The impact of an 'evergreening' strategy nearing patent expiration on the uptake of biosimilars and public healthcare costs: a case study on the introduction of a second administration form of trastuzumab in The Netherlands.

In this paper, we explore dynamic market share and public healthcare costs of trastuzumab's evergreening (subcutaneous) variant during introduction of trastuzumab's competitive biosimilar variants in the Netherlands. We used a time series design to assess dynamic market share of trastuzumab's evergreening variant after introducing trastuzumab's biosimilar variants, focusing on the number of treatments and patients. The public healthcare costs of this evergreening strategy were estimated using administrative claims data.

Return to sender: Unraveling the role of structural and social network ties in patient sharing networks.

Healthcare is increasingly delivered through networks of organizations. Well-structured patient sharing networks are known to have positive associations with the quality of delivered services. However, the drivers of patient sharing relations are rarely studied explicitly.

Containing or shifting? Health expenditure decomposition for the aging Dutch population after a major reform.

Aging populations add to pressure on health budgets, notably in long-term care (LTC). This development is particularly significant in the Netherlands, because of its relatively large, publicly financed LTC sector. The recent LTC reform aimed to substitute institutional care with aging-in-place, and thus reduce LTC expenditure.

Correction: Examining the construct and known-group validity of a composite endpoint for The Older Persons and Informal Caregivers Survey Minimum Data Set (TOPICS-MDS); A large-scale data sharing initiative.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.

Examining the construct and known-group validity of a composite endpoint for The Older Persons and Informal Caregivers Survey Minimum Data Set (TOPICS-MDS); A large-scale data sharing initiative.

Background: Preference-weighted multi-faceted endpoints have the potential to facilitate comparative effectiveness research that incorporates patient preferences. The Older Persons and Informal Caregivers Survey-Composite endpoint (TOPICS-CEP) is potentially a valuable outcome measure for evaluating interventions in geriatric care as it combines multiple outcomes relevant to older persons in a single metric. The objective of this study was to validate TOPICS-CEP across different study settings (general population, primary care and hospital).

A Network Meta-Analysis of Clinical Management Strategies for Treatment-Resistant Hypertension: Making Optimal Use of the Evidence.

Background: With the addition of surgical interventions to current medicinal treatments, it is increasingly challenging for clinicians to rationally choose among the various options for treating patients with apparent treatment-resistant hypertension (ATRHTN). This study aims to establish the comparative effectiveness of mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists (MRA), renal denervation (RDN), darusentan and central arteriovenous anastomosis (CAA) for patients with ATRHTN by performing a network meta-analysis.

Methods: Data Sources: Studies from recent meta-analyses for RDN and placebo effect were supplemented with a systematic search for MRAs in ATRHTN in the Pubmed, EMBASE, CINAHL and Cochrane databases through November 2016.

Prophylactic Mesh Placement During Formation of an End-colostomy Reduces the Rate of Parastomal Hernia: Short-term Results of the Dutch PREVENT-trial.

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the incidence of parastomal hernias (PSHs) after end-colostomy formation using a polypropylene mesh in a randomized controlled trial versus conventional colostomy formation.

Background: A PSH is the most frequent complication after stoma formation. Symptoms may range from mild abdominal pain to life-threatening obstruction and strangulation.

Adrenal vein sampling versus CT scan to determine treatment in primary aldosteronism: an outcome-based randomised diagnostic trial.

Background: The distinction between unilateral aldosterone-producing adenoma or bilateral adrenal hyperplasia as causes of primary aldosteronism is usually made by adrenal CT or by adrenal vein sampling (AVS). Whether CT or AVS represents the best test for diagnosis remains unknown. We aimed to compare the outcome of CT-based management with AVS-based management for patients with primary aldosteronism.

The influence of age on health valuations: the older olds prefer functional independence while the younger olds prefer less morbidity.

Background: To assess the effectiveness of geriatric interventions, The Older Persons and Informal Caregivers Survey - Composite Endpoint (TOPICS-CEP) has been developed based on health valuations of older persons and informal caregivers. This study explored the influence of the raters' age on the preference weights of TOPICS-CEP's components.

Methods: A vignette study was conducted with 200 raters (mean age ± standard deviation: 72.

Comparing the health state preferences of older persons, informal caregivers and healthcare professionals: a vignette study.

Background: The Older Persons and Informal Caregivers Survey-Minimum Dataset (TOPICS-MDS) collects uniform information from research projects funded under the Dutch National Care for the Elderly Programme. To compare the effectiveness of these projects a preference-weighted outcome measure that combined multidimensional TOPICS-MDS outcomes into a composite endpoint (TOPICS-CEP) was developed based on the health state preferences of older persons and informal caregivers.

Objectives: To derive preference weights for TOPICS-CEP's components based on health state preferences of healthcare professionals and to investigate whether these weights differ between disciplines and differ from those of older persons and informal caregivers.

Which frail older patients use online health communities and why? A mixed methods process evaluation of use of the Health and Welfare portal.

Background: Frail older people often receive fragmented care from multiple providers. According to the literature, there is an urgent need for coordination of care. Online and eHealth tools are increasingly used to improve coordination.

Evaluation of an eHealth intervention in chronic care for frail older people: why adherence is the first target.

