Abstracts by key term: Routine data
Since 2009, Germany has experienced a decline in the number of community pharmacies, prompting the Bavarian State Ministry of Health, Care and Prevention (StMGP) to commission a project to analyze pharmacy supply in Bavaria, which is being supported by the Bavarian State Office for Health and Food Safety (LGL) in technical and administrative terms. One subproject is concerned with estimating the demand for pharmacies and pharmacy staff based on routine data from statutory health insurance. In order to capture specific features of the pharmacy market relevant to the demand estimate, seven semi-structured interviews were conducted with stakeholders in self-governing organizations and service providers and then inductively coded. Overall, the experts considered the number of medicines dispensed at the expense of the statutory health insurance fund to be a suitable indicator for quantifying a pharmacy's services. However, they recommended considering certain additional services, such as the dispensing of over-the-counter medicines or other time-consuming activities such as the preparation of prescriptions or cytostatic drugs. Furthermore, the experts considered it sensible to consider all community pharmacies, regardless of their supplementary care mandate. Due to the multitude of influencing factors, the staffing of pharmacies was described as highly individual, and a distinction between prescribing activities by pharmaceutical technicians and licensed pharmacists was considered complex. The experts also emphasized the importance of accessibility for demand estimation and considered time frames of up to 30 minutes to be the maximum reasonable. As an alternative approach to demand estimation, the interviewees assessed determining a ratio of residents that a pharmacy can serve as difficult to quantify ad hoc and also highly dependent on population- and pharmacy-related factors. To counteract the potential undersupply in individual regions identified by the demand estimation, the respondents particularly advocated financial incentives. The majority of the experts surveyed supported the proposed method of estimating needs and were able to provide additional valuable insights by highlighting the specific features of the pharmacy market.
02.02.2025
To date, there are only a few studies in Germany that examine the reality of iron deficiency/anemia treatment for tumor patients who are undergoing chemotherapy. As part of a European prospective observational study, a prevalence of anemia of 40% (at the start of the study) and 67% (during the course of the study) was measured in over 15,000 tumor patients in 2001/02. In addition, the proportion of patients with anemia therapy and the distribution of the different therapy options were recorded. Of these patients, almost 40% were treated with antianemic preparations, with ESA having the highest proportion among the treatment options (Ludwig et al. 2004). In addition, Steinmetz and colleagues (2016) collected data from almost 1,000 cancer patients in Germany regarding demographic and disease-specific characteristics as well as the distribution of antianemic treatment options. It was found that the majority of patients received blood transfusions to treat the anemia and that both ESA and IV iron played a rather minor role in the treatment. The aim of this cohort study is therefore to investigate the care situation of patients with tumor disease and iron deficiency/anemia therapy. In order to better understand the reality of care in Bavaria (1/7 of those insured by statutory health insurance (GKV) in Germany), patient characteristics and disease-specific therapy options were analyzed using diagnostic and billing data as part of a PHARAO project run by the Bavarian Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians (KVB). analyzed.
04.04.2019
Heart failure is one of the most medically and health-economically important diseases in Germany (Neumann et al. 2009; Gensichen et al. 2004; Zugck et al. 2010; Willich et al. 2013; Buhr et al. 2007). The prevalence of heart failure is strongly age-dependent, so it can be assumed that the costs for diagnosis and treatment of heart failure will increase in the coming years in view of the aging German population. A large part of the treatment costs for heart failure arise in the inpatient area (Zugck et al. 2010). Against this background, effective integrated care programs have the potential to improve the care of heart failure patients and at the same time prevent decompensations, which are particularly often treated in the inpatient setting. Effective new care programs make it possible to optimize treatment processes, especially in the outpatient area, and to actively involve patients in the treatment concept (Buhr et al. 2007).
29.11.2016
It can be assumed that due to demographic developments, increasing mobility in old age and the increasing number of obese people, osteoarthritis and thus also the implantation of knee endoprostheses will continue to increase in the coming years (Großschädl/Stronegger 2013; Weinstein et al. 2013; Koenig and Kirschner 2003). Knee arthroplasty is a highly standardized procedure that is well suited to be processed using a treatment pathway. Through the implementation of clinical treatment paths, an improvement in the process could be achieved, which is partly responsible for the fact that the revision rate and length of stay for knee prosthesis implantations has been continuously reduced (Loftus et al. 2014; König/Kirschner 2003; Lüring et al. 2010). The main benefit of presenting the course of treatment for knee endoprostheses and using this as a guide in practice is that this ensures structured patient care (Lüring et al. 2010). The analysis of specific routine data using an adapted treatment path makes it possible to identify potential in the course of treatment and opens up possibilities for improvement in terms of better therapy results [Graf/Hofmann 2003; Wirth 2003]. The most important data source for health services research in Austria is routine data from social health insurance providers. If the data is well prepared, it is possible to analyze it to create transparency with regard to trends and costs in health services research as well as basic knowledge for health care planning (Pfaff et al. 2011; Howell et al. 2009).
31.03.2015
In order to record, evaluate and change care processes, the data collected must be operationalized into meaningful key figures. These key figures reflect the dimensions of finance, performance and quality. Due to the highly sectorized structure of the German healthcare system, the individual healthcare sector has traditionally been assessed. However, modern key performance indicator systems must be able to map a care process that spans sectors, disciplines and professional groups. Through several legislative processes, health insurance companies have been given a more active role in designing new forms of care. The data available to health insurance companies is now of good quality and allows care to be mapped using key figures. For this purpose, key performance indicator systems can be used that enable a cross-supply process parallel to a sector-specific view. Using such systems, health insurance companies can both intervene in the care process and recognize the effects of such an intervention.