Objective To compare the national essential medicines list (EML) and national essential insurance medicine list (EIML) of China with that of the WHO, so as to provide reasonable evidence for the adjustment of new EML and EIML of China. Methods The similarities and differences in the selection, updating, categories, subcategories and the amounts of medicines in the EML and EIML of China and the WHO EML were compared and analyzed. Results There are some differences among the three lists in selecting principles, updating of medicines .The latest version of WHO EML (version in 2007) has 27 categories, including 340 medicines; China EML (version in 2004) has 23 categories and 773 western medicines, containing 23 categories and 225 (66.17%) similar medicines of WHO EML, which accounts for 29.11% of EML of China. China EIML (version in 2005) has 23 categories and 1 031 western medicines, containing 22 categories and 227 (66.76%) of WHO EML, which accounts for 22.02% of EIML of China. China EIML was developed based on China EML. There is little difference in selecting, updating, categories of medicines. Conclusion The difference was obviously found in medicine selection, updating and categories between China EML, EIML and WHO EML. We suggested that our national EML and EIML should be more reasonably selected and updated base on the principals of WHO EML.
With the continuous progress and development of the medical and health industry, drug procurement has gradually attracted more attention, and the drug bidding and procurement model in China is in a stage of gradual improvement. In this article, the historical evolution of drug centralized bidding and procurement policy in China is briefly introduced. By analyzing the current drug centralized bidding and procurement policy implemented in China, issues such as difficulty reasonably determining “quantity” in quantity procurement, lack of drug effective supervision of procurement policy, incomplete drug catalog procurement, and out-of-network procurement were found. Some possible feasible suggestions are also put forward, aiming at providing reference and ideas for further improvement of drug centralized bidding and procurement policy under the new situation, so as to ensure safety of drugs and benefit the people.
Objective To explore the impact of Diagnosis-Intervention Packet (DIP) reform on the operation of pilot county-level hospital, analyze the challenges that hospitals may face in DIP reform, and propose strategies to adapt to the reform. Methods The settlement list data of inpatients insured by medical insurance for 2022 from a county-level tertiary public hospital in Jiuquan City, Gansu Province were collected, where DIP was planned to operate. The DIP payment was simulated, and the operational status of the hospital and departments after implementing DIP reform was analyzed based on enrollment status, cost deviation, length of stay, hospitalization expenses, and DIP payment as relevant indicators. Results Under the implementation of DIP payment, the overall enrollment rate of the hospital was 98.1%, including 85.4% in the core group, 7.0% in the comprehensive group, and 7.6% in the grassroots group. Normal costs accounted for 88.9%, deviation costs accounted for 11.1%, with high magnification cases accounting for 1.9% and low magnification cases accounting for 9.2%. The payment standard for all cases included in the hospital according to DIP was 15.464 million yuan, the total amount paid by the pooling fund was 19.986 million yuan, and the difference between DIP payment and payment by project was –4.522 million yuan. Conclusion There is a significant difference in the medical insurance payments received by county-level hospitals after implementing DIP payment, and there is an urgent need to adapt to the DIP payment reform as soon as possible.
Objective To assess the effectiveness of outreach strategies for expanding insurance coverage of children who are eligible for health insurance schemes. Methods We searched The Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (The Cochrane Library 2009, Issue 2), PubMed (1951 to 2010), EMBASE (1966 to 2009), PsycINFO (1967 to 2009) and other relevant databases and websites. In addition, we searched the reference lists of included studies and relevant reviews, and carried out a citation search for included studies to find more potentially relevant studies. Randomized controlled trials, controlled clinical trials, controlled before-after studies and interrupted time series which evaluated the effects of outreach strategies on increasing health insurance coverage for children. The included strategies were increasing awareness of schemes, modifying enrolment, improving management and organization of insurance schemes, and mixed strategies. Two review authors independently screened literatures, extracted data and assessed the risk of bias. We narratively summarized the data. Results We included two studies, both from the United States. One randomized controlled trial study with a low risk of bias showed that community-based case managers who provided health insurance information, application support were effective in enrolling Latino American children into health insurance schemes (RR=1.68, 95%CI 1.44 to 1.96, n=257). The second quasi-randomized controlled trial, with an unclear risk of bias, indicated that handing out insurance application materials in hospital emergency departments can increase enrolment of children into health insurance (RR=1.50, 95% CI 1.03 to 2.18, n=223). Conclusion The two studies included in this review provide evidence that providing health insurance information and application assistance and handing out application materials in hospital emergency departments can probably both improve insurance coverage of children. But the application of the interventions to other countries beyond the US still depends on contextual factors of health medical systems. Further studies evaluating the effectiveness of different outreach strategies for expanding health insurance coverage of children in different countries are needed, with careful attention given to study design.
