EFFECTS OF CANCER TYPES ON LOCAL AND OUT-OF-CITY ADMISSIONS FOR MEDICAL CARE
Author(s)
Hayran KM, Yuce D, Kilickap S, Dizdar O, Huseyin B, Erman M, Celik I
Hacettepe University, Ankara, Turkey
OBJECTIVES: Institutional reputation affects patient preference for medical care. This reputation is associated with better clinical care results and higher-quality scientific production. Hacettepe University Cancer Institute is a comprehensive cancer center in Turkey, and meets both criteria as a highly-reputed tertiary healthcare facility. As a consequence, it attracts high-volume out-of-city admissions, despite the fact that patients tend to seek for medical attention locally and more closely to their homes. Based on this background, we have evaluated the effect of cancer type on out-of-city admissions. METHODS: Newly diagnosed cancer patients in 2016 were grouped into local admissions from the Ankara city, where our institution is based on, and out-of-city admissions. Additionally, patients’ hometowns were categorized according to the well-being index for provinces that released by the Turkish Statistical Institution. The possible associations between the cancer types and hometown categories were analyzed. RESULTS: Local and out-of-city admission rates were 47.9% and 52.1%, respectively (p<0.001). Proportions of colon, kidney, CNS, pancreas, liver, NHL, and bladder cancers were significantly higher in out-of-city admissions, and the differences between local and out-of-city admissions ranged between 8% and 32.2%. When the cancer types were compared between the categories of the health domain of the well-being index, there was an overall significance (p=0.045). When the well-being index was grouped into 1st quartile versus remaining quartiles, significance was found to be related with the higher admissions for kidney and gastric cancers from the 1st quartile, and higher admissions for uterus cancers from the remaining quartiles. CONCLUSIONS: Institutional characteristics and patient outcomes at a healthcare facility are the determinants of the patient preference for seeking medical care. Our results also suggest that particular cancer diagnoses may also affect this patient preference. From this aspect, out-of-city admission rates and socio-developmental indexes may be beneficial for assessing patient preference.
Conference/Value in Health Info
2018-09, ISPOR Asia Pacific 2018, Tokyo, Japan
Value in Health, Vol. 21, S2 (September 2018)
Code
PCN68
Topic
Patient-Centered Research
Topic Subcategory
Stated Preference & Patient Satisfaction
Disease
Oncology