, we seek novel insights about the relationships among aspects of these workers’ work environments, their work attitudes, and work outcomes in the interests of informing the development of human resource programs to enhance elder care. Methods We conducted a path analysis of data collected via a survey administered to a convenience sample of Ontario HSWs engaged in the delivery of elder care over July–August 2015. Results HSWs’ work outcomes, including intent to stay, organizational citizenship behaviors, and performance, are directly and significantly related to their work attitudes, including job satisfaction, work engagement, and affective organizational commitment. These in turn are related to how HSWs perceive their work environments including their quality of work life (QWL), their perceptions of supervisor support, and their perceptions of workplace safety. Conclusions HSWs’ work environments are within the power of managers to modify. Our analysis suggests that QWL, perceptions of supervisor support, and perceptions of workplace safety present particularly promising means by which to influence HSWs’ work attitudes and work outcomes. Furthermore, even modest changes to some aspects of the work environment stand to precipitate a cascade of positive effects on work outcomes through work attitudes