scholarly journals Multiple Sclerosis Wellness Shared Medical Appointment Model: A Pilot Study

Author(s):  
Justin R. Abbatemarco ◽  
Jeffrey A. Cohen ◽  
Belinda L. Udeh ◽  
Sunakshi Bassi ◽  
Mary R. Rensel

Abstract Background: Shared medical appointments (SMAs) are group medical visits combining medical care and patient education. We examined the impact of a wellness-focused pilot SMA in a large multiple sclerosis (MS) clinic. Methods: We reviewed data on all patients who participated in the SMA from January 2016 through June 2019. Data were collected 12 months pre/post SMA; included demographics, body mass index, patient-reported outcomes, and health care utilization; and were compared using Wilcoxon rank sum test. Results: Fifty adult patients (mean ± SD age, 50.1 ± 12.3 years) attended at least one MS wellness SMA. Most patients had private insurance (50%), and 26% had Medicaid coverage. The most common comorbidity was depression/anxiety (44%). Pre/post SMA outcomes showed a small but significant reduction in body mass index (30.2 ± 7.3 vs 28.8 ± 7.1, P = .03), and Patient Health Questionnaire-9 scores decreased from 7.3 ± 5.5 to 5.1 ± 5.6 (P = .001). The number of emergency department visits decreased from 13 to two (P = .0005), whereas follow-up visits increased with an attendees’ primary care provider from 19 to 41 (P < .001), physical therapist from 15 to 27 (P = .004), and psychologist from six to 19 (P = .003). Conclusions: This pilot MS wellness SMA was associated with improved physical and psychological outcomes. There was increased, lower-cost health care utilization with reduced acute, high-cost health care utilization, suggesting that SMAs may be a cost-effective and beneficial method in caring for patients with MS.

2020 ◽  
Vol 25 (5) ◽  
pp. 431-436
Author(s):  
Emily M. Stephan ◽  
Christopher J. Nemastil ◽  
Ann Salvator ◽  
Susan Gemma ◽  
Clarissa J. Dilaveris ◽  
...  

OBJECTIVE Previous trials evaluated the efficacy of lumacaftor/ivacaftor in Phe508del homozygotes. These trials are limited by manufacturer sponsorship and were conducted under strict protocol. Additionally, this therapy is costly and does not allow for reduction in daily cystic fibrosis therapies. This study assessed the efficacy of lumacaftor/ivacaftor therapy and its effect on health care utilization in a real-world setting. METHODS Retrospective chart review comparing the first 12 months of therapy to the 24 months prior was conducted to evaluate the impact of lumacaftor/ivacaftor on pulmonary function following a streamlined process for therapy introduction. The impact on body mass index and healthcare utilization were also evaluated. The following measurements were assessed: percent predicted forced expiratory volume in 1 second, body mass index and z-scores, number of admissions, length of stay, number of emergency department visits. RESULTS Mean ppFEV1 was improved for the first 12 months on lumacaftor/ivacaftor treatment when compared with the 24 months prior: 78.8 (95% CI: 72.6, 84.9) vs 76.2 (95% CI: 70.1, 82.3) (p = 0.03). Body mass index significantly improved (patients ≥20 years), but improvement in BMI z-score (patients <20 years) was not significant. Number of admissions and LOS were significantly decreased, but ED visits were not. CONCLUSIONS Lumacaftor/ivacaftor is effective for improving ppFEV1 and BMI and for reducing health care utilization. However, this small reduction does not overcome the financial cost of treatment. Long-term outcomes and use must be studied to determine the overall effect of this therapy on cystic fibrosis interventions and their costs.


2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 239-247
Author(s):  
Tamara K Oser ◽  
Siddhartha Roy ◽  
Jessica Parascando ◽  
Rebecca Mullen ◽  
Julie Radico ◽  
...  

Medical Care ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 53 (5) ◽  
pp. 409-416 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anthony Jerant ◽  
Klea D. Bertakis ◽  
Peter Franks

2015 ◽  
Vol 15 (6) ◽  
pp. 644-650 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian A. Lynch ◽  
Lila J. Finney Rutten ◽  
Robert M. Jacobson ◽  
Seema Kumar ◽  
Muhamad Y. Elrashidi ◽  
...  

2020 ◽  
Vol 32 (4) ◽  
pp. 523-532 ◽  
Author(s):  
Praveen V. Mummaneni ◽  
Mohamad Bydon ◽  
John Knightly ◽  
Mohammed Ali Alvi ◽  
Anshit Goyal ◽  
...  

OBJECTIVEDischarge to an inpatient rehabilitation facility or another acute-care facility not only constitutes a postoperative challenge for patients and their care team but also contributes significantly to healthcare costs. In this era of changing dynamics of healthcare payment models in which cost overruns are being increasingly shifted to surgeons and hospitals, it is important to better understand outcomes such as discharge disposition. In the current article, the authors sought to develop a predictive model for factors associated with nonroutine discharge after surgery for grade I spondylolisthesis.METHODSThe authors queried the Quality Outcomes Database for patients with grade I lumbar degenerative spondylolisthesis who underwent a surgical intervention between July 2014 and June 2016. Only those patients enrolled in a multisite study investigating the impact of fusion on clinical and patient-reported outcomes among patients with grade I spondylolisthesis were evaluated. Nonroutine discharge was defined as those who were discharged to a postacute or nonacute-care setting in the same hospital or transferred to another acute-care facility.RESULTSOf the 608 patients eligible for inclusion, 9.4% (n = 57) had a nonroutine discharge (8.7%, n = 53 discharged to inpatient postacute or nonacute care in the same hospital and 0.7%, n = 4 transferred to another acute-care facility). Compared to patients who were discharged to home, patients who had a nonroutine discharge were more likely to have diabetes (26.3%, n = 15 vs 15.7%, n = 86, p = 0.039); impaired ambulation (26.3%, n = 15 vs 10.2%, n = 56, p < 0.001); higher Oswestry Disability Index at baseline (51 [IQR 42–62.12] vs 46 [IQR 34.4–58], p = 0.014); lower EuroQol-5D scores (0.437 [IQR 0.308–0.708] vs 0.597 [IQR 0.358–0.708], p = 0.010); higher American Society of Anesthesiologists score (3 or 4: 63.2%, n = 36 vs 36.7%, n = 201, p = 0.002); and longer length of stay (4 days [IQR 3–5] vs 2 days [IQR 1–3], p < 0.001); and were more likely to suffer a complication (14%, n = 8 vs 5.6%, n = 31, p = 0.014). On multivariable logistic regression, factors found to be independently associated with higher odds of nonroutine discharge included older age (interquartile OR 9.14, 95% CI 3.79–22.1, p < 0.001), higher body mass index (interquartile OR 2.04, 95% CI 1.31–3.25, p < 0.001), presence of depression (OR 4.28, 95% CI 1.96–9.35, p < 0.001), fusion surgery compared with decompression alone (OR 1.3, 95% CI 1.1–1.6, p < 0.001), and any complication (OR 3.9, 95% CI 1.4–10.9, p < 0.001).CONCLUSIONSIn this multisite study of a defined cohort of patients undergoing surgery for grade I spondylolisthesis, factors associated with higher odds of nonroutine discharge included older age, higher body mass index, presence of depression, and occurrence of any complication.


2021 ◽  
pp. 108482232110013
Author(s):  
Tami M. Videon ◽  
Robert J. Rosati ◽  
Steven H. Landers

COVID-19 patients represent a new and distinct population in home health care. Little is known about health care utilization and incremental improvements in health for recovering COVID-19 patients after admission to home health care. Using a retrospective observational cohort study of 5452 episodes of home health care admitted to a New Jersey Home Health Agency between March 15 and May 31, 2020, this study describes COVID-19 Home Health Care (HHC) patients ( n = 842) and compare them to the general HHC population ( n = 4610). COVID HHC patients differ in significant ways from the typical HHC population. COVID patients were more likely to be 65 years of age and younger (41% vs 26%), be from a racial/ethnic minority (60% vs 31%), live with another person (85% vs 76%), have private insurance (28% vs 16%), and began HHC with greater independence in activities-of-daily-living (ADL/IADLs). COVID patients received fewer overall visits than their non-COVID counterparts (11.7 vs 16.3), although they had significantly more remote visits (1.7 vs 0.3). Multivariate analyses show that COVID patients early in the pandemic were 34% (CI, 28%-40%) less likely to be hospitalized and demonstrated significantly greater improvement in all the outcome measures examined compared to the general home health population.


2011 ◽  
Vol 40 (4) ◽  
pp. 282-296 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nancy F. Bandstra ◽  
William B. Crist ◽  
Anne Napier-Phillips ◽  
Gordon Flowerdew

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