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Comparison of Accessibility, Cost, and Quality of Elective Coronary Revascularization Between Veterans Affairs and Community Care Hospitals.

ABSTRACT: Importance:The Veterans Affairs (VA) Community Care (CC) Program supplements VA care with community-based medical services. However, access gains and value provided by CC have not been well described. Objectives:To compare the access, cost, and quality of elective coronary revascularization procedures between VA and CC hospitals and to evaluate if procedural volume or publicly reported quality data can be used to identify high-value care. Design, Setting, and Participants:Observational cohort study of veterans younger than 65 years undergoing an elective coronary revascularization, controlling for differences in risk factors using propensity adjustment. The setting was VA and CC hospitals. Participants were veterans undergoing elective percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) and veterans undergoing coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) procedures between October 1, 2008, and September 30, 2011. The analysis was conducted between July 2014 and July 2017. Exposures:Receipt of an elective coronary revascularization at a VA vs CC facility. Main Outcomes and Measures:Access to care as measured by travel distance, 30-day mortality, and costs. Results:In the 3 years ending on September 30, 2011, a total of 13 237 elective PCIs (79.1% at the VA) and 5818 elective CABG procedures (83.6% at the VA) were performed in VA or CC hospitals among veterans meeting study inclusion criteria. On average, use of CC was associated with reduced net travel by 53.6 miles for PCI and by 73.3 miles for CABG surgery compared with VA-only care. Adjusted 30-day mortality after PCI was higher in CC compared with VA (1.54% for CC vs 0.65% for VA, P < .001) but was similar after CABG surgery (1.33% for CC vs 1.51% for VA, P = .74). There were no differences in adjusted 30-day readmission rates for PCI (7.04% for CC vs 7.73% for VA, P = .66) or CABG surgery (8.13% for CC vs 7.00% for VA, P = .28). The mean adjusted PCI cost was higher in CC ($22 025 for CC vs $15 683 for VA, P < .001). The mean adjusted CABG cost was lower in CC ($55 526 for CC vs $63 144 for VA, P < .01). Neither procedural volume nor publicly reported mortality data identified hospitals that provided higher-value care with the exception that CABG mortality was lower in small-volume CC hospitals. Conclusions and Relevance:In this veteran cohort, PCIs performed in CC hospitals were associated with shorter travel distance but with higher mortality, higher costs, and minimal travel savings compared with VA hospitals. The CABG procedures performed in CC hospitals were associated with shorter travel distance, similar mortality, and lower costs. As the VA considers expansion of the CC program, ongoing assessments of value and access gains are essential to optimize veteran outcomes and VA spending.

SUBMITTER: Barnett PG

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5838592 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Project description:ImportanceCurrent comparative outcomes among black and white patients treated with percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in the Veterans Affairs (VA) health system are not known.ObjectiveTo compare outcomes between black and white patients undergoing PCI in the VA health system.Design, setting, and participantsThis study compared black and white patients who underwent PCI between October 1, 2007, and September 30, 2013, at 63 VA hospitals using data recorded in the VA Clinical Assessment, Reporting, and Tracking System for Cardiac Catheterization Laboratories (CART-CL) program. A generalized linear mixed model with a random intercept for site assessed the relative difference in odds of outcomes between black and white patients. The setting was integrated institutionalized hospital care. Excluded were all patients of other races or those with multiple listed races and those with missing data regarding race or the diagnostic cardiac catheterization. The dates of analysis were January 7, 2016, to April 17, 2017.ExposurePercutaneous coronary intervention at a VA hospital.Main outcomes and measuresThe primary outcome was 1-year mortality. Secondary outcomes were 30-day all-cause readmission rates, 30-day acute kidney injury, 30-day blood transfusion, and 1-year readmission rates for myocardial infarction. In addition, variations in procedural and postprocedural care were examined, including the use of intravascular ultrasound, optical coherence tomography, fractional flow reserve measurements, bare-metal stents, postprocedural medications, and radial access.ResultsA total of 42?391 patients (13.3% black and 98.4% male; mean [SD] age, 65.2 [9.1] years) satisfied the inclusion and exclusion criteria. In unadjusted analyses, black patients had higher rates of 1-year mortality (7.1% vs 5.9%, P?<?.001) as well as secondary outcomes of 30-day acute kidney injury (20.8% vs 13.8%, P?<?.001), 30-day blood transfusion (3.4% vs 2.7%, P?<?.01), and 1-year readmission rates for myocardial infarction (3.3% vs 2.7%, P?=?.01) compared with white patients. After adjustment for demographics, comorbidities, and procedural characteristics, odds for 1-year mortality (odds ratio, 1.04; 95% CI, 0.90-1.19) were not different between black and white patients. There were also no differences in secondary outcomes with the exception of a higher rate of adjusted 30-day acute kidney injury (odds ratio, 1.22; 95% CI, 1.10-1.36).Conclusions and relevanceWhile black patients had a higher rate of mortality than white patients in unadjusted analyses, race was not independently associated with 1-year mortality among patients undergoing PCI in VA hospitals.

