Do 'virtual wards' reduce rates of unplanned hospital admissions, and at what cost? A research protocol using propensity matched controls

This study assesses the extent to which multidisciplinary case management in the form of virtual wards (VWs) leads to changes in the use of health care and social care by patients at high risk of future unplanned hospital admission.

Journal article information

Journal of publication: International Journal of Integrated Care
Nuffield Trust contributors: Dr Adam Steventon , Dr Geraint Lewis , Dr Jennifer Dixon CBE , Dr Martin Bardsley , Professor John Billings and Theo Georghiou

Abstract

Study design and data collection methods

We will compare the health care and social care use of VW patients to that of matched controls. Controls will be drawn from (a) national, and (b) local, individual-level pseudonymous routine data. The costs of setting up and running a VW will be determined from the perspectives of both health and social care organizations using a combination of administrative data, interviews and diaries.

Methods of analysis

Using propensity score matching and prognostic matching, we will create matched comparator groups to estimate the effect size of virtual wards in reducing unplanned hospital admissions.

Conclusions

This study will allow us to determine relative to matched comparator groups: whether VWs reduce the use of emergency hospital care; the impact, if any, of VWs on the uptake of primary care, community health services and council-funded social care; and the potential costs and savings of VWs from the perspectives of the national health service (NHS) and local authorities.