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Many indications for hysterectomy can negatively affect patients' quality of life. This study uses patient-reported outcomes to measure changes in self-reported health among hysterectomy patients.A prospective cohort of 294 hysterectomy patients completed patient-reported outcomes preoperatively and six months postoperatively in Vancouver, Canada. Patient-reported outcomes measured pelvic health, sexual function, pain, and depression. Changes in health were compared with paired t-tests, and multi-variable regression analysis measured associations between patient and clinical factors with postoperative outcomes RESULTS: Many patients reported improvements in health. Unadjusted analysis found that 65% of participants reported less pelvic distress, 55% reported less pain, and 47% reported less depression symptoms postoperatively. Multivariable regression analysis found that poorer preoperative health was associated with poorer postoperative outcomes in all domains of health measured (p-value 0.01). Postoperative pain scores were lower (less pain) by 0.78 among residents of the most affluent neighborhoods (p-value = 0.02) compared to those in less affluent neighborhoods. Postoperative depression scores were 1.58 points worse among participants with endometriosis (p-value = 0.03) and 1.02 points worse among participants having abdominal surgery (p-value = 0.02).Many participants reported improvements in pelvic symptoms, pain, and depression after hysterectomy. Lower socioeconomic status patients may be at risk for reporting higher pain after surgery, and endometriosis patients may report higher depression. Further investigation is needed to determine effective interventions for the higher postoperative pain observed in this study for residents of less affluent neighborhoods.

Healthcare reform is on everyone's lips these days. persistent calls for a "difference" and "change" are becoming louder. But will these calls reach a tipping point and precipitate fundamental changes in how provinces design healthcare delivery and how they pay for it?

Socio-demographic differences, including place of residence, socio-economic status, ethnicity, and gender, have been associated with various inequities in cancer care outcomes.The aims were to distinguish subgroups of patients with different symptom patterns at the time of the initial oncology visit and determine which clinical and socio-demographic variables are associated the different symptom patterns.Responses to the Edmonton Symptom Assessment Scale- revised and clinical and socio-demographic variables were obtained via the Ontario Cancer Registry and linked health data files. Latent class analyses were conducted to identify and compare the subgroups.The cohort (n = 216,110) with a mean age of 64.5 years consisted of 54.1% women. The analyses identified six latent classes (proportions ranging from 0.09 to 0.31) with distinct symptom patterns, including: 1) many severe symptoms, 2) many less severe symptoms, 3) predominantly mild symptoms, 4) severe psychosocial symptoms, 5) severe somatic symptoms, 6) few symptoms. The subgroups were associated not only with clinical differences (diagnoses and functional status), but also with various socio-demographic (age, sex) and community characteristics (neighborhood income, proportion of foreign born, rurality).The results indicated that there were substantial differences in symptom patterns at the time of the initial oncology visit, which were associated with both clinical diagnoses and socio-demographic differences. These results point to the importance of taking the social situation of patients into account, and not just diagnosis, to better understand differences in symptom patterns of people living with cancer.

Shared decision-making between patients and clinicians is important to surgical practice and patients' perceptions of their healthcare experience. This study aims to measure associations between patients' perceptions of their shared decision-making (SDM) process and health-related quality of life among a cohort of patients choosing surgical management of an elective surgical procedure, haemorrhoidectomy.This study is a single-site study based in Vancouver, Canada. Consecutive patients of five colorectal surgeons registered for elective haemorrhoidectomy between September 2016 and June 2020 were eligible to participate. Participants completed the CollaboRATE instrument which measures patients' perceptions of their SDM after the surgical consultation, along with a number of other patient-reported outcomes.The participation rate was 45.3%, with 157 patients scheduled for haemorrhoidectomy providing complete information. Unadjusted results found that participants having the most comorbidities reported better communication with their surgeon. The adjusted results show that socioeconomic status and depression were associated with lower CollaboRATE scores. There was no effect of sex, pain interference, anxiety or perceived health status on participants' CollaboRATE scores.This study found evidence that participants with lower economic status or those reporting depressive symptoms had worse perceptions of their SDM process with their surgeon. These findings suggest that special attention should be paid to the surgical decision-making process for these patient populations.

