Researchers from National Taiwan University Detail Findings in Managed Care (Half-Managed Care: A Preliminary Assessment of a Capitation Program in a…

Researchers from National Taiwan University Detail Findings in Managed Care (Half-Managed Care: A Preliminary Assessment of a Capitation Program in a Health Care System Without Gatekeepers)

By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Managed Care Weekly Digest -- Research findings on Managed Care are discussed in a new report. According to news reporting from Taipei, Taiwan, by NewsRx journalists, research stated, "In 2011, a novel capitation program was launched in Taiwan under its universal health insurance plan. This study aimed to assess the short-term impact of the program."

The news correspondents obtained a quote from the research from National Taiwan University, "Two hospitals in the greater Taipei area, one participating in the loyal patient model (13,319 enrollees) and one in the regional resident model (13,768 enrollees), were analyzed. Two comparison groups were selected by propensity score matching. Generalized estimating equation models with differences-in-differences analysis were used to examine the net effects of the capitation program on health care utilization, expenses, and outcomes. Enrollees in the loyal patient model had fewer physician visits in the host hospital, but more physician visits outside that hospital during the program year than they had the year before. Compared with non-enrollees, the loyal patient model enrollees incurred fewer physician visits (=-0.042, p<.001), fewer emergency department visits, (=-0.140, p<.001), and similar total expenses and outcome. For the regional resident model, no differences were found in the number of physician visits, expenses, or outcomes between enrollees and non-enrollees."

According to the news reporters, the research concluded: "The novel capitation models in Taiwan had minimal impact on health care utilization after 1 year of implementation and the health care outcome was not compromised."

For more information on this research see: Half-Managed Care: A Preliminary Assessment of a Capitation Program in a Health Care System Without Gatekeepers. International Journal of Health Services, 2017;47(3):519-531. International Journal of Health Services can be contacted at: Sage Publications Ltd, 1 Olivers Yard, 55 City Road, London EC1Y 1SP, England (see also Managed Care).

Our news journalists report that additional information may be obtained by contacting S.H. Cheng, National Taiwan University, Coll Public Hlth, Inst Hlth Policy & Management, Taipei, Taiwan. Additional authors for this research include C.M. Chang, C.C. Chen, C.Y. Shih and S.L. Tsai.

Keywords for this news article include: Taipei, Taiwan, Asia, Managed Care, Hospital, Taiwan, Asia, National Taiwan University.

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