Cost impact of hospital acquired diagnoses and impacts for funding based on quality signals

Jim Pearse,Deniza Mazevska,Terri Jurgens Jackson

doi:10.1186/1472-6963-15-s2-a7

Abstract

Background Internationally, there have been efforts to adjust hospital funding based on the quality of care provided by the hospital. A variety of approaches has been used by different countries and payers. Incorporating quality signals into activity-based funding is also a possibility for Australia. This study set out to explore the cost impact of potentially poor quality care in Australian hospitals, and to understand the implications from a funding perspective.

Highlights

There have been efforts to adjust hospital funding based on the quality of care provided by the hospital
An estimate was made of the total incremental impact of the presence of hospital-acquired conditions, both within the sample, and scaling it to reflect all acute episodes allocated to the selected conditions and/or interventions in the selected public and private hospitals
Across the sample of conditions and/or interventions identified by the Commission, the mean incremental impact of the presence of any Condition Onset Flag (COF) diagnosis was estimated to be 9,244 AUD

Summary

Background

There have been efforts to adjust hospital funding based on the quality of care provided by the hospital. A variety of approaches has been used by different countries and payers. Incorporating quality signals into activity-based funding is a possibility for Australia. This study set out to explore the cost impact of potentially poor quality care in Australian hospitals, and to understand the implications from a funding perspective

Materials and methods

Results

Conclusions