Evaluation
Regional differences in quality of care in homes
Not all nursing homes are created equal. But there are also differences at the regional level. photo
© Christophe Gateau/dpa
Problems with medication supply, lack of prevention and avoidable hospital stays: There are noticeable regional differences in quality when it comes to care in nursing homes.
According to the analysis, a national average of almost four percent of those in need of care with dementia had a hospital stay due to insufficient fluid intake. In the 20 districts with the most noticeable values it was between 7.5 and 12.5 percent.
This is how it was evaluated
According to the information, billing data from all eleven AOK nursing and health insurance companies from 2021 was evaluated. This included information on 350,000 home residents over 60 years of age.
The managing director of care at the AOK Federal Association, Sabine Richard, said: “With the help of this data, which is already available, important aspects of nursing and health care in nursing homes can be mapped – without any additional recording effort for the employees.” Such routine data evaluations could usefully complement activities to improve care. This would also make it possible to shed light on interfaces to health care for which there have so far been no systematic and regular evaluations.