Comparing the dangers of a stay in English and German hospitals for high-need patients

Abstract

Objective To estimate the risk of an avoidable adverse event for high-need patients in England and Germany and the causal impact that has on outcomes. Data Sources We use administrative, secondary data for all hospital inpatients in 2018. Patient records for the English National Health Service are provided by the Hospital Episode Statistics database and for the German health care system accessed through the Research Data Center of the Federal Statistical Office. Study Design We calculated rates of three hospital-acquired adverse events and their causal impact on mortality and length of stay through propensity score matching and estimation of average treatment effects.