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Percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI) on acute myocardial infarction (AMI) patients have increased substantially in the last 12-15 years because of its clinical effectiveness. The expansion of PCI treatment for AMI patients raises two questions: How did PCI utilization rates vary across European regions, and which healthcare system and regional characteristic variables correlated with the utilization rate? Were the differences in use of PCI associated with differences in outcome, operationalized as 30-day mortality? We obtained our results from a dataset based on the administrative information systems of the populations of seven European countries. PCI rates were highest in the Netherlands, followed by Sweden and Hungary. The probability of receiving PCI was highest in regions with their own PCI facilities and in healthcare systems with activity-based reimbursement systems. Thirty-day mortality rates differed considerably between the countries with the highest rates in Hungary, Scotland, and Finland. Mortality was lowest in Sweden and Norway. The associations between PCI and mortality were remarkable in all age groups and across most countries. Despite extensive risk adjustment, we interpret the associations both as effects of selection and treatments. We observed a lower effect of PCI in the higher age groups in Hungary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this study was to compare healthcare performance for the surgical treatment of hip fractures across and within Finland, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Scotland, and Sweden. Differences in age-adjusted and sex-adjusted 30-day and one-year all-cause mortality rates following hip fracture, as well as the length of stay of the first hospital episode in acute care and during a follow up of 365 days, were investigated, and associations between selected country-level and regional-level factors with mortality and length of stay were assessed. Hungary showed the highest one-year mortality rate (mean 39.7%) and the lowest length of stay in one year (12.7 days), whereas Italy had the lowest one-year mortality rate (mean 19.1 %) and the highest length of stay (23.3 days). The observed variations were largely explained by country-specific effects rather than by regional-level factors. The results show that there should still be room for efficiency gains in the acute treatment of hip fracture, and clinicians, healthcare managers, and politicians should learn from best practices. This study demonstrates that an international comparison of acute hospital care is possible using pooled individual-level administrative data., (Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.)

Introduction: For medication safety improvement medication reconciliation was proven to be an effective method transferable between different healthcare providers and ward profiles., Aim: Gaining a better understanding of the process of reconciling medicines. Mapping the driving and restraining forces of introducing medication reconciliation., Method: A search of the literature was conducted. 19 databases were searched using 7 different search engines. The relevance of the papers was rated by two independent experts. Data were extracted based on a previously compiled extraction tool., Results: 230 articles were evaluated. Limits and driving forces of implementing medication reconciliation were set out. Often mentioned implementation obstacles were: communication issues, disengagement of the leaders, unpredictable resources and competence problems. Recommendations mainly consisted of process redesign techniques, presentation of cost-effectiveness data and arranging special training for staff., Conclusions: For improvement of medication safety in Hungarian hospitals implementing medication reconciliation should be considered. The conclusion of ongoing on-site trials as well as limits and success factors identified in this paper should taken into account.

Unlabelled: In Hungary we have no comprehensive data on hospital care and short and long term prognosis of patients with myocardial infarction., Aims: To collect data on number, hospital care and prognosis of patients treated for myocardial infarction in all Hungarian hospitals., Methods: Authors studied the number of patients treated in hospital for acute myocardial infarction, the frequency of revascularization by coronary angioplasty during treatment, as well as the 30 and 365 day mortality of patients by the evaluation of the financing database of the National Health Insurance Fund for 6 years (2004-2009)., Results: There has been no major change during the observation period in the number of patients treated in hospital for myocardial infarction (approximately 16,500 cases/year). The incidence in males (calculated by the number of patients treated in hospital) is higher in any age group compared to females; this difference is lower in older age groups. During the observation period the 30 and 365 day mortality has decreased by 1.8% (18.9% vs. 17.1% and 29.9% vs. 28.1%, respectively), which was caused by a decrease in the mortality of patients above age 70. The percentage of revascularization by coronary angioplasty during the treatment of myocardial infarction has significantly increased (18.2% vs. 49.8%). The International Classification of Diseases does not differentiate between the different forms of myocardial infarction, therefore the prognostic effects of coronary angioplasty cannot be evaluated in this respect., Conclusions: Authors conclude that the financing database is suitable to evaluate the major aspects of care and to support healthcare management decisions, while the appropriateness of treatment and the effectiveness of different interventions can be assessed by prospective databases satisfying the needs of special aspects and can therefore be used for detailed assessments.