This study measures patient’s concordance between clinical reference pathways with survival or cost among a population-based cohort of colon cancer patients applying a continuous measure of concordance. The primary hypothesis is that a higher concordance score with the clinical pathway is significantly associated with longer survival or lower cost. The study informs whether patient’s adherence to a defined clinical pathway is beneficial to patients’ outcomes or health system. An externally determined clinical pathway for colon cancer was used to identify treatment nodes in colon cancer care. Using observational data up to 2019, the study generated a continuous measure of pathway concordance. The study measured whether incremental improvements in pathway concordance were associated with survival and treatment costs. Concordance between patients’ reference pathways and their observed trajectories of care was highly statistically associated with survivorship [hazard ratio: 0.95 (95% confidence interval, CI, 0.95–0.96)], showing that adherence to the clinical pathway was associated with a lower mortality rate. An increase in concordance was statistically significantly associated with a decrease in health system cost. When patients’ care followed the clinical pathway, survival outcomes were better and total health system costs were lower in this cohort. This finding creates a compelling case for further research into understanding the barriers to pathway concordance and developing interventions to improve outcomes and help providers implement best practice care where appropriate.

BackgroundIn 2011, policymakers in British Columbia introduced a fee-for-service payment to incentivize infectious diseases physicians to supervise outpatient parenteral antimicrobial therapy (OPAT). Whether this policy increased use of OPAT remains uncertain.MethodsWe conducted a retrospective cohort study using population-based administrative data over a 14-year period (2004–2018). We focused on infections that required intravenous antimicrobials for ≥10 days (eg, osteomyelitis, joint infection, endocarditis) and used the monthly proportion of index hospitalizations with a length of stay shorter than the guideline-recommended “usual duration of intravenous antimicrobials” (LOS < UDIVA) as a surrogate for population-level OPAT use. We used interrupted time series analysis to determine whether policy introduction increased the proportion of hospitalizations with LOS < UDIVA.ResultsWe identified 18 513 eligible hospitalizations. In the pre-policy period, 82.3% of hospitalizations exhibited LOS < UDIVA. Introduction of the incentive was not associated with a change in the proportion of hospitalizations with LOS < UDIVA, suggesting that the policy intervention did not increase OPAT use (step change, −0.06%; 95% confidence interval [CI], −2.69% to 2.58%; P = .97 and slope change, −0.001% per month; 95% CI, −.056% to .055%; P = .98).ConclusionsThe introduction of a financial incentive for physicians did not appear to increase OPAT use. Policymakers should consider modifying the incentive design or addressing organizational barriers to expanded OPAT use.

Background Bacterial infections such as osteomyelitis and endocarditis routinely require several weeks of treatment with intravenous (IV) antimicrobials. Outpatient parenteral antimicrobial therapy (OPAT) programs allow patients to receive IV antimicrobials in an outpatient clinic or at home. The outcomes and costs of such treatments remain uncertain. Methods We conducted a retrospective observational cohort study over a 5-year study interval (1 June 2012 to 31 March 2018) using population-based linked administrative data from British Columbia, Canada. Patients receiving OPAT following a hospitalization for bacterial infection were matched based on infection type and implied duration of IV antimicrobials to patients receiving inpatient parenteral antimicrobial therapy (IPAT). Cumulative adverse events and direct healthcare costs were estimated over a 90-day outcome interval. Results In a matched cohort of 1842 patients, adverse events occurred in 35.6% of OPAT patients and 39.0% of IPAT patients (adjusted odds ratio, 1.04 [95% confidence interval {CI}, .83–1.30; P = .61). Relative to IPAT patients, OPAT patients were significantly more likely to experience hospital readmission (30.5% vs 23.0%) but significantly less likely to experience Clostridioides difficile diarrhea (1.2% vs 3.1%) or death (2.0% vs 8.8%). Estimated mean direct healthcare costs were $30 166 for OPAT patients and $50 038 for IPAT patients (cost ratio, 0.60; average cost savings with OPAT, $17 579 [95% CI, $14 131–$21 027]; P < .001). Conclusions Outpatient IV antimicrobial therapy is associated with a similar overall prevalence of adverse events and with substantial cost savings relative to patients remaining in hospital to complete IV antimicrobials. These findings should inform efforts to expand OPAT use.

