PERFECT – Performance, Effectiveness, and Cost of Treatment Episodes (Hoitoketjujen toimivuus, vaikuttavuus ja kustannukset)

The PERFECT project aims to develop methods for register-based measurement of the cost-effectiveness of treatment and to create a comparative database that allows the treatments given and their costs and effectiveness to be compared between hospitals, hospital districts, regions and population groups. The project: • Produces comparative information on treatments and their costs and effectiveness for treatment monitoring and development. • Creates indicators and models for monitoring the content, quality and cost-effectiveness of treatment episodes in specialised medical care. • Assesses factors that influence cost-effectiveness. • Develops methods for the register-based measurement of cost-effectiveness, and comes up with proposals concerning the data content of national level registers in order to improve the continuous monitoring of cost-effectiveness. • Develops an approach and methodology that can be subsequently applied to other disease groups as well. • Compares cost-effectiveness at an international level. The focus will first be on selected disease groups with sufficient significance in terms of costs and disease burden and where specialised medical care plays a key role: stroke, hip fracture, low-birth-weight infants, breast cancer, schizophrenia, acute myocardial infarction, and hip and knee replacements. Each sub-project has its own expert group, and each university hospital district is responsible for one sub-project. PERFECT is a joint project by the Social Insurance Institution of Finland, STAKES and university hospital districts. The project forms part the Academy of Finland's Research Programme on Health Services Research 2004-2007. For more information see project home page http://info.stakes.fi/perfect/FI/index.htm