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PubMed2004

Effectiveness of a group outpatient visit model for chronically ill older health maintenance organization members: a 2-year randomized trial of the cooperative health care clinic.

OBJECTIVES: To compare the effectiveness of Cooperative Health Care Clinic ((CHCC) group outpatient model for chronically ill, older health maintenance organization (HMO) patients) with usual care. DESIGN: Two-year, randomized, controlled trial conducted with recruitment from February 1995 through July of 1996. SETTING: Nonprofit group model HMO. PARTICIPANTS: Two hundred ninety-four adults (145 intervention and 149 usual care), aged 60 and older (mean age 74.1) with 11 or more outpatient visits in the prior 18 months, one or more self-reported chronic conditions, and expressed interest in participating in a group clinic. INTERVENTION: Monthly group meetings held by patients' primary care physicians. MEASUREMENT: Differences in clinic visits, inpatient admissions, emergency room visits, hospital outpatient services, professional services, home health, and skilled nursing facility admissions; measures of patient satisfaction, quality of life, self-efficacy, and activities of daily living (ADLs). RESULTS: Outpatient, pharmacy services, home health, and skilled nursing facility use did not differ between groups, but CHCC patients had fewer hospital admissions (P=.012), emergency visits (P=.008), and professional services (P=.005). CHCC patients' costs were $41.80 per member per month less than those of control patients. CHCC patients reported higher satisfaction with their primary care physician (P=.022), better quality of life (P=.002), and greater self-efficacy (P=.03). Health status and ADLs did not differ between groups. CONCLUSION: The CHCC model resulted in fewer hospitalizations and emergency visits, increased patient satisfaction, and self-efficacy, but no effect on outpatient use, health, or functional status.

Activities of Daily Living↗

PubMed2002

Using the DATCAP and ASI to estimate the costs and benefits of residential addiction treatment in the State of Washington.

Funding agencies and policy makers often criticize residential addiction treatment because the cost of residential services is typically higher than for outpatient services and it is unclear whether the outcomes are significantly better for most clients. To address these concerns, proponents of residential treatment require economic evidence to justify further investments in this modality over less intensive and less costly options. Recent studies have developed methods and empirical guidelines for using the drug abuse treatment cost analysis program (DATCAP) and the addiction severity index (ASI) in a comprehensive economic evaluation of addiction treatment. The present study applied these methods and guidelines to estimate the economic costs and benefits of residential addiction treatment at five programs in the State of Washington, USA that serve publicly funded clients. Program- and client-specific economic cost estimates were derived using data collected on-site with the DATCAP along with opportunity cost estimates associated with treatment attendance. Economic benefits were calculated from client self-reported information at treatment entry and at 6 months post discharge using the ASI. Outcome categories included inpatient services, employment, medical and psychiatric conditions, and criminal activity. Results indicate that average weekly economic cost of treatment services at the five programs ranged from 463 dollars to 703 dollars. Average (per client) economic cost of treatment was 4912 dollars (composed of 3650 dollars in program cost and 1262 dollars in client cost) for all subjects that completed both a baseline and follow-up questionnaire (N = 222; 82%). Average (per client) total economic benefit was 21,329 dollars, leading to estimates of 16,418 dollars for average net benefit and 4.34 for the benefit-cost ratio. Total and net economic benefits were significantly related to gender, race, religious preference, and baseline ASI composite scores for drug use and legal status. A detailed sensitivity analysis did not alter the qualitative findings. This study provides conclusive evidence that, for this sample of programs in Washington State, the economic benefits of residential addiction treatment significantly exceeded the economic costs. Although the results are not necessarily generalizable to private-paying clients or clients from other States in the US, the methods are based on widely used data collection instruments and well-accepted economic principles. Thus, extensions of this research to other clients, States, and modalities should be feasible and straightforward.

Adult↗

PubMed1976

Trends in hospital versus community treatment of mental illness: a Texas example.

The authors present statistics from Harris County, Tex., that indicate community psychiatry is making progress toward its goals of decreasing inpatient hospitalization and increasing services to the community. At the present ratio of services, a 30%-40% increase in outpatient services could theoretically eliminate the inpatient system. The authors stress the fact that inpatient facilities are still vital and offer directives for the future roles of the hospital and of community psychiatry.

Aftercare↗

PubMed1989

The challenge to adapt. A specialty care facility refocuses its services to promote continuity of care.