As contemporaneous data emerge from publicly funded healthcare providers, the COVID-19 pandemic provides a unique opportunity to measure their resiliency. Resiliency matters because it connotes a higher level of confidence in being able to provide needed healthcare during times of health, social or environmental stress or calamity. At the beginning of the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020, there were warnings regarding hospitals' ability to successfully manage large surges of critically ill COVID-19 patients who were expected to soon be presenting at hospitals in every province and territory. Shortly thereafter, hospitals implemented policies to clear hospital beds - there were public reports that hospitals rapidly went from nearly full occupancy to below 50% (CIHI 2020a; Howlett 2020; Zeidler 2020).

BACKGROUND Unplanned hospital readmissions are common adverse events. The LACE+ score has been used to identify patients at the highest risk of unplanned readmission or death, yet the external validity of this score remains uncertain. METHODS We constructed a cohort of patients admitted to hospital between 1 October 2014 and 31 January 2017 using population-based data from British Columbia (Canada). The primary outcome was a composite of urgent hospital readmission or death within 30 days of index discharge. The primary analysis sought to optimize clinical utility and international generalizability by focusing on the modified LACE+ (mLACE+) score, a variation of the LACE+ score which excludes the Case Mix Group score. Predictive performance was assessed using model calibration and discrimination. RESULTS Among 368,154 hospitalized individuals, 31,961 (8.7%) were urgently readmitted and 5428 (1.5%) died within 30 days of index discharge (crude composite risk of readmission or death, 9.95%). The mLACE+ score exhibited excellent calibration (calibration-in-the-large and calibration slope no different than ideal) and adequate discrimination (c-statistic, 0.681; 95%CI, 0.678 to 0.684). Higher risk dichotomized mLACE+ scores were only modestly associated with the primary outcome (positive likelihood ratio 1.95, 95%CI 1.93 to 1.97). Predictive performance of the mLACE+ score was similar to that of the LACE+ and LACE scores. CONCLUSION The mLACE+, LACE+ and LACE scores predict hospital readmission with excellent calibration and adequate discrimination. These scores can be used to target interventions designed to prevent unplanned hospital readmission.

BACKGROUND: In 2012, the Ministry of Health in British Columbia, Canada, introduced a $75 incentive payment that could be claimed by hospital physicians each time they produced a written post-discharge care plan for a complex patient at the time of hospital discharge. OBJECTIVE: To examine whether physician financial payments incentivizing enhanced discharge planning reduce subsequent unplanned hospital readmissions. DESIGN: Interrupted time series analysis of population-based hospitalization data. PARTICIPANTS: Individuals with one or more eligible hospitalizations occurring in British Columbia between 2007 and 2017. MAIN MEASURES: The proportion of index hospital discharges with subsequent unplanned hospital readmission within 30 days, as measured each month of the 11-year study interval. We used interrupted time series analysis to determine if readmission risk changed after introduction of the incentive payment policy. KEY RESULTS: A total of 40,588 unplanned hospital readmissions occurred among 409,289 eligible index hospitalizations (crude 30-day readmission risk, 9.92%). Policy introduction was not associated with a significant step change (0.393%; 95CI, − 0.190 to 0.975%; p = 0.182) or change-in-trend (p = 0.317) in monthly readmission risk. Policy introduction was associated with significantly fewer prescription fills for potentially inappropriate medications among older patients, but no improvement in prescription fills for beta-blockers after cardiovascular hospitalization and no change in 30-day mortality. Incentive payment uptake was incomplete, rising from 6.4 to 23.5% of eligible hospitalizations between the first and last year of the post-policy interval. CONCLUSION: The introduction of a physician incentive payment was not associated with meaningful changes in hospital readmission rate, perhaps in part because of incomplete uptake by physicians. Policymakers should consider these results when designing similar interventions elsewhere. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov ID, NCT03256734 SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11606-021-06803-8.

