scholarly journals A unique partnership between a health system’s insurance plan and the Integrative Medicine Department benefits patients and helps control costs

2016 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 61
Author(s):  
Maureen M Anderson ◽  
Karen Armstrong ◽  
Katherine Nori Janosz ◽  
Michael Tocco ◽  
Nancy A DeVore ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Integrative Medicine ◽  
Health Care Costs ◽  
Treatment Options ◽  
Cost Savings ◽  
Clinical Results ◽  
Insurance Plan ◽  
Effective Care ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Care Costs

Health care costs continue to increase, affecting patients and insurance providers. Complementary health approaches are increasingly used to augment traditional medicine, and integrative medicine (IM) incorporates these complementary approaches into traditional patient care. The IM Department was established in our institution in 2004 and now offers a wide range of services to patients. Our institution offers health care coverage to all benefit-eligible hospital personnel and their eligible dependents. The use of IM has had a surprising and beneficial effect on the health care costs of this small, self-insured health plan. We found that the coverage of certain IM modalities for specific conditions had positive clinical results and resulted in significant cost savings to the insurance plan. At the same time, this partnership supports patients by providing appropriate and effective care, and we have seen success in terms of patient recovery and patient satisfaction. Here, we present the history of the relationship between the insurance plan and the IM Department, how the coverage of IM modalities has expanded, and the current practice at our institution. We demonstrate that this innovative relationship has benefitted patients and resulted in cost-savings for the insurance provider. Therefore, this partnership will continue to expand, thus providing patients with a wide range of treatment options and effective care.

Abstract TMP8: The New Alteplase Package Insert: What is the Potential Impact?

Stroke ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 47 (suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Harn Shiue ◽  
Karen Albright ◽  
Kara Sands ◽  
April Sisson ◽  
Michael Lyerly ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Ischemic Stroke ◽  
Health Care Costs ◽  
Lifetime Cost ◽  
Package Insert ◽  
Cost Savings ◽  
Number Of Patients ◽  
History Of ◽  
Potential Impact ◽  
Care Costs

Background: Alteplase (tPA) contraindications for acute ischemic stroke (AIS) were originally derived from the 1995 NINDS trial. Recently, a history of intracranial hemorrhage (ICH) and recent stroke (within 3 months) were removed as contraindications from the drug package insert, which could increase the number of patients eligible for IV thrombolysis. We sought to define the potential impact on outcomes and health care costs in this newly eligible population. Methods: Consecutive patients (March 2014 - April 2015) who presented with AIS to our Comprehensive Stroke Center (CSC) were retrospectively analyzed. Demographics and tPA exclusions were recorded. The annual number of discharges with primary diagnosis of ischemic stroke in the U.S. was estimated from the National Inpatient Sample (2006 - 2011). A previously reported value of $25,000/patient was utilized to calculate lifetime cost savings in patients receiving tPA. Results: During the study period, 776 AIS were admitted to our CSC (median age 64; 55,74, 51% men, 62% white). Seventy-six percent of our patients (n=590) had ≥1 tPA exclusions according to the NINDS trial. Among these patients, 11 excluded had history of ICH, 15 with recent strokes, and 1 both. Following the new package insert, the proportion of patients with ≥1 tPA exclusion fell to 73% (n=563). Given the 432,000 ischemic stroke discharges annually, a 3% increase in patients eligible for tPA could translate to treatment of 12,960 more patients annually and a lifetime cost savings of $324,000,000. Furthermore, we estimate that 1,685 of these newly eligible patients will experience a favorable functional outcome based on the results of the NINDS trial (13% shift analysis for mRS 0-1). Conclusions: Our results suggest that the new tPA package insert has the potential to increase national tPA treatment rates, decrease U.S. health care costs, and improve functional outcomes in eligible AIS patients. National guidelines need to be updated to reflect these changes.

scholarly journals P041: Point-of-care ultrasound utilization and monetary outcomes (POCUMON) study

CJEM ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (S1) ◽  
pp. S79-S79
Author(s):  
D. Rusiecki ◽  
S. Douglas ◽  
C. Bell
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Health Care Costs ◽  
Point Of Care ◽  
Cost Savings ◽  
Flank Pain ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Point Of Care Ultrasound ◽  
Imaging Studies ◽  
Patient Assessments ◽  
Care Costs

