The authors found that six months of pre–end-stage kidney disease nephrology care did not significantly improve the likelihood that patients would remain employed when they started dialysis. This finding underscores the need to identify effective methods to help patients stay employed when they transition to dialysis.
Expanded “payment bundles” for the treatment of end stage kidney disease did not in general increase the risk of closure by dialysis facilities, the authors conclude.
Sayna Norouzi, Bo Zhao, Ahmed Awan, Wolfgang Winkelmayer, Vivian Ho, Kevin EricksonFebruary 5, 2020
The results of this study suggest that Medicare Data on Provider Practice and Specialty, which costs less to obtain than from a for-profit data source, can be used to reliably track the cost and quality effects of vertical integration between hospitals and physicians.
Consolidated dialysis markets have coincided with both positive and negative trends in health care costs and outcomes. If the underlying mechanisms that contributed to past consolidation persist, dialysis markets may remain highly concentrated over the long term.
Maryam Saeed, Vivian Ho, Kevin EricksonJanuary 12, 2020
In this study, the authors investigate where U.S. patients with limited health insurance coverage receive maintenance dialysis. Journal of the American Society of Nephrology: http://bit.ly/2Q15Jpt
The authors investigate the relationship between the number of freestanding emergency departments entering a local market and overall spending on emergency care. Academic Emergency Medicine: http://bit.ly/2pGwYMw
When physicians integrate with hospitals, the cost of health care rises even though there’s no evidence patients get better treatment, the authors write. Journal of General Internal Medicine: https://bit.ly/2lxd4RY
By Kevin F. Erickson, Bo Zhao, Jingbo Niu, Wolfgang C. Winkelmayer, Jay Bhattacharya, Glenn M. Chertow and Vivian Ho
The acquisition of independently owned dialysis facilities by facility chains lead to slower decreases in mortality and hospitalization rates, write the authors. JAMA Network Open: https://bit.ly/2WPYGSD
Freestanding emergency departments in Texas’ largest cities have not alleviated emergency room congestion or improved patient wait times in nearby hospitals, but they can reduce wait times in smaller communities, conclude the authors of this study.
New research finds that health care consolidation and the integration of hospital and doctor services not only fail to improve quality but also reduce patient satisfaction.
