Showing papers in "Health Services Research in 2000"

The Behavioral Model for Vulnerable Populations: application to medical care use and outcomes for homeless people.

Abstract: OBJECTIVES: (1) To present the Behavioral Model for Vulnerable Populations, a major revision of a leading model of access to care that is particularly applicable to vulnerable populations; and (2) to test the model in a prospective study designed to define and determine predictors of the course of health services utilization and physical health outcomes within one vulnerable population: homeless adults. We paid particular attention to the effects of mental health, substance use, residential history, competing needs, and victimization. METHODS: A community-based probability sample of 363 homeless individuals was interviewed and examined for four study conditions (high blood pressure, functional vision impairment, skin/leg/foot problems, and tuberculosis skin test positivity). Persons with at least one study condition were followed longitudinally for up to eight months. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Homeless adults had high rates of functional vision impairment (37 percent), skin/leg/foot problems (36 percent), and TB skin test positivity (31 percent), but a rate of high blood pressure similar to that of the general population (14 percent). Utilization was high for high blood pressure (81 percent) and TB skin test positivity (78 percent), but lower for vision impairment (33 percent) and skin/leg/foot problems (44 percent). Health status for high blood pressure, vision impairment, and skin/leg/foot problems improved over time. In general, more severe homeless status, mental health problems, and substance abuse did not deter homeless individuals from obtaining care. Better health outcomes were predicted by a variety of variables, most notably having a community clinic or private physician as a regular source of care. Generally, use of currently available services did not affect health outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: Homeless persons are willing to obtain care if they believe it is important. Our findings suggest that case identification and referral for physical health care can be successfully accomplished among homeless persons and can occur concurrently with successful efforts to help them find permanent housing, alleviate their mental illness, and abstain from substance abuse.

Utilization of specialty mental health care among persons with severe mental illness: the roles of demographics, need, insurance, and risk.

Abstract: OBJECTIVE: To examine the sociodemographic, need, risk, and insurance characteristics of persons with severe mental illness and the importance of these characteristics for predicting specialty mental health utilization among this group. DATA SOURCE: The Healthcare for Communities survey, a national study that tracks alcohol, drug, and mental health services utilization. Data come from a telephone survey of adults from 60 communities across the United States, and from a supplemental geographically dispersed sample. STUDY DESIGN: Respondents were categorized as having a severe mental disorder, other mental disorder, or no measured mental disorder. Differences among groups in sociodemographics (gender, marital status, race, education, and income), insurance coverage, need for mental health care (symptoms and perceived need), and risk indicators (suicide ideation, criminal involvement, and aggressive behavior) are examined. Measures of service use for mental health care include emergency room, inpatient, and specialty outpatient care. The importance of sociodemographics, need, insurance status, and risk indicators for specialty mental health care utilization are examined through logistic regression. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: The severely mentally ill in this study are disproportionately African American, unmarried, male, less educated, and have lower family incomes than those with other disorders and those with no measured mental disorders. In a 12-month period almost three-fifths of persons with severe mental illness did not receive specialty mental health care. One in five persons with severe mental illness are uninsured, and Medicare or Medicaid insures 37 percent. Persons covered by these public programs are over six times more likely to have access to specialty care than the uninsured are. Involvement in the criminal justice system also increases the probability that a person will receive care by a factor of about four, independent of level of need. The average number of outpatient visits for specialty care varies little across type of disorder, and the median number of visits (ten) is equivalent for those with a severe mental illness and those with other disorders. CONCLUSIONS: Persons with severe mental illness have a high level of economic and social disadvantage. Barriers to care, including lack of insurance, are substantial and many do not receive specialty care. Public insurance programs are the major points of leverage for improving access, and policy interventions should be targeted to these programs. Problems of adequate care for the severely mentally ill may be exacerbated by the managed care trend to reductions in intensity of treatment.

Access of Vulnerable Groups to Antiretroviral Therapy Among Persons in Care for HIV Disease in the United States

Abstract: OBJECTIVE: To employ the behavioral model of health services use in examining the extent to which predisposing, enabling, and need factors explain the treatment of the HIV-positive population in the United States with highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART). DATA SOURCE: A national probability sample of 2,776 adults under treatment for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. STUDY DESIGN: The article uses data from the baseline and six-month follow-up surveys. The key independent variables describe vulnerable population groups including women, drug users, ethnic minorities, and the less educated. The dependent variable is whether or not a respondent received HAART by December 1996. DATA COLLECTION: All interviews were conducted using computer-assisted personal interview instruments designed for this study. Ninety-two percent of the baseline interviews were conducted in person and the remainder over the telephone. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: A multistage logit regression shows that the predisposing factors that have previously described vulnerable groups in the general population with limited access to medical care also define HIV-positive groups who are less likely to gain early access to HAART including women, injection drug users, African Americans, and the least educated (odds ratios, controlling for need, ranged from 0.35 to 0.59). CONCLUSIONS: Those HIV-positive persons with the greatest need (defined by a low CD4 count) are most likely to have early access to HAART, which suggests equitable access. However, some predisposing and enabling variables continue to be important as well, suggesting inequitable access, especially for African Americans and lower-income groups. Policymakers and clinicians need to be sensitized to the continued problems of African Americans and other vulnerable populations in gaining access to such potentially beneficial therapies. Higher income, anonymous test sites, and same-day appointments are important enabling resources.

Associations among hospital capacity, utilization, and mortality of US Medicare beneficiaries, controlling for sociodemographic factors.

