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Survey search: prevalence/effects of newer mental health care and cost management programs.

Three types of programs are beginning to capture the imagination of employers concerned about issues related to mental health care and its costs: utilization review, particularly via psychiatric PPOs and case management; Employee Assistance Programs; and substance abuse testing. The spread of these programs, the promise and problems they present and their effectiveness (where measured on a wide scale) are documented here, based on studies by a variety of researchers.

Data Collection↗

Structuring the design and implementation of leadership and teamwork for program management.

Health care providers throughout Canada are aspiring to improve how they manage their resources, while maintaining or improving the quality of patient care through more patient-focused, team-based approaches. Many of the current program management models being implemented in the field are designed to realize these aspirations. Yet they are actually opposing them because of a lack of clarity about accountability and authority. Working relationships (teamwork) within clinical teams, and between clinical teams, physicians, support functions and the senior management committee, have been vague. This lack of clarity in role relationships has created many problems. This article demonstrates how we attempted to solve some of these problems at the Royal Ottawa Health Care Group.

Guidelines as Topic↗

The changing marketplace: are subacute care providers ready?

In 1995, subacute care providers focused much attention on program development, marketing, managed care contracting and outcomes measurements. As the move to balance the federal budget continues to occupy center stage in the health care arena, subacute care providers need to rapidly shift gears and develop a blueprint for managing the changing marketplace. Without such a blueprint, subacute care providers may find themselves struggling for survival in the years ahead, instead of strategically positioned to remain competitive.

Health Facility Merger↗

Financial management of posthospital care programs.

In this article the model estimates differences in utilization and subsequent costs of inpatient acute care, nursing home, and clinic visits as a result of patients using a posthospital care program. These estimates are compared to actual costs showing the model's robustness. The model is developed to aid in both the evaluation and the management of hospital-based postdischarge programs.

Aftercare↗

Polypharmacy management in Medicare managed care: changes in prescribing by primary care physicians resulting from a program promoting medication reviews.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the effects of medication reviews by primary care physicians on prescriptions written for elderly members of a Medicare managed care organization who were at risk for polypharmacy. STUDY DESIGN: Prospective study with follow-up survey. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We conducted a study in 1995 to demonstrate the prevalence of polypharmacy (defined as receiving 5 or more prescription medications during the 3-month study period) among elderly members of our managed care organization. Two years later, elderly members identified as being at risk for polypharmacy were sent a letter encouraging them to schedule a medication review with their primary care physician. Each primary care physician was provided with clinical practice guidelines on polypharmacy and patient-specific medication management reports. Patients and physicians were subsequently mailed a survey to assess the impact of the medication review program on prescribing practices. RESULTS: Of 37,372 elderly members screened, 5737 (15%) were at risk for polypharmacy. Of these, 2615 (46%) responded to the follow-up survey. Of the survey respondents, 1087 (42%) had gone to their primary care physician for a medication review. During the review, 96% of patients discussed their prescription medications and 72% discussed nonprescription medications they were taking. Twenty percent reported that their physician discontinued medications, 29% reported that the physician changed the dose of a medication, and 17% informed their physician about a new prescription or nonprescription medication they were taking. Of the 275 primary care physicians surveyed, 56 (20%) returned the questionnaire. Of these, 61% reported that the medication review program was "very" or "somewhat useful." Thirty-five percent reported discontinuing unnecessary medications, and 23% reported decreasing the frequency of dosing. Overall, 45% of physicians reported making at least one change in their prescribing to a member at risk for polypharmacy. CONCLUSIONS: Our program promoting medication reviews between primary care physicians and their elderly patients resulted in significant changes in prescribing by physicians. This type of program is likely to decrease the risk of polypharmacy among older members of a Medicare managed care organization.

Aged↗

The association between quality of care and the intensity of diabetes disease management programs.

