Section on Health Services Research

Section on Health Services Research

Section on Health Services Research and Outcome

Maurizia Capuzzo, Chairperson

Andreas Valentin, Vice-Chair elected

working groups:

Philipp Metnitz, Outcome

Andreas Valentin, Quality Improvement

Paolo Merlani, Health Economics

Minutes of the Section on Health Services Research

And Outcome Meeting

held at the 29st ISICEM Congress in Brussels

Date:Tuesday, 24thMarch 2009

Time:13.00 – 14.30

Location:Room 1101 A

LocationBrussels Exhibition & Convention Centre

Attendants:Bekele Afessa, Antonio Artigas, Maurizia Capuzzo, Maurizio Cecconi, Ruth Endacott, Patrick Ferdinande, Didier Ledoux, Paolo Merlani, Pedro Navarrete, Andy Rhodes, Andreas Valentin

The meeting was opened by Maurizia Capuzzo, who welcomed the participants to the meeting of the Health Services Research and Outcome Section (HSRO).

Then she presented the agenda of the meeting.

The first point was the report of the Chair. The attendants were informed about the new organization of the Division of the Professional Development. According to the proposal approved by the Council meeting held on the 23rd March 2009, the Research Committee will continue taking care of awards, as well as of endorsement/support of studies, but two new groups will be created. They will be a ECCRN Clinical Trial Group, to develop interventional trials proposed by investigators to the ESICM, and a Systematic Analysis Unit, which will include statisticians, to perform analysis possibly but not necessarily connected with ECCRN Clinical Trial Group.

In the subsequent report, the number of the members of the section over time was presented: it remains high with acceptable fluctuations.

The activities of the Working Groups of the section were summarized as follows.

outcome group

Philipp Metnitz, who is responsible of this WG, was sick and unable to attend the meeting. However, he sent some slides, which were presentedby Maurizia Capuzzo.

Four new SAPS 3 sub-studies are in press in Intensive Care Medicine. Moreover, other studies on the validation of the SAPS 3 recently appeared in the scientific literature.

A Performance Indicator, that is the development of a system to describe the risk profile of an ICU, is the new most important study to be performed.

Quality improvement group

Andreas Valentin reported that the paper about the results of the SEE2 study has been just published in British Medical Journal, FREE to be downloaded from the web. It was not possible to add the list of ICU coordinators who collected the data, so their names have been reported in the website of the section ( which has been referenced in the paper.

The next task of the WG will be discussed in the meeting of the WG, and the proposal is to update the “Recommendations on minimal requirements for Intensive Care Departments” published in 1997 (Intensive Care Med 1997; 23:226–232).

Health Economics group

Paolo Merlani was responsible for collecting research proposals from HSRO section and Health Economics WG members, to identify the project of the Health Economics WG.

Three formal proposals arrived; a synopsis of the study proposals was prepared; an evaluation grid was sent to the members of WG. Some members voted using the grid, others sent an informal answer. However, there was no doubt on the choice of the WG favoured the project on “European Length of ICU Stay Evaluation” (acronym ELOISE).

The project will be discussed by the members of the WG in the subsequent meeting which will be held on the same day.

Maurizia Capuzzo informed the attendants that the program of the 22nd ESICM Congress to be held in Vienna 11-14 October 2009 has been concluded and showed the section’s programme. The section will be involved in 10 sessions: 4 Thematic sessions, 4Pro/Con debates, 1 Clinical Challenge session and 1Continuous professional development session. She concluded that she trust that the section program, as well as all the congress program, will be attractive for participants and that the speakers will be successful.

New ideas are required to identify exiting topics for the Barcelona Congress in 2010.Maurizia Capuzzoinvited the members of the HSRO section to send proposals for topics and speakersfor that Congress, within the end of September.

The section meeting ended at 14.30. The next meeting will be held at the ESICM congress in Vienna and date and location will be communicated as soon as possible.