Recent Papers and Publications
Outcomes of Community Hospital Care
Pianori D, Adja KYC, Lenzi J, Pieri G, Rossi A, Reno C, et al. The Contribution of Case Mix, Skill Mix and Care Processes to the Outcomes of Community Hospitals: A Population-Based Observational Study. International Journal of Integrated Care. 2021;21(2):25. DOI: http://doi.org/10.5334/ijic.5566
Heterogeneity in case mix reflects the nature of CHs, which play context-specific roles as integrators between primary care services and hospitals.
Link: https://www.ijic.org/article/10.5334/ijic.5566/
Effectiveness of Care in a Community Hospital
Ribbink ME, Macneil-Vroomen JL, van Seben R on behalf of the AGCH study group, et al Investigating the effectiveness of care delivery at an acute geriatric community hospital for older adults in the Netherlands: a protocol for a prospective controlled observational study BMJ Open 2020;10:e033802. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2019-033802
Patient Experience and Satisfaction in a Community Hospital
Marthe E. Ribbink, Catharina C. Roozendaal, Janet L. MacNeil-Vroomen, Remco Franssen, Bianca M. Buurman (2021) Patient experience and satisfaction with admission to an acute geriatric community hospital in the Netherlands: a mixed method study Journal of Integrated Care ISSN: 1476-9018
In general, study participants experience the admission to the AGCH as positive and are satisfied with the care they received; there were also suggestions for improvement.
Link: https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/JICA-04-2021-0018/full/html
Intermediate Care Models
Duygu Sezgin et. al. (April 2020) "Defining the characteristics of intermediate care models including transitional care: an international Delphi study" Aging Clinical and Experimental Research https://doi.org/10.1007/s40520-020-01579-z
The study was on behalf of European Union Advantage Joint Action Work Package 7 partners in collaboration with the International Foundation for Integrated Care Special Interest Group on Intermediate Care. Participating authors in the study included Helen Tucker, John Young, Claire Holditch and Anne Hendry. The Delphi study identified key defining features of intermediate care and led to an agreement on a definition of intermediate care. "Intermediate care represents time-limited services which ensure continuity and quality of care, promote recovery, restore independence and confidence at the interface between home and acute services, with transitional care representing a subset of intermediate care." The study also concluded that models of intermediate and transitional care "are best delivered by an interdisciplinary team within an integrated health and social care system where a single contact point optimises service access, communication and coordination."
Link https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32430887/
Delayed discharges within community hospitals
Lynne
Mann, (2016)"Delayed discharges within community hospitals: A
qualitative study investigating the perspectives of frontline health and
social care professionals", Journal of Integrated Care, Vol. 24
Iss: 5/6, pp.260 - 270
Link
https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/JICA-06-2016-0023/full/html?skipTracking=true
Integrated Care
Tucker, H., (2013) Discovering integrated care in community hospitals
Journal
of Integrated Care ISSN: 1476-9018
This study has shown that integrated working is present in community hospitals. This research provides new knowledge on the types of integrated care present in a range of community hospital services. The study shows a tradition of joint working, the presence of multiple simultaneous types of integration and demonstrated that integrated care can be provided in a range of services to patients of all ages in local communities.
https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/JICA-10-2013-0038/full/html
Patient Transfers Between Acute and Community Hospitals
Endacott, R., McDonagh, P., Gidman, J., Bromige, R., Arti, M. (2013) Transfer and readmission of patients between acute and community hospitals: a retrospective review Quality in Primary Care (2015) 23 (1): 46-50
Timing of transfer from AH to CH should be optimised to ensure patients are discharged when the full range of services is available. CH services could be configured differently with diagnostic and access to doctors provided for longer hours in a smaller number of CH.
Link
https://primarycare.imedpub.com/transfer-and-readmission-of-patients-between-acute-and-community-hospitals-a-retrospective-review.php?aid=3762
Re-Inventing Community Hospitals
Swanson, J and Hagan, T (2016) "Reinventing the community hospital: a retrospective population-based cohort study of a natural experiment using register data" BMJ Open 2016;6:e012892 doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2016-012892 Health policy
A recently published study from Norway has reviewed community hospitals and concluded that they make a valuable contribution to local health systems. Read more "Our findings suggest that this type of intermediate care is a viable option in an effort to alleviate the burden on hospitals by reducing the acute secondary care admission volume."
https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/6/12/e012892.full
England must support its community hospitals
Seamark, D. (2016) England must support its community hospitals BMJ 2016; 354 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.i3933
The letter calls for a halt to the indiscriminate reductions of services and closures in community hospitals until the outcome of current research studies are available. The article also refers to countries such as Italy and Norway, where they have a clear strategy to develop community hospitals and intermediate care. The letter was "letter of the week" in the BMJ, and it is hoped that it raises the profile of community hospitals and encourages a debate.