Because clients now spend less time than before in acute care hospitals, specialty care institutions have had to modify and expand their services to meet new needs. They must not only provide new kinds of care; they must also assist clients and their families in making the often confusing transition from acute care to rehabilitation and, finally, to the community. In the past few years, the St. Lawrence Rehabilitation Center, Lawrenceville, NJ, has been making just such changes. In response to a systematic review of its services, the center established its Social Work Services Department in 1987. Seven program managers are the core of the department. They encourage patient and family participation in St. Lawrence services, advocate for them in a variety of contexts, help define treatment goals, and ensure that clients, families, and treatment teams keep these goals in mind. St. Lawrence has also updated its admissions process, creating an Admissions Team whose role is to locate appropriate referrals and to expedite patients' admission to the center. Whereas the earlier process typically took several weeks to complete, St. Lawrence now has an intake system capable of a 24-hour turnaround. The center has also expanded its outpatient services, hiring an outpatient program manager, developing a full range of rehabilitative services, and establishing an orientation program that keeps outpatients abreast of the services available to them at St. Lawrence.

Continuity of Patient Care↗

PubMed2001

Cross-system service use among VA mental health patients living in Philadelphia.

There are few published studies of cross-system use of multiple systems of mental health care. This study examines use of VA and non-VA services in Philadelphia County. Results indicated that rates of cross-system use overall are fairly low (16 to 17% of patients across all years), are generally declining over time, and account for a small proportion of total all-system costs (4%). Veterans who used more VA inpatient services also used more non-VA services, and veterans who used fewer VA outpatient services used more non-VA services, indicating that cross-system use may be a quality indicator for the accessibility or acceptability of outpatient care.

Ambulatory Care↗

PubMed2006

Hospital doctors' attitudes towards palliative care in Germany.

Experts from different areas strongly criticize the current level of palliative care in Germany, both inpatient and home care services. Apart from the experts' opinions, little is known in this context about the perspectives of hospital doctors working in different disciplines, such as surgery, internal medicine, gynaecology or anaesthesia. These doctors presumably treat many incurably ill patients with palliative care needs, but they usually have very little experience in palliative medicine. Their attitudes are particularly important because they are affected by the criticism and by future improvement strategies. To study their viewpoints, questionnaire surveys in five hospitals in the federal state of Brandenburg were performed, with 203 (69%) physicians participating. The results showed that the level of palliative care in hospitals was graded better than in the home care setting. Main needs for improvement were seen in the psychosocial support services and in the co-operation with outpatient services. In [corrected] the hospital physicians' view, palliative nursing care was of a higher standard than medical aspects [corrected] of care [corrected] The physicians showed great interest in improving their knowledge of [corrected] palliative care and in new specialist palliative care services. The conclusions were that three main strategies for improvement should be embarked on: (1) the establishment of integrated care systems to overcome financial and structural barriers between in- and outpatient care; (2) the establishment of further specialist palliative care services (eg, hospital-based palliative care teams); and (3) better education in palliative medicine.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗

PubMed1992

A short-term psychiatric inpatient program for adolescents.

Third-party payers have become increasingly unwilling to fund long-term hospitalizations for adolescents. Inpatient adolescent programs have had to develop strategies to treat this difficult patient population much more rapidly. In late 1989 a short-term adolescent treatment program, known as the STAT program, was developed and implemented at a private psychiatric hospital in Massachusetts. The program aimed for a two- to three-week length of stay, a reduction of 30 to 50 percent. To accomplish this goal, the program shifted from a treatment-based approach to a focus on crisis management, patient evaluation and stabilization, and transition to outpatient services. Many staff concerns were allayed during the program's implementation. Short-term treatment for adolescents can be viable if appropriate exclusion criteria are developed for admissions and an adequate range of outpatient treatment services are available.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2002

Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug and antacid co-prescription in Taiwan: analysis of national insurance claims.