Objective To investigate the variation of total hospitalization cost for single-diagnosed disease of different types of acute appendicitis in a three-A hospital, so as to provide evidence for the reimbursement amount of social medical insurance. Methods All patients with acute appendicitis who had surgery treatment during January-April 2011 (before implementing the fee system for single-diagnosed disease) and January-April 2012 (after implementing the fee system for single-diagnosed disease) were collected in this study for analysis. According to the types of acute appendicitis, the patients were stratified into the low risk group (simple, suppurative and gangrenous) and the high risk group (perforative, abscess-formed and pregnancy-combined). The correlation between total hospitalization cost and types of acute appendicitis, as well as the changes of total hospitalization cost after implementing the fee system for single-diagnosed disease were analyzed. Results A total of 90 eligible patients were included. The disease types were positively correlated with hospital stays and total hospitalization cost. All three types in the low risk group could control the average total hospitalization cost within RMB 10 000 yuan. The results of sensitivity analysis showed that, before implementing the fee system for single-diagnosed disease, the total hospitalization cost up to RMB 6 000 yuan could be positively correlated with the above risk stratification (r=0.442, P=0.003). After implementing the fee system for single-diagnosed disease from January to April 2012, the constituent ratio of hospital stays, compared with that in the same period of 2011, had no significant difference (P=0.108) between the two groups; but the ratio of hospital stays (less than 5 days) increased from 45% to 64%, and the ratio of hospital stays (greater than or equal to 10 days) decreased from 17% to 4%, indicating a tendency of shortening hospital stays. Also, the constituent ratio of total hospitalization cost had no significant difference (P=0.114) between the two groups; but the ratio of total hospitalization cost (greater than or equal to RMB 9 000 yuan) decreased from 32% to 13%, indicating a tendency of lowering total hospitalization cost. Conclusion The low risk group of acute appendicitis, RMB 6 000 yuan should be rated as the rational reimbursement amount of social medical insurance. The total hospitalization cost for the high risk group is quite various, so the further studies are needed to investigate the feasibility of the fee system for single-diagnosed disease as well as the rating amount of total hospitalization cost. The implementation of the fee system for single-diagnosed disease is helpful to shorten hospital stays and reduce total hospitalization cost.
Judging from the latest policies related to the medical insurance payment reform of the state and Sichuan province, the reform of medical insurance diagnosis-related group (DRG)/diagnosis-intervention packet (DIP) payment methods is imperative. The impact of DRG/DIP payment method reform on public hospitals is mainly analyzed from the aspects of hospital cost accounting and control, quality of filling in the first page of medical cases, coding accuracy, standard of medical practice, development of diagnosis and treatment technology innovation business, multi-departmental linkage mechanism, competition between hospitals, performance appraisal mechanism, and negotiation and communication mechanism. We should put forward hospital improvement strategies from the top-level design of the whole hospital and from the aspects of improving the quality of the first page of the cases and the quality of the coding, strengthening the cost accounting and control of the disease, carrying out in-hospital and out-of-hospital training, establishing a liaison model, finding gaps with benchmark hospitals, enhancing the core competitiveness of innovative technologies, and improving internal performance appraisal, etc., to promote the high-quality development of hospitals.
This article is based on the work practice of Medical-lnsurance-Medicine Linkage carried out by the Nanping First Hospital Affiliated to Fujian Medical University under the reform of payment based on diagnosis related group (DRG). It outlines the connotation and extension of Medical-lnsurance-Medicine Linkage in the hospital, including concept definition, organizational structure, the relationship between DRG payment and Medical-lnsurance-Medicine Linkage, and summarizes the specific measures and positive results of the Medical-lnsurance-Medicine Linkage work mechanism from four aspects: medical quality management, medical insurance management, medical drugs/consumables management, and performance evaluation. These experiences are of great significance for improving the quality and efficiency of medical care, actively responding to the reform of medical insurance payment methods, enhancing the level of medical services in public hospitals, and achieving a win situation among the medical insurance management departments, hospitals, and patients.
Value-based healthcare (VBHC) is an important guideline for current and future healthcare services. In practice, VBHC should be the best goal of public welfare of healthcare service. Meanwhile, VBHC and cost-effectiveness analysis together provide scientific evidence for healthcare decision-making. Pay by value is inevitable in the next stage of the reform of the payment system of medical insurance, and the health service system should be reconstructed based on VBHC. Finally, the challenges of VBHC implementation are discussed.
ObjectiveTo classify and analyze medical audit chargeback of a hospital and to propose management strategies. MethodsWe classified the project audit chargeback of a grade-three class-A comprehensive hospital in Chengdu from June to December 2013, and analyzed the underlying causes of the chargeback. ResultsThe total chargeback of the hospital from June to December 2013 was more than 30 000 items and the general amount involved was about 3 million yuan. The project number of recurring charges, excessive charges, unreasonable charges, anchored fees, inconsistent charges with doctors' advices, non-indications, disproportionate fees and charges over restriction accounts occupied respectively 42.99%, 39.71%, 9.15%, 5.73%, 0.35%, 0.17%, 1.44% and 0.46%; and the amount of money involved for those projects occupied respectively 8.84%, 52.55%, 14.44%, 10.70%, 2.54%, 1.15%, 8.91% and 0.88%. ConclusionThe reasons for project audit chargeback are complicated. By strengthening information technology, management of price and building negotiation mechanism with Medical Insurance and Pricing Management Institutes, we can reduce the amount of chargeback, protect the right of patients and enhance the efficient use of the health insurance fund, so that the hospital, medical insurance and patients can all get benefits.