Objectives There is little published literature on the comparison of patient-reported outcomes between countries. This study aimed to assess pre- and postoperative health among samples of patients undergoing elective groin hernia repair procedures in the National Health Service (NHS), England, and groin hernia patients in Vancouver, Canada. Methods We used datasets from two different sources. For the English NHS we used published anonymized patient-level data files which include the EQ-5D(3L) patient-reported outcome measure and a number of demographic and clinical characteristics. For Vancouver, we used data from a sample of Vancouver patients who completed the same instrument during a similar time frame. English patients were matched with Vancouver participant’s characteristics using propensity score methods. A linear regression model was used to measure differences in postoperative visual analogue scale values between countries, adjusting for patient characteristics. Results Our study revealed a range of methodological issues concerning the comparability of patient-reported outcomes following hernia repair surgery in the two health systems. These related to differences in approaches to collecting patient-reported outcome measures and the nature of explanatory variables (self-report vs. administrative data), among other challenges. As a consequence, there were differences between the matched samples and the NHS data, indicating a healthy participant bias. Unadjusted results found that Vancouver patients (N = 280) reported more problems in domains of mobility, self care, usual activities and anxiety/depression than the matched cohort of NHS patients (N = 840). Interpreting differences is challenging given different sampling designs. Conclusions There are significant hurdles facing comparisons of surgical patients’ outcomes between countries, including adjusting for patient differences, health system factors and approaches to survey administration. While between-country comparisons of surgical outcomes using patient-reported outcomes shows significant promise, much work on standardizing sampling design, variables and analytic methods is needed.

Introduction The Gastrointestinal Quality of Life Index (GQLI) is used to measure domains of health and symptoms among people with gastrointestinal disorders. The objective of this study is to calculate the smallest change in the GQLI that is perceived by patients as meaningful among a sample of English-speaking adult patients undergoing elective laparoscopic cholecystectomy for treatment of symptomatic gallbladder disease. Materials and methods The study is based on retrospective analyses of a sample of participants completing the GQLI and the EQ-5D(3L) preoperatively and six months postoperatively in Vancouver, Canada. Patients are excluded if they are less than 19 years of age, cannot communicate in English, or reside in a long-term care facility. The MID is calculated for the GQLI’s domains using distribution and anchor-based methods. Results Among eligible patients, the participation rate was 51%. The estimated MID for the overall GQLI value ranged between 4.32 and 11.44. There were no statistically significant differences in the GQLI’s MID values between sexes or age subgroups. There were statistically significant differences in the GQLI’s MID values by baseline health status. Discussion This study should provide some comfort that the MID values used in discussing change in health and symptoms with elective cholecystectomy patients are robust to sex. Although the sample size may have been inadequate for age-based analyses, the study found large differences in MID values between age subgroups. Statistically significant differences in MID values based on preoperative health supports reporting MID values separately by baseline value. Further research should explore whether age-based differences in MID values exist using larger samples.

Background There is an absence of high quality research validating instruments that measure foot and ankle related quality of life among hallux valgus (bunion) patients’ perspectives. The Foot and Ankle Outcome Scale is a patient-reported outcome instrument, that when administered to patients with symptomatic hallux valgus, provides a patient-centric perspective of their foot function. The aim of this study is to assess the psychometric properties of the instrument’s five subscales among preoperative bunion surgery patients. Methods The Foot and Ankle Outcome Scale instrument measures Pain, Symptoms, Activities of Daily Living, Sport and Recreational Activities and Foot/Ankle Related Quality of Life. Preoperative data is collected from a sample of patients scheduled for surgical treatment of their condition in Vancouver, Canada. Classical and item response theory methods are used to report on reliability, validity and differential item functioning among subgroups. Results This study included 249 surveys, representing an overall response rate of 44.1% among 564 eligible patients. The instrument demonstrated high reliability for all subscales, though 18 items across subscales, exhibited poor discrimination between item levels. Four items score differently according to patients’ sex and one item scored differently by age. Conclusions The instrument measures five domains of health important to bunion patients. These findings suggest that the current instrument can be used with an understanding of its limitations, including redundant questions and sex-based differences. Future research should revise a number of items. The results highlight the importance of the psychometric analyses of instruments in specific patient populations.