BACKGROUND: Antacids were usually co-prescribed with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), although no broad evidences were available as to the effects of antacids in preventing NSAID-associated gastropathy. We performed a survey of national insurance claims for outpatient services in Taiwan to determine the extent of this co-therapy nationwide. METHODS: The National Health Insurance Research Database supplied the sampling datasets for analysis. They represented 0.2% of the entire claims for outpatient medical services in 1999. Co-prescribing was assessed as NSAIDs and antacids on the same prescription. The selection and grouping of NSAIDs followed the guidelines of the Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical (ATC) Classification System recommended by the World Health Organization. Only the oral drugs prescribed on regular visits were taken into account. RESULTS: In totally 425,442 prescriptions with 1,825,604 items of drugs, non-aspirin NSAIDs were present in 108,818 (25.6%) prescriptions and antacids in 235,252 (55.3%) prescriptions respectively. Furthermore, antacids were present in 71.3% of prescriptions that contained NSAIDs and in 49.8% of prescriptions that did not contain NSAIDs (p < 0.001). Significant association of NSAIDs and antacids existed in different specialties of prescribing physicians, but the co-prescription rate (antacids in NSAIDs prescriptions) varied from the highest of 92.8% in the neurosurgery to the lowest of 49.8% in the pediatrics. Significant association of NSAIDs and antacids also existed at different levels of health care facilities, where the co-prescription rates were 80.9% at medical centers, 83.5% at regional hospitals, 87.4% at local hospitals, and 66.6% at primary care units. The subgroup of oxicams was more frequently co-prescribed with antacids than other subgroups (odds ratio = 1.51, p = 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Concomitant prescription of oral non-aspirin NSAIDs and antacids was indeed a popular practice in Taiwan. Beside their effects in alleviating the NSAID-associated dyspepsia, the role of antacids in preventing NSAID-associated peptic ulcers or in masking the warning symptoms of these ulcers demands further evaluation.

Adult↗

PubMed2005

Screening for cognitive impairment: a triage for outpatient care.

The current increase in aged individuals in number and proportion of the general population warrants dependable strategies to improve early detection of cognitive impairment. It was the goal of the present study to develop a triage for bedside testing and outpatient services. In a prospective clinical cohort study at the outpatient Memory Clinic, University of Ulm, Germany, 232 subjects were diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease [AD; NINCDS-ADRDA criteria; n = 66; age 65.9 +/- 7.3 years (mean +/- SD); Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) score 23.4 +/- 4.1], mild cognitive impairment (MCI; criteria of Petersen et al.; n = 48; age 66.4 +/- 7.1 years; MMSE score 28.3 +/- 1.5), and major depressive disorder (DSM-IV criteria; n = 61; age 63.4 +/- 8.0 years; MMSE score 28.6 +/- 1.6). Diagnosis was secured with extensive neuropsychological, clinical, radiological, and laboratory investigations. Six brief screening tests including the Memory Impairment Screen (MIS), Letter Sorting Test (LST), Verbal Fluency (VF), and Clock Drawing Test (CDT) were assessed independently from the diagnostic procedure. We compared single items and composite scores. LST yielded a diagnostic accuracy of 0.81 and 0.62 for AD and MCI patients versus controls, respectively. With the MIS, diagnostic accuracy was 0.89 and 0.71, respectively. With a combination of LST, MIS, VF, and CDT, a sensitivity for AD and MCI patients of 1.00 and 0.83 was achieved. Thus, single-item screening (e.g. LST, VF) taking little more than 1 min and suitable for bedside testing or brief screening in the general practitioner's office yields diagnostic accuracy comparable to standard laboratory tests for other diseases. A composite of screening tests suitable for application in general outpatient care in neurological and psychiatric services reliably detects patients with AD and MCI.

Aged↗

PubMed1995

Special report. Twin Cities hospital breaks down ambulatory care, overcomes fears of outpatient care.

With payers pushing for shorter hospital stays and outpatient services generating growing shares of hospitals' revenues, experts everywhere are projecting the end of the traditional inpatient-oriented hospital. Those predictions have triggered a scramble by many hospital managers to adapt their organizations and empty beds to the expected predominance of same-day services. One Minnesota facility that surveyed the outpatient trend, however, found that its strategic options weren't limited to becoming a jumbo-sized outpatient clinic, explain David Allen, a partner with The Chancellor Group, Bloomington, Minn., and Daniel Weber, vice president of Fairview Southdale Hospital, Edina, Minn., in this special report. By understanding the multidimensional nature of ambulatory services and focusing its efforts on becoming a regional hub of healthcare services, Fairview Southdale has carved its own niche in a changing provider market.

Ambulatory Surgical Procedures↗

PubMed2003

Application of a data-mining technique to analyze coprescription patterns for antacids in Taiwan.