Unlabelled: Medication errors occur very frequently. The limited knowledge of contributing factors and risks prevents the development and testing of successful preventive strategies., Objective: To investigate the differences between the ordered and dispensed drugs, and to identify the risks during medication., Methods: Prospective direct observation at two inpatient hospital wards., Results: The number of observed doses was 775 and the number of ordered doses was 806. It was found that from the total opportunities of 803 errors 114 errors occurred in dispensed drugs corresponding to an error rate of 14.1%. Among the different types of errors, the most important errors were: dispensing inappropriate doses (25.4%), unauthorized tablet halving or crushing (24.6%), omission errors (16.4%) and dispensing an active ingredient different from the ordered (14.2%). 87% of drug dispensing errors were considered as errors with minor consequences, while 13% of errors were potentially serious., Conclusions: Direct observation of the drug dispensing procedure appears to be an appropriate method to observe errors in medication of hospital wards. The results of the study and the identified risks are worth to be reconsidered and prevention measures should be applied to everyday health care practice to improve patient safety.

Policy makers and payers of health care services devote increasing attention to improve quality of services by incentivising health care providers. These--so called--pay for performance (P4P) programmes have so far been introduced in few countries only and evidence on their effectiveness is still scarce. Therefore we do not know yet which instruments of these programmes are most effective and efficient in improving quality. The P4P systems implemented so far in primary care and in integrated delivery systems use indicators for measurement of performance and the basis for rewards. These indicators are mostly process indicators, but there are some outcome indicators as well. The desired quality improvement effects are most likely to be achieved with programmes that provide seizable financial rewards and cover the extra cost of quality improvement efforts as well. Administration of the programme has to be fully transparent and clear to all involved. It has to be based on scientific evidence and supported with sufficient dedicated funding. Conducting pilot studies is a precondition for large scale implementation.

Background: Coronary stent thrombosis is a catastrophic complication of percutaneous coronary intervention. There is a paucity of long-term data regarding the clinical outcome of patients who have suffered stent thrombosis., Material/methods: We sought to assess the long-term clinical outcome of patients who suffered de novo ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction as well as those who suffered ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction as a result of stent thrombosis. In both patient groups, major cardiac adverse events were studied during a 1-year follow-up period., Results: A total of 1890 consecutive patients who presented with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction during the period January 2003 to December 2005 were studied: 1843 (97.5%) suffered de novo ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction, and 47 (2.5%) suffered ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction as a consequence of stent thrombosis. The rate of cardiogenic shock was significantly higher in the stent thrombosis group than in the de novo thrombosis group (21.3% vs 4.8%, respectively) (P<0.001). Mortality rates at 30 days (6.4% vs 8.8%) and at 1 year (17.0% vs 14.9%) showed no significant difference between the 2 groups. The repeat revascularization rate was higher among patients with post-stent thrombosis (35.7% vs 9.1%) (P<0.001), as was the major cardiovascular event rate (57.1% vs 31.2%) (P<0.001)., Conclusions: The long-term clinical outcome of patients who have suffered stent thrombosis is poor. Additional research is warranted to further improve therapeutic measures associated with stent thrombosis.

Introduction: This paper assesses the first controlled multicentric investigation of outpatient cardiac rehabilitation in Hungary. Framing and starting of the program was carried out beside the Hungarian experts by the United States Department of Health and Human Services., Aims: To prove the extreme importance of cardiac rehabilitation, both inpatient and outpatient, after the hospital treatment of cardiac emergencies., Methods: 531 patients were collected at the beginning of the study from three Hungarian cardiological centers having cardiac surgery and cardiac rehabilitation ward. 167 patients were ranked into the outpatients group (Group A), 311 were rehabilitated in hospital (Group B) and 53 served as control (group C). After physical, ergometric and echocardiographic examinations and psychometric evaluation (Beck and WHOBREF questionnaires) the patients of Group A and B performed a conducted training three times weekly for 3 months. All the patients were examined 3 and 12 months later., Results: Significant improvement of ergometric data was observed in both groups of patients who underwent rehabilitation training, but this was not the case with control patients. This improvement could not be observed after one year. The number of anginal attacks and the need of hospital treatment also showed a significant reduction in Groups A and B., Conclusions: The data have proved that cardiac rehabilitation has an extremely important role in the stabilisation of heart functions and general health of patients after acute myocardial infarction or heart surgery. It was also proved, that 12-week rehabilitation training is not sufficient to achieve long-term stabilization. Sufficient data have accumulated during the study about the effectiveness and safety of outpatient cardiac rehabilitation as an alternative to inpatient service.

