XI. STRATEGIES FOR IMPROVING DIABETES CARE D iabetes is a chronic illness that requires continuing medical care and patient self-management education to prevent acute complications and to reduce the risk of long-term complications. Diabetes care is complex and requires that many issues, beyond glycemic control, be addressed. A large body of evidence exists that supports a range of interventions to improve diabetes outcomes. These standards of care are intended to provide clinicians, patients, researchers, payors, and other interested individuals with the components of diabetes care, treatment goals, and tools to evaluate the quality of care. While individual preferences, comorbidities, and other patient factors may require modification of goals, targets that are desirable for most patients with diabetes are provided. These standards are not intended to preclude more extensive evaluation and management of the patient by other specialists as needed. For more detailed information, refer to Bode (Ed.): Medical Management of Type 1 Diabetes (1), Burant (Ed): Medical Management of Type 2 Diabetes (2), and Klingensmith (Ed): Intensive Diabetes Management (3). The recommendations included are diagnostic and therapeutic actions that are known or believed to favorably affect health outcomes of patients with diabetes. A grading system (Table 1), developed by the American Diabetes Association (ADA) and modeled after existing methods, was utilized to clarify and codify the evidence that forms the basis for the recommendations. The level of evidence that supports each recommendation is listed after each recommendation using the letters A, B, C, or E.

Standards of Medical Care in Diabetes

Generalized Linear Models (2nd ed.)

Endometriosis

OBJECTIVE —The purpose of this study was to determine the extent to which patients omit doses of medications prescribed for diabetes. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS —A literature search (1966–2003) was performed to identify reports with quantitative data on adherence with oral hypoglycemic agents (OHAs) and insulin and correlations between adherence rates and glycemic control. Adequate documentation of adherence was found in 15 retrospective studies of OHA prescription refill rates, 5 prospective electronic monitoring OHA studies, and 3 retrospective insulin studies. RESULTS —Retrospective analyses showed that adherence to OHA therapy ranged from 36 to 93% in patients remaining on treatment for 6–24 months. Prospective electronic monitoring studies documented that patients took 67–85% of OHA doses as prescribed. Electronic monitoring identified poor compliers for interventions that improved adherence (61–79%; P CONCLUSIONS —This review confirms that many patients for whom diabetes medication was prescribed were poor compliers with treatment, including both OHAs and insulin. However, electronic monitoring systems were useful in improving adherence for individual patients. Similar electronic monitoring systems for insulin administration could help healthcare providers determine patients needing additional support.

https://care.diabetesjournals.org/content/diacare/27/5/1218.full.pdf

A Systematic Review of Adherence With Medications for Diabetes

A total of 1577 subjects were screened; 1142 (72%) were randomly assigned to receive azithromycin, at a dose of 250 mg daily (570 participants), or placebo (572 participants) for 1 year in addition to their usual care. The rate of 1-year follow-up was 89% in the azithromycin group and 90% in the placebo group. The median time to the first exac erbation was 266 days (95% confidence interval [CI], 227 to 313) among participants receiving azithromycin, as compared with 174 days (95% CI, 143 to 215) among par ticipants receiving placebo (P<0.001). The frequency of exacerbations was 1.48 exacerba tions per patient-year in the azithromycin group, as compared with 1.83 per patient-year in the placebo group (P = 0.01), and the hazard ratio for having an acute exacerbation of COPD per patient-year in the azithromycin group was 0.73 (95% CI, 0.63 to 0.84; P<0.001). The scores on the St. George’s Respiratory Questionnaire (on a scale of 0 to 100, with lower scores indicating better functioning) improved more in the azithro mycin group than in the placebo group (a mean [±SD] decrease of 2.8±12.8 vs. 0.6±11.4, P = 0.004); the percentage of participants with more than the minimal clinically important difference of −4 units was 43% in the azithromycin group, as compared with 36% in the placebo group (P = 0.03). Hearing decrements were more common in the azithromycin group than in the placebo group (25% vs. 20%, P = 0.04). Conclusions Among selected subjects with COPD, azithromycin taken daily for 1 year, when added to usual treatment, decreased the frequency of exacerbations and improved quality of life but caused hearing decrements in a small percentage of subjects. Although this intervention could change microbial resistance patterns, the effect of this change is not known. (Funded by the National Institutes of Health; ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT00325897.)

/pdf/azithromycin-for-prevention-of-exacerbations-of-copd-3kfjgtsm9l.pdf

Azithromycin for Prevention of Exacerbations of COPD

OBJECTIVE — There are limited data relating glycemic control to medical costs among patients with diabetes. The goal of this study was to examine the potential impact of improved glycemic control on selected short-term complications of diabetes and associated costs in a managed care setting.

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS — Using a retrospective cohort design and automated databases from 1 January 1994 to 30 June 1998, adult members of the Fallon Clinic who were diagnosed with diabetes were identified and assigned to one of three study groups based on each patient's mean HbAlc level: good control ( 10%) groups. Inpatient (hospital or skilled nursing facility) admissions for selected acute (short-term) complications, represented by selected infections, hyperglycemia, hypoglycemia, and electrolyte disturbances, and the associated medical charges were evaluated across the three HbAlc groups. Multivariate analyses were used to control for differences in several potential confounding factors among the study groups. All findings were expressed on a 3-year basis.

