The effect of assigning dedicated general practitioners to nursing homes
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The effect of assigning dedicated general practitioners to nursing homes. / Weatherall, Cecilie Dohlmann; Hansen, Anne Toft; Nicholson, Sean.
I: Health Services Research, Bind 54, Nr. 3, 17.01.2019, s. 547-554.Publikation: Bidrag til tidsskrift › Tidsskriftartikel › Forskning › fagfællebedømt
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TY - JOUR
T1 - The effect of assigning dedicated general practitioners to nursing homes
AU - Weatherall, Cecilie Dohlmann
AU - Hansen, Anne Toft
AU - Nicholson, Sean
PY - 2019/1/17
Y1 - 2019/1/17
N2 - AbstractObjectiveTo determine whether assigning a dedicated general practitioner (GP ) to a nursing home reduces hospitalizations and readmissions.Data Sources/Study SettingSecondary data on hospitalizations and deaths by month for the universe of nursing home residents in Denmark from January 2011 through February 2014.Study DesignIn 2012, Denmark initiated a program in seven nursing homes that volunteered to participate. We used a difference‐in‐differences model to estimate the effect of assigning a dedicated GP to a nursing home on the likelihood that a nursing home resident will be hospitalized, will experience a preventable hospitalization, and will be readmitted. The unit of observation is a resident‐month.Data Collection/Extraction MethodsData were extracted from the Danish public administrative register dataset.Principal FindingsWe found that assigning a GP to a nursing home was associated with a 0.55 [95 percent CI , 0.08 to 1.02] percentage point reduction in the monthly probability of a preventable hospitalization, which was a 26 percent reduction from the preintervention level of 2.13 percentage points. The associated reduction in the monthly probability of a readmission was 0.68 [95 percent CI , −0.01 to 1.37] percentage points, which was a 25 percent reduction from the baseline level of 2.68 percentage points. Survey results indicated that the likely mechanism for the effect was more efficient and consistent communication between GP s and nursing home personnel.ConclusionsAssigning a dedicated physician in a nursing home can reduce medical spending and improve patients' health.
AB - AbstractObjectiveTo determine whether assigning a dedicated general practitioner (GP ) to a nursing home reduces hospitalizations and readmissions.Data Sources/Study SettingSecondary data on hospitalizations and deaths by month for the universe of nursing home residents in Denmark from January 2011 through February 2014.Study DesignIn 2012, Denmark initiated a program in seven nursing homes that volunteered to participate. We used a difference‐in‐differences model to estimate the effect of assigning a dedicated GP to a nursing home on the likelihood that a nursing home resident will be hospitalized, will experience a preventable hospitalization, and will be readmitted. The unit of observation is a resident‐month.Data Collection/Extraction MethodsData were extracted from the Danish public administrative register dataset.Principal FindingsWe found that assigning a GP to a nursing home was associated with a 0.55 [95 percent CI , 0.08 to 1.02] percentage point reduction in the monthly probability of a preventable hospitalization, which was a 26 percent reduction from the preintervention level of 2.13 percentage points. The associated reduction in the monthly probability of a readmission was 0.68 [95 percent CI , −0.01 to 1.37] percentage points, which was a 25 percent reduction from the baseline level of 2.68 percentage points. Survey results indicated that the likely mechanism for the effect was more efficient and consistent communication between GP s and nursing home personnel.ConclusionsAssigning a dedicated physician in a nursing home can reduce medical spending and improve patients' health.
KW - dedicated physicians
KW - nursing home
KW - preventable hospitalizations
KW - readmissions
U2 - 10.1111/1475-6773.13112
DO - 10.1111/1475-6773.13112
M3 - Journal article
C2 - 30653660
VL - 54
SP - 547
EP - 554
JO - Health Services Research
JF - Health Services Research
SN - 0017-9124
IS - 3
ER -
ID: 241764748