Care report: Large regional differences in the quality of care for people in nursing homes
19.09.2023 12:10
An evaluation of the billing data from nursing and health insurance companies for the 2023 Nursing Report makes large regional differences in the quality of care for residents of nursing homes transparent. The proportion of those in need of care in homes who received a problematic long-term prescription for sleeping pills and sedatives in 2021 was a maximum of 4.7 percent in the quarter of the regions with the best results, while at least 9.9 percent in the quarter of the regions with the worst results of the residents were affected.
According to the analysis, risky long-term prescriptions are significantly more common in western federal states than in the east. The AOK Scientific Institute (WIdO) presented the results of its evaluations on a total of ten health care topics examined today Online portal “Care Quality Atlas” published. On the occasion of the publication, the AOK Federal Association calls for evaluations of billing data from health and nursing care insurance companies to be used in the future to further develop medical and nursing care.
Problematic long-term prescriptions of sleeping pills and sedatives in homes can be found throughout Saarland and in North Rhine-Westphalia, where 45 of the 53 districts and independent cities show noticeable results. “Actually, people in need of care should be treated with the sleeping pills and sedatives tested for a maximum of four weeks. Because long-term use risks, among other things, dependence, an increased risk of falling and the development of feelings of anxiety, depression and aggression,” emphasizes Dr. Antje Schwinger, head of the nursing research department at WIdO: “The evaluation of the prescription data confirms the findings of numerous studies that there is a serious supply problem here, which varies greatly from region to region.”
Wide range in hospital admissions of dementia patients due to dehydration
Significant regional differences were also evident in nine other analyzed topics at the interface between care and health care: According to the evaluation, on a nationwide average, almost four percent of all nursing home residents suffering from dementia had a hospital stay in 2021 that was caused by insufficient fluid intake. In the 20 districts with the most striking values (95% percentile), however, between 7.5 and 12.5 percent of nursing home residents had dementia. Conspicuous circles can be found in Bavaria, especially on the German-Czech border, in Lower Saxony, in the south of Rhineland-Palatinate and in North Rhine-Westphalia.
“The Care Quality Atlas makes such information on problems at the interface between care and health care visible on a small scale for the first time,” says Antje Schwinger. The new portal now offers health and nursing care insurance companies, but also those responsible in the regions, the opportunity to identify regional anomalies and address them in a targeted manner.