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Meeting the health care needs of a rural Hispanic migrant population with diabetes.

CONTEXT: There is a need for models of health care that provide accessible, culturally appropriate, quality services to the population of Hispanic migrant farmworkers at risk for or diagnosed with diabetes. PURPOSES: The purposes of this study were to describe the Migrant Health Service, Inc (MHSI), Diabetes Program, the conceptual model on which it is based, and 4 types of outcomes achieved over a 3-year period. METHODS: Types and amounts of medical services and education were studied. Qualitative data obtained from program records and documents were analyzed to determine the nature of the program. Quantitative data were used to measure outcomes of the program. FINDINGS: The multiplecomponent MHSI Diabetes Program is addressing economic, cultural, and language barriers experienced by the target population. The program provides a continuum of health services and education that meet American Diabetes Association (ADA) Clinical Practice Recommendations on diabetes. The program exposes regional health care professionals and university students from numerous academic disciplines to Hispanic farmworker culture. CONCLUSIONS: Evidence-based program management, patient care, and program evaluation are traits of this program, which offers accessible, culturally appropriate, quality health services and education to Hispanic farmworkers. The multicomponent program model has high potential for positively impacting the health of the target population.

Diabetes Mellitus↗

Attitudes toward managed care and cost containment among primary care trainees at 3 training sites.

OBJECTIVE: To study the attitudes of entering first year (Y1) and graduating third year (Y3) primary care physician trainees from 3 different training program sites (a university hospital system site [UHS], a large staff-model health maintenance organization managed care system site [MCS], and a large public hospital system site [PHS]) toward selected aspects of managed care. DESIGN: A self-administered questionnaire was used in a cross-sectional study. PARTICIPANTS AND OUTCOME MEASURES: Participants were all Y1 and Y3 primary care trainees in internal medicine, pediatrics, and family medicine programs from 3 training program sites. Survey questions dealt with attitudes toward health services, managed care cost containment, and the role of the physician in society. RESULTS: Of eligible primary care trainees (n = 218), 91% completed the instrument. Trainees at the MCS generally held more positive views of managed care systems than trainees at the UHS or PHS. Internal medicine trainees held more negative attitudes towards managed care systems than trainees in pediatrics or family medicine. UHS and PHS trainees more often thought that managed care systems interfere with the doctor-patient relationship and that these systems are more concerned with economics than in providing quality patient care. Approximately one quarter of the Y1 trainees at all sites thought that reducing the cost of healthcare is beyond the control of doctors. No Y3 trainee at the PHS believed that reducing costs was beyond the control of doctors. The majority of trainees endorsed routine peer review of clinical decisions to control healthcare costs. Most trainees believed that managed care systems will eventually predominate and that physician independence is being impaired. CONCLUSION: The data suggest that attitudes of internal medicine, family medicine, and pediatric trainees toward various aspects of managed care vary not only by their year of training but also by their training environment. Thus, managed care educational programs for trainees should consider both the baseline attitudes of trainees and characteristics of the training site itself.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗

Health care delivery in the Texas prison system: the role of academic medicine.

Faced with explosive growth in its prison population and a legal mandate to improve medical care for incarcerated offenders, the state of Texas implemented a novel correctional managed health care program in 1994. The organizational structure of the program is based on a series of contractual relationships between the state prison system, 2 of the state's academic medical centers, and a separate governing body composed of 9 appointed members, which include 5 physicians. All medical, dental, and psychiatric care for more than 145,000 offenders, incarcerated under the jurisdiction of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, is provided by the University of Texas Medical Branch and Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center. The health delivery system is composed of several levels of care, including primary ambulatory care clinics in each prison unit, 16 infirmaries at strategic locations throughout the state, several regional medical facilities, and a dedicated prison hospital with a full range of services. Specialized treatment programs have been established at various units for patients with chronic conditions, such as hypertension, diabetes mellitus, major psychiatric disorders, hepatitis, and human immunodeficiency virus infection. Significant improvements in health outcomes have occurred since the managed care program was established.

Academic Medical Centers↗

A disease management program for heart failure: collaboration between a home care agency and a care management organization.

This article describes a collaborative approach to manage patients with heart failure between a home care agency and a care management agency. The resulting disease management program used a combination of home visits and phone contact. Care management plans emphasized patient education on increasing adherence to medical and diet regimens, and recognizing early symptoms of exacerbation that could lead to rehospitalization. Clinician activities and patient outcomes are described.

Case Management↗

Pharmacy benefits management and ambulatory pharmacy services.

