Health Services > Collaboration with the Health Care Agency, Emilia-Romagna Region, Italy > Assessment of Timeliness and Appropriateness of Acute Hospital Use

Assessment of Timeliness and Appropriateness of Acute Hospital Use

For further information contact: Daniel.Louis@Jefferson.edu

The Center has developed a method to assess potentially inappropriate acute hospital admissions (patients who could be effectively and safely treated in alternative, less costly settings) as well as “late” hospital admissions (patients who could have benefited from diagnosis and treatment at an earlier stage of their disease). This methodology, developed with input from the Jefferson clinical faculty and clinicians from Emilia-Romagna, uses standard hospital discharge abstract data to evaluate the severity of a patient's principal diagnosis, using the Disease Staging classification, the presence and severity of co-morbid disease, and the nature of surgical procedures performed. The method has been reviewed by a panel of Italian physicians which confirmed the validity of the approach. The revised criteria will be applied to all hospital admissions for residents of the Regione Emilia-Romagna and used by the region, local health units, and hospitals as a part of the planning process designed to efficiently meet the health care needs of the population.