Assessing the experience of person-centred coordinated care of people with chronic conditions in the Netherlands: Validation of the Dutch P3CEQ.

Background: Countries are adapting their health and social care systems to better meet the needs of growing populations with (multiple) chronic conditions. To guide this process, assessment of the 'patient experience' is becoming increasingly important. For this purpose, the Person-Centred Coordinated Care Experience Questionnaire (P3CEQ) was developed in the United Kingdom, and translated into several languages.

Measuring Older Peoples' Experiences of Person-Centred Coordinated Care: Experience and Methodological Reflections from Applying a Patient Reported Experience Measure in SUSTAIN.

Introduction: While several evaluation studies on (cost-)effectiveness of integrated care have been conducted in recent years, more insight is deemed necessary into integrated care from the perspective of service users. In the context of a European project on integrated care for older people living at home (SUSTAIN), this paper shares the experience and methodological reflections from applying a Patient Reported Experience Measure (PREM) on person-centred coordinated care -the P3CEQ- among this population.

Methods: A combination of quantitative and qualitative data and analysis methods was used to assess the usability and the quality of applying a PREM among older people presenting complex care needs, using the P3CEQ delivery in SUSTAIN as a case study.

Safety risks among frail older people living at home in the Netherlands - A cross-sectional study in a routine primary care sample.

Frail older people face a range of problems and risks that could undermine their ability to live safely at home. A comprehensive overview of these risks, from a multidimensional perspective, is currently lacking. This study aims to examine the prevalence of risks in multiple domains of life among frail older people living at home.

Supporting Older People to Live Safely at Home - Findings from Thirteen Case Studies on Integrated Care Across Europe.

Introduction: While many different factors can undermine older people's ability to live safely at home, safety as an explicit aspect of integrated care for older people living at home is an underexplored topic in research. In the context of a European project on integrated care, this study aims to improve our understanding of how safety is addressed in integrated care practices across Europe.

Methods: This multiple case study included thirteen integrated care sites from seven European countries.

Improving Person-Centredness in Integrated Care for Older People: Experiences from Thirteen Integrated Care Sites in Europe.

Introduction: Although person-centredness is a key principle of integrated care, successfully embedding and improving person-centred care for older people remains a challenge. In the context of a cross-European project on integrated care for older people living at home, the objective of this paper is to provide insight at an overarching level, into activities aimed at improving person-centredness within the participating integrated care sites. The paper describes experiences with these activities from the service providers' and service users' perspectives.

Unknown makes unloved-A case study on improving integrated health and social care in the Netherlands using a participatory approach.

Many initiatives integrating health and social care have been implemented in order to provide adequate care and support to older people living at home. Further development of existing initiatives requires iterative processes of developing, implementing and evaluating improvements to current practice. This case study provides insight into the process of improving an existing integrated care initiative in the Netherlands.

Substituting hospital-based outpatient cardiology care: The impact on quality, health and costs.

Background: Many Western countries face the challenge of providing high-quality care while keeping the healthcare system accessible and affordable. In an attempt to deal with this challenge a new healthcare delivery model called primary care plus (PC+) was introduced in the Netherlands. Within the PC+ model, medical specialists perform consultations in a primary care setting.

Health Policy Performance in 16 Caribbean States, 2010-2015.

Objectives: To determine whether Caribbean states vary in health policy performance in 11 different areas; to explore the association with sociodemographic, economical, and governance determinants; and to estimate the potential health gains of "best-practice" health policies.

Methods: We selected 50 indicators that included data on mortality (latest available, 2010-2015), intermediate outcomes, and policy implementation to calculate a state's health policy performance score. We related this score to country characteristics and calculated the potential number of avoidable deaths if the age-specific mortality rates of best-performer Martinique applied in all states.

Shifting hospital care to primary care: An evaluation of cardiology care in a primary care setting in the Netherlands.

Background: In an attempt to deal with the pressures on the healthcare system and to guarantee sustainability, changes are needed. This study is focused on a cardiology Primary Care Plus intervention in which cardiologists provide consultations with patients in a primary care setting in order to prevent unnecessary referrals to the hospital. This study explores which patients with non-acute and low-complexity cardiology-related health complaints should be excluded from Primary Care Plus and referred directly to specialist care in the hospital.

The health of Antillean migrants in the Netherlands: a comparison with the health of non-migrants in both the countries of origin and destination.

Background: This article examines risk factor and health differences between Antillean migrants in the Netherlands and Antillean and Dutch non-migrants, and relates these findings to four commonly used explanations for migrant health disparities.

Methods: Nationally representative data from the 2012 Dutch Public Health Monitor and the 2013 National Health Survey Curaçao was used. The weighted rates were calculated and significance assessed using the χ2 test.

Does an in-house internist at a GP practice result in reduced referrals to hospital-based specialist care?

Objective: Consistent evidence on the effects of specialist services in the primary care setting is lacking. Therefore, this study evaluated the effects of an in-house internist at a GP practice on the number of referrals to specialist care in the hospital setting. Additionally, the involved GPs and internist were asked to share their experiences with the intervention.

Evaluating a Dutch cardiology primary care plus intervention on the Triple Aim outcomes: study design of a practice-based quantitative and qualitative research.

Background: In an attempt to deal with the pressures on the health-care system and to guarantee sustainability, changes are needed. This study focuses on a cardiology primary care plus intervention. Primary care plus (PC+) is a new health-care delivery model focused on substitution of specialist care in the hospital setting with specialist care in the primary care setting.

Potential for substitution of mental health care towards family practices: an observational study.

Background: Substitution is the shift of care from specialized health care to less expensive and more accessible primary health care. It seems promising for restraining rising mental health care costs. The goal of this study was to investigate a potential for substitution of patients with psychological or social problems, but without severe psychiatric disorders, from Dutch specialized mental health care to primary care, especially family practices.

Decolonization and life expectancy in the Caribbean.

Decolonization has brought political independence to half the Caribbean states in the last half of the 20th century, while the other states remain affiliated. Previous studies suggested a beneficial impact of affiliated status on population health, which may be mediated by more favorable economic development. We assessed how disparities in life expectancy between currently sovereign and affiliated states developed over time, whether decolonization coincided with changes in life expectancy, and whether decolonization coincided with similar changes in GDP per capita.

Consultations in general practices with and without mental health nurses: an observational study from 2010 to 2014.

Objectives: To investigate care for patients with psychological or social problems provided by mental health nurses (MHNs), and by general practitioners (GPs) with and without MHNs.

Design: An observational study with consultations recorded by GPs and MHNs.

Setting: Data were routinely recorded in 161-338 Dutch general practices between 2010 and 2014.

Improving the quality of EHR recording in primary care: a data quality feedback tool.

Objective: Electronic health record (EHR) data are used to exchange information among health care providers. For this purpose, the quality of the data is essential. We developed a data quality feedback tool that evaluates differences in EHR data quality among practices and software packages as part of a larger intervention.

Patient involvement in diabetes care: experiences in nine diabetes care groups.

Introduction: Despite the expected beneficial effects on quality of care, patient involvement in diabetes care groups, which deliver a bundled paid integrated care programme for diabetes type 2, seems to be limited. The aim of this study was to gain insight into levels and methods of patient involvement, into facilitators and barriers, and into the future preferences of care groups and patient representatives.

Theory And Methods: Semi-structured interviews were held with 10 representatives of care groups and 11 representatives of patient advocacy groups.

Effectiveness of comprehensive care programs for patients with multiple chronic conditions or frailty: A systematic literature review.

Objective: To describe comprehensive care programs targeting multimorbid and/or frail patients and to estimate their effectiveness regarding improvement of patient and caregiver related outcomes, healthcare utilization and costs.

Methods: Systematic search in six electronic databases for scientific papers published between January 2011 and March 2014, supplemented by reference tracking. Wagner's Chronic Care Model (CCM) was used to operationalize comprehensive care.

Patient-centered outcomes on quality of life and anthroposophic healthcare: a qualitative triangulation study.

Purpose: To provide a qualitative investigation of aspects that matter to patients regarding quality of life (QOL) and other perceived treatment effects of anthroposophic healthcare (AH). It is a first step in the development of patient reported outcome measures (PROMs) for AH. Hence, it will contribute to the evaluation of AH quality from patients' perspectives.

Cost Variation in Diabetes Care across Dutch Care Groups?

Objective: The introduction of bundled payment for diabetes care in the Netherlands led to the origination of care groups. This study explored to what extent variation in health care costs per patient can be attributed to the performance of care groups. Furthermore, the commonly applied simple mean aggregation was compared with the more advanced generalized linear mixed model (GLMM) to benchmark health care costs per patient between care groups.

Initiatives on early detection and intervention to proactively identify health and social problems in older people: experiences from the Netherlands.

Background: Over the last years, several initiatives on early detection and intervention have been put in place to proactively identify health and social problems in (frail) older people. An overview of the initiatives currently available in the Netherlands is lacking, and it is unknown whether they meet the preferences and needs of older people. Therefore, the objectives of this study were threefold: 1.

Integrated care programs for patients with psychological comorbidity: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Objective: Presently, little is known about the characteristics and impact of integrated care programs for patients with psychological comorbidity. The aim was to provide an overview of these integrated care programs and their effectiveness.

Methods: Systematic literature review including papers published between 1995 and 2014.

A multifaceted feedback strategy alone does not improve the adherence to organizational guideline-based standards: a cluster randomized trial in intensive care.

Background: Organizational data such as bed occupancy rate and nurse-to-patient ratio are related to clinical outcomes and to the efficient use of intensive care unit (ICU) resources. Standards for these performance indicators are provided in guidelines. We studied the effects of a multifaceted feedback strategy to improve the adherence to these standards.

Treatment of hip/knee osteoarthritis in Dutch general practice and physical therapy practice: an observational study.

Background: A multidisciplinary, guideline-based Stepped-Care-Strategy (SCS), has recently been developed to improve the management of hip and knee osteoarthritis (OA). To date, it is unknown to what extent current Dutch OA care is consistent with the SCS, both with respect to the content of care as well as the sequence of care. Furthermore, there is a lack of clarity regarding the role of different health care providers in the performance of OA care according to the SCS.