Introduction: Point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) is an integral tool in the modern emergency physician's toolkit. Evidence suggests many imaging and lab investigations are ordered without true medical indications; it is unknown how POCUS utilization impacts health care costs at a patient level. The purpose of this study was to assess whether POCUS use in the emergency department (ED) was associated with cost savings via decreased laboratory and radiographic testing. Methods: POCUMON is a single-center, prospective pilot study. The participants were a convenience sample of ED staff physicians and PGY-5 Emergency Medicine (EM) residents working in the ED from July-October 2019. Physicians who used POCUS as part of their assessment had the cost of their patient investigation plans compared with those proposed by a control group of ED physicians simultaneously on-shift. The control group was blinded to the POCUS findings but had access to the patient and medical record. The lab investigations and imaging studies ordered by both groups were recorded with respective costs. Data were analyzed using a paired T-test, with sub-group analyses. Ethics approval was obtained from the Queen's University HSREB (No.6026732). Results: 50 patient assessments using POCUS were captured in the study period. 76% of patient assessments were performed by EM staff physicians; 94% of control assessments were provided by EM staff physicians. Patient chief complaints included abdominal pain (7), chest pain/dyspnea (10), flank pain (3), pregnancy concerns (4), trauma (7), extremity complaints (4), back pain (3), and other (12). The POCUS group had a trend for lower number of laboratory tests (4.7 ± 0.44 vs 5.22 ± 0.39; p = 0.28) and imaging studies (0.94 ± 0.14 vs 1.1 ± 0.11; p = 0.33). Overall health care costs were similar in both groups, with a trend to cost savings in the POCUS group ($142.00 ± 15.44 vs $174.60 ± 17.00; p = 0.12). Subgrouping identified significant cost savings in the POCUS group for patients with a chief complaint of flank pain ($43.64 vs $248.82, p = 0.01). Conclusion: POCUS use was not associated with significant health care cost savings. ED POCUS usage did see a trend towards decreased laboratory and imaging investigations. Patients presenting with flank pain had significantly lower expenditures associated with their visit when POCUS was incorporated into their assessment. Large scale prospective studies are needed to investigate if POCUS is associated with cost-savings in ED patients.

Total healthcare, treatment, and supportive care costs among metastatic pancreatic cancer (MPC) patients (pts) treated with either nab-paclitaxel/gemcitabine (nab-P+G) or FOLFIRINOX (FFX) in the first-line (1L) setting.

2017 ◽  
Vol 35 (8_suppl) ◽  
pp. 20-20
Author(s):  
Brian Ung ◽  
Manish Patel ◽  
Corey Pelletier ◽  
Quanhong Ni
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Supportive Care ◽  
Health Care Costs ◽  
Treatment Options ◽  
Secondary Malignancy ◽  
Health Plans ◽  
First Line ◽  
Data Mart ◽  
Treatment Administration ◽  
Care Costs

20 Background: The economic burden of MPC is substantial while treatment options are limited. This study compared treatment, supportive care, and total health care costs in MPC pts who initiated nab-P+G or FFX in a large insured US population. Methods: A retrospective study was conducted using claims from the Clinformatics Data Mart Database. Adults who had ≥2 claims for PC, ≥1 claim with a secondary malignancy, completed >1 cycle of nab-P+G or FFX as 1L between 1/1/2013 and 12/31/2015, and had continuous enrollment in health plans for ≥6 months prior to and 3 months following the start of 1L, were selected. Total health care costs and MPC-related treatment costs were measured per patient per month (PPPM) during 1L. Results: 216 MPC pts met selection criteria ( nab-P+G, n=139; FFX, n=77). Pts on nab-P+G were significantly older (mean age: 67.6 vs. 61.4 years; p<0.001) vs. FFX. nab-P+G pts incurred similar total health care costs but less supportive care and treatment administration costs vs. FFX (table). The nab-P+G group had a significantly lower proportion of pts who received peg-filgrastim (13.7% vs. 50.6%; p<0.001); with lower PPPM number of fills (0.11 vs. 0.71; p<0.001), anti-emetics (92.8% vs. 100%; p=0.0154), and hydration procedures (63.3% vs. 98.7%; p=0.0001), but a higher proportion received oral opioids (66.2% vs. 54.5%, p=0.0066) during 1L. Conclusions: Total health care costs were similar. nab-P+G pts had higher chemotherapy drug costs while FFX pts had higher treatment administration and supportive care costs. [Table: see text]

scholarly journals Generalized Propensity Score Matching with Multilevel Treatment Options