The business of pharmacy is changing dramatically as new components are added to our health care system and new terms developed to describe existing functions. For example, payment for pharmacy products and services are increasingly coming under control of Pharmacy Benefits Management (PBM) companies who are also racing to develop Disease State Management Programs. Additionally, health care purchasers have welcomed the development of HEDIS (Health Employer Data Information Set) as another tool to evaluate both the cost and quality of health care provided to their enrollees. All this means pharmacy will have to change its paradigm from dispensing to managing the medication consumption/compliance process in addition to traditional dispensing activities.

Ambulatory Care↗

A platform for population-based weight management: description of a health plan-based integrated systems approach.

OBJECTIVES: To describe an integrated, operational platform from which mail- and telephone-based health promotion programs are implemented and to specifically relate this approach to weight management programming in a managed care setting. APPROACH: In-depth description of essential systems structures, including people, computer technology, and decision-support protocols. The roles of support staff, counselors, a librarian, and a manager in delivering a weight management program are described. Information availability using computer technology is a critical component in making this system effective and is presented according to its architectural layout and design. Protocols support counselors and administrative support staff in decision making, and a detailed flowchart presents the layout of this part of the system. This platform is described in the context of a weight management program, and we present baseline characteristics of 1801 participants, their behaviors, self-reported medical conditions, and initial pattern of enrollment in the various treatment options. CONCLUSION: Considering the prevalence and upward trend of overweight and obesity in the United States, a need exists for robust intervention platforms that can systematically support multiple types of programs. Weight management interventions implemented using this platform are scalable to the population level and are sustainable over time despite the limits of defined resources and budgets. The present article describes an innovative approach to reaching a large population with effective programs in an integrated, coordinated, and systematic manner. This comprehensive, robust platform represents an example of how obesity prevention and treatment research may be translated into the applied setting.

Decision Support Techniques↗

When there is no benchmark: designing a primary care-based chronic pain management program from the scientific basis up.

Managed care has been accused of ignoring the patient with pain. The challenge for a health maintenance organization (HMO) was not just how to deliver state-of-the-art care, but how to deliver it to the 40,000 members who experience chronic pain at a reasonable cost and with enduring outcomes. This article describes how one managed care organization set about improving the care of patients with chronic pain. The article includes the design process, the model implemented, and some suggestions for transfer of this technology to others who might want to explore developing a similar model.

Benchmarking↗

Health care networks: opportunities and threats for subacute care.

To retool and prepare for the trends that facilitate growth, subacute care providers must understand the complexity of relationships among key players--provider sponsored networks, physician practice management and managed care organizations. Providers need to reengineer contracting, relationships and marketing.

Community Networks↗

Managed health care and resident education.

OBJECTIVE: We wished to determine the impact of managed health care on resident education in obstetrics and gynecology. STUDY DESIGN: A multiquestion survey was mailed to program directors of the 267 obstetrics-gynecology resident training programs in the United States. The questions ascertained departmental philosophy regarding the role of obstetrician-gynecologists as primary care versus specialist physicians, the extent of involvement with managed health care companies, educational curriculum content, the effect of managed care on patient volume, faculty time available for resident teaching, and the effect of managed care on resident education. RESULTS: Completed surveys were received from 210 (79%) program directors. One hundred twenty-six (63%) program directors responded that obstetrician-gynecologists should be primary care physicians for women, and 120 (60%) believed that the role of subspecialists will be reduced in the near future. In 1996, 177 (94%) programs had managed care contracts; many (57%) had >20 contracts. All programs participate with other specialties to teach primary care to their residents. One hundred twelve (59%) programs have had a decrease in patient volume, prompting 90 (45%) programs to increase their number of teaching sites. Of concern, 54 (26%) program directors noted that managed care companies discourage but do not restrict resident participation in the care and treatment of managed care patients, and 41 (20%) programs had some restrictions placed on such resident involvement. Budgetary constraints have decreased resources to 97 (47%) programs and threaten the time available for faculty teaching. CONCLUSIONS: Managed health care is having an effect on many resident teaching programs. Program directors are integrating managed care concepts into the educational curriculum and are negotiating with managed care organizations to involve residents in the care and treatment of managed care patients.

Curriculum↗

The Massachusetts Behavioral Health Program year 5: transition to a new managed care organization.

Year 5 of the Massachusetts Behavioral Health Program was a transition to management by a new private managed care organization. Fifty-eight providers interviewed for an ongoing panel survey reported slightly lower levels of quality, access, utilization, and length of stay than a year earlier. Relationships with providers and advocates improved after an initial difficult period, while consumer and family involvement at all levels remained low. The greatest changes in managed care appeared to take place during the initial transition from fee-for-service care, but intractable problems continue, and full participation of stake-holders seems difficult to achieve.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗

Community case management for frail, elderly clients: the nurse case manager's role.