BACKGROUND: Addressing nonmedical reasons for delays in hospital discharge is important for improving the flow of patients through acute care hospital beds. Because this problem is understudied among adult surgical patients, we examined the incidence of and identified factors associated with delayed hospital discharge after major elective and emergency surgical procedures in acute care institutions. METHODS: Using health administrative data, we retrospectively compared adults with and without delayed discharge after 18 major elective and emergency surgical procedures between 2006 and 2016 in Ontario hospitals. We identified delayed discharge using the alternate level of care code, applied to patients who are medically fit for discharge but remain in an acute care hospital bed. We used hierarchical logistic regression modelling to determine factors associated with delayed discharge. RESULTS: Our cohort included 595 782 patients who underwent elective procedures and 180 478 who underwent emergency procedures. Delayed discharge accounted for 635 607 hospital days, of which 81.7% were related to admissions for emergency surgery. Delayed discharge affected 3.1% of patients who underwent elective surgery and 19.6% of those who underwent emergency procedures. Days attributed to delayed discharge formed about one-third of patients’ total hospital stay for both surgical groups. The rate of delayed discharge across surgical specialties showed high variability (from 0.9% for lung resection or nephrectomy to 9.3% for peripheral arterial disease procedures in the elective surgery group, and from 3.8% for cardiac procedures to 33.8% for peripheral arterial disease procedures in the emergency surgery group). Risk factors for delayed discharge were older age, female sex, chronic disease burden and increasing hospital size. INTERPRETATION: Delayed discharge for nonmedical reasons was more common after emergency surgery than after elective surgery, and rates varied across surgery type. Optimizing early discharge planning, evaluating the variation in delayed discharge at the hospital level and improving local access to community care services could be next steps to addressing this problem.

This article examines how alternate-level-of-care (ALC) days are funded through the cancer surgery funding model in Ontario and evaluates policy options to better address ALC days. The contribution of ALC days to hospital funding and the impact of removing or reallocating this funding from cancer surgery is measured. Though costs associated with ALC days in cancer surgery are low, this article highlights the need for policy options that would realign funding across the healthcare system in Ontario to better meet the needs of patients waiting for ALC, reduce pressure on inpatient bed capacity and improve value for money.

Context Many health systems have centralized waiting lists (CWLs), but there is limited evidence on CWL effectiveness and how to design and implement them. Aim To understand how CWLs’ design and implementation influence their use and effect on access to healthcare. Methods We conducted a realist review (n = 21 articles), extracting context-intervention-mechanism-outcome configurations to identify demi-regularities (i.e., recurring patterns of how CWLs work). Results In implementing non-mandatory CWLs, acceptability to providers influences their uptake of the CWL. CWL eligibility criteria that are unclear or conflict with providers’ role or judgement may result in inequities in patient registration. In CWLs that prioritize patients, providers must perceive the criteria as clear and appropriate to assess patients’ level of need; otherwise, prioritization may be inconsistent. During patients’ assignment to service providers, providers may select less-complex patients to obtain CWLs rewards or avoid penalties; or may select patients for other policies with stronger incentives, disregarding the established patient order and leading to inequities and limited effectiveness. Conclusion These findings highlight the need to consider provider behaviours in the four sequential CWL design components: CWL implementation, patient registration, patient prioritization and patient assignment to providers. Otherwise, CWLs may result in limited effects on access or lead to inequities in access to services.

AIM The aim of this study is to report changes in health-related quality of life attributable to lateral internal sphincterotomy for treatment of anal fissure. There is very little evidence on whether the overall health-related quality of life of patients is detrimentally affected by the condition, or which aspects of self-perceived health status improve after lateral internal sphincterotomy. This study will articulate which aspects of health tend to improve and guide postoperative expectations appropriately. Knowledge gained from this study may also identify gaps in an individual patient's episode of care. METHOD Patients were prospectively identified when they consented to surgical treatment of their anal fissure and were contacted by phone to participate. Participants completed a number of patient-reported outcomes preoperatively and 6 months postoperatively. Faecal incontinence-related quality of life, pain and depression were measured at both time points. The severity of faecal incontinence was measured at both times. RESULTS Participants reported high levels of pain preoperatively. Postoperatively, improvement in pain exceeded the threshold of clinical relevance (P

Canada is one of the world's highest per capita spenders on healthcare. Yet provinces consistently boast lackluster performance on important measures of their population's health and access to healthcare (Davis et al. 2014; Doty et al. 2020). Spurred by public reporting, unease among governments about how to fix the problem and the lack of obvious solutions, much discussion focuses on improving the "value" of spending on healthcare (Papanicolas et al. 2018; Shrank et al. 2019).

Disparities in health and healthcare plague provinces' residents. This means that different subgroups of the population have differences in health and healthcare. Examples include socio-economic status, location of residence and disability status. Disparities generate searching questions: does where you live, or who you are, affect your health or the quality or accessibility of healthcare you receive?

