Saskatchewan Health

About: Saskatchewan Health is a government organization based out in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Health care. The organization has 442 authors who have published 489 publications receiving 7728 citations.

Secondary Prevention of Stroke in Saskatchewan, Canada: Hypertension Control:

Abstract: BackgroundIn the province of Saskatchewan, Canada, stroke is the third leading cause of death as well as the major cause of adult disability. Once a person suffers a stroke or transient ischemic at...

Disparities in hepatitis C care across Canadian provincial prisons: Implications for hepatitis C micro-elimination

Abstract: BACKGROUND: Delivery of hepatitis C virus (HCV) care to people in prison is essential to HCV elimination. We aimed to describe current HCV care practices across Canada’s adult provincial prisons. M...

Measuring care trajectories using health administrative databases: a population-based investigation of transitions from emergency to acute care

Abstract: A patient’s trajectory through the healthcare system affects resource use and outcomes. Data fields in population-based administrative health databases are potentially valuable resources for constructing care trajectories for entire populations, provided they can capture patient transitions between healthcare services. This study describes patient transitions from the emergency department (ED) to other healthcare settings, and ascertains whether the discharge disposition field recorded in the ED data was a reliable source of patient transition information from the emergency to the acute care settings. Administrative health databases from the province of Saskatchewan, Canada (population 1.1 million) were used to identify patients with at least one ED visit to provincial teaching hospitals (n = 5) between April 1, 2006 and March 31, 2012. Discharge disposition from ED was described using frequencies and percentages; and it includes categories such as home, transfer to other facilities, and died. The kappa statistic with 95 % confidence intervals (95 % CIs) was used to measure agreement between the discharge disposition field in the ED data and hospital admission records. We identified N = 1,062,861 visits for 371,480 patients to EDs over the six-year study period. Three-quarters of the discharges were to home, 16.1 % were to acute care in the same facility in which the ED was located, and 1.6 % resulted in a patient transfer to a different acute care facility. Agreement between the discharge disposition field in the ED data and hospital admission records was good when the emergency and acute care departments were in the same facility (κ = 0.77, 95 % CI 0.77, 0.77). For transfers to a different acute care facility, agreement was only fair (κ = 0.36, 95 % CI 0.35, 0.36). The majority of patients who attended EDs did not transition to another healthcare setting. For those who transitioned to acute care, accuracy of the discharge disposition field depended on whether the two services were provided in the same facility. Using the hospital data as reference, we conclude that the discharge disposition field in the ED data is not reliable for measuring transitions from ED to acute care.

Defining ‘actionable’ high- costhealth care use: results using the Canadian Institute for Health Information population grouping methodology

Abstract: A small proportion of the population consumes the majority of health care resources. High-cost health care users are a heterogeneous group. We aim to segment a provincial population into relevant homogenous sub-groups to provide actionable information on risk factors associated with high-cost health care use within sub-populations. The Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) Population Grouping methodology was used to define mutually exclusive and clinically relevant health profile sub-groups. High-cost users (> = 90th percentile of health care spending) were defined within each sub-group. Univariate analyses explored demographic, socio-economic status, health status and health care utilization variables associated with high-cost use. Multivariable logistic regression models were constructed for the costliest health profile groups. From 2015 to 2017, 1,175,147 individuals were identified for study. High-cost users consumed 41% of total health care resources. Average annual health care spending for individuals not high-cost were $642; high-cost users were $16,316. The costliest health profile groups were ‘long-term care’, ‘palliative’, ‘major acute’, ‘major chronic’, ‘major cancer’, ‘major newborn’, ‘major mental health’ and ‘moderate chronic’. Both ‘major acute’ and ‘major cancer’ health profile groups were largely explained by measures of health care utilization and multi-morbidity. In the remaining costliest health profile groups modelled, ‘major chronic’, ‘moderate chronic’, ‘major newborn’ and ‘other mental health’, a measure of socio-economic status, low neighbourhood income, was statistically significantly associated with high-cost use. Model results point to specific, actionable information within clinically meaningful subgroups to reduce high-cost health care use. Health equity, specifically low socio-economic status, was statistically significantly associated with high-cost use in the majority of health profile sub-groups. Population segmentation methods, and more specifically, the CIHI Population Grouping Methodology, provide specificity to high-cost health care use; informing interventions aimed at reducing health care costs and improving population health.

Health reform in Saskatchewan.

Abstract: This paper describes the direction of health reform taking place in Saskatchewan. The rationale underlying the shift to a needs-driven, outcome-oriented, locally controlled health system is discussed. This shift is in concert with nationally recognized directions in improving health status, maintaining standards, ensuring a more cost-effective system, and providing a continuum of services characterized by a shift from institutional to community-based services, health-related public policy and health promotion. Included is a discussion of the process of change and some of the elements of the newly constituted delivery system, such as district boards, needs assessment, core services, and provincial components such as the Health Services Utilization Review Commission and the Provincial Health Council. Some implications for issues such as stroke prevention are noted.