The HIPE Review - a happy 50th Birthday for HIPE
Sinead O'Hara a, Deirdre Murphy a, Brian McCarthy a
Introduction
The Hospital In-Patient Enquiry (HIPE) data scheme collects patient activity data on all admitted patients in public hospitals in Ireland. HIPE recently passed its 50th year in existence and it continues to be a significant source of timely and accurate quality health data. As part of the Activity Based Funding implementation plan, the Healthcare Pricing Office undertook a review of HIPE to determine how HIPE can be developed to meet the challenges of a changing and increasingly wide-ranging healthcare system moving away from solely hospital-based care.
Methods
The review progressed via a series of stages beginning with a review of HPE outlining the current process and challenges nationally and at a hospital level. Stakeholders in the area were identified based on whether they maintain HIPE records or use HIPE data, and a survey was circulated. The outcome of the survey was further distilled via focus groups and one-to-one meetings with key stakeholders. The final deliverable of this work was a HIPE strategy showing a path for HIPE into the future.
Results
The presentation will examine the feedback received from the survey, focus groups and other meetings and show how the strategy has been shaped by this input. The key points of the strategy will also be presented.
Conclusions
Through changes in patient care, models of healthcare delivery, classification, technology and health policy HIPE has remained the national collection system for acute hospital activity for more than 50 years in Ireland. Its ability to adapt and move on is a testament to the resilience and commitment of the staff who have worked on it over this time in hospitals and at a national level. The statement of purpose and strategy provides a roadmap to build on HIPE's success going forward. None of this could be created without the continued work of HIPE teams in hospitals in Ireland, their input into the HIPE review and the input from the myriad of stakeholders.
a Healthcare Pricing Office, Ireland
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