Study of potentially avoidable hospitalization geographic variability in three five-year periods

Abstract

Introduction: Diseases that motivate potentially preventable hospitalization (PH) have the characteristic of being sensitive to prevention, diagnosis and control on an outpatient basis in primary care. Objectives: To identify the national trend of potentially avoidable hospitalization between 2001 and 2015; to analyze its geographical pattern at the municipal level and prioritize municipalities. Method: Hospital discharge records from the Ministry of Health were used. National prevalence rates and municipal PH ratios, standardized by age and gender, were calculated. Variability statistics were used to analyze and generate maps. Results: Among all hospital discharges, 10.39%, 9.81% and 9.26% were classified as PH for each period. The national PH rate did increase in the studied period: from 36.27 to 47.24 per 10,000 population. Diabetes mellitus, gastroenteritis and other diseases of the lower respiratory tract were the most common causes. Geographic patterns of PH were similar for the three periods. A total of 487 priority municipalities were identified, 174 with hospital high use and 313 with overuse, 35.83 % were avoidable hospitalizations, 8.58% and 27.25%, respectively. Conclusions: In Mexico there is wide geographical variability in PH, with an almost unchanging geographical pattern. outthepriorwrittenpermission.