Excluding capital projects, spending on hospitals, physicians and drugs makes up more than two thirds of provincial and territorial governments' healthcare spending (CIHI 2019). One expects that health services and policy research would be aligned with where the money flows and yet, there is a misalignment. For example, research as published by Healthcare Policy, is not so neatly aligned with provincial and territorial governments' healthcare spending patterns. In this issue, for instance, there are only two such articles - one related to medication adherence and cost, and another related to payment policy associated with a hospital's alternative level of care utilization. The previous issue of Healthcare Policy was similarly focused, with only two articles the study settings of which were primary care.

Is substantive transformation of healthcare delivery in canada a fool's paradise? Since this idiom refers to a state of happiness unconnected to underlying truths, it may be an apt descriptor given the many problems with the provinces' and territories' delivery of healthcare. Some of these problems cause harm, such as hospital-acquired infections, while others are simply wasteful, such as unnecessary tests or imaging. Moreover, meaningful transformation of healthcare delivery has been elusive and divisive in provinces and territories for decades (Martin et al. 2018; McIntosh et al. 2010; Ontario Ministry of Finance 2012).

BACKGROUND: Little is known about the role of emerging plant-based dietary patterns in cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk at the national population level. OBJECTIVES: The objectives of this research were to assess the validity and reliability of newly established plant-based dietary indices, and to evaluate their associations with CVD risk among Canadian adults. METHODS: Data were obtained from repeated 24-h dietary recalls of adult participants in the cross-sectional, nationally representative Canadian Community Health Survey cycle 2004 linked to health administrative databases (n = 12,323) and cycle 2015 (n = 14,026). Plant-based diet quality was assessed with a revised Plant-based Dietary Index (PDI), EAT–Lancet Reference Diet (ERD) score, and the latest Dietary Guidelines for Americans Adherence Index (DGAI) 2020. Weighted multivariate analyses were used for testing associations between diet quality and lifestyle characteristics, and weighted multivariable-adjusted Cox proportional hazards models for associations with CVD risk. RESULTS: Construct validity was confirmed for the revised PDI and DGAI 2020 (but not the ERD) because participants in the highest (healthiest) quartile, compared to those in the lowest (least healthy), were more likely to be female (mean ± SE: 52.63% ± 1.27% compared with 44.80% ± 1.65% for revised PDI; 59.37% ± 2.01% compared with 40.84% ± 1.71% for DGAI 2020), older (mean ± SE: 50.55 ± 0.39 y compared with 45.56 ± 0.43 y for revised PDI; 51.57 ± 0.39 y compared with 46.35 ± 0.54 y for DGAI 2020), to have postsecondary education (mean ± SE: 32.36% ± 1.55% compared with 21.12% ± 1.31% for revised PDI; 34.17% ± 2.69% compared with 17.87% ± 0.98% for DGAI 2020), and less likely to be daily smokers (mean ± SE: 8.21% ± 1.0% compared with 17.06% ± 1.45% for revised PDI; 7.36% ± 1.71% compared with 21.53% ± 1.58% for DGAI 2020) (P-trend

As I write this, positive signs regarding the pandemic are beginning to affect our daily lives. We are now able to meet with our extended families, friends and neighbours. For many people, these changes signal the end of isolation, fear and loneliness and harken a return to normal life and behaviours.

Background and purpose Studies of carotid endarterectomy (CEA) require stratification by symptomatic vs asymptomatic status because of marked differences in benefits and harms. In administrative datasets, this classification has been done using hospital discharge diagnosis codes of uncertain accuracy. This study aims to develop and evaluate algorithms for classifying symptomatic status using hospital discharge and physician claims data. Methods A single center’s administrative database was used to assemble a retrospective cohort of participants with CEA. Symptomatic status was ascertained by chart review prior to linkage with physician claims and hospital discharge data. Accuracy of rule-based classification by discharge diagnosis codes was measured by sensitivity and specificity. Elastic net logistic regression and random forest models combining physician claims and discharge data were generated from the training set and assessed in a test set of final year participants. Models were compared to rule-based classification using sensitivity at fixed specificity. Results We identified 971 participants undergoing CEA at the Vancouver General Hospital (Vancouver, Canada) between January 1, 2008 and December 31, 2016. Of these, 729 met inclusion/exclusion criteria (n = 615 training, n = 114 test). Classification of symptomatic status using hospital discharge diagnosis codes was 32.8% (95% CI 29–37%) sensitive and 98.6% specific (96–100%). At matched 98.6% specificity, models that incorporated physician claims data were significantly more sensitive: elastic net 69.4% (59–82%) and random forest 78.8% (69–88%). Conclusion Discharge diagnoses were specific but insensitive for the classification of CEA symptomatic status. Elastic net and random forest machine learning algorithms that included physician claims data were sensitive and specific, and are likely an improvement over current state of classification by discharge diagnosis alone.