10.36469/9847 ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-13
Author(s):  
Onur Baser
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Propensity Score ◽  
Health Services ◽  
Combination Therapy ◽  
Propensity Score Matching ◽  
Health Care Costs ◽  
Multivariate Regression ◽  
Treatment Options ◽  
Care Costs ◽  
Multilevel Treatment

Background: Although conventional form of propensity score matching (PSM) is widely used in outcomes research field, its application on multilevel treatment is limited.</p> Objectives: This article reviews PSM and illustrates their use when there are more than two treatment choices, which is very common in health services research. Methods: Generalized PSM technique was applied to commercial claims data to estimate the treatment effect of reliever only, controller only and combination therapy of patients with asthma. The propensity score is estimated using multinomial logistic regression. The outcome variable was total annual health care costs. Inverse probability weighting was applied to calculate risk adjusted costs. Results are compared with multivariate regression analysis, where the generalized linear model is used with gamma family and log link function. Results: Based on the study’s definitions of an asthma episode, we obtained a sample that included 25,124 patients in fee-for-service (FFS) plans and 6,603 patients in non-FFS plans. Under each plan type, patients who were prescribed three different treatment options were significantly different in terms of their demographic and clinical characteristics. Compared to combination therapy under FFS group, the difference of the total health care costs among reliever therapy and controller only group was significant ($728 and $1,216, respectively). Under non-FFS group, reliever only therapy totaled $1,266; controller only therapy was $1,959, and combination therapy totaled $1,933. Although the cost difference between reliever only and combination therapy was significant, there was no evidence that combination therapy cost more than controller only therapy. There were no significant differences in the multi-level propensity score adjusted results and multivariate regression results. Conclusion: This analysis presents the potential value of generalized PSM methods in health services when there are multilevel treatment options.

Cost-Effectiveness of the Hepatitis C Self-Management Program

2016 ◽  
Vol 44 (1) ◽  
pp. 113-122 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erik J. Groessl ◽  
Marisa Sklar ◽  
Diana D. Laurent ◽  
Kate Lorig ◽  
Theodore G. Ganiats ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Cost Effectiveness ◽  
Health Care Costs ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Controlled Trial ◽  
Cost Savings ◽  
Management Program ◽  
Sensitivity Analyses ◽  
Self Management ◽  
Care Costs

Background. Despite the emergence of new hepatitis C virus (HCV) antiviral medications, many people with chronic HCV know little about their disease, are at risk for transmitting HCV to others, and/or are not considered good treatment candidates. Self-management interventions can educate HCV-infected persons, improve their quality of life, and prepare them for treatment. Purpose. A cost-effectiveness analysis of the HCV Self-Management Program is presented. Method. Effectiveness data in quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) were derived from the previously published prospective, randomized controlled trial ( n = 134). Health care utilization was abstracted from medical records in 2011 for the 12 months before and after study enrollment. Intervention costs were tracked from the payer’s perspective and combined with health care costs. Sensitivity analyses were used to examine assumptions. Data were analyzed in 2014. Results. Estimated intervention costs including organizational overhead were $1,760 per 6-week workshop, or $229/person. Health care costs were $815 lower/person for self-management participants, resulting in a cost savings of $586/person. Self-management participants had an average net gain of 0.02975 QALYs after 1 year. When removing inpatient substance use treatment days from analyses, costs were similar between groups, producing an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of $6,218/QALY. Sensitivity analyses showed that the results and conclusions change little when assumptions were varied. Conclusions. When compared to information-only, the HCV Self-Management Program led to more QALYs and cost savings in the randomized controlled trial. Independent of health care costs, the intervention is low-cost and educates HCV-infected individuals about antiviral treatment and avoiding viral transmission. Low-cost interventions that can enhance the outcomes derived from expensive antiviral treatments should be studied further.

scholarly journals Health Care Costs and Savings Associated with Increased Dairy Consumption among Adults in the United States

Nutrients ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 233 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carolyn G. Scrafford ◽  
Xiaoyu Bi ◽  
Jasjit K. Multani ◽  
Mary M. Murphy ◽  
Jordana K. Schmier ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Type 2 Diabetes ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Health Care Costs ◽  
Annual Cost ◽  
Cost Savings ◽  
Dairy Consumption ◽  
The Us ◽  
Care Costs

