Hospital-to-Home-Health Transition Quality (H3TQ) Index: Further Evidence on its Validity and Recommendations for Implementation.

BACKGROUND: We developed the Hospital-to-Home-Health Transition Quality (H3TQ) Index for skilled home healthcare (HH) agencies to identify threats to safe, high-quality care transitions in real time. OBJECTIVE: Assess the validity of H3TQ in a large sample across diverse communities. RESEARCH DESIGN: A survey of recently hospitalized older adults referred for skilled HH services and their HH provider at two large HH agencies in Baltimore, MD, and New York, NY. SUBJECTS: There were five hundred eighty-seven participants (309 older adults, 141 informal caregivers, and 137 HH providers). Older adults, caregivers, and HH providers rated 747 unique transitions. Of these, 403 were rated by both the older adult/caregiver and their HH provider, whereas the remaining transitions were rated by either party. MEASURES: Construct, concurrent, and predictive validity were assessed via the overall H3TQ rating, correlation with the care transition measure (CTM), and the Medicare Outcome and Assessment Information Set (OASIS). RESULTS: Proportion of transitions with quality issues as identified by HH providers and older adults/caregivers, respectively; Baltimore 55%, 35%; NYC 43%, 32%. Older adults/caregivers across sites rated their transitions as higher quality than did providers (P<0.05). H3TQ summed scores showed construct validity with the CTM-3 and concurrent validity with OASIS measures. Summed H3TQ scores were not significantly correlated with 30-day ED visits or rehospitalization. CONCLUSIONS: The H3TQ identifies care transition quality issues in real-time and demonstrated construct and concurrent validity, but not predictive validity. Findings demonstrate value in collecting multiple perspectives to evaluate care transition quality. Implementing the H3TQ could help identify transition-quality intervention opportunities for HH patients.

A Pandemic of Misinformation: Understanding Influences on Beliefs in Health and Conspiracy Myths.

BACKGROUND: Personal characteristics may be associated with believing misinformation and not believing in best practices to protect oneself from COVID-19. OBJECTIVE: To examine the associations of a person's age, race/ethnicity, education, residence, health literacy, medical mistrust level, and sources of health-related information with their COVID-19 health and conspiracy myth beliefs. DESIGN: We surveyed adults with hypertension in Maryland and Pennsylvania between August 2020 and March 2021. Incorrect responses were summed for eight health (mean = 0.68; range 0-5) and two conspiracy (mean = 0.92; range 0-2) COVID-19 questions. Higher scores indicated more incorrect responses. Statistical analyses included two-sample t-tests, Spearman's correlation, and log binomial regression. PARTICIPANTS: In total, 561 primary care patients (mean age = 62.3 years, 60.2% female, 46.0% Black, 10.2% Hispanic, 28.2% with a Bachelor's degree or higher, 42.8% with annual household income less than $60,000) with a diagnosis of hypertension and at least one of five commonly associated conditions. MAIN MEASURES: Sociodemographic characteristics, health literacy, medical mistrust level, source of health-related information, and COVID-19 conspiracy and health myth beliefs. KEY RESULTS: In multivariable analyses, participants who did not get information from medical professional sources (prevalence ratio (PR) = 1.28; 95% CI = 1.06-1.55), had less than a bachelor's degree (PR = 1.49; 95% CI = 1.12-1.99), were less confident filling out medical forms (PR = 1.24; 95% CI = 1.02-1.50), and had higher medical mistrust (PR = 1.34; 95% CI = 1.05-1.69) were more likely to believe any health myths. Participants who had less than a bachelor's degree (PR = 1.22; 95% CI = 1.02-1.45), were less confident filling out medical forms (PR = 1.21; 95% CI = 1.09-1.34), and had higher medical mistrust (PR = 1.72; 95% CI = 1.43-2.06) were more likely to believe any conspiracy myths. CONCLUSIONS: Lower educational attainment and health literacy, greater medical mistrust, and certain sources of health information are associated with misinformed COVID-19 beliefs. Programs addressing misinformation should focus on groups affected by these social determinants of health by encouraging reliance on scientific sources.

A Survey of PICU Clinician Practices and Perceptions regarding Respiratory Cultures in the Evaluation of Ventilator-Associated Infections in the BrighT STAR Collaborative.

OBJECTIVES: To characterize respiratory culture practices for mechanically ventilated patients, and to identify drivers of culture use and potential barriers to changing practices across PICUs. DESIGN: Cross-sectional survey conducted May 2021-January 2022. SETTING: Sixteen academic pediatric hospitals across the United States participating in the BrighT STAR Collaborative. SUBJECTS: Pediatric critical care medicine physicians, advanced practice providers, respiratory therapists, and nurses. INTERVENTIONS: None. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: We summarized the proportion of positive responses for each question within a hospital and calculated the median proportion and IQR across hospitals. We correlated responses with culture rates and compared responses by role. Sixteen invited institutions participated (100%). Five hundred sixty-eight of 1,301 (44%) e-mailed individuals completed the survey (median hospital response rate 60%). Saline lavage was common, but no PICUs had a standardized approach. There was the highest variability in perceived likelihood (median, IQR) to obtain cultures for isolated fever (49%, 38-61%), isolated laboratory changes (49%, 38-57%), fever and laboratory changes without respiratory symptoms (68%, 54-79%), isolated change in secretion characteristics (67%, 54-78%), and isolated increased secretions (55%, 40-65%). Respiratory cultures were likely to be obtained as a "pan culture" (75%, 70-86%). There was a significant correlation between higher culture rates and likelihood to obtain cultures for isolated fever, persistent fever, isolated hypotension, fever, and laboratory changes without respiratory symptoms, and "pan cultures." Respondents across hospitals would find clinical decision support (CDS) helpful (79%) and thought that CDS would help align ICU and/or consulting teams (82%). Anticipated barriers to change included reluctance to change (70%), opinion of consultants (64%), and concern for missing a diagnosis of ventilator-associated infections (62%). CONCLUSIONS: Respiratory culture collection and ordering practices were inconsistent, revealing opportunities for diagnostic stewardship. CDS would be generally well received; however, anticipated conceptual and psychologic barriers to change must be considered.

Evaluating Effects of Multilevel Interventions on Disparity in Health and Healthcare Decisions.

In this paper, we introduce an analytic approach for assessing effects of multilevel interventions on disparity in health outcomes and health-related decision outcomes (i.e., a treatment decision made by a healthcare provider). We outline common challenges that are encountered in interventional health disparity research, including issues of effect scale and interpretation, choice of covariates for adjustment and its impact on effect magnitude, and the methodological challenges involved with studying decision-based outcomes. To address these challenges, we introduce total effects of interventions on disparity for the entire sample and the treated sample, and corresponding direct effects that are relevant for decision-based outcomes. We provide weighting and g-computation estimators in the presence of study attrition and sketch a simulation-based procedure for sample size determinations based on precision (e.g., confidence interval width). We validate our proposed methods through a brief simulation study and apply our approach to evaluate the RICH LIFE intervention, a multilevel healthcare intervention designed to reduce racial and ethnic disparities in hypertension control.

Engaging Payors and Primary Care Physicians Together in Improving Diabetes Prevention.

BACