English summaries 26.1.2018 4/2018 vsk 73 s. 215 - 220

Towards more reliable productivity figures

Susanna SiitonenTuija S. IkonenJussi Mertsola

THL:lle toimitettavan aineiston tuottamisen toimintaketju ja siihen liittyvät tunnistetut ongelmakohdat TYKS:ssa.<p/>

TYKS:n lastentautien erikoisalan kustannusten kehitys THL:n tuottavuusraportoinnissa 2010– 2014 reaali- ja deflatoituina kustannuksina.<p/>

Artikkelissa käytetyt tuottavuuteen ja sen laskentaan liittyvät määritelmät (1,2,3,10).<p/>

TYKS:n lastentautien erikoisalan tuottavuuslukuja sekä niihin vaikuttavia tietoja sekä niiden muutos vuodesta 2012 vuoteen 2014.<p/>

Background

This article describes the development of the productivity figures of the Department of Paediatrics and Adolescent Medicine at Turku University Central Hospital (TUCH) up until 2014. In 2011 the Department of Paediatrics and Adolescent Medicine came first in the university hospitals’ productivity comparison conducted by the National Institute for Health and Welfare (NIHW), but fell to third place in 2012. Following this, the submitted data and cost attribution have been improved upon.

Methods

The data used is NIHW’s statistics for 2010−2014 for treatment-period productivity by specialty and the DRG grouped treatment period information related to it, grouped using the Full version of the 2014 NordDRG grouping system. Productivity is defined as cost weighted treatment periods in relation to the costs credited to producing them, after which a treatment-period relativity figure and comparison index were formed for paediatric departments of university hospitals. In addition, the auditing report of 2015 by FCG consulting was reviewed concerning paediatric illnesses.

Results

In the data submitted to the NIHW in 2014, a new category was doctors’ appointments via phone, which brought an increase of over 10 000 outpatient treatment periods. Simultaneously, changes in cost attribution resulted in reduction of the reported overall costs by 4.5 million euros. As a result of these factors, treatment-period productivity rose, but the case mix index fell. The auditing showed that the quality of both patient entries and procedure reporting in the Department of Paediatrics and Adolescent Medicine at TUCH is good.

Conclusions

As a result of focusing on improving the quality of the source material, both the treatment period data and the costs attributed to treatment periods submitted to NIHW are more accurate. According to the audit, the diagnoses and procedures are entered in accordance with the patient records, with only a few exceptions. This indicates that the patient entries are accurately made with regard to both text and data coding. As a whole, the productivity figures for 2014 accurately describe the actual workings of the Department of Paediatrics and Adolescent Medicine at TUCH.