Background: The purpose of this study is to estimate the impact on health care costs if United States (US) adults increased their dairy consumption to meet Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) recommendations. Methods: Risk estimates from recent meta-analyses quantifying the association between dairy consumption and health outcomes were combined with the increase in dairy consumption under two scenarios where population mean dairy intakes from the 2015–2016 What We Eat in America were increased to meet the DGA recommendations: (1) according to proportions by type as specified in US Department of Agriculture Food Intake Patterns and (2) assuming the consumption of a single dairy type. The resulting change in risk was combined with published data on annual health care costs to estimate impact on costs. Health care costs were adjusted to account for potential double counting due to overlapping comorbidities of the health outcomes included. Results: Total dairy consumption among adults in the US was 1.49 cup-equivalents per day (c-eq/day), requiring an increase of 1.51 c-eq/day to meet the DGA recommendation. Annual cost savings of $12.5 billion (B) (range of $2.0B to $25.6B) were estimated based on total dairy consumption resulting from a reduction in stroke, hypertension, type 2 diabetes, and colorectal cancer and an increased risk of Parkinson’s disease and prostate cancer. Similar annual cost savings were estimated for an increase in low-fat dairy consumption ($14.1B; range of $0.8B to $27.9B). Among dairy sub-types, an increase of approximately 0.5 c-eq/day of yogurt consumption alone to help meet the DGA recommendations resulted in the highest annual cost savings of $32.5B (range of $16.5B to $52.8B), mostly driven by a reduction in type 2 diabetes. Conclusions: Adoption of a dietary pattern with increased dairy consumption among adults in the US to meet DGA recommendations has the potential to provide billions of dollars in savings.

scholarly journals Impact of a Novel Insulin Management Service on Non-insulin Pharmaceutical Expenses

10.36469/9783 ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 53-62 ◽  
Author(s):  
John E. Schneider ◽  
Anjani Parikh ◽  
Ivana Stojanovic
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Glycemic Control ◽  
Health Care Costs ◽  
Cost Savings ◽  
Management Service ◽  
Usual Practice ◽  
Medication Discontinuation ◽  
Guidance Service ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Care Costs

Background: Studies have shown that improvements in glycemic control are associated with avoidance or delayed onset of diabetes complications, improvements in health-related quality of life, and reductions in diabetes-related health care costs. Clinical practice guidelines recommend maintaining a hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) level less than 7%, but among type 2 diabetes patients using insulin, two-thirds have HbA1c above 7% and one-third have HbA1c above 9%. Objectives: This study examined the use of insulin management services to enable patients to optimize insulin dosing to achieve HbA1c targets and subsequently reduce health care costs. Cost savings may be achieved through reduced complications and hospitalizations, as well as reduced outpatient, physician, and clinic costs. This study quantified the reduction in pharmaceutical expenses related to the use of an enhanced insulin management service to improve glycemic control. Methods: Two hundred seventeen insulin-reliant patients were enrolled in the d-Nav® Insulin Guidance Service through a participating insurance group. A prospective cost analysis was conducted using data from enrolled patients who completed the first 90 days of follow up. Results: Of the 192 patients who completed the 90-day study period, 54 (28.13%) were prescribed one or more expensive medications at baseline, but 45 (83.33%) of those patients were eligible for medication discontinuation after 90 days. At baseline, the annual cost of expensive medications per patient was $7564 (CI: $5191-$9938) and $1483 (CI: -$1463-$4429) at 90 days (p<0.001). Direct savings from medication elimination was estimated to be $145 per patient per month (PPPM) or $1736 per patient per year (PPPY) for all patients and $514 PPPM/$6172 PPPY for the target group. Patients that completed the 90-day period significantly reduced HbA1c levels from 9.37% (CI:7.72%-11.03%) at baseline to 7.71% (CI: 6.70%-8.73%) (p<0.001). A total of 170 (88.54%) patients had improved HbA1c at 90 days. Conclusions: Use of the insulin guidance service achieved improved glycemic control by optimizing insulin dosing, which enabled most patients using the service to reduce or eliminate the use of expensive diabetes medications. Further study is needed to assess the impact of optimized insulin dosing on other diabetes related health care costs in a usual practice setting.

scholarly journals Health Care Cost Analyses for Exploring Cost Savings Opportunities in Older Patients: Longitudinal Retrospective Study (Preprint)

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen Agboola ◽  
Mariana Simons ◽  
Sara Golas ◽  
Jorn op den Buijs ◽  
Jennifer Felsted ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Health Care Costs ◽  
Annual Cost ◽  
Older Patients ◽  
Health Care Organizations ◽  
Health Care Cost ◽  
Cost Savings ◽  
Study Population ◽  
The Cost ◽  
Care Costs