Across Canada's provinces and territories, healthcare policy discussions are often focused on the attributes of the health services delivery system that are most easily measured and monitored. The obvious examples are spending growth, number of beds and wait times. In turn, this orientation tends to induce a focus on the volume of healthcare rather than its value. Yet it is increasingly clear that value from healthcare improves when patients' health goals are prioritized and addressed in a cost-efficient and effective manner.

Background: Patient-reported outcomes are becoming common for measuring patient-centric outcomes in surgery. However, there is little known about the relationship between postoperatively collected patient-reported outcomes and objective clinical outcomes. The objective of this study was to measure whether postoperative Ankle Osteoarthritis Scale (AOS) values were associated with risk of revision among patients having ankle arthrodesis or total ankle arthroplasty for treatment of symptomatic end-stage ankle arthritis. Methods: This is a retrospective analysis of a longitudinal cohort of ankle arthrodesis and total ankle arthroplasty patients. A single center recruited patients between 2003 and 2013 and follow-up was at least 4 years. Patients completed the AOS preoperatively and annually following surgery. An extended Cox regression model incorporating time-varying AOS values was used to model risk of failure. A total of 336 patients and 348 ankles were included, representing 139 ankle arthrodesis procedures and 209 total ankle arthroplasties. Results: The median follow-up time for revisions was 8.2 years and 46 patients had a revision. Higher values of patients’ AOS scores in the postoperative period were associated with a higher likelihood of revision (hazard ratio, 1.04 per 1-point increase; 95% confidence interval, 1.03-1.05). Ankle arthrodesis was associated with a reduced risk of revision compared with ankle fusion (hazard ratio, 0.12; 95% confidence interval, 0.03-0.49). Conclusion: This study showed that persistent pain and poor function after fusion or replacement surgery, as measured by elevated values of the AOS, were associated with higher risk of further surgery. Level of Evidence: Level III, retrospective cohort study.

Background: Significant ankle arthritis results in functional limitations and patient morbidity. There is a need to measure symptoms and the impact of interventions on patient’s quality of life using valid and reliable patient-reported measurement instruments. The objective of this research was to validate the Ankle Osteoarthritis Scale instrument in the preoperative setting using factor analysis, item response theory, and differential item function methods. Methods: This research is based on secondary analysis of patients scheduled for ankle arthrodesis or total ankle replacement in Vancouver, Canada. Participants completed the instrument between September 2014 and August 2017. Item response theory was used to estimate item difficulty and discrimination parameters, controlling for study participants’ underlying level of ankle function. Differential item function was examined for sex, age group, and surgery. There were 88 participants. Results: Modification indices suggested that item 10, “walking around the house,” would better fit the pain domain rather than the disability domain. Items in the pain domain displayed a range of discrimination and difficulty. Items in the disability domain exhibited a range of discrimination, though the disability domain had low difficulty. Differential item functioning for sex, age group, and ankle arthrodesis or total ankle replacement appeared to be ignorable. Conclusion: This evaluation of the Ankle Osteoarthritis Scale found the instrument to be a strong measure of the effect of pain and dysfunction among patients with end-stage ankle arthritis, even when removing items 7 and 8, supporting its prior use in numerous clinical studies. Level of Evidence: Level II, prospective comparative study.

In many countries, there are waits for elective (planned) surgery. In these settings, processes for triaging patients are applied to determine how long patients wait for their surgery. There are very few instances that evaluate the effectiveness of surgical triage processes.A sample of patients from four acute care hospitals in Vancouver, Canada, completed a number of patient-reported outcomes shortly after being registered on the surgical wait list. Patients' diagnosis was used to triage and determine their expected wait for surgery. The associations between patient-reported outcomes with surgical triage were measured.The mean wait times for participants were similar across wait times categories. Participants whose expected waits for surgery were the longest reported successively lower levels of self-rated health (p 0.01) and successively higher levels of pain (p 0.01.) There was no difference in symptoms of anxiety among participants expected to wait the longest.The diagnosis-based system for prioritizing patients found higher levels of pain and lower health status among those expected to wait the longest for their surgery. Screening waiting patients for treatable mental health conditions should be implemented and the process of surgical triage could be redesigned to allow for a broader set of attributes of health to determine how long a patient waits for their elective surgery.