Project description:ImportanceSurgical site infections (SSIs) are potentially preventable complications that are associated with excess morbidity and mortality.ObjectiveTo determine the excess costs associated with total, deep, and superficial SSIs among all operations and for high-volume surgical specialties.Design, setting, and participantsSurgical patients from 129 Veterans Affairs (VA) hospitals were included. The Veterans Health Administration Decision Support System and VA Surgical Quality Improvement Program databases were used to assess costs associated with SSIs among VA patients who underwent surgery in fiscal year 2010.Main outcomes and measuresLinear mixed-effects models were used to evaluate incremental costs associated with SSIs, controlling for patient risk factors, surgical risk factors, and hospital-level variation in costs. Costs of the index hospitalization and subsequent 30-day readmissions were included. Additional analysis determined potential cost savings of quality improvement programs to reduce SSI rates at hospitals with the highest risk-adjusted SSI rates.ResultsAmong 54,233 VA patients who underwent surgery, 1756 (3.2%) experienced an SSI. Overall, 0.8% of the cohort had a deep SSI, and 2.4% had a superficial SSI. The mean unadjusted costs were $31,580 and $52,620 for patients without and with an SSI, respectively. In the risk-adjusted analyses, the relative costs were 1.43 times greater for patients with an SSI than for patients without an SSI (95% CI, 1.34-1.52; difference, $11,876). Deep SSIs were associated with 1.93 times greater costs (95% CI, 1.71-2.18; difference, $25,721), and superficial SSIs were associated with 1.25 times greater costs (95% CI, 1.17-1.35; difference, $7003). Among the highest-volume specialties, the greatest mean cost attributable to SSIs was $23,755 among patients undergoing neurosurgery, followed by patients undergoing orthopedic surgery, general surgery, peripheral vascular surgery, and urologic surgery. If hospitals in the highest 10th percentile (ie, the worst hospitals) reduced their SSI rates to the rates of the hospitals in the 50th percentile, the Veterans Health Administration would save approximately $6.7 million per year.Conclusions and relevanceSurgical site infections are associated with significant excess costs. Among analyzed surgery types, deep SSIs and SSIs among neurosurgery patients are associated with the highest risk-adjusted costs. Large potential savings per year may be achieved by decreasing SSI rates.

