Abstract submission period: November 14, 2024 to January 31, 2025

The conference is an opportunity to share your research with an international audience. We invite you to submit an abstract that will be considered by the scientific committee as an oral presentation or a poster.

The theme of the 2025 conference is " Patient Grouping as a Driver of Value in Health: The Patient at the Heart of Our Decisions." Expected abstracts should focus on one of the components related to case-mix, cost, and financing systems, and other case-mix applications, including value-based healthcare. Some example topics include:

• Innovations in case-mix, data and technology.

• Advancements in coding, classification systems and data quality.

• Case-mix and costing beyond funding.

• From case-mix to policy: the patient at the center.

• Connecting funding with patient outcomes and quality of care.

• Using costing and funding to create value and demonstrate productivity.

• Artificial intelligence & case-mix: in service of patient-centered care.

Abstract requirements

The presenting author of an accepted abstract must register for the conference to ensure that their abstract is included in the final program.

You may submit more than one abstract. However, please do not divide parts of a project into multiple summaries (e.g., context in one summary, methods in another, results in another, and so on). Nevertheless, you can submit separate abstracts on different aspects of a larger project.

The abstract must be submitted electronically via the online abstract submission portal here.

Types of studies

PCSI conferences cover a large array of study types. In this section, the main types of studies are presented. However, they are not intended to be exhaustive:

• Policy updates: This includes studies that focus on the introduction, revision, or evaluation of health care policies. These may include new funding models, reimbursement strategies, or changes to the classification system within a health system. Summaries of policy updates should focus on the rationale for the policy change, the methods used to develop or evaluate the policy, and its expected or actual impact on health care delivery.

• Research Study: Refers to studies involving the collection and analysis of data to answer a specific research question. These studies typically examine the effects of a policy, intervention, case-mix or classification system on efficiency, costs, health system planning or health outcomes. Research study abstracts should provide a clear research hypothesis, methodology, results, and interpretation of the results. Examples of research studies: studies that develop new case mix classification systems for specific patient groups, such as outpatient mental health services, to improve cost allocation and resource allocation, or studies that examine how changes to the GRD classification (Clustered Diagnostics for Management) affect length of stay or readmission rates.

• Studies that showcase/validate methods, tools or frameworks: These studies describe the development, testing or implementation of innovative approaches to health care management or classification. These summaries should highlight the problem that the method, tool or framework addresses, the process of creating and/or validating it and/or its potential impact on practice.

Guide to the structure and sections of your summary

All abstracts must follow the structure described in the "Abstract Template", i.e.:

• Introduction

• Methods

• Results

• Discussion/Conclusions

For each of the parts of your abstract structure, specific content is expected. These can be adapted according to the type of study that you present as explained below:

1- Introduction
In this section, describe the importance of your work. Document the context and current state of knowledge on the topic you studied. Explain any knowledge or policy gaps that motivated your update or study.

• Policy Update: Explain the context for policy development and the expected impact on health care delivery and funding.

• Research study: Describe the problem your study addresses. State the specific research question or hypothesis that guided your analysis.

• Other type of study: Describe the method, tool or framework and how it fits into the existing body of knowledge.

2- Methods
This section should explain how the work was done, detailing the methodology for collecting and analyzing your data:

• Policy Update: Describe the information-gathering process, such as stakeholder engagement (consultations, surveys, or working groups), review of policy documents, documentation, or expert guidance that has shaped policy changes.

• Research study: Describe data sources (e.g., patient records, hospital financial data) and analytical methods (e.g., statistical tests). Be specific about the patient populations studied, timelines, and inclusion criteria for your analysis.

• Other type of study: Describe the process of developing the tool, method or framework, any validation undertaken or implementation. Include details about any pilot studies, feedback loops, or expert feedback used to refine your tool, method, or framework.

3- Results
This section reports on the results of your work:

• Policy update: Summarize the key findings of the stakeholder consultations or policy review process. Describe in detail any policy changes or new guidelines that have been adopted as a result.