Abstract: OBJECTIVE: To explore whether geographic variations in Medicare hospital utilization rates are due to differences in local hospital capacity, after controlling for socioeconomic status and disease burden, and to determine whether greater hospital capacity is associated with lower Medicare mortality rates. DATA SOURCES/STUDY SETTING: The study population: a 20 percent sample of 1989 Medicare enrollees. Measures of resources were based on a national small area analysis of 313 Hospital Referral Regions (HRR). Demographic and socioeconomic data were obtained from the 1990 U.S. Census. Measures of local disease burden were developed using Medicare claims files. STUDY DESIGN: The study was a cross-sectional analysis of the relationship between per capita measures of hospital resources in each region and hospital utilization and mortality rates among Medicare enrollees. Regression techniques were used to control for differences in sociodemographic characteristics and disease burden across areas. DATA COLLECTION/EXTRACTION METHODS: Data on the study population were obtained from Medicare enrollment (Denominator File) and hospital claims files (MedPAR) and U.S. Census files. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: The per capita supply of hospital beds varied by more than twofold across U.S. regions. Residents of areas with more beds were up to 30 percent more likely to be hospitalized, controlling for ecologic measures of socioeconomic characteristics and disease burden. A greater proportion of the population was hospitalized at least once during the year in areas with more beds; death was also more likely to take place in an inpatient setting. All effects were consistent across racial and income groups. Residence in areas with greater levels of hospital resources was not associated with a decreased risk of death. CONCLUSIONS: Residence in areas of greater hospital capacity is associated with substantially increased use of the hospital, even after controlling for socioeconomic characteristics and illness burden. This increased use provides no detectable mortality benefit.

Uninsured and unstably insured: the importance of continuous insurance coverage.

Abstract: OBJECTIVE: To examine the importance of continuous health insurance for access to care by comparing the access and cost experiences of insured adults with a recent time uninsured to the experiences of currently uninsured adults and experiences of adults with no time uninsured within a reference time period (continuously insured). DATA SOURCES: Adults ages 18-64. Data draw from three different survey databases: the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation 1996-1997 Community Tracking Survey, the Kaiser/Commonwealth 1997 National Survey of Health Insurance, and the 1995-1997 Kaiser/Commonwealth State Low Income Surveys. STUDY DESIGN: The study groups individuals into three insurance categories based on respondents' reports of insurance coverage within a reference time period: continuously insured; insured when surveyed but with recent time uninsured; and currently uninsured. In the two Kaiser/Commonwealth surveys the recently uninsured group included any insured respondent with a time uninsured in the past two years. In the Community Tracking Survey, the recently uninsured group included any insured respondent with a time uninsured in the past year. Measures of access include foregoing health care when needed, usual source of care, use of health care services, difficulties paying for medical care, and satisfaction with care. DATA COLLECTION: All three surveys were conducted primarily by telephone. The Community Tracking Survey drew from 60 community sites, with an additional random national sample. The Kaiser/Commonwealth National Survey was a random national sample; the Kaiser/Commonwealth State Low Income Surveys included adults ages 18-64 with incomes at or below 250 percent of poverty in seven states: Minnesota, Oregon, Tennessee, Florida, Texas, New York, and California. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Compared to the continuously insured, those insured but with a recent time uninsured were at high risk of going without needed care and of having problems paying medical bills. This group was two to three times as likely as those with continuous coverage to report access problems. Rates of access and cost problems reported by insured adults with a recent time uninsured neared levels reported by those who were uninsured at the time of the survey. These two groups also rated care received more negatively than did adults with continuous insurance coverage. In general, the access gap between persons insured and uninsured widened as a result of distinguishing insured adults with a recent time uninsured from insured adults with no time uninsured. CONCLUSION: Studies that focus on current insurance status alone will underestimate the extent to which having a time uninsured during the year contributes to access difficulties and undermines quality of care, and will underestimate the proportion of the population at risk because they are uninsured. Policy reforms are needed to maintain continuous insurance coverage and avoid spells uninsured. Currently uninsured and unstably insured adults are both at high risk.

The SF-12 as a population health measure: an exploratory examination of potential for application.

Abstract: OBJECTIVE: To describe the relationships among functional health status measures (SF-12 physical and mental components summary scores), traditional measures of community health status, and social determinants of health among respondents to community health status surveys conducted in nine different communities. DATA SOURCES/STUDY SETTING: Data collected as part of comprehensive community health status assessments conducted in each of nine communities (in seven states) between 1992 and 1997. The purpose of each assessment was to gather data to plan and evaluate population health improvement initiatives. STUDY DESIGN AND DATA COLLECTION: This is an opportunistic study drawing on the universe of community health survey data collected by the authors to support local health improvement initiatives. Both community-level as well as an aggregate of individual-level measures are used in the analysis. Within each locality, survey respondents were randomly selected using a telephone-facilitated, mailed survey methodology. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: The key variables reported here are functional health status measures (SF-12) and social determinants of health variables. SF-12 physical and mental component scales correlated with two of four traditional measures of community health status. At the aggregate level of analysis, significant relationships were found for seven of nine social determinants of health measures when compared with SF-12 component summary scores. Relationships between social determinants measures and PCS-12 and MCS-12 scores suggest both application possibilities and the need for additional analysis in order to understand the nature of those relationships. CONCLUSIONS: Physical and mental health functioning summary scores as measured by the SF-12 are useful in describing overall community health status when compared with traditional measures such as total deaths, age-adjusted mortality, or physician to population ratio. The SF-12 can also be used to measure the relationship between physical and mental health functioning (as proxies for community health status) and the social determinants of health. This analysis can help to refine our understanding of how social determinants and health status interact in a community or population as a precursor to the development of models of community or population health.

Measuring hospital efficiency: a comparison of two approaches.

Abstract: OBJECTIVE: To compare the results of scoring hospital efficiency by means of two new types of frontier models, Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) and stochastic frontier regression (SFR). STUDY SETTING: Financial records of Florida acute care hospitals in continuous operation over the period 1982-1993. STUDY DESIGN: Comparable DEA and SFR models are specified, and these models are then estimated to obtain the efficiency indexes yielded by each. The empirical results are subsequently examined to ascertain the extent to which they serve the needs of hospital policymakers. DATA COLLECTION: A longitudinal or panel data set is assembled, and a common set of output, input, and cost indicators is constructed to support the estimation of comparable DEA and SFR models. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: DEA and SFR models yield convergent evidence about hospital efficiency at the industry level, but divergent portraits of the individual characteristics of the most and least efficient facilities. CONCLUSIONS: Hospital policymakers should not be indifferent to the choice of the frontier model used to score efficiency relationships. They may be well advised to wait until additional research clarifies reasons why DEA and SFR models yield divergent results before they introduce these methods into the policy process.