One of the hottest topics of the international journals is the question: what is the effect of the public indicator-based quality assessment on the quality of care and on the decision of stakeholders, and which criteria should be applied for development of public quality assessment system. According to the international literature the paper discusses 6 topics: (1) the ability of indicators to distinguish providers from the point of view of quality; (2) the appropriateness of outcome indicators to assess providers; (3) the ability of league tables to rank providers; (4) the people's behaviour during choosing providers; (5) the impact of indicator-based public report; (6) recommendations for developing quality assessment system. Based on the literature review, the ability of indicators in distinguishing providers from the point of view of quality is doubtful primarily because of risk-adjustment problems. Other reasons are: the outcomes of care do not definitely refer to the quality of care process; the rankings of providers (league tables) based on more indicators are not reliable; people take into account mainly distance and the opinions of acquaintance when they choose providers; as a result of public reports the overall quality of care is declining. The publication of the results of measurement to assess providers has to be considered as a tool. For the purpose of helping people in choosing providers, the publication of patient satisfaction survey designed according to their preferences could achieve the desired effect. The quality improvement aims are definitely helped by the direct feedback to providers about the indicator values. Furthermore, much finer picture can be made if the standardized audits of care and organisational processes are inserted into external assessment procedures.

Introduction: Quality of life, as a subjective parameter of the general condition, is suitable for characterization of the health status of populations or patient groups, and for studying the effects of therapeutic or preventive interventions., Aims: To test the applicability and reliability in Hungary of the abbreviated form of the quality of life questionnaire developed by WHO, one of several ways to measure the quality of life., Methods: Questionnaire-based cross-sectional investigation was performed among altogether 814 persons, in small settlements of population under 1000 and 2000, and in a small town for control, in Csongrád county, Hungary. The reliability and validity of the quality of life questionnaire was tested, within each group of questions, by means of Cronbach's alpha, ANOVA and Kruskal-Wallis tests, and by Spearman's rho correlation coefficient., Results: The mean values of the four domains of quality of life - physical, psychological, social and environmental - showed no noteworthy differences. The Cronbach's alpha figures of the internal consistency test on separate groups of questions and on all questions were in all cases above the expected minimum of 0.7. The means calculated for each domain of quality of life were decreasing with increasing age. Healthy people estimated each aspect of quality of life as significantly better, compared to the sick. Correlation tests showed that all dimensions of the quality of life were in close positive correlation with the general quality of life, with the level of satisfaction with the own health, with the self-assessed health, and with the responses given on other questions related to the social or health situation of the questioned., Conclusion: The variation of the questionnaire, adapted to Hungarian conditions, proved to be suitable for testing the quality of life of persons with various demographical, social and health conditions, and for distinction between the healthy and the sick. The sheet, which can be filled in quickly and easily, enables the measurement of quality of life in the Hungarian population, and the comparison of that with international data.

Indicator system development for evaluating the quality of health services. The National Health Insurance Fund of Hungary introduces indicators for evaluating the quality of health services. The new system starts by the end of 2003 on the Internet and it will be updated and improved on a regular base. The quality indicators provide possibility to compare the health services and follow up the changes. The Hungarian indicators came from those indicators, which are described, tested and used in the international literature and practice. The data derive from the routinely collected financial data of the National Health Insurance Fund. The conclusions drawn form the results will be arranged and interpreted according to the types of indicators. Those providers whose have out of the ordinary values should fill in a standardized questionnaire--which was developed with the representatives of the certain profession--for explaining the results and define quality improvement plan. The aim of the programme is to increase transparency of health services, to enhance quality improvement and to support the certification and accreditation programmes.

The Quality-management Committee of the Hungarian Hospital Federation and the Semmelweis University Health Services Management Training Centre, recognizing the threats of the human resources shortage and the consequential quality problems in the delivery of health care services, have launched a program for identifying the major problems and developing recommendations for decision makers and health service managers. The identification of the problems was performed by a task force group using a systematic methodology, recommendations were based on these findings. Members of the task force group were delegated by the Hungarian Hospital Federation and the Health Services Management Training Centre. Additional members were invited from the Ministry of Health and various other professional organizations.