In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic unexpectedly upended everyone's life, from sudden mass unemployment to family separations. In spite of this upheaval, health systems and services research carried on. Often, these efforts supported public health efforts to slow the spread of the virus.

Background: Ankle replacement and ankle arthrodesis are standard treatments for treating end-stage ankle arthritis when conservative treatment fails. Comparing patient-reported outcome scores to the instrument’s minimal important difference (MID) helps physicians and researchers infer whether a meaningful change in health from the patient’s perspective has occurred following treatment. The objective of this study was to estimate the MID of the Ankle Osteoarthritis Scale among a cohort of operatively treated end-stage ankle arthritis patients undergoing ankle replacement or arthrodesis. Methods: A survey package including the Ankle Osteoarthritis Scale was completed by participants preoperatively and 2 years postoperatively. Distribution and anchor-based approaches to calculating the MID were used to estimate the MID of the Ankle Osteoarthritis Scale and its 2 domains. The distribution-based approaches used were the small and medium effect size methods, while the mean absolute change method and linear regression method were the anchor-based approaches. Bootstrap sampling was used to obtain the variance of MID estimates. The MID was estimated for sex, age, operative, and baseline health subgroups. The cohort comprised 283 participants, totaling 298 ankles. Results: The MID did not vary with sex or operative procedure. Age-based differences in MID values may exist for the Ankle Osteoarthritis Scale total score, and MID values were generally smallest among the oldest patients. Patients with the best and worst ankle-related health preoperatively had higher MID values than patients reporting mid-range Ankle Osteoarthritis Scale values preoperatively. Conclusion: The best estimate of the MID of the Ankle Osteoarthritis Scale total score is 5.81. Our findings indicate that the MID of the Ankle Osteoarthritis Scale may not vary by sex or operative subgroups but likely varies by age and preoperative Ankle Osteoarthritis Scale score. Level of Evidence: Level II, prospective comparative study.

Significant heterogeneity exists in the implementation of bundled care. This chapter outlines the different typologies of bundled care programs, and as a case study, highlights the implementation of bundled care in Ontario. There are several lessons for those considering adopting bundled care in their local context. In particular, great consideration should be given to the duration of treatment, the type of condition, the event triggering the beginning of the bundle and the care context and providers included in the bundle. More particularly, physician payment should be included in a bundle, as physicians make most of the decisions about care provided to patients. Finally, for health systems considering the implementation of bundled care programs, there must be widespread commitment and adoption from both payers and providers.

Background Deferral of surgeries due to COVID-19 has negatively affected access to elective surgery and may have deleterious consequences for patient’s health. Delays in access to elective surgery are not uniform in their impact on patients with different attributes. The objective of this study is to measure the change in patient’s cost utility due to delayed elective cholecystectomy. Methods This study is based on retrospective analysis of a longitudinal sample of participants who have had elective cholecystectomy and completed the EQ-5D(3L) measuring health status preoperatively and postoperatively. Emergent cases were excluded. Patients younger than 19 years of age, unable to communicate in English or residing in a long-term care facility were ineligible. Quality-adjusted life years attributable to cholecystectomy were calculated by comparing health state utility values between the pre- and postoperative time points. The loss in quality-adjusted life years due to delayed access was calculated under four assumed scenarios regarding the length of the delay. The mean cost per quality-adjusted life years are shown for the overall sample and by sex and age categories. Results Among the 646 eligible patients, 30.1% of participants (N = 195) completed their preoperative and postoperative EQ-5D(3L). A delay of 12 months resulted in a mean loss of 6.4%, or 0.117, of the quality-adjusted life years expected without the delay. Among patients older than 70 years of age, a 12-month delay in their surgery corresponded with a 25.1% increase in the cost per quality-adjusted life years, from $10 758 to $13 463. Conclusions There is a need to focus on minimizing loss of quality of life for patients affected by delayed surgeries. Faced with equal delayed access to elective surgery, triage may need to prioritize older patients to maximize their health over their remaining life years.