Individual income, income inequality, health, and mortality: what are the relationships?

Abstract: OBJECTIVE: To examine the pathways between income inequality, self-rated health, and mortality in the United States. DATA SOURCE: The first National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey and Epidemiologic Follow-up Study. DESIGN: This was a longitudinal, multilevel study. DATA COLLECTION: Baseline data were collected on county income inequality, individual income, age, sex, self-rated health, level of depressive symptoms, and severity of biomedical morbidity from physical examination. Follow-up data included self-rated health assessed in 1982 through 1984 and mortality through 1987. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: After adjustment for age and sex, income inequality had a modest independent effect on the level of depressive symptoms, and on baseline and follow-up self-rated health, but no independent effect on biomedical morbidity or subsequent mortality. Individual income had a larger effect on severity of biomedical morbidity, level of depressive symptoms, baseline and follow-up self-rated health, and mortality. CONCLUSION: Income inequality appears to have a small effect on self-rated health but not mortality; the effect is mediated in part by psychological, but not biomedical pathways. Individual income has a much larger effect on all of the health pathways.

Comparing consumer-directed and agency models for providing supportive services at home.

Abstract: OBJECTIVE: To examine the service experiences and outcomes of low-income Medicaid beneficiaries with disabilities under two different models for organizing home-based personal assistance services: agency-directed and consumer-directed. DATA SOURCE: A survey of a random sample of 1,095 clients, age 18 and over, who receive services in California's In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) program funded primarily by Medicaid. Other data were obtained from the California Management and Payrolling System (CMIPS). STUDY DESIGN: The sample was stratified by service model (agency-directed or consumer-directed), client age (over or under age 65), and severity. Data were collected on client demographics, condition/functional status, and supportive service experience. Outcome measures were developed in three areas: safety, unmet need, and service satisfaction. Factor analysis was used to reduce multiple outcome measures to nine dimensions. Multiple regression analysis was used to assess the effect of service model on each outcome dimension, taking into account the client-provider relationship, client demographics, and case mix. DATA COLLECTION: Recipients of IHSS services as of mid-1996 were interviewed by telephone. The survey was conducted in late 1996 and early 1997. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: On various outcomes, recipients in the consumer-directed model report more positive outcomes than those in the agency model, or they report no difference. Statistically significant differences emerge on recipient safety, unmet needs, and service satisfaction. A family member present as a paid provider is also associated with more positive reported outcomes within the consumer-directed model, but model differences persist even when this is taken into account. Although both models have strengths and weaknesses, from a recipient perspective the consumer-directed model is associated with more positive outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: Although health professionals have expressed concerns about the capacity of consumer direction to assure quality, particularly with respect to safety, meeting unmet needs, and technical quality, our findings suggest that the consumer-directed service model is a viable alternative to the agency model. Because public programs are under growing pressure to address the long-term care needs of low-income people of all ages with disabilities, the Medicaid personal assistance benefit needs to be reassessed in light of these findings. Consumer-directed models may offer a less elaborate and possibly less costly option for organizing supportive services at home. Study limitations may limit the generalizability of these findings. This was a natural experiment, in which only some counties offered both service models and counties assigned recipients to a service model. The use of a telephone survey excluded important recipient subsets, notably people with severe cognitive impairments. A more definitive study would include direct observations as well as survey approaches.

Medical and psychosocial services in drug abuse treatment: do stronger linkages promote client utilization?

Abstract: OBJECTIVE: To examine the extent to which linkage mechanisms (on-site delivery, external arrangements, case management, and transportation assistance) are associated with increased utilization of medical and psychosocial services in outpatient drug abuse treatment units. DATA SOURCES: Survey of administrative directors and clinical supervisors from a nationally representative sample of 597 outpatient drug abuse treatment units in 1995. STUDY DESIGN: We generated separate two-stage multivariate generalized linear models to evaluate the correlation of on-site service delivery, formal external arrangements (joint program/venture or contract), referral agreements, case management, and transportation with the percentage of clients reported to have utilized eight services: physical examinations, routine medical care, tuberculosis screening, HIV treatment, mental health care, employment counseling, housing assistance, and financial counseling services. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: On-site service delivery and transportation assistance were significantly associated with higher levels of client utilization of ancillary services. Referral agreements and formal external arrangements had no detectable relationship to most service utilization. On-site case management was related to increased clients' use of routine medical care, financial counseling, and housing assistance, but off-site case management was not correlated with utilization of most services. CONCLUSIONS: On-site service delivery appears to be the most reliable mechanism to link drug abuse treatment clients to ancillary services, while referral agreements and formal external mechanisms offer little detectable advantage over ad hoc referral. On-site case management might facilitate utilization of some services, but transportation seems a more important linkage mechanism overall. These findings imply that initiatives and policies to promote linkage of such clients to medical and psychosocial services should emphasize on-site service delivery, transportation and, for some services, on-site case management.

Illicit drug use and emergency room utilization.