Project description:ImportanceLittle contemporary information is available about comparative performance between Veterans Affairs (VA) and non-VA hospitals, particularly related to mortality and readmission rates, 2 important outcomes of care.ObjectiveTo assess and compare mortality and readmission rates among men in VA and non-VA hospitals.Design, setting, and participantsCross-sectional analysis involving male Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries aged 65 years or older hospitalized between 2010 and 2013 in VA and non-VA acute care hospitals for acute myocardial infarction (AMI), heart failure (HF), or pneumonia using the Medicare Standard Analytic Files and Enrollment Database together with VA administrative claims data. To avoid confounding geographic effects with health care system effects, we studied VA and non-VA hospitals within the same metropolitan statistical area (MSA).ExposuresHospitalization in a VA or non-VA hospital in MSAs that contained at least 1 VA and non-VA hospital.Main outcomes and measuresFor each condition, 30-day risk-standardized mortality rates and risk-standardized readmission rates for VA and non-VA hospitals. Mean aggregated within-MSA differences in mortality and readmission rates were also assessed.ResultsWe studied 104 VA and 1513 non-VA hospitals, with each condition-outcome analysis cohort for VA and non-VA hospitals containing at least 7900 patients (men; ≥65 years), in 92 MSAs. Mortality rates were lower in VA hospitals than non-VA hospitals for AMI (13.5% vs 13.7%, P = .02; -0.2 percentage-point difference) and HF (11.4% vs 11.9%, P = .008; -0.5 percentage-point difference), but higher for pneumonia (12.6% vs 12.2%, P = .045; 0.4 percentage-point difference). In contrast, readmission rates were higher in VA hospitals for all 3 conditions (AMI, 17.8% vs 17.2%, 0.6 percentage-point difference; HF, 24.7% vs 23.5%, 1.2 percentage-point difference; pneumonia, 19.4% vs 18.7%, 0.7 percentage-point difference, all P < .001). In within-MSA comparisons, VA hospitals had lower mortality rates for AMI (percentage-point difference, -0.22; 95% CI, -0.40 to -0.04) and HF (-0.63; 95% CI, -0.95 to -0.31), and mortality rates for pneumonia were not significantly different (-0.03; 95% CI, -0.46 to 0.40); however, VA hospitals had higher readmission rates for AMI (0.62; 95% CI, 0.48 to 0.75), HF (0.97; 95% CI, 0.59 to 1.34), or pneumonia (0.66; 95% CI, 0.41 to 0.91).Conclusions and relevanceAmong older men with AMI, HF, or pneumonia, hospitalization at VA hospitals, compared with hospitalization at non-VA hospitals, was associated with lower 30-day risk-standardized all-cause mortality rates for AMI and HF, and higher 30-day risk-standardized all-cause readmission rates for all 3 conditions, both nationally and within similar geographic areas, although absolute differences between these outcomes at VA and non-VA hospitals were small.

Project description:ImportanceAnatomical scoring systems for coronary artery disease, such as the SYNTAX (Synergy Between Percutaneous Coronary Intervention [PCI] With Taxus and Cardiac Surgery) score, are well established tools for understanding patient risk. However, they are cumbersome to compute manually for large data sets, limiting their use across broad and varied cohorts.ObjectiveTo adapt an anatomical scoring system for use with registry data, allowing facile and automatic calculation of scores and association with clinical outcomes among patients undergoing percutaneous or surgical revascularization.Design, setting, and participantsThis cross-sectional observational cohort study involved procedures performed in all cardiac catheterization laboratories in the largest integrated health care system in the United States, the Veterans Affairs (VA) Healthcare System. Patients undergoing coronary angiography in the VA Healthcare System followed by percutaneous or surgical revascularization within 90 days were observed and data were analyzed from January 1, 2010, through September 30, 2017.Main outcomes and measuresAn anatomical scoring system for coronary artery disease complexity before revascularization was simplified and adapted to data from the VA Clinical Assessment, Reporting, and Tracking Program. The adjusted association between quantified anatomical complexity and major adverse cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events (MACCEs), including death, myocardial infarction, stroke, and repeat revascularization, was assessed for patients undergoing percutaneous or surgical revascularization.ResultsA total of 50 226 patients (49 359 men [98.3%]; mean [SD] age, 66 [9] years) underwent revascularization during the study period, with 34 322 undergoing PCI and 15 904 undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). After adjustment, the highest tertile of anatomical complexity was associated with increased hazard of MACCEs (adjusted hazard ratio [HR], 2.12; 95% CI, 2.01-2.23). In contrast, the highest tertile of anatomical complexity among patients undergoing CABG was not independently associated with overall MACCEs (adjusted HR, 1.04; 95% CI, 0.92-1.17), and only repeat revascularization was associated with increasing complexity (adjusted HR, 1.34; 95% CI, 1.06-1.70) in this subgroup.Conclusions and relevanceThese findings suggest that an automatically computed score assessing anatomical complexity can be used to assess longitudinal risk for patients undergoing revascularization. This simplified scoring system appears to be an alternative tool for understanding longitudinal risk across large data sets.

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Comparison of Accessibility, Cost, and Quality of Elective Coronary Revascularization Between Veterans Affairs and Community Care Hospitals.

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