Background: Older people suffering from frailty often receive fragmented chronic care from multiple professionals. According to the literature, there is an urgent need for coordination of care.

Objective: The objective of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of an online health community (OHC) intervention for older people with frailty aimed at facilitating multidisciplinary communication.

Cost-effectiveness of integrated care in frail elderly using the ICECAP-O and EQ-5D: does choice of instrument matter?

Economic evaluations likely undervalue the benefits of interventions in populations receiving both health and social services, such as frail elderly, by measuring only health-related quality of life. For this reason, alternative preference-based instruments have been developed for economic evaluations in the elderly, such as the ICECAP-O. The aim of this paper is twofold: (1) to evaluate the cost-effectiveness using a short run time frame for an integrated care model for frail elderly, and (2) to investigate whether using a broader measure of (capability) wellbeing in an economic evaluation leads to a different outcome in terms of cost-effectiveness.

Establishing a composite endpoint for measuring the effectiveness of geriatric interventions based on older persons' and informal caregivers' preference weights: a vignette study.

Background: The Older Persons and Informal Caregivers Survey Minimal Dataset's (TOPICS-MDS) questionnaire which measures relevant outcomes for elderly people was successfully incorporated into over 60 research projects of the Dutch National Care for the Elderly Programme. A composite endpoint (CEP) for this instrument would be helpful to compare effectiveness of the various intervention projects. Therefore, our aim is to establish a CEP for the TOPICS-MDS questionnaire, based on the preferences of elderly persons and informal caregivers.

Quality of life of nursing home residents with dementia: validation of the German version of the ICECAP-O.

Objectives: To validate the ICECAP-O capability wellbeing measure's German translation in older people with dementia living in a nursing home, and to investigate the influence of proxy characteristics on responses.

Method: Cross-sectional study. For 95 residents living in a German nursing home, questionnaires were completed by nursing professionals serving as proxy respondents.

Quality of life instruments for economic evaluations in health and social care for older people: a systematic review.

Gaining health may not be the main goal of healthcare services aimed at older people, which may (also) seek to improve wellbeing. This emphasizes the need of finding appropriate outcome measures for economic evaluation of such services, particularly in long-term care, capturing more than only health-related quality of life (HrQol). This review assesses the usefulness of HrQol and wellbeing instruments for economic evaluations specifically aimed at older people, focusing on generic and preference-based questionnaires measuring wellbeing in particular.

A validation of the ICECAP-O in a population of post-hospitalized older people in the Netherlands.

Background: Various healthcare and social services may impact not only health, but wellbeing as well. Such effects may be more fully captured by capability-wellbeing instruments than with Health-related Quality of Life (HrQol) instruments. The aim of this study is to validate the ICEpop (Investigating Choice Experiments for the Preferences of Older People) CAPability measure for Older people (ICECAP-O) capability wellbeing instrument in a population of post-hospitalized older people admitted to a hospital 3 months earlier.

Labor productivity, perceived effectiveness, and sustainability of innovative projects.

Objective: To assess labor productivity, perceived effectiveness, and sustainability of a national quality program that sought to stimulate efficiency gains through increased labor productivity while maintaining quality through implementing small-scale innovation projects.

Design: Longitudinal measures of labor productivity and quality were collected at baseline and after completion of the innovation projects. Perceived effectiveness and sustainability (measured by routinization) were assessed cross-sectionally after project completion.

Capabilities and quality of life in Dutch psycho-geriatric nursing homes: an exploratory study using a proxy version of the ICECAP-O.

Purpose: To validate the ICECAP-O capability measure in psycho-geriatric elderly in nursing homes, we compared the capability scores of restrained and unrestrained clients. Both nursing staff and family were used as proxies for assessing clients' capabilities.

Method: For 122 psycho-geriatric elderly, a total of 96 nursing professionals and 68 family members completed a proxy questionnaire.

Cost-effectiveness of a pressure ulcer quality collaborative.

Background: A quality improvement collaborative (QIC) in the Dutch long-term care sector (nursing homes, assisted living facilities, home care) used evidence-based prevention methods to reduce the incidence and prevalence of pressure ulcers (PUs). The collaborative consisted of a core team of experts and 25 organizational project teams. Our aim was to determine its cost-effectiveness from a healthcare perspective.

Longitudinal analysis on the development of hospital quality management systems in the Netherlands.

Objective: Many changes have been initiated in the Dutch hospital sector to optimize health-care delivery: national agenda-setting, increased competition and transparency, a new system of hospital reimbursement based on diagnosis-treatment combinations, intensified monitoring of quality and a multi-layered organizational development programme based on quality improvement collaboratives. The objective is to answer the question as to whether these changes were accompanied by a further development of hospital quality management systems and to what extent did the development within the multi-layered programme hospitals differ from that in other hospitals.

Design: Longitudinal data were collected in 1995, 2000, 2005 and 2007 using a validated questionnaire.

Quality management and patient safety: survey results from 102 Hungarian hospitals.

Objectives: The aim of this study is to describe the development of quality management systems in Hungarian hospitals. It also aims to answer the policy question, whether a separate patient safety policy should be created additional to quality policies, on national as well as hospital level.

Method: In 2005, a questionnaire survey was conducted to evaluate the existing quality management systems in all Hungarian hospitals.