Page 159 - Effective healthcare cost containment policies Using the Netherlands as a case study - Niek W. Stadhouders

Do private hospitals outperform public hospitals regarding efficiency, accessibility and
Weak: will be assigned when the relevant confounders were not controlled for (for instance, ANOVA)
E) Data collection methods
Strong: The data collection tools have been shown to be valid; and the data collection tools have been shown to be reliable
quality of care in the European Union? A literature review
Moderate: The data collection tools have been shown to be valid ; and the data collection tools have not been shown to be reliable or reliability is not described .
Weak: The data collection tools have not been shown to be valid or both reliability and validity are not described.
F) Outcome variable
The choice of measurement of the outcome variable (accessibility, quality of care efficiency) is valid?
Strong: Clear connection with one of the three concepts, and/or is generally accepted by scholars (e.g. DEA)
Moderate: a couple of validity issues arise. The connection between the outcome variable and the concepts of interest is moderate (e.g. only one disease is analyzed)
Weak: serious concerns about how the outcome variable (one of the 3 concepts) is measured
G) Number of hospitals
Strong: more than 10 hospitals are included in the analysis
Moderate: between 3 and 10 hospitals are included in the analysis
Weak: only 2 hospitals are compared
H) Context
Strong: Includes many different contexts/regions, high complexity in
demographic characteristics
Moderate: Combines 2 or 3 different regions
Weak: One very specific region with specific characteristics
J) Independence
Is this an independent study? Yes (3) Debatable (2) No (1)
K) Drop-outs- Only if applicable
Strong: (If applicable: will be assigned when the follow-up rate is 80%
or greater).
Moderate (If applicable: will be assigned when the follow-up rate is 60
– 79%).
Weak: (If applicable: will be assigned when a follow-up rate is less than
60% or if the withdrawals and drop-outs were not described). Total score
Additional comments Answers to comments Do the results seem to be valid?
Do the results seem to be reliable?
Are the results relevant? Does it fall within the scope of our research question?
Can the results be generalized?
In or out If needed: justification
Final judgment made based on the score and the additional comments Excluded after quality appraisal
 Browne, J., L. Jamieson, J. Lewsey, J. van der Meulen, L. Copley and N. Black (2008). "Case-mix & patients' reports of outcome in Independent Sector Treatment Centres: Comparison with NHS providers." BMC health services research 8: 78.
 Caballer-Tarazona, M., A. Clemente-Collado and D. Vivas-Consuelo (2016). "A cost and performance comparison of Public Private Partnership and public hospitals in Spain." Health Economics Review 6(1): 1-7.
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