• Research study: Present the quantitative (and qualitative) results of your data analysis, including differences in costs, length of stay, or other key variables.

• Other type of study: Describe the key product or deliverable of your work (e.g., a new analytical tool, algorithm, or framework). If applicable, report any initial findings from implementation or pilot testing.

4- Discussion/conclusions
Summarize the main findings and explain their scope or implications. This section should link the findings and their potential impact on future health care policy, practice, or research:

• Policy update: Consider how policy changes could impact health care funding, delivery, or outcomes for patients. Mention any challenges encountered during implementation and suggest areas for refinement or study in the future.

• Research Study: Discuss the significance of the differences in resources or outcomes you observed. Offer potential explanations for these differences (e.g., clinical complexity, patient journey) and suggest how your findings might inform practice or policy changes.

• Other type of study: Describe the potential impact of your tool, method, or framework on clinical practice, case mix classification, or other aspects of health care management. Mention any limitations to your work and how they might be addressed in future studies.

Criteria for the analysis of abstracts

Abstracts will be reviewed by the Scientific Committee using the following criteria:

• The relevance to case-mix systems, and in particular the theme and topics of the conference.

• The rigor of the methods (as appropriate for the type of article, e.g., quantitative or qualitative).

• Contribution to practice and/or research.

All accepted abstracts will be included in the documentation made available to conference delegates.

Copyright

Authors who submit an abstract agree to the conditions below:

• When submitting your abstract, PCSI considers that permission is given for PCSI to retain your abstract/presentation and make it available for members unless you choose to opt out. You will be asked if you wish to opt out as part of the abstract submission process. The authors of abstract/presentation will retain copyright in their work, while allowing the PCSI to place this unpublished work under a Creative Commons attribution license, which allows others to freely access, use, and share the work, with acknowledgement of authorship of the work and its presentation at this conference. Presenting authors must have obtained permission from all authors of the work before submitting it.

• Presentations should not include copyrighted material without permission, especially when they include images or video clips unrelated to the research.

• All authors will be asked to declare any conflicts of interest in the presentation of their work at the conference. A conflict of interest is one where one of the authors has competing interests or loyalties (e.g., financial interests or personal or professional relationships) that may bias the work that is reported, or the conclusions, implications, or opinions expressed. (See PCSI's Policy on Conflict of Interest Disclosure here).

Awards and distinctions

PCSI presents the following awards at the conference:

Best Paper: Awarded to the highest-rated full paper, as judged by the appointed members of the Scientific Committee. A full paper means writing your project that is the subject of your presentation in handwritten format (see below). The Scientific Committee has used the following criteria to evaluate articles for this award in the past:

• Originality.

• Contribution to the field of research on case-mix systems/the use of these systems.

• Rigorous methods.

• Implications for the field of research.

A full paper is not required for all abstracts but is required for entry into the Best Paper Award. Full papers should be submitted separately to the abstract, as follows:

• Date: July 15, 2025. (5 p.m. (GMT)).

• Structure and format: Format of the manuscript, i.e. including an introduction, methods, results and discussion/conclusion. Up to ten pages, single-spaced, including tables, figures, and references.

• Submission Instructions: By email to the PCSI Secretary (secretary@PCSInternational.org).

Casemix Innovation Award: Awarded to the abstract that demonstrates the most innovative potential to improve population health, by the appointed members of the Scientific Committee. The recipient should be prepared to contribute their work to a dynamic white paper on the topic of population health management. The Casemix Innovation Award is supported by Casemix Bv and Jacob Hofdijk, Secretary Emeritus, PCSI.

People's Choice - Best Poster: Awarded to the poster who received the most votes from the conference delegates. Poster authors are required to give a presentation of two minutes of their poster at the poster event at the conference.

When registering an abstract, you will be asked if you would like to be considered for one (or more) of the above awards.