BACKGROUND: Although antacids are popular drugs with a long history of use, their true utilization patterns-including over-the-counter use-have rarely been documented. Because all antacids are reimbursed under the National Health Insurance program in Taiwan, it is possible to access and analyze nationwide data for these drugs. OBJECTIVES: The purposes of this study were to estimate the scale of antacid prescribing in Taiwan using the national insurance claims for outpatient services and to analyze coprescribing patterns of antacids using modern data-mining techniques. METHODS: The National Health Insurance Research Database in Taiwan supplied the visit-based sampling data sets, which had a sampling ratio of 0.2% for all claims for outpatient medical services in the year 2000. In addition to the plain statistics (ie, data from simple calculations) for antacid prescriptions, we also analyzed relationships between prescriptions for antacids and nonantacid drugs. A data-mining technique-association rule mining-was applied to identify the drugs prescribed in combination with antacids. RESULTS: Among a total of 409,049 eligible prescriptions for 1,704,595 drug items to be administered orally, antacids were present in 213,494 prescriptions (52.2%). Antacid users were generally older than nonusers (mean [SD] age, 39.9 [23.4] years vs 32.4 [25.7] years). In all, 88.8% of antacid items (189,531/213,494) were prescribed without claims diagnoses of gastrointestinal disorders. Using association rule mining with a 1.0% minimum support factor, there were 36 strong association rules between prescriptions for antacids and other drug subgroups at the third level of Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical classification. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and drugs for treating upper respiratory infections played dominant roles in the associations with antacid prescriptions; vitamin B complex and antivertigo preparations were also strongly associated with antacids. CONCLUSIONS: Antacid coprescriptions were common in Taiwan in the year 2000. Further study should investigate whether antacid prescribing patterns are influenced by Taiwanese perceptions that Western drugs injure the stomach.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1986

Management variables as predictors of service utilization by the elderly in mental health.

The problem of underservice to the elderly in mental health settings has been conceptionalized in terms of client variables, therapist variables, and systems variables. This investigation of management variables as a type of system level variable reveals that number of staff assigned to work with the elderly is strongly related to outpatient service use and that number of elders on the advisory board is an inverse predictor of inpatient use. It is recommended that future work on the underservice problem focus on system level analysis and intervention.

Aged↗

PubMed2006

Help-seeking pathways in early psychosis.

INTRODUCTION: Understanding the help-seeking pathways of patients with a putative risk of developing psychosis helps improving development of specialised care services. This study aimed at obtaining information about: type of health professionals contacted by patients at putative risk for psychosis on their help-seeking pathways; number of contacts; type of symptoms leading to contacts with health professionals; interval between initial contact and referral to a specialised outpatient service. METHOD: The help-seeking pathways were assessed as part of a prospective study in 104 patients with suspected at-risk states for psychosis. RESULTS: The mean number of contacts prior to referral was 2.38. Patients with psychotic symptoms more often contacted mental health professionals, whereas patients with insidious and more unspecific features more frequently contacted general practitioners (GPs). CONCLUSIONS: GPs have been found to under-identify the insidious features of emerging psychosis (Simon et al. (2005) Br J Psychiatry 187:274-281). The fact that they were most often contacted by patients with exactly these features calls for focussed and specialised help for primary care physicians. Thus, delays along the help-seeking pathways may be shortened. This may be of particular relevance for patients with the deficit syndrome of schizophrenia.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1990

Changes in billing for nutrition support services and dietetics staff resources between 1984 and 1986.

Changes in hospital funding resulting from the Prospective Payment System have been recognized as a major force in hospitals in the 1980s. The Dietitians in Nutrition Support (DNS) Practice Group examined these changes using a survey sent to 1,000 clinical nutrition managers at American Hospital Association (AHA) hospitals. The goals of the survey were (a) to evaluate changes in billing for nutrition services and (b) to evaluate changes in resources available to dietetics staff members. Although income from nutrition services to inpatients had increased only 18% since 1984, 45% of respondents reported an increase in payment for outpatient services. Prior to 1984, larger hospitals reported screening for malnutrition more often than smaller hospitals, and the responsibility for screening was handled more often by dietetic technicians than by RDs. Larger hospitals also reported establishment of a home nutrition support company more often than smaller hospitals. Computer and academic course costs were paid more frequently by nonprofit and tertiary hospitals. Although the number of hospitals billing for nutrition services to patients was small, most reported receiving payment. We conclude that charges for nutrition services by dietitians to outpatients have increased, and that most dietitians who bill for services receive payment. Academic and technological resources for RDs have increased in general, though smaller primary-care and for-profit hospitals report such supports less consistently than larger, tertiary-care, and not-for-profit hospitals.

Ambulatory Care↗

PubMed1998

Oncology management by the "new" Veterans Health Administration.

BACKGROUND: The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) manages the largest integrated health care system in the U.S. Cancer is second only to cardiovascular disease as a cause of patient mortality and morbidity. In the fiscal year 1996, malignancies accounted for 49,270 primary diagnoses at the time of discharge from acute hospitals. METHODS: VHA recently developed a national, uniform benefits package that provides oncologic services of prevention and screening, inpatient and outpatient services, rehabilitative care, reconstructive surgery, home health care, respite, and hospice care. VA classifies all hospitals according to American College of Surgeons (ACS) Commission on Cancer criteria and standards. One hundred four of 173 facilities are ACS-approved cancer centers. Eighty-six VA hospitals have cancer registries. RESULTS: VHA has developed a Prevention Index (PI) that consists of nine measures for prevention and early detection of influenza and pneumococcal diseases, tobacco consumption, alcohol abuse, and cancers of the breast, cervix, colon, and prostate. All cancer interventions in the PI showed substantial increases between 1996 and 1997, and all exceeded U.S. Public Health Healthy People 2000 goals. The Veterans Health Administration's performance measure regarding end-of-life planning calls for 95% of eligible patients to receive ongoing care. Current baseline performance is 52% nationally. Measures of patient satisfaction for oncology patients show overall satisfaction at 87%. CONCLUSIONS: The VA healthcare system has substantial expertise in the diagnosis and management of cancer. VHA's unprecedented transformation into a system of integrated networks supports and promotes that expertise. The VHA initiatives described in this article are synergistically working to enhance the consistency and comprehensiveness of high-quality, patient-centered oncologic services.

Delivery of Health Care, Integrated↗

PubMedDate not supplied

A multi-site study of Medicaid-funded managed care versus fee-for-service plans' effects on mental health service utilization of children with severe emotional disturbance.

Although Medicaid-funded managed care arrangements are commonly used in the delivery of mental health and substance abuse services to low-income children and youth, little is known about the effectiveness of such efforts. This article examines differences in mental health services utilization between children and youth with severe emotional disturbance covered by Medicaid-funded managed care behavioral health plans and those covered by fee-for-service plans. Data are from a federally funded multi-site study. In multivariate analyses controlling for child and caregiver demographic and clinical factors, enrollment in a managed care behavioral health plan was associated with lower inpatient/residential, psychiatric medication, and nontraditional services utilization. No difference was found in outpatient services utilization. Medicaid-funded managed care behavioral health plans appear to reduce use of some types of mental health services, but it is important to address the question of whether low-income children's enrollment in such programs deprives them of needed services.

Adult↗

PubMed2004

Compliance with drug therapies for the treatment and prevention of osteoporosis.

OBJECTIVES: This study used paid claims data from real-world treatment settings to investigate the impact of hormone replacement therapy (HRT), bisphosphonate and raloxifene on patients with a recorded diagnosis of osteoporosis. METHODS: Data from a large health insurer were used to identify 58,109 osteoporosis patients who initiated drug therapy for osteoporosis. Multivariate statistical models were developed for duration of therapy, compliance at 1 year, time to discontinuation or a change in therapy, health care costs and risk of fracture over 1 year. RESULTS: One-year compliance rates were below 25% for all osteoporosis therapies. The mean unadjusted duration of continuous therapy was 221 days for raloxifene, 245 days for bisphosphonate, 262 for estrogen-only and 292 days for estrogen plus progestin. Raloxifene patients were consistently less compliant than estrogen-only patients after adjusting for differences in patient characteristics. Estrogen plus progestin patients were generally more compliant while bisphosphonate did not differentiate from estrogen-only. Compliance reduced the risk of hip fracture (o.r. = 0.382, P < 0.01) and vertebral fracture (o.r. = 0.601, P < 0.05). Compliant patients used fewer physicians services (-US dollars 56, P < 0.0001), hospital outpatient services (-US dollars 38, P < 0.05) and hospital care (-US dollars 155, P < 0.01). Bisphosphonate patients were twice as likely as estrogen-only patients to experience vertebral, Colles and other fractures and experienced higher health care costs (+US dollars 420, P < 0.01). The effectiveness of both raloxifene and bisphosphonate medications relative to estrogen-only improved significantly with the age of the patient. CONCLUSIONS: Compliance with drug therapies for osteoporosis over 1 year is poor leaving patients at risk for fractures and higher health care costs.

Age Factors↗

PubMed1982

Use of illness-related ambulatory physician services in Finland.

The total utilization rate of ambulatory illness-related physician services in Finland is higher in big urban health center areas than in rural areas. When only the health center physician utilization rates were studied the finding was opposite. A notable finding related to the impact of the national health planning were the surprisingly equal average utilization rates of public sector health services (health center physician and general hospital outpatient services combined) in both areas. In fact, use of cheaper public services was greater in rural than in urban areas. The difference in total use rates was almost entirely due to the larger use of more expensive private physician services in urban areas. At present, there is a great pressure for increasing the supply of health center services in urban areas to the same level as in rural districts. One of the fundamental questions seems to be the pricing of the two service sectors--public and private.

Adolescent↗