Abstract: OBJECTIVE: To provide an empirical examination of the effect that chronic illicit drug use has on emergency room (ER) utilization, controlling for the potential biases introduced by correlation between unobservable determinants of chronic illicit drug use and ER utilization. DATA SOURCES/STUDY SETTING: From the National Household Survey on Drug Abuse 1994 (NHSDA94). STUDY DESIGN: Chronic illicit drug use and ER utilization are analyzed for 5,384 females and 4,177 males in 1994. The study uses a two-stage estimation technique. In the first stage, sociodemographic, drug use history, and drug use risk variables are used to estimate the probability that the subject is a chronic illicit drug user (CDU). In the second stage, the first-stage estimates provide information needed to test for the possibility of bias in the estimation of ER utilization. This bias is the result of the correlation between unobservable influences on the probability that the person is a CDU and the probability that he or she uses an ER. DATA COLLECTION/EXTRACTION METHODS: The data were collected through a multistage stratified sampling design. With the use of this methodology, the resulting data set provides the most comprehensive information on household drug use. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Without a correction for the possibility of endogeneity bias, chronic illicit drug use is a positive (for both males and females) and a significant (for females only) determinant of the probability of using an ER for medical treatment. After a correction for endogeneity, the influence of chronic drug use remains positive and significant for females and becomes significant for males. The corresponding change in probability for females is from 6 percent to 30 percent, while for males the increase is from an insignificant 0.1 percent to a significant 36 percent change. CONCLUSIONS: We estimate that chronic drug-using females and males, after adjustments for bias, increase the probability that they use an ER by more than 30 percent compared to their casual or non-drug-using counterparts. Therefore, policymakers and health services providers may consider designing programs to bring primary care and prevention services to facilities where drug users are more likely to seek access to care, within an ER setting.

Are nonspecific practice guidelines potentially harmful? A randomized comparison of the effect of nonspecific versus specific guidelines on physician decision making.

Abstract: Objective To test the ability of two different clinical practice guideline formats to influence physician ordering of electrodiagnostic tests in low back pain. Data sources/study design Randomized controlled trial of the effect of practice guidelines on self-reported physician test ordering behavior in response to a series of 12 clinical vignettes. Data came from a national random sample of 900 U.S. neurologists, physical medicine physicians, and general internists. Intervention Two different versions of a practice guideline for the use of electrodiagnostic tests (EDT) were developed by the U.S. Agency for Health Care Policy and Research Low Back Problems Panel. The two guidelines were similar in content but varied in the specificity of their recommendations. Data collection The proportion of clinical vignettes for which EDTs were ordered for appropriate and inappropriate clinical indications in each of three physician groups were randomly assigned to receive vignettes alone, vignettes plus the nonspecific version of the guideline, or vignettes plus the specific version of the guideline. Principal findings The response rate to the survey was 71 percent. The proportion of appropriate vignettes for which EDTs were ordered averaged 77 percent for the no guideline group, 71 percent for the nonspecific guideline group, and 79 percent for the specific guideline group (p = .002). The corresponding values for the number of EDTs ordered for inappropriate vignettes were 32 percent, 32 percent, and 26 percent, respectively (p = .08). Pairwise comparisons showed that physicians receiving the nonspecific guidelines ordered fewer EDTs for appropriate clinical vignettes than did physicians receiving no guidelines (p = .02). Furthermore, compared to physicians receiving nonspecific guidelines, physicians receiving specific guidelines ordered significantly more EDTs for appropriate vignettes (p = .0007) and significantly fewer EDTs for inappropriate vignettes (p = .04). Conclusions The clarity and clinical applicability of a guideline may be important attributes that contribute to the effects of practice guidelines.

The validity of information on "race" and "Hispanic ethnicity" in California birth certificate data.

Abstract: OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the validity of racial/ethnic information in California birth certificate data. DATA SOURCES: Computerized birth certificate data and postpartum interviews with California mothers. STUDY DESIGN AND DATA COLLECTION: Birth certificates were matched with face-to-face structured postpartum interviews with 7,428 mothers to compare racial/ethnic information between the two data sources. Interviews were conducted in Spanish or English during delivery stays at 16 California hospitals, 1994-1995. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: The sensitivity of racial/ethnic classification in birth certificate data was very high (94 percent to 99 percent) for African Americans, Asians/Pacific Islanders, Europeans/Middle Easterners, and Latinas (Hispanics). For Native Americans, however, the sensitivity was only 54 percent. The positive predictive value of birth certificate classification of race/ethnicity was high for all racial/ethnic groups (96 percent to 97 percent). CONCLUSIONS: Despite limited training of birth clerks, the maternal racial/ethnic information in California birth certificate data appears to be a valid measure of self-identified race and Hispanic ethnicity for groups other than Native Americans.

Does reengineering really work? An examination of the context and outcomes of hospital reengineering initiatives.

Abstract: OBJECTIVE: To examine the effect of reengineering on the competitive position of hospitals. Although many promises have been made regarding outcomes of process reengineering, little or no research has examined this issue. This article provides an initial exploration of the direct effects of reengineering on the competitive cost position of hospitals and the modifying effects of implementation factors. DATA SOURCES/STUDY SETTING: Obtained for primary data from a 1996/1997 national survey of hospital restructuring and reengineering sponsored by the American Hospital Association and the Leonard Davis Institute for Health Economics. Responses from approximately 30 percent of all U.S. acute care hospitals with 100 or more inpatient beds in metropolitan service areas were combined with American Hospital Association annual survey and InterStudy HMO data in this study. STUDY DESIGN: A first-difference multivariate regression was utilized to examine the effects of reengineering and other explanatory variables on the change in the cost position of a hospital's expenses per adjusted patient day relative to its market's costs per adjusted patient day. DATA COLLECTION/EXTRACTION METHODS: The survey of hospital restructuring and reengineering was mailed to hospital chief executive officers. The CEOs identified reengineering and restructuring hospital activities over the previous five years. The extensiveness and components of reengineering and internal restructuring were identified and used in the empirical analysis. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Results suggest that reengineering without integrative and coordinative efforts may damage an organization's cost position. The use of steering committees, project teams, codification of the change process, and executive involvement in core changes modifies the results of reengineering to improve an organization's competitive position. CONCLUSIONS: In a national sample of hospitals, reengineering alone was not found to improve the relative cost-competitive position. Organizations attempting to improve their cost competitiveness must consider the way in which change is implemented. This research suggests that the process of change may be as important as the change instrument. Additional research is needed to explore differences between early and late adopters.

