BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Few studies have evaluated long-term costs after stroke onset, with almost no cost data for transient ischemic attack (TIA). We studied hospital costs during the 5 years after TIA or stroke in a population-based study. METHODS Patients from a United Kingdom population-based cohort study (Oxford Vascular Study) were recruited from 2002 to 2007. Analysis was based on foll...

BACKGROUND Outpatient treatment of uncomplicated acute diverticulitis is safe and effective. The aim of this study was to determine the impact of outpatient treatment on the reduction of healthcare costs. PATIENTS AND METHODS A retrospective cohort study comparing 2 groups was performed. In the outpatient treatment group, patients diagnosed with uncomplicated acute diverticulitis were treated...

OBJECTIVES To assess the effectiveness of a trained district nurse individually prescribing a home based exercise programme to reduce falls and injuries in elderly people and to estimate the cost effectiveness of the programme. DESIGN Randomised controlled trial with one year's follow up. SETTING Community health service at a New Zealand hospital. PARTICIPANTS 240 women and men aged 75 ye...

OBJECTIVE To compare hospital costs of Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal patients having haemodialysis treatment and forecast the future treatment cost. METHODS The costs of patients with HD in the "Top End" of Australia's Northern Territory were estimated for the financial years 1996/97 and 1997/98 using a hospital costing model. We used an Autoregression Integrated Moving Average model to predi...

OBJECTIVES The aim of this study was to compare the relative cost of a transesophageal echocardiography (TEE)-guided strategy versus conventional strategy for patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) >2 days duration undergoing electrical cardioversion over an eight-week period. BACKGROUND The Assessment of Cardioversion Using Transesophageal Echocardiography (ACUTE) trial found no difference i...

BACKGROUND The UK government is pursuing policies to improve primary care access, as many patients visit accident and emergency (A and E) departments after being unable to get suitable general practice appointments. Direct admission to hospital via a general practitioner (GP) averts A and E use, and may reduce total hospital costs. It could also enhance the continuity of information between GPs...

To succeed in today's challenging healthcare environment, hospitals must examine their impact on customers--patients and families--staff and physicians. By using competitive facility design and incorporating evidence-based concepts such as the acuity adaptable care delivery model and the universal room, the hospital will realize an impact on patient satisfaction that will enhance market share, ...

BACKGROUND Traditional endoscopy center scheduling often results in nonurgent inpatient endoscopic procedures being delayed until late in the day and can prolong length of hospital stay and costs. We report the first controlled study designed to evaluate the effect of an early morning fast-track triage endoscopy unit on the cost and length of stay of a general GI inpatient population. METHODS...

OBJECTIVES Investigating injuries in terms of occurrences and patient and hospital stay characteristics. METHODS 17370 stays, with at least one E code, were investigated based on data from 13 Belgian hospitals. Pearson's chi-square and Kruskal-Wallis tests were used to assess the variations between distributions of the investigated factors according to the injury's types. RESULTS Major inju...

Background Concentration of the provision of hospital services is sometimes seen as a way to reduce costs and improve the quality and efficiency of care. This paper, based on an issue of Effective Health Care Vol 2, No 8 summarises the results of systematic reviews carried out at the University of York to assess research into the possible relation between volume of clinical activity in hospital...