TY - JOUR
T1 - Does a medical consortium influence health outcomes of hospitalized cancer patients? An integrated care model in Shanxi, China
AU - Cai, Miao
AU - Liu, Echu
AU - Tao, Hongbing
AU - Qian, Zhengmin
AU - Fu, Qiang John
AU - Lin, Xiaojun
AU - Wang, Manli
AU - Xu, Chang
AU - Ni, Ziling
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2018 The Author(s).
PY - 2018/4/1
Y1 - 2018/4/1
N2 - Objective: To assess the effect of the medical consortium policy on the outcomes of cancer patients admitted to secondary hospitals in Shanxi, China. Method: Electronic medical records of lung cancer (n = 8,193), stomach cancer (n = 5,693) and esophagus cancer (n = 2,802) patients hospitalized in secondary hospitals were used. Propensity score matching was used to match each patient enrolled in medical consortium hospitals with a counterpart admitted in non-medical consortium hospitals. Cox proportional hazard models were used to estimate the hazard ratio of patients enrolled different categories of hospitals. Results: The hazards of lung, stomach and esophageal cancer patients admitted in medical consortium hospitals were consistently and significantly lower than those admitted in non-medical consortium hospitals after adjusting for a number of potential confounders. Lower hazard ratios were associated with lung (hazard ratio (HR) = 0.533, p < 0.001), stomach (HR = 0.494, p < 0.001), and esophagus (HR = 0.505, p < 0.001) cancer patients in medical consortium hospitals. Conclusion: The medical consortium provides an effective strategy to improve the outcomes of cancer patients in Shanxi, China. The partnerships between top-tier hospitals and grassroots medical services bridge the gap in resources and plays a critical role in the quality of care in China.
AB - Objective: To assess the effect of the medical consortium policy on the outcomes of cancer patients admitted to secondary hospitals in Shanxi, China. Method: Electronic medical records of lung cancer (n = 8,193), stomach cancer (n = 5,693) and esophagus cancer (n = 2,802) patients hospitalized in secondary hospitals were used. Propensity score matching was used to match each patient enrolled in medical consortium hospitals with a counterpart admitted in non-medical consortium hospitals. Cox proportional hazard models were used to estimate the hazard ratio of patients enrolled different categories of hospitals. Results: The hazards of lung, stomach and esophageal cancer patients admitted in medical consortium hospitals were consistently and significantly lower than those admitted in non-medical consortium hospitals after adjusting for a number of potential confounders. Lower hazard ratios were associated with lung (hazard ratio (HR) = 0.533, p < 0.001), stomach (HR = 0.494, p < 0.001), and esophagus (HR = 0.505, p < 0.001) cancer patients in medical consortium hospitals. Conclusion: The medical consortium provides an effective strategy to improve the outcomes of cancer patients in Shanxi, China. The partnerships between top-tier hospitals and grassroots medical services bridge the gap in resources and plays a critical role in the quality of care in China.
UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/85047512855
UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/85047512855#tab=citedBy
U2 - 10.5334/ijic.3588
DO - 10.5334/ijic.3588
M3 - Article
C2 - 30127691
AN - SCOPUS:85047512855
SN - 1568-4156
VL - 18
JO - International Journal of Integrated Care
JF - International Journal of Integrated Care
IS - 2
M1 - 7
ER -