An instrumental variables approach to measuring the effect of body weight on employment disability.

Abstract: OBJECTIVE: To measure the effect of body weight on employment disability. DATA SOURCES: Female respondents to the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY), a nationally representative sample of American youth, surveyed from 1979 to 1998, merged with data from the child sample of the NLSY. STUDY DESIGN: A series of probit models and probit models with instrumental variables is estimated with the goal of measuring the effect of body weight on employment disability. The two outcomes of interest are whether a woman reports that her health limits the amount of work that she can do for pay, and whether she reports that her health limits the kind of work that she can do for pay. The models control for factors that affect the probability of health limitations on employment, such as education, cognitive ability, income of other family members, and characteristics of children in the household. Self-reports of height and weight are corrected for reporting error. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: All else being equal, heavier women are more likely to report employment disability. However, this overall correlation may be due to any or all of the following factors: weight causing disability, disability causing weight gain, or unobserved factors causing both. Instrumental variables estimates provide no evidence that body weight affects the probability of either type of employment disability. CONCLUSIONS: This study finds no evidence that body weight causes employment disability. Instead, the observed correlation between heaviness and disability may be due to disability causing weight gain or unobservable factors causing both disability and weight gain.

The optimal outcomes of post-hospital care under medicare.

Abstract: Objective To estimate the differences in functional outcomes attributable to discharge to one of four different venues for post-hospital care for each of five different types of illness associated with post-hospital care: stroke, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), congestive heart failure (CHF), hip procedures, and hip fracture, and to estimate the costs and benefits associated with discharge to the type of care that was estimated to produce the greatest improvement. Study setting/data sources Consecutive patients with any of the target diagnoses were enrolled from 52 hospitals in three cities. Data sources included interviews with patients or their proxies, medical record reviews, and the Medicare Automated Data Retrieval System. Analysis A two-stage regression model looked first at the factors associated with discharge to each type of post-hospital care and then at the outcomes associated with each location. An instrumental variables technique was used to adjust for selection bias. A predictive model was created for each patient to estimate how that person would have fared had she or he been discharged to each type of care. The optimal discharge location was determined as that which produced the greatest improvement in function after adjusting for patients' baseline characteristics. The costs of discharge to the optimal type of care was based on the differences in mean costs for each location. Data collection/extraction methods Data were collected from patients or their proxies at discharge from hospital and at three post-discharge follow-up times: six weeks, six months, and one year. In addition, the medical records for each participant were abstracted by trained abstractors, using a modification of the Medisgroups method, and Medicare data were summarized for the years before and after the hospitalization. Principal findings In general, patients discharged to nursing homes fared worst and those sent home with home health care or to rehabilitation did best. Because the cost of rehabilitation is high, greater use of home care could result in improved outcomes at modest or no additional cost. Conclusions Better decisions about where to discharge patients could improve the course of many patients. It is possible to save money by making wiser discharge planning decisions. Nursing homes are generally associated with poorer outcomes and higher costs than the other post-hospital care modalities.

A trauma resource allocation model for ambulances and hospitals.

Abstract: OBJECTIVE: To develop a mathematical model for the location of trauma care resources. DATA SOURCES/STUDY SETTING: Severely injured patients queried from Maryland hospital discharge and vital statistics data. A spatial injury profile was created by parsing these patients into ZIP codes. STUDY DESIGN: The Trauma Resource Allocation Model for Ambulances and Hospitals (TRAMAH) was formulated using integer and heuristic programming. To maximize coverage of severely injured patients, trauma centers and aeromedical depots were simultaneously sited using TRAMAH. A severe injury was considered covered if at least one trauma center was sited within a time standard by ground, or if an aeromedical depot-trauma center pair was sited in such a way that the sum of the flying time from the aeromedical depot to the scene of injury plus the flying time from the scene of injury to the trauma center was within the same time standard. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: From 1992 to 1994, 26,774 severe injuries were considered for coverage. Across Maryland, 94.8 percent of severely injured residents had access to trauma system resources within 30 minutes and 70.3 percent had access within 15 minutes. For the same number of resources as the existing Maryland Trauma System, TRAMAH achieved a coverage objective of 99.97 percent within 30 minutes. This translated into an additional 461 severely injured people covered each year. Holding in place the trauma centers of the existing system, approximately the same percentage of coverage as that of the existing system was achieved within 15 minutes by optimally locating six fewer aeromedical depots. CONCLUSIONS: TRAMAH will allow trauma systems planners to better locate their resources with respect to spatial needs and response times.

The outcome and cost of alcohol and drug treatment in an HMO: day hospital versus traditional outpatient regimens.

Abstract: OBJECTIVE: To compare outcome and cost-effectiveness of the two primary addiction treatment options, day hospitals (DH) and traditional outpatient programs (OP) in a managed care organization, in a population large enough to examine patient subgroups. DATA SOURCES: Interviews with new admissions to a large HMO's chemical dependency program in Sacramento, California between April 1994 and April 1996, with follow-up interviews eight months later. Computerized utilization and cost data were collected from 1993 to 1997. STUDY DESIGN: Design was a randomized control trial of adult patients entering the HMO's alcohol and drug treatment program (N = 668). To examine the generalizability of findings as well as self-selection factors, we also studied patients presenting during the same period who were unable or unwilling to be randomized (N = 405). Baseline interviews characterized type of substance use, addiction severity, psychiatric status, and motivation. Follow-up interviews were conducted at eight months following intake. Breathanalysis and urinalysis were conducted. Program costs were calculated. DATA COLLECTION: Interview data were merged with computerized utilization and cost data. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Among randomized subjects, both study arms showed significant improvement in all drug and alcohol measures. There were no differences overall in outcomes between DH and OP, but DH subjects with midlevel psychiatric severity had significantly better outcomes, particularly in regard to alcohol abstinence (OR = 2.4; 95% CI = 1.2, 4.9). The average treatment costs were $1,640 and $895 for DH and OP programs, respectively. In the midlevel psychiatric severity group, the cost of obtaining an additional person abstinent from alcohol in the DH cohort was approximately $5,464. Among the 405 self-selected subjects, DH was related to abstinence (OR = 2.1; 95% CI = 1.3, 3.5). CONCLUSIONS: Although significant benefits of the DH program were not found in the randomized study, DH treatment was associated with better outcomes in the self-selected group. However, for subjects with mid-level psychiatric severity in both the randomized and self-selected samples, the DH program produced higher rates of abstention and was more cost-effective. Self-selection in studies that randomize patients to services requiring very different levels of commitment may be important in interpreting findings for clinical practice.

