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Research project

Optimizing healthcare for knee and hip osteoarthritis

Status: Ongoing (December 2017 - 2021)

Evaluation of intermediate care of hip and knee osteoarthritis.

What we do

About our project

Background
Since 2012, projects have been set up in the Netherlands, in which orthopedists offer healthcare in general practices to patients with osteoarthritis. Through this collaboration between orthopedists and general practitioners, it is intended that people with osteoarthritis will have better access to healthcare and that unnecessary referrals to the hospital will be prevented. Intermediate care services may lead to more optimal healthcare for people with knee and hip osteoarthritis.

Aim
This project aims to evaluated the quality of the current intermediate care projects for knee and hip osteoarthritis in the Netherlands with qualitative and quantitative methods. Additionally, the project aims to identified the preferences for healthcare for knee and hip osteoarthritis to search for most optimal and patient-centered healthcare services and to identify the preferences of patients for healthcare according to their characteristics.

Methods
A total of four intermediate care projects in the Netherlands were evaluated over a period of 1-2 year on changes in healthcare costs, referrals to hospital, healthcare use, and quality of care. Additionally, patients and healthcare providers from these intermediate care projects were interviewed to evaluate facilitators and barriers of intermediate care. To identify preferences for healthcare for knee and hip osteoarthritis, a survey containing a discrete choice experiment was conducted among 648 people with knee and hip osteoarthritis, 76 healthcare providers, and 150 employees of an healthcare insurance company. Data are collected and data analyses are still ongoing.

Our research focus

Outcomes
The outcomes of the intermediate care evaluation project are healthcare costs, healthcare use (e.g. medication and consultation), referrals to hospital, quality of care of intermediate care, and facilitators and barriers of intermediate care.

The outcome of the discrete choice experiment is the importance of the following factors of healthcare for knee and hip osteoarthritis: waiting times, out of pocket costs, travel distance, involved healthcare providers during consultation, length of consultation and access to specialist equipment.

Funds & Grants

Healthcare insurance company CZ

Collaborations

Department of Health Economics, Erasmus University, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
General Practice Pallion, Hulst, The Netherlands

Our team

Dr. D. Schiphof (co-promotor), d.schiphof@erasmusmc.nl
Dr. R. Rozendaal, r.rozendaal@erasmusmc.nl
Dr. M. van Middelkoop, m.vanmiddelkoop@erasmusmc.nl
MD. S.A.G. Stitzinger, sstitzinger@pallion.nl
MD. V.M.I. Voorbrood, v.voorbrood@erasmusmc.nl
Prof. Dr. P.J.E. Bindels, p.bindels@erasmusmc.nl
Prof. S.M.A. Bierma-Zeinstra (promotor), s.bierma-zeinstra@erasmusmc.nl

Contact address for the project: i.arslan@erasmusmc.nl.