International Journal of Health Policy and Management

International Journal of Health Policy and Management

Without Explicit Targets, Does France Meet Minimum Volume Thresholds for Hip and Knee Replacement and Bariatric Surgeries?

Document Type : Letter to Editor

Authors
William B. Weeks 1, 2, 3
Bruno Ventelou 3
Zeynep Or 4
1 The Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH, USA
2 The Geisel School of Medicine, Hanover, NH, USA
3 Aix-Marseille School of Economics (CNRS & EHESS), Aix-Marseille University, Marseille, France
4 Institut de recherché et documentation en économie de la santé, Paris, France
10.15171/ijhpm.2016.105
Keywords
Minimum Volume Thresholds
Volume-Outcomes Relationships
Elective Surgery
France
Health Policy
Subjects

Dear Editor,

Persistent findings of a relationship between higher volumes of surgical care and better outcomes1 have caused 3 large US healthcare systems to refer surgical cases when they do not meet minimum volume thresholds for bariatric surgery (where the minimum threshold is 40 surgeries per year) and total hip or total knee replacement surgeries (where it is 50 surgeries per year)... (Read more...)

  1. Reames BN, Ghaferi AA, Birkmeyer JD, Dimick JB. Hospital volume and operative mortality in the modern era. Ann Surg. 2014;260(2):244-251. doi:10.1097/sla.0000000000000375
  2. Sternberg S. Hospitals move to limit low-volume surgeries.  US News and World Report. http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2015/05/19/hospitals-move-to-limit-low-volume-surgeries.
  3. Com-Ruelle L, Or Z, Renaud T. The volume-outcomes relationship in hospitals:  lessons from the literature. http://www.irdes.fr/EspaceAnglais/Publications/IrdesPublications/QES135.pdf. IRDES (The Institute for Research and Information in Health Economics); 2008.
  4. ATIH. Agence Technique de l’Information sur l’Hospitalisation.  http://www.atih.sante.fr/echelle-nationale-de-couts-par-ghm.  Accessed March 8, 2016.
  5. Classification Commune des Actes Médicaux (CCAM).  http://www.ameli.fr/accueil-de-la-ccam/index.php. Accessed March 8, 2016.
  6. Rauh SS, Wadsworth E, Weeks WB, Weinstein JN. The savings illusion: why quality improvement fails to deliver bottom-line results. New Engl J Med. 2011;365(26):e48.  doi:10.1056/NEJMp1111662.
International Journal of Health Policy and Management
Volume 5, Issue 10
2016
Pages 613-614

  • Received Date 06 July 2016
  • Revised Date 10 August 2016
  • Accepted Date 03 August 2016
  • First Published Date 01 October 2016
  • Published Date 01 October 2016