BACKGROUND Half of Medicare reimbursement goes toward caring for the top 5% of the most expensive patients. However, little is known about these patients prior to reaching the top or how their costs change annually. To address these gaps, we analyzed patient flow and associated health care cost trends over 5 years. OBJECTIVE To evaluate the cost of health care utilization in older patients by analyzing changes in their long-term expenditures. METHODS This was a retrospective, longitudinal, multicenter study to evaluate health care costs of 2643 older patients from 2011 to 2015. All patients had at least one episode of home health care during the study period and used a personal emergency response service (PERS) at home for any length of time during the observation period. We segmented all patients into top (5%), middle (6%-50%), and bottom (51%-100%) segments by their annual expenditures and built cost pyramids based thereon. The longitudinal health care expenditure trends of the complete study population and each segment were assessed by linear regression models. Patient flows throughout the segments of the cost acuity pyramids from year to year were modeled by Markov chains. RESULTS Total health care costs of the study population nearly doubled from US $17.7M in 2011 to US $33.0M in 2015 with an expected annual cost increase of US $3.6M (P=.003). This growth was primarily driven by a significantly higher cost increases in the middle segment (US $2.3M, P=.003). The expected annual cost increases in the top and bottom segments were US $1.2M (P=.008) and US $0.1M (P=.004), respectively. Patient and cost flow analyses showed that 18% of patients moved up the cost acuity pyramid yearly, and their costs increased by 672%. This was in contrast to 22% of patients that moved down with a cost decrease of 86%. The remaining 60% of patients stayed in the same segment from year to year, though their costs also increased by 18%. CONCLUSIONS Although many health care organizations target intensive and costly interventions to their most expensive patients, this analysis unveiled potential cost savings opportunities by managing the patients in the lower cost segments that are at risk of moving up the cost acuity pyramid. To achieve this, data analytics integrating longitudinal data from electronic health records and home monitoring devices may help health care organizations optimize resources by enabling clinicians to proactively manage patients in their home or community environments beyond institutional settings and 30- and 60-day telehealth services.

scholarly journals Modeling Obesity in Norway (The MOON Study): A Decision-Analytic Approach—Prevalence, Costs, and Years of Life Lost

2020 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-36
Author(s):  
Gudrun M. W. Bjørnelv ◽  
Vidar Halsteinli ◽  
Bård E. Kulseng ◽  
Diana Sonntag ◽  
Rønnaug A. Ødegaard
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Life Expectancy ◽  
Health Care Costs ◽  
Normal Weight ◽  
Overweight And Obesity ◽  
Economic Evaluations ◽  
Years Of Life Lost ◽  
The Moon ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Care Costs

Background Limited knowledge exists on the expected long-term effects and cost-effectiveness of initiatives aiming to reduce the burden of obesity. Aim To develop a Norwegian obesity-focused disease-simulation model: the MOON model. Material and Methods We developed a Markov model and simulated a Norwegian birth cohort’s movement between the health states “normal weight,”“overweight,”“obese 1,”“obese 2,” and “dead” using a lifetime perspective. Model input was estimated using longitudinal data from health surveys and real-world data (RWD) from local and national registers ( N = 99,348). The model is deterministic and probabilistic and stratified by gender. Model validity was assessed by estimating the cohort’s expected prevalence, health care costs, and mortality related to overweight and obesity. Results Throughout the cohort’s life, the prevalence of overweight increased steadily and stabilized at 45% at 45 y of age. The number of obese 1 and 2 individuals peaked at age 75 y, when 44% of women and 35% of men were obese. The incremental costs per person associated with obesity was highest in older ages and, when accumulated over the lifetime, higher among women (€12,118, €9,495–€15,047) than men (€6,646, €5,252–€10,900). On average, obesity shortened the life expectancy of women/men in the whole cohort by 1.31/1.08 y. The life expectancy for normal-weight women/men at age 30 was 83.31/80.31. The life expectancy was reduced by 1.05/0.65 y if the individual was overweight, obese (2.87/2.71 y), or obese 2 (4.06/4.83 y). Conclusion The high expected prevalence of obesity in the future will lead to substantial health care costs and large losses in life-years. This underscores the need to implement interventions to reduce the burden of obesity; the MOON model will enable economic evaluations for a wide range of interventions.

Generic Drug Use Helps Curb Health Care Costs

2007 ◽  
Vol 40 (4) ◽  
pp. 35
Author(s):  
ALICIA AULT
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Drug Use ◽  
Health Care Costs ◽  
Generic Drug ◽  
Care Costs
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