Capitated payment systems have forced healthcare providers to explore new methods of care delivery for frail, older clients who consume a disproportionate amount of time and resources. The authors describe the experiences of frail elders in a community case management program within a managed care setting. The experiences of living with frailty in a changing healthcare system, and perceptions of the case manager's ability to help navigate that system, are described. This article presents the benefits of community case management toward client goals of safety, support, and control.

Aged↗

Integrating information technology with an outcomes management program.

Health care changes are occurring rapidly. How successfully an institution keeps up with these changes depends on information and evaluation of outcomes of care. This article discusses how information technology is linked with outcomes management and measurement, types of data, development of data sets, quality issues related to data, and issues that must be addressed as computerized patient records become a reality. By incorporating information technology with outcomes measurement, a new era of outcomes management will be reached.

Case Management↗

Recommendations for best practices in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease in managed care.

BACKGROUND: Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRDs) are increasingly recognized as important causes of impaired cognition, function, and quality of life, as well as excess medical care utilization and costs in the elderly Medicare managed care population. Evidence-based clinical practice guidelines for ADRDs were published in 2001. More recent studies have resulted in the approval of new agents and demonstrated an expanded role for antidementia therapy in various types of dementia, settings of care, stages of disease, and the use of combination therapy. However, these clinical guidelines have not been updated in the past few years. OBJECTIVE: The goal of this article was to provide practical recommendations developed by a panel of experts that address issues of early diagnosis, treatment, and care management of ADRDs. The panel also addressed the societal and managed care implications. METHODS: A panel of leading experts was convened to develop consensus recommendations for the treatment and management of dementia based on currently available evidence and the panel's informed expert opinion. The panel comprised 12 leading experts, including clinical investigators and practitioners in geriatric medicine, neurology, psychiatry, and psychology; managed care medical and pharmacy directors; a health systems medical director; and a health policy expert. In addition, articles were collected based on PubMed searches (2000-2005) that were relevant to the key issues identified. Search terms included Alzheimer's disease, dementia, clinical practice guidelines, clinical trials, screening and assessment, and managed care. RESULTS: ADRDs represent a significant clinical and economic burden to individuals and society, including Medicare managed care organizations (MCOs). Appropriate utilization of antidementia therapy and care management is vitally important to achieving quality of life and care for dementia patients and their caregivers, and for managing the excess costs of Alzheimer's disease. The recommendations address relevant, practical, and timely concerns that are faced on a daily basis by practitioners and by Medicare MCO medical management programs in the care of dementia patients. These consensus recommendations attempt to describe a reasonable current standard for the provision of quality care for patients with dementia. The panel recommendations support the use of screening for cognitive impairment and the use of antidementia therapy for ADRDs in different stages of disease and types of dementia in all clinical settings. The panel members evaluated the use of the 3 marketed cholinesterase inhibitors-donepezil, galantamine, and rivastigmine-as well as the N-methyl-D-aspartate antagonist memantine. Recommendations for using these medications are made with an appreciation of the difficulties in translating the results from investigational clinical trials into clinical practice. CONCLUSIONS: The recommendations of the expert panel represent a clear consensus that nihilism in the diagnosis, treatment, and management of ADRDs is unwarranted, impairs quality of care, and is ultimately not costeffective.

Aged↗

Disease state management in diabetes care.

Diabetes affects over 16 million Americans. Caring for patients with diabetes requires extensive health care resources. Managed care organizations must utilize resources cost-effectively to survive in the health care industry. A disease state management program for diabetes may enable the managed care organization to meet its goal of providing cost-effective quality health care while meeting regulatory standards. The National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) which accredits managed care organizations and provides information on performance, grants accreditation status to managed care organizations and reports favorable comparisons with competing managed care organizations.

Cost-Benefit Analysis↗

Medicaid, managed care and optometry: a review.

BACKGROUND: Significant changes are restructurng the U.S. health care delivery system. National health reform is now extending itself into the public sector. Increased health and medical costs by federal and state governments are forcing a reevaluation of major entitlement programs, especially Medicaid. METHODS/RESULTS: Because Medicaid is the single largest item in many state budgets, states are now enrolling Medicaid patients into managed and coordinated care arrangements as a means to control costs and increase access to care. HMOs are not only competing for private patients but also actively seeking the Medicaid population. Nationally, almost one-fourth of all Medicaid patients are now enrolled in managed care plans. Various models and approaches have been developed by individual states. CONCLUSIONS: Because managed care enrollment in the Medicaid program has increased substantially in recent years, selected services including vision care are no longer rendered by any practitioner willing to accept Medicaid fees. Freedom of choice is now restricted to pre-selected and panel practitioners participating with the managed care program. The rules, regulations, billing procedures, fees, and program requisites will differ under managed care programs. Private optometric practitioners must consider entering economic and organizational relationships and linkages that make them attractive to managed care organizations.

Humans↗