Do consumer reports of health plan quality affect health plan selection

Abstract: OBJECTIVE: To learn whether consumer reports of health plan quality can affect health plan selection. DATA SOURCES: A sample of 311 privately insured adults from Los Angeles County. STUDY DESIGN: The design was a fractional factorial experiment. Consumers reviewed materials on four hypothetical health plans and selected one. The health plans varied as to cost, coverage, type of plan, ability to keep one's doctor, and quality, as measured by the Consumer Assessment of Health Plans Study (CAHPS) survey. DATA ANALYSIS: We used multinomial logistic regression to model each consumer's choice among health plans. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: In the absence of CAHPS information, 86 percent of consumers preferred plans that covered more services, even though they cost more. When CAHPS information was provided, consumers shifted to less expensive plans covering fewer services if CAHPS ratings identified those plans as higher quality (59 percent of consumers preferred plans covering more services). Consumer choices were unaffected when CAHPS ratings identified the more expensive plans covering more services as higher quality (89 percent of consumers preferred plans covering more services). CONCLUSIONS: This study establishes that, under certain realistic conditions, CAHPS ratings could affect consumer selection of health plans and ultimately contain costs. Other studies are needed to learn how to enhance exposure and use of CAHPS information in the real world as well as to identify other conditions in which CAHPS ratings could make a difference.

On "risk-adjusting acute myocardial infarction mortality: are APR-DRGs the right tool?".

Abstract: OBJECTIVE: To determine if a widely used proprietary risk-adjustment system, APR-DRGs, misadjusts for severity of illness and misclassifies provider performance. DATA SOURCES: (1) Discharge abstracts for 116,174 noninstitutionalized adults with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) admitted to nonfederal California hospitals in 1991-1993; (2) inpatient medical records for a stratified probability sample of 974 patients with AMIs admitted to 30 California hospitals between July 31, 1990 and May 31, 1991. STUDY DESIGN: Using the 1991-1993 data set, we evaluated the predictive performance of APR-DRGs Version 12. Using the 1990/1991 validation sample, we assessed the effect of assigning APR-DRGs based on different sources of ICD-9-CM data. DATA COLLECTION/EXTRACTION METHODS: Trained, blinded coders reabstracted all ICD-9-CM diagnoses and procedures, and established the timing of each diagnosis. APR-DRG Risk of Mortality and Severity of Illness classes were assigned based on (1) all hospital-reported diagnoses, (2) all reabstracted diagnoses, and (3) reabstracted diagnoses present at admission. The outcome variables were 30-day mortality in the 1991-1993 data set and 30-day inpatient mortality in the 1990/1991 validation sample. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: The APR-DRG Risk of Mortality class was a strong predictor of death (c = .831-.847), but was further enhanced by adding age and sex. Reabstracting diagnoses improved the apparent performance of APR-DRGs (c = .93 versus c = .87), while using only the diagnoses present at admission decreased apparent performance (c = .74). Reabstracting diagnoses had less effect on hospitals' expected mortality rates (r = .83-.85) than using diagnoses present at admission instead of all reabstracted diagnoses (r = .72-.77). There was fair agreement in classifying hospital performance based on these three sets of diagnostic data (K = 0.35-0.38). CONCUSIONS: The APR-DRG Risk of Mortality system is a powerful risk-adjustment tool, largely because it includes all relevant diagnoses, regardless of timing. Although some late diagnoses may not be preventable, APR-DRGs appear suitable only if one assumes that none is preventable.

The direct and indirect effects of cost-sharing on the use of preventive services.

Abstract: OBJECTIVE: To test empirically a model for estimating the direct and indirect effects of different forms of cost-sharing on the utilization of recommended clinical preventive services. DATA SOURCES/SETTINGS: Stratified random sample of 10,872 employees, 18-64 years, who had belonged to their plan for at least one year, from seven large companies that were members of the Pacific Business Group on Health (PBGH) in 1994. DATA COLLECTION: The 1994 PBGH Health Plan Value Check Survey. 1994 PBGH data on requirements for employee out-of-pocket patient cost-sharing for 52 different health plans. DESIGN: Five equations were derived to estimate the direct and indirect effects of two forms of cost-sharing (copayments and coinsurance/deductibles) in two forms of managed care (HMOs and PPO/indemnity plans) on four clinical preventive services: mammography screening, cervical cancer screening, blood pressure screening, and preventive counseling. Probit models were used to estimate elasticities for the indirect and direct effects. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Both forms of cost-sharing in both plan types had negative and significant indirect effects on preventive counseling (from -1 percent to -7 percent). The direct effect of cost-sharing was negative for preventive counseling (-5 percent to -9 percent) and Pap smears (from -3 percent to -9 percent) in both HMOs and PPOs, and for mammography only in PPOs (-3 percent to -9 percent). The results of the effects on blood pressure screening are inconclusive. CONCLUSIONS: Both the direct and indirect effects of cost-sharing negatively affected the receipt of preventive counseling in HMOs and PPOs. As predicted, the direct negative effect of cost-sharing was greater than the indirect effect for Pap smears and mammography. Eliminating cost-sharing for these services may be important to increasing their utilization to recommended levels.

The effects of medical group practice and physician payment methods on costs of care.

Abstract: OBJECTIVE: To assess the effects of payment methods on the costs of care in medical group practices. DATA SOURCES: Eighty-six clinics providing services for a Blue Cross managed care program during 1995. The clinics were analyzed to determine the relationship between payment methods and cost of care. Cost and patient data were obtained from Blue Cross records, and medical group practice clinic data were obtained by a survey of those organizations. STUDY DESIGN: The effects of clinic and physician payment methods on per member per year (PMPY) adjusted patient costs are evaluated using a two-stage regression model. Patient costs are adjusted for differences in payment schedules; patient age, gender, and ACG; clinic organizational variables are included as explanatory variables. DATA COLLECTION: Patient cost data were extracted from Blue Cross claims files, and patient and physician data from their enrollee and provider data banks. Medical group practice data were obtained by a mailed survey with telephone follow-up. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Capitation payment is correlated with lower patient care costs. When combined with fee-for-service with withhold provisions, this effect is smaller indicating that these two clinic payment methods are not interchangeable. Clinics with more physician compensation based on measures of resource use or based on some share of the net revenue of the clinic have lower patient care costs than those with more compensation related to productivity or based on salary. Salary compensation is strongly associated with higher costs. The use of physician profiles and clinical guidelines is associated with lower costs, but referral management systems have no such effect. The lower cost clinics are the smaller, multispecialty clinics. CONCLUSIONS: This study indicates that payment methods at both the medical group practice and physician levels influence the cost of care. However, the methods by which that influence is manifest is not clear. Although the organizational structure of clinics and their use of managed care programs appear to play a role, this influence is less than expected.

Community orientation in hospitals: an institutional and resource dependence perspective.

Abstract: OBJECTIVE: To conceptualize community orientation-defined as the generation, dissemination, and use of community health-need intelligence-as a strategic response to environmental pressures, and to test a theoretically justified model of the predictors of community orientation in hospitals. DATA SOURCES: The analysis used data for 4,578 hospitals obtained from the 1994 and 1995 American Hospital Association (AHA) Annual Survey and the 1994 Medicare Hospital Cost Report data sets. Market-level data came from the Area Resource File. STUDY DESIGN: Multiple regression analysis was used to examine the effects of hospital size, dependence on managed care, ownership, network, system and alliance memberships, and level of diffusion of community-orientation practices in the area on the degree of community orientation in hospitals. The model, based on Oliver's (1991) framework of organizational responsiveness to environmental pressures, controlled for the effects of industry concentration and lagged profitability. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Degree of community orientation is significantly related to hospital size; ownership; dependence on managed care; and membership in a network, system, or alliance. It is also significantly related to the diffusion of community-orientation practices among other area hospitals. CONCLUSIONS: Degree of community orientation is influenced by the nature of environmental pressures and by hospital interests. It is higher in hospitals that are large, nonprofit, or members of a network, system, or alliance; in hospitals that are more dependent on managed care; and in hospitals that operate in areas with higher diffusion of community-orientation activities.

The effect of selective contracting on hospital costs and revenues.

Abstract: OBJECTIVE: To examine the effects of selective contracting on California hospital costs and revenues over the 1983-1997 period. DATA SOURCES/STUDY SETTING: Annual disclosure data and discharge data sets for 421 California general acute care hospitals from 1980 to 1997. ANALYSIS: Using measures of competition developed from patient-level discharge data, and financial and utilization measures from the disclosure data, we estimated a fixed effect multivariate regression model of hospital costs and revenues. FINDINGS: We found that hospitals in more competitive areas had a substantially lower rate of increase in both costs and revenues over this extended period of time. For-profit hospitals lowered their costs and revenues after selective contracting was initiated relative to the cost and revenue levels of not-for-profit hospitals. The Medicare PPS has also led high-cost hospitals to lower their costs. CONCLUSIONS: The more competitive the hospital's market, the greater degree to which it has had to lower the rate of increase in costs. A similar pattern exists with regard to hospital revenues. Both of these trends appear to result from the growth of selective contracting. It remains unclear to what extent these cost reductions were the result of increased efficiency or of reduced quality. Since hospital cost growth is sensitive to the competitiveness of its market, antitrust enforcement is a critical element in any cost containment policy.

Mental health parity legislation: much ado about nothing?

Abstract: OBJECTIVE: To determine whether state-level parity legislation has led to an increase in utilization of mental health services. DATA SOURCES: Healthcare For Communities (HCC), a multi-site nationally representative study sponsored by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation that tracks health care system changes for mental health and substance abuse treatment. Information on state-level parity legislation was provided by state offices of the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI); local and state market data come from the Area Resource File; information on other health mandates from Blue Cross/Blue Shield. STUDY DESIGN: Two-stage regressions are used to estimate the effect of state parity legislation on use of any mental health services, use of specialty mental health services, and number of specialty visits in the past year. In the first stage, we predicted the probability that a state decides to pass parity legislation as a function of state health care market indicators and previous legislative activity. The fitted probability is used in the second stage to determine the effect of this legislation on access and utilization. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: State parity legislation is not associated with a significant increase in any of our measures of mental health services utilization. These results are robust to various specifications of the models. CONCLUSIONS: Those states that are able to pass parity legislation do not experience significant increases in the utilization of mental health services. This may be due in part to a loss of coverage for those people most at risk for mental health disorders. The results could be very different, however, if strong federal legislation were passed.

Multiple approaches to assessing the effects of delays for hip fracture patients in the United States and Canada.

Abstract: OBJECTIVE: To examine the determinants of postsurgery length of stay (LOS) and inpatient mortality in the United States (California and Massachusetts) and Canada (Manitoba and Quebec). DATA SOURCES/STUDY SETTING: Patient discharge abstracts from the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research Nationwide Inpatient Sample and from provincial health ministries. STUDY DESIGN: Descriptive statistics by state or province, pooled competing risks hazards models (which control for censoring of LOS and inpatient mortality data), and instrumental variables (which control for confounding in observational data) were used to analyze the effect of wait time for hip fracture surgery on postsurgery outcomes. DATA EXTRACTIONS: Data were extracted for patients admitted to an acute care hospital with a primary diagnosis of hip fracture who received hip fracture surgery, were admitted from home or the emergency room, were age 45 or older, stayed in the hospital 365 days or less, and were not trauma patients. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: The descriptive data indicate that wait times for surgery are longer in the two Canadian provinces than in the two U.S. states. Canadians also have longer postsurgery LOS and higher inpatient mortality. Yet the competing risks hazards model indicates that the effect of wait time on postsurgery LOS is small in magnitude. Instrumental variables analysis reveals that wait time for surgery is not a significant predictor of postsurgery length of stay. The hazards model reveals significant differences in mortality across regions. However, both the regressions and the instrumental variables indicate that these differences are not attributable to wait time for surgery. CONCLUSIONS: Statistical models that account for censoring and confounding yield conclusions that differ from those implied by descriptive statistics in administrative data. Longer wait time for hip fracture surgery does not explain the difference in postsurgery outcomes across countries.

Relationships between in-hospital and 30-day standardized hospital mortality: implications for profiling hospitals.

Abstract: OBJECTIVE: To examine the relationship of in-hospital and 30-day mortality rates and the association between in-hospital mortality and hospital discharge practices. DATA SOURCES/STUDY SETTING: A secondary analysis of data for 13,834 patients with congestive heart failure who were admitted to 30 hospitals in northeast Ohio in 1992-1994. DESIGN: A retrospective cohort study was conducted. DATA COLLECTION: Demographic and clinical data were collected from patients' medical records and were used to develop multivariable models that estimated the risk of in-hospital and 30-day (post-admission) mortality. Standardized mortality ratios (SMRs) for in-hospital and 30-day mortality were determined by dividing observed death rates by predicted death rates. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: In-hospital SMRs ranged from 0.54 to 1.42, and six hospitals were classified as statistical outliers (p <.05); 30-day SMRs ranged from 0.63 to 1.73, and seven hospitals were outliers. Although the correlation between in-hospital SMRs and 30-day SMRs was substantial (R = 0.78, p < .001), outlier status changed for seven of the 30 hospitals. Nonetheless, changes in outlier status reflected relatively small differences between in-hospital and 30-day SMRs. Rates of discharge to nursing homes or other inpatient facilities varied from 5.4 percent to 34.2 percent across hospitals. However, relationships between discharge rates to such facilities and in-hospital SMRs (R = 0.08; p = .65) and early post-discharge mortality rates (R = 0.23; p = .21) were not significant. CONCLUSIONS: SMRs based on in-hospital and 30-day mortality were relatively similar, although classification of hospitals as statistical outliers often differed. However, there was no evidence that in-hospital SMRs were biased by differences in post-discharge mortality or discharge practices.

The health plan choices of retirees under managed competition.

Abstract: OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of price on the health insurance decisions of Medicare-eligible retirees in a managed competition setting. DATA SOURCE: The study is based on four years of administrative data from the University of California (UC) Retiree Health Benefits Program, which closely resembles the managed competition model upon which several leading Medicare reform proposals are based. STUDY DESIGN: A change in UC's premium contribution policy between 1993 and 1994 created a unique natural experiment for investigating the effect of price on retirees' health insurance decisions. This study consists of two related analyses. First, I estimate the effect of changes in out-of-pocket premiums between 1993 and 1994 on the decision to switch plans during open enrollment. Second, using data from 1993 to 1996, I examine the extent to which rising premiums for fee-for-service Medigap coverage increased HMO enrollment among Medicare-eligible UC retirees. PRINCIPLE FINDINGS: Price is a significant factor affecting the health plan decisions of Medicare-eligible UC retirees. However, these retirees are substantially less price sensitive than active UC employees and the non-elderly in other similar programs. This result is likely attributable to higher nonpecuniary switching costs facing older individuals. CONCLUSIONS: Although it is not clear exactly how price sensitive enrollees must be in order to generate price competition among health plans, the behavioral differences between retirees and active employees suggest that caution should be taken in extrapolating from research on the non-elderly to the Medicare program.

The cost of work-related physical assaults in Minnesota.

Abstract: OBJECTIVE: To describe the long-term productivity costs of occupational assaults. DATA SOURCES/STUDY SETTING: All incidents of physical assaults that resulted in indemnity payments, identified from the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry (DLI) Workers' Compensation system in 1992. Medical expenditures were obtained from insurers, and data on lost wages, legal fees, and permanency ratings were collected from DLI records. Insurance administrative expenses were estimated. Lost fringe benefits and household production losses were imputed. STUDY DESIGN: The human capital approach was used to describe the long-term costs of occupational assaults. Economic software was used to apply a modified version of Rice, MacKenzie, and Associates' (1989) model for estimating the present value of past losses from 1992 through 1995 for all cases, and the future losses for cases open in 1996. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: The total costs for 344 nonfatal work-related assaults were estimated at $5,885,448 (1996 dollars). Calculation of injury incidence and average costs per case and per employee identified populations with an elevated risk of assault. An analysis by industry revealed an elevated risk for workers employed in justice and safety (incidence: 198/100,000; $19,251 per case; $38 per employee), social service (incidence: 127/100,000; $24,210 per case; $31 per employee), and health care (incidence: 76/100,000; $13,197 per case; $10 per employee). CONCLUSIONS: Identified subgroups warrant attention for risk factor identification and prevention efforts. Cost estimates can serve as the basis for business calculations on the potential value of risk management interventions.