BACKGROUND: Although disease management programs are widely implemented, little is known about their effectiveness. OBJECTIVE: To determine whether disease management by physician groups is associated with diabetes care processes, control of intermediate outcomes, or the amount of medication used when intermediate outcomes are above target levels. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. SETTING: Patients were randomly sampled from 63 physician groups nested in 7 health plans sponsored by Translating Research into Action for Diabetes (87%) and from 4 health plans with individual physician contracts (13%). PATIENTS: 8661 adults with diabetes who completed a survey (2000-2001) and had medical record data. MEASUREMENTS: Physician group and health plan directors described their organizations' use of physician reminders, performance feedback, and structured care management on a survey; their responses were used to determine measures of intensity of disease management. The current study measured 8 processes of care, including most recent hemoglobin A1c level, systolic blood pressure, serum low-density lipoprotein cholesterol level, and several measures of medication use. RESULTS: Increased use of any of 3 disease management strategies was significantly associated with higher adjusted rates of retinal screening, nephropathy screening, foot examinations, and measurement of hemoglobin A1c levels. Serum lipid level testing and influenza vaccine administration were associated with greater use of structured care management and performance feedback. Greater use of performance feedback correlated with an increased rate of foot examinations (difference, 5 percentage points [95% CI, 1 to 8 percentage points]), and greater use of physician reminders was associated with an increased rate of nephropathy screening (difference, 15 percentage points [CI, 6 to 23 percentage points]). No strategies were associated with intermediate outcome levels or level of medication management. LIMITATIONS: Physician groups were not randomly sampled from population-based listings, and disease management strategies were not randomly allocated across groups. CONCLUSIONS: Disease management strategies were associated with better processes of diabetes care but not with improved intermediate outcomes or level of medication management. A greater focus on direct measurement, feedback, and reporting of intermediate outcome levels or of level of medication management may enhance the effectiveness of these programs.

Aged↗

Outcomes for clients of public substance abuse treatment programs before and after Medicaid managed care.

Following conversion of Medicaid substance abuse treatment programs in Oregon from fee-for-service to managed care, there were suggestions of poorer outcomes. This project interviewed cohorts of Medicaid and non-Medicaid substance abuse treatment clients before and after the 1995 implementation of Oregon's Medicaid capitated payment system. Subjects were 553 adults (59% male, average age 35, 64% white). Forty-three percent were Medicaid clients and 60% were treated during the fee-for-service era. All clients were interviewed with the Addiction Severity Index at baseline and at 6 and 12 months thereafter. Multilevel, multivariate analyses examined baseline and outcome differences between the Medicaid and Non-Medicaid groups; between the fee-for-service and managed care conditions; and their interactions. After adjustment for covariates, most analyses were not statistically significant. It does not appear that Medicaid managed care had an adverse impact on outcomes for clients with substance abuse problems.

Adult↗

A national survey of the arrangements managed-care plans make with physicians.

BACKGROUND: Despite the growth of managed care in the United States, there is little information about the arrangements managed-care plans make with physicians. METHODS: In 1994 we surveyed by telephone 138 managed-care plans that were selected from 20 metropolitan areas nationwide. Of the 108 plans that responded, 29 were group-model or staff-model health maintenance organizations (HMOs), 50 were network or independent-practice-association (IPA) HMOs, and 29 were preferred-provider organizations (PPOs). RESULTS: Respondents from all three types of plan said they emphasized careful selection of physicians, although the group or staff HMOs tended to have more demanding requirements, such as board certification or eligibility. Sixty-one percent of the plans responded that physicians' previous patterns of costs or utilization of resources had little influence on their selection; 26 percent said these factors had a moderate influence; and 13 percent said they had a large influence. Some risk sharing with physicians was typical in the HMOs but rare in the PPOs. Fifty-six percent of the network or IPA HMOs used capitation as the predominant method of paying primary care physicians, as compared with 34 percent of the group or staff HMOs and 7 percent of the PPOs. More than half the HMOs reported adjusting payments according to utilization or cost patterns, patient complaints, and measures of the quality of care. Ninety-two percent of the network or IPA HMOs and 61 percent of the group or staff HMOs required their patients to select a primary care physician, who was responsible for most referrals to specialists. About three quarters of the HMOs and 31 percent of the PPOs reported using studies of the outcomes of medical care as part of their quality-improvement programs. CONCLUSIONS: Managed-care plans, particularly HMOs, have complex systems for selecting, paying, and monitoring their physicians. Hybrid forms are common, and the differences between group or staff HMOs and network or IPA HMOs are less extensive than is commonly assumed.

Capitation Fee↗

Medicaid managed care partnerships to improve perinatal outcomes.

New York State's Prenatal Care Assistance Program, and enhanced care program based on public health principles, is in the process of being transformed into Medicaid managed care. The program described in this article, namely, a Medicaid managed care health maintenance organization and its interaction with one hospital's care of women, especially pregnant women, serves to illustrate how traditional public health values and managed care principles may be linked. This linkage is a starting point to developing a community's involvement in its own health, although it is too early from our experience to note a lasting effect on improved pregnancy outcomes.

Adult↗

Management of a point-of-care program. Organization, quality assurance, and data management.

Management of a POCT program can be difficult. Cooperation and communication are essential. Creating an interdisciplinary POCT committee is key to successful management. Each discipline through its expertise and common goal to provide quality patient care contributes to the success of the program. The development of a comprehensive QA program ensures that POCT results are accurate, reliable, and performed by competent personnel, and that regulatory compliance is achieved. Continuous quality improvement diminishes the POCT program's potential for undesirable outcomes. Ultimately, the patient benefits, with quality patient care and improved outcomes. Improved data management is necessary with the increased demands for point-of-care tests and the volume of data already generated to ensure quality of results and still meet regulatory guidelines. More automated systems are needed to eliminate labor- and time-intensive tasks. The function of downloading data requires complete automation and transparency for nursing and other testing personnel to gain complete cooperation. The future for data management, however, looks promising for meeting the needs of today.

Clinical Laboratory Information Systems↗

Planning a hepatitis C postexposure management program for health care workers. Issues and challenges.

1. Approximately 4 million individuals in the United States are infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV), many of whom are unaware of this infection. Thus, health care workers are faced with the potential for needlestick and blood exposure to another bloodborne pathogen in addition to hepatitis B and HIV. 2. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended that health care facilities follow guidelines from the U.S. Public Health Service for prevention and control of HCV infection. 3. Hospitals and other health care institutions must consider legal, ethical, and health issues and outcomes when formulating a comprehensive postexposure program for hepatitis C. 4. The occupational health professional can play an integral role in both postexposure management and prevention of HCV exposures in the health care setting.

Body Fluids↗

Outcome evaluation of a randomized trial of the PhoenixCare intervention: program of case management and coordinated care for the seriously chronically ill.

OBJECTIVE: To document outcomes of a randomized trial of the PhoenixCare demonstration program of palliative care and coordinated care/case management for seriously chronically ill individuals who simultaneously received active treatment from managed care organizations (MCOs). DESIGN: Patients, continuously enrolled between July 1999, and March 2001, were randomly assigned to the PhoenixCare program or a control group receiving usual MCO care. SETTING: Hospice of the Valley, Phoenix, Arizona. PARTICIPANTS: Participants were 192 patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) or chronic heart failure (CHF), who had an estimated 2-year life expectancy. INTERVENTION: Intensive home-based case management provided by registered nurse casemanagers, in coordination with patients' existing source of medical care, comprised the intervention. Program foci included disease and symptom management, patient self-management of illness and knowledge of illness-related resources, preparation for end-of life, physical and mental functioning, and utilization of medical services. OUTCOME MEASURES: Outcomes, assessed every 3 months by telephone interview, included measures related to all program foci; the SF-36 was used to evaluate physical and mental functioning; emergency department visits exemplified medical service utilization. RESULTS: Compared to controls, PhoenixCare patients exhibited significantly better outcomes on self-management of illness, awareness of illness-related resources, and legal preparation for end of life. They reported lower symptom distress, greater vitality, better physical functioning and higher self-rated health than randomized controls. Emergency department utilization was equivalent across groups. Patients with COPD showed stronger responsiveness to the intervention. CONCLUSION: A novel model of patient care that combined greatly enhanced palliative carefocused case management with ongoing MCO-based treatment was associated with improved functioning of chronically severely ill patients in the last years of life.

Adult↗

The impact of a high-risk disease management program on perinatal outcomes in a managed care organization.

Improvements in technology have increased the chances of survival for the micropremature infant and the very low birth-weight infant but have significantly increased the financial burden of health care organizations. This economic burden has a significant impact on third-party payers and on society in general. Of the annual US 10.2 billion dollars spent on newborn care alone, 57% is disproportionately consumed by the 10% of infants who are born preterm.

Case Management↗

Common road blocks to national accounts pharmaceutical programs.

The large managed care customer represents concentrated purchasing power and product access to a large patient population. Contracting will continue to grow, and a large portion of product purchases will be under the agreements negotiated, implemented, and supported by the pharmaceutical company's national accounts department. The national accounts department will need to receive support from the organization if it is to do the job successfully.

Contract Services↗