RESULTS — Of 2,394 patients with diabetes, ∼10% (251) had at least one inpatient stay for a short-term complication, accounting for 447 admissions. Over 3 years, the adjusted rate of inpatient treatment ranged from 13 per 100 patients with good glycemic control to 16 per 100 patients with fair glycemic control and 31 per 100 patients with poor glycemic control ( P 10%, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS — In typical practice, better glycemic control is associated with a reduced rate of admission for selected short-term complications and, therefore, reduced medical charges for these complications over a 3-year period. The potential short-term economic benefits are important to consider when making decisions regarding the adoption and use of new interventions for the management of diabetes.

/pdf/potential-short-term-economic-benefits-of-improved-glycemic-l25vgy2vjk.pdf

Potential Short-Term Economic Benefits of Improved Glycemic Control: A managed care perspective

Objectives: Rates of medication adherence over a one-year period were assessed among outpatients with schizophrenia who initiated therapy with conventional or atypical antipsychotic agents. Methods: Data were drawn from paid medical and pharmacy claims for a random sample of 10 percent of all California Medicaid (“Medi-Cal”) recipients. Outpatients with schizophrenia who were aged 18 years or older and who initiated monotherapy with a conventional or atypical antipsychotic medication in the last quarter of 1997 were identified. The percentages of patients who discontinued antipsychotic therapy or who had a switch in medications over a one-year period were determined. The use of selected concomitant medications was also assessed. Data were analyzed by means of chi square tests and multivariate statistics that adjusted for demographic and clinical differences between medication groups. Results: A total of 298 patients who initiated therapy with a conventional (N=93) or atypical (N=205) antipsychotic medication were identified. The groups were similar in mean age (about 42 years) and gender distribution (about 54 percent were male). Compared with patients who received conventional antipsychotics, those receiving atypical antipsychotics were significantly less likely to have a switch in medication and to use concomitant anticholinergic and anxiolytic medications. In each group, antipsychotic medication was available for about 60 percent of days over one year of follow-up. Conclusions: Compared with the use of conventional antipsychotics, the use of atypical antipsychotic medications was associated with significantly less treatment switching and less use of concomitant medications. However, undertreatment, evidenced by a lack of prescription refills, occurred among patients taking both medication classes, which highlights the need for further research on nonadherence. (Psychiatric Services 54:719–723, 2003)

https://ps.psychiatryonline.org/doi/pdf/10.1176/appi.ps.54.5.719

Treatment adherence associated with conventional and atypical antipsychotics in a large state Medicaid program.

The economic burden of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in a U.S. Medicare population.

RATIONALE
Although the economic burden of COPD has gained attention in recent years, data on the costs of COPD among U.S. Medicare beneficiaries are lacking.


METHODS
This study used administrative claims and eligibility records from a large U.S. multi-state Medicare managed care database. Study patients were 65+ years of age with paid claims during 2004. The COPD cohort comprised patients with 1+ inpatient/ER claims or 2+ outpatient claims (>30 days apart) for COPD (ICD-9-CM codes 491.xx, 492.x, 496). The comparison cohort included patients without COPD matched 3:1 to the COPD cohort on age, sex, enrollment months, and Medicare plan. Excess costs of COPD were estimated as the difference in overall health plan payments between the two cohorts during 2004. Attributable costs were calculated using medical claims with listed diagnoses of COPD or other respiratory-related conditions and pharmacy claims for respiratory medications.


RESULTS
A total of 8370 patients were included in the COPD cohort and were matched to 25,110 comparison cohort patients. For both groups, mean (SD) age was 78 (8) years, 54% were female, and duration of eligibility was 11 (2) months. COPD patients were more likely to utilize healthcare services and had excess total healthcare costs about $20,500 higher (P<0.0001) than the comparison cohort. Comorbidities were high in the COPD cohort, accounting for 46% of the observed excess cost. The attributable cost of COPD averaged about $6,300; other respiratory-related costs averaged about $4,400.


CONCLUSION
In this U.S. Medicare managed care population, COPD posed a substantial burden in terms of both respiratory-related and total healthcare costs. A comparison of these cost-of-illness estimates to those for elderly COPD patients in other countries would be of great interest, given the increasing age of populations in most Western countries.

The economic burden of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in a U.S. Medicare

BACKGROUND:Warfarin is recommended for prevention of stroke in patients with atrial fibrillation who are at moderate or high risk, but requires intensive management to achieve safe and optimal anticoagulation control. Anticoagulation clinics are often used to administer warfarin therapy more effectively.OBJECTIVE:To collect data from multiple sites and assess the quality and costs associated with anticoagulation clinic services.METHODS:A random sample of 600 adults with chronic nonvalvular atrial fibrillation (CNVAF) receiving warfarin was selected from anticoagulation clinics affiliated with 3 health plans. Patients were identified between 1996 and 1998 and followed for up to one year. We assessed the proportion of time that international normalized ratio (INR) values were within the recommended range (2.0–3.0) and the costs of anticoagulation clinic care.RESULTS:Patients had an average of 18 clinic contacts over a mean duration of follow-up of 10.5 months. On average, patients were within the recommende...

Quality of Anticoagulation Control and Costs of Monitoring Warfarin Therapy among Patients with Atrial Fibrillation in Clinic Settings: A Multi-Site Managed-Care Study

Luke Boulanger

Papers

Potential Short-Term Economic Benefits of Improved Glycemic Control: A managed care perspective

Treatment adherence associated with conventional and atypical antipsychotics in a large state Medicaid program.

The economic burden of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in a U.S. Medicare population.

The economic burden of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in a U.S. Medicare

Quality of Anticoagulation Control and Costs of Monitoring Warfarin Therapy among Patients with Atrial Fibrillation in Clinic Settings: A Multi-Site Managed-Care Study