Doctor-visit-within-7-days-COPD - Health Quality Ontario (HQO)

INDICATOR NAME

Name

Follow-up with a doctor within 7 days of discharge following hospitalization for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)

Alternate Name

Percentage of patients who saw a family doctor or specialist within 7 days of discharge after hospitalization for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)

INDICATOR DESCRIPTION

Description

Percentage of follow-up visits with a doctor within 7 days of discharge after hospitalization for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) among patients aged 40 and older. A higher percentage is better.

HQO Reporting tool/product

Public reporting

Dimension

Effective, Timely

Type

Process

DEFINITION AND SOURCE INFORMATION

Unit of Measurement

Percentage

Calculation Methods

The percentage is calculated as: numerator divided by the denominator times 100

Numerator (short description i.e. not inclusions/exclusions)

The number of patients in the denominator discharged from acute care hospitals after an admission for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) who had at least one doctor visit within 7 days after discharge

Denominator (short description i.e. not inclusions/exclusions)

The number of patients aged 40 and older discharged from hospital after an admission for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)

Adjustment (risk, age/sex standardization)- generalized

Age and sex standardized

Data Source

Discharge Abstract Database (DAD), Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP) Claims History Database, Physician Database (IPDB), Registered Persons Database (RPDB)

Data provided to HQO by

Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences (ICES)

Reported Levels of comparability /stratifications (defined)

Region, Time

OTHER RELEVANT INFORMATION

Caveats and Limitations

The indicator captures a visit with a doctor for any reason and may not necessarily have the same reason as the hospitalization. Follow up by non-physician providers (i.e., nurse practitioners in family health teams) or providers that do not provide billing or shadow billing will not be captured. It is hard to interpret the results as there is some variation in recommended time period for the follow-up (ranging from one week to one month).

Comments Summary

The admissions are unique by episode (e.g., one patient can have more than one admission during the fiscal year).