Text only

Further Information

Selection of items for inclusion in the ACMEplus instrument will be based on:

• clinical consensus and
• statistical analysis from 2 phases of data collection:
  15 January 2001 for 9 months (includes pilot phase)
  18 March 2002 for 6 months.

Case-mix refers to:

• patient-based, disease-based and other factors that can affect outcome, including the type and severity of physical/mental problems, and new or pre-existing disabilities.

Case-mix classification systems:

• attempt to divide patients into sub-groups which are homogeneous (in the sense that they have similar outcomes or require similar amounts of resources for treatment).

Purpose of ACMEplus instrument:

• to allow health workers to audit their work, through comparison with other units throughout Europe
• to improve quality of care and outcomes of old people in hospital through audit and interventional studies
• to improve equity of treatment between different units
• to lead to new insights into patient care by examining how comparable older patients are managed in different countries
• to lead to new insights into risk factors and outcome.

Requirements of ACMEplus instrument:

• acceptable and easy to perform
• suitable for use in different health systems and for different routes of admission.
• suitable for different social setting, cultures etc.
• feasible, reliable, valid
• will need to incorporate measures of function as well as diagnoses.