Program Name /
Study
Summary of Findings
Link
Improving Resource
Utilization in the
Intensive Care Units:
A Challenge for Saudi
Hospitals
http://www.smj.org.sa/P
DFFiles/Feb03/!IMPRO
VI.PDF
Cost Savings
Associated with U.S.
Hospital Palliative
Care Consultation
Programs
In the face of increasing demand of intensive care services in the
kingdom of Saudi Arabia, as well as the high cost of delivering such
services, systematic steps must be undertaken to ensure optional
utilization and fair allocation of resources. Strategies start prior to
intensive care units (ICU) admission by the proper selection of
patients who are likely to benefit from ICU. Less resource-
demanding alternatives, such as intermediate care units, should be
used for low-risk patients. Do-not-resuscitate status in patients with
no meaningful chance of recovery will prevent futile admissions to
ICUs. Measures known to improve the efficiency of care in the ICU
must be implemented, including hiring full-time qualified intensivists,
switching open units to closed ones, and introducing certain
evidence-base driven management protocols. On discharge, the
intermediate care units again play a role as less expensive alternative
transitional areas for patients who are not stable enough to go to the
general ward. Measures to reduce readmissions to the ICU must also
be implemented. Improving ICU resource utilization requires
teamwork by not only the intensivists but also the administrators
and other health care providers.
http://www.capc.org/co
stsaving_aim092008.pdf
Quality of End-of-Life
Cancer Care for
Medicare
Beneficiaries, Regional
and Hospital-Specific
Analyses
This Dartmouth Atlas report examines how elderly patients with
poor prognosis cancer are cared for across regions and hospitals and
finds remarkable variation depending on where the patients live and
receive care.
http://www.dartmoutha
tlas.org/downloads/rep
orts/Cancer_report_ 11
_ 16_ 10.pdf
Report: End-of-Life
Cancer Care Varies
Widely for Medicare
Patients
Whether Medicare patients with advanced cancer will die while
receiving hospice care or in the hospital varies markedly depending
on where they live and receive care, according to the Dartmouth
Atlas Project's first-ever report on cancer care at the end of life. The
researchers found no consistent pattern of care or evidence that
treatment patterns follow patient preferences, even among the
nation's leading academic medical centers.
http://www.dhmc.org/w
ebpage.cfm?site_id= 2&
org_id=796&morg_id=
0&gsec_id=58181&sec_
id=0&item_id=58181
Achieving Best
Practice Cancer Care
The government of Victoria, Australia, is committed to developing
and implementing multidisciplinary care for all cancer patients from
diagnosis through palliative care. The aim is to ensure a
multidisciplinary team approach to prospective treatment and care
planning that is aligned with best-practice and evidenced-based care.
http://www.health.vic.g
ov.au/cancer/docs/mdca
re/multidisciplinarypolic
y0702.pdf
