Publisher's Synopsis
This volume aims to help readers to understand the interaction between acute, rehabilitative and long-stay care, and is designed for those who want to plan efficient and effective services for older people in health districts.;The opening papers discuss the place of modelling in the National Health Service, describe the systems approach, explain how models can assist the development of efficient care, and consider the role of the Audit Commission in assessing performance.;The second section considers clinical care analysis in the private sector, describes the POSSUM scoring system developed by a surgeon in Warrington, which explains differences in surgical morbidity, analyzes the method of collection PAS data and explains why problems occur in audit systems. Then, research in Sweden related to use of residential and nursing accommodation, a planning effort for psycho-geriatric services in Southampton and a mathematical model for estimating the need for hospital and community services for an ageing population, are reported.;Flow modelling is outlined and its use is illustrated in the planning of geriatric services in Salford, of orthopaedic services in a London hospital and in explaining why rehabilitation (not speedy acute care) is the key to providing effective and efficient care for older people. Finally, a data clustering approach shows the importance of understanding the interaction between acute, rehabilitative and long-stay care.;The book should be of interest to purchasers and providers of health care for older people in the private and public sectors. Business managers, information technologists, clinicians, public health physicians, researchers and fundholding GPs considering total purchasing should also find it useful. The world population is ageing, and governments throughout the world must decide how to provide efficient and effective services for an ever-increasing number of older people.
