The Volume‐Outcome Relationship and Minimum Volume Standards – Empirical Evidence for Germany
分析了德国医院中腹主动脉瘤和髋部骨折患者的治疗量与死亡率关系，发现高手术量医院患者死亡概率更低，且假设的最低手术量标准不会显著影响就医可及性。
For decades, there is an ongoing discussion about the quality of hospital care leading i.a. to the introduction of minimum volume standards in various countries. In this paper, we analyze the volume-outcome relationship for patients with intact abdominal aortic aneurysm and hip fracture. We define hypothetical minimum volume standards in both conditions and assess consequences for access to hospital services in Germany. The results show clearly that patients treated in hospitals with a higher case volume have on average a significant lower probability of death in both conditions. Furthermore, we show that the hypothetical minimum volume standards do not compromise overall access measured with changes in travel times.