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Information management in the age of managed competition.

BACKGROUND: Today's information requirements differ from those of the past, in terms of both the internal and external reporting needs of health care organizations. Demands for information are currently generated by physicians, quality managers, total quality management (TQM) teams, marketing staff, financial managers, regulators, insurance plans, accreditation agencies, purchasers, coalitions, and other customers. DISCUSSION: Health care organizations respond to these demands in different ways, depending on their size and type. Six aspects of information needs that would be relevant under managed competition are analyzed: standardization, linkages among data banks, risk adjustment, comprehensive institution-based indicators and information systems, comprehensive population-based indicators and information systems, and methods for protecting confidentiality of patient records. RECOMMENDATIONS: Six recommendations to hospitals/managed care plans that decide to establish information management systems are made: set goals, set priorities, describe current system, identify external data sources, develop (a plan), and check back (reassess).

Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, U.S.↗

Environmental management of asthma at top-ranked U.S. managed care organizations.

We evaluated the status of nationally top-ranked managed care organizations' (MCOs) asthma disease management programs to identify "best practices" in the environmental treatment and control of asthma. Application materials were developed and mailed to the top 34 managed care organizations, as determined by the ranked results from the October 1998 edition of US News and World Report. Based on the results of a staff and panel review, five applicants were selected for site visitation. The results of the site visits determined two finalists and three runners-up. We recommend that MCOs integrate population and community-based strategies and seek an emphasis on prevention. We encourage collaborations with other organizations and agencies. We endorse home visitation to assess environmental factors and also support use of telephonic case management. We think that smoking cessation programs should be coordinated with asthma management. We consider it important to use alternative forms of communication such as the Internet. And we find that it is important to be mindful of language, culture, and literacy.

Asthma↗

An integrated framework for safety, quality and risk management: an information and incident management system based on a universal patient safety classification.

More needs to be done to improve safety and quality and to manage risks in health care. Existing processes are fragmented and there is no single comprehensive source of information about what goes wrong. An integrated framework for the management of safety, quality and risk is needed, with an information and incident management system based on a universal patient safety classification. The World Alliance for Patient Safety provides a platform for the development of a coherent approach; 43 desirable attributes for such an approach are discussed. An example of an incident management and information system serving a patient safety classification is presented, with a brief account of how and where it is currently used. Any such system is valueless unless it improves safety and quality. Quadruple-loop learning (personal, local, national and international) is proposed with examples of how an exemplar system has been successfully used at the various levels. There is currently an opportunity to "get it right" by international cooperation via the World Health Organization to develop an integrated framework incorporating systems that can accommodate information from all sources, manage and monitor things that go wrong, and allow the worldwide sharing of information and the dissemination of tools for the implementation of strategies which have been shown to work.

Australia↗

Pricing specialty carve-outs and disease management programs under managed care.

The drive toward improved efficiency and effectiveness in health care has spawned disease management programs to address the needs of patients with certain conditions. These programs parallel traditional case management programs in monitoring patients, but disease management differs from case management in early assessment of patient risk, with proactive clinical interventions and educational efforts. The most comprehensive programs include a coordinated delivery system that can be "carved out" from other health care benefits. Pricing disease management can benefit from the analysis of detailed, disease-specific and community-specific data from public or private sources.

Capitation Fee↗

Disease management: legal strategies for the next generation of managed care.

The provision of proper and cost-effective healthcare to chronically ill patients is a crucial aspect of succeeding at managing care. An increasing number of managed care organizations are relying upon specialized outside providers to manage patients with such diseases. In such circumstances, this type of care is "carved out" and given to a specialized disease management organization. The authors discuss the strategies behind such arrangements, provide case studies of many of the specialized organizations providing such disease management, and analyze the legal issues that are likely to arise from such contractual relationships.

Chronic Disease↗

Management of chronic tension-type headache with tricyclic antidepressant medication, stress management therapy, and their combination: a randomized controlled trial.

CONTEXT: Chronic tension-type headaches are characterized by near-daily headaches and often are difficult to manage in primary practice. Behavioral and pharmacological therapies each appear modestly effective, but data are lacking on their separate and combined effects. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the clinical efficacy of behavioral and pharmacological therapies, singly and combined, for chronic tension-type headaches. DESIGN AND SETTING: Randomized placebo-controlled trial conducted from August 1995 to January 1998 at 2 outpatient sites in Ohio. PARTICIPANTS: Two hundred three adults (mean age, 37 years; 76% women) with diagnosis of chronic tension-type headaches (mean, 26 headache d/mo). INTERVENTIONS: Participants were randomly assigned to receive tricyclic antidepressant (amitriptyline hydrochloride, up to 100 mg/d, or nortriptyline hydrochloride, up to 75 mg/d) medication (n = 53), placebo (n = 48), stress management (eg, relaxation, cognitive coping) therapy (3 sessions and 2 telephone contacts) plus placebo (n = 49), or stress management therapy plus antidepressant medication (n = 53). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Monthly headache index scores calculated as the mean of pain ratings (0-10 scale) recorded by participants in a daily diary 4 times per day; number of days per month with at least moderate pain (pain rating >/=5), analgesic medication use, and Headache Disability Inventory scores, compared by intervention group. RESULTS: Tricyclic antidepressant medication and stress management therapy each produced larger reductions in headache activity, analgesic medication use, and headache-related disability than placebo, but antidepressant medication yielded more rapid improvements in headache activity. Combined therapy was more likely to produce clinically significant (>/=50%) reductions in headache index scores (64% of participants) than antidepressant medication (38% of participants; P =.006), stress management therapy (35%; P =.003), or placebo (29%; P =.001). On other measures the combined therapy and its 2 component therapies produced similar outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: Our results indicate that antidepressant medication and stress management therapy are each modestly effective in treating chronic tension-type headaches. Combined therapy may improve outcome relative to monotherapy.

Adult↗

Alpha2 adrenergic agonists for the management of opioid withdrawal.

BACKGROUND: Withdrawal (detoxification) is necessary prior to drug-free treatment. It may also represent the end point of long-term treatment such as methadone maintenance. The availability of managed withdrawal is essential to an effective treatment system. OBJECTIVES: To assess the effectiveness of interventions involving the use of alpha2 adrenergic agonists (clonidine, lofexidine, guanfacine, guanabenz acetate) to manage the acute phase of opioid withdrawal. SEARCH STRATEGY: Multiple electronic databases were systematically searched. Reference lists of retrieved studies, reviews and conference abstracts were handsearched and relevant pharmaceutical companies contacted. SELECTION CRITERIA: Randomised or quasi-randomised controlled trials that compared alpha2 adrenergic agonists with another form of treatment (or placebo) to modify the signs and symptoms of withdrawal in participants who were primarily opioid dependent. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: One reviewer assessed studies for inclusion and undertook data extraction. Inclusion decisions and the overall process were confirmed by consultation between all four reviewers. MAIN RESULTS: Twenty-four studies, involving 1956 participants, were included. Nineteen were randomised controlled trials; in two allocation was by participant choice, one used alternate allocation and in two the method of allocation was unclear. Ten studies compared a treatment regime based on an alpha2 adrenergic agonist with one based on reducing doses of methadone. Diversity in study design, assessment and reporting of outcomes limited the extent of quantitative analysis. From the comparison of alpha2 adrenergic agonist regimes with reducing doses of methadone, withdrawal intensity is similar to, or marginally greater with alpha2 adrenergic agonists, but signs and symptoms of withdrawal occur and resolve earlier in treatment. Participants stay in treatment longer with methadone. The likelihood of completing withdrawal is similar, or slightly less, with clonidine or lofexidine. Clonidine is associated with more adverse effects (low blood pressure, dizziness, dry mouth, lack of energy) than reducing doses of methadone. Lofexidine does not reduce blood pressure to the same extent as clonidine, but is otherwise similar to clonidine. REVIEWER'S CONCLUSIONS: Treatment regimes based on the alpha2 adrenergic agonists clonidine and lofexidine, and those based on reducing doses of methadone over a period of around 10 days, have similar efficacy in the management of withdrawal from heroin or methadone. Participants stay in treatment longer with methadone regimes and experience less adverse effects. The lower incidence of hypotension makes lofexidine more suited to use in outpatient settings than lofexidine. There are insufficient data available to support a conclusion on the efficacy of guanfacine.

Acute Disease↗

JPN Guidelines for the management of acute pancreatitis: surgical management.

Acute pancreatitis represents a spectrum of disease ranging from a mild, self-limited course to a rapidly progressive, severe illness. The mortality rate of severe acute pancreatitis exceeds 20%, and some patients diagnosed as mild to moderate acute pancreatitis at the onset of the disease may progress to a severe, life-threatening illness within 2-3 days. The Japanese (JPN) guidelines were designed to provide recommendations regarding the management of acute pancreatitis in patients having a diversity of clinical characteristics. This article sets forth the JPN guidelines for the surgical management of acute pancreatitis, excluding gallstone pancreatitis, by incorporating the latest evidence for the surgical management of severe pancreatitis in the Japanese-language version of the evidence-based Guidelines for the Management of Acute Pancreatitis published in 2003. Ten guidelines are proposed: (1) computed tomography-guided or ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration for bacteriology should be performed in patients suspected of having infected pancreatic necrosis; (2) infected pancreatic necrosis accompanied by signs of sepsis is an indication for surgical intervention; (3) patients with sterile pancreatic necrosis should be managed conservatively, and surgical intervention should be performed only in selected cases, such as those with persistent organ complications or severe clinical deterioration despite maximum intensive care; (4) early surgical intervention is not recommended for necrotizing pancreatitis; (5) necrosectomy is recommended as the surgical procedure for infected pancreatic necrosis; (6) simple drainage should be avoided after necrosectomy, and either continuous closed lavage or open drainage should be performed; (7) surgical or percutaneous drainage should be performed for pancreatic abscess; (8) pancreatic abscesses for which clinical findings are not improved by percutaneous drainage should be subjected to surgical drainage immediately; (9) pancreatic pseudocysts that produce symptoms and complications or the diameter of which increases should be drained percutaneously or endoscopically; and (10) pancreatic pseudocysts that do not tend to improve in response to percutaneous drainage or endoscopic drainage should be managed surgically.

Acute Disease↗

[The industrial management and the management of surgical units].

Management of operating rooms is moving nowadays. Financial constraints as well as new operating practices prompt the hospital manager to optimise the operating room utilisation. The manufacturing systems faced a similar situation in the early 1980, due to the increase in the cost of the energetic products and the new competitive environment. Manufacturers had to improve dramatically their management capabilities in order to overcome their financial and technical difficulties. If the manufacturing management is extensively developed nowadays, the operating room is still running on an intuitive, individual and manual basis. The purpose of this review is to describe the main features of the manufacturing management and to identify those relevant to the management of operating rooms.

Hospital Administration↗

Adaptive management and water temperature variability within a South African river system: what are the management options?

Water temperatures, and in particular daily maximum water temperatures, are a critical water quality parameter. An understanding of associated resource management issues, including links between water temperature variability and aquatic diversity values, should be part of any management programme that considers river systems. Simple rule-based models have been shown to be appropriate tools within an adaptive management approach, both because of their heuristic value and in their application for scenario generation. Such a model was developed to simulate changes in the condition factor of Chiloglanis anoterus [Crass, R.S., 1960. Notes on the freshwater fishes of Natal with descriptions of 4 new species. Annals of the Natal Museum 14, 405-458] (Pisces: Mochokidae) in response to annual frequency of exceedance of a threshold temperature under three broad environmental scenarios for part of the Sabie River falling within South Africa's Kruger National Park. This model has potential for application within the adaptive management programme being implemented by the Kruger National Park. Results show that under broad scenarios of a 10% reduction in mean daily flow rates, or a 2 degrees C increase in mean daily air temperatures, system variability is likely to increase relative to reference conditions . It is suggested that so-called "thresholds of probable concern" (TPCs), which are based on current levels of "natural" system variability, are useful as management targets for achieving a "desired future state" for the river system. The model, recognised as a preliminary hypothesis, highlights a lack of knowledge regarding the nature of system variability, and the correspondingly wide confidence limits of the proposed TPC restricts its utility in a short-term management context. Thus, it is now recognised that its value lies more in its use as a long-term modelling tool to reflect water temperature responses to flow variability. This highlights the fact that research outcomes may not always be those intended at the beginning of a project and that opportunities to implement these may be lost as lags in understanding relative to project lifetimes often exist.

Animals↗

Adaptive management and its role in managing Great Barrier Reef water quality.

Adaptive management is the pathway to effective conservation, use and management of Australia's coastal catchments and waterways. While the concepts of adaptive management are not new, applications involving both assessment and management responses are indeed limited at the national and regional scales. This paper outlines the components of a systematic framework for linking scientific knowledge, existing tools, planning approaches and participatory processes to achieve healthy regional partnerships between community, industry, government agencies and science providers to overcome institutional barriers and uncoordinated monitoring. The framework developed by the Coastal CRC (www.coastal.crc.org.au/amf/amf/_index.htm) is hierarchical in the way it displays information to allow associated frameworks to be integrated, and represents a construct in which processes, information, decision tools and outcomes are brought together in a structured and transparent way for adaptive catchment and coastal management. This paper proposes how an adaptive management approach could be used to benefit the implementation of the Reef Water Quality Protection Plan (RWQPP).

Animals↗