The effect of age upon specialty care in patients hospitalized for congestive heart failure in Alberta : Seniors in congestive heart failure

The Alberta Centre for Health Services Utilization Research is a joint initiative between the University of Alberta and the University of Calgary, funded by Alberta Health and Wellness. [...] The pivotal unanswered question for clinicians, policy makers, and those that fund the provision of health services is: “Would more aggressive medical therapy similar to that for younger patients have decreased the higher mortality in older patients?” Alberta Centre for Health Services Utilization Research Page 1 Seniors in Congestive Heart Failure INTRODUCTION Aging of the population presents a c [...] Alberta Centre for Health Services Utilization Research Page 2 Seniors in Congestive Heart Failure METHODS Four administrative health service databases were used and the analysis was done within the protected environment of Alberta Health and Wellness, which is governed by provincial legislative guidelines on the confidentiality of health information. [...] As such, the methodological issues that arise around collection of cost data in the United States 25, in part due to the use of prices rather than costs, and for centres in Canada which cost admissions on the basis of “case-mix grouping” do not arise with the majority of the cost data considered in this analysis. [...] Alberta Centre for Health Services Utilization Research Page 6 Seniors in Congestive Heart Failure STATISTICS Age-specific mortality and the ninety-nine percent confidence intervals were calculated for patients diagnosed in 1994/1995 with congestive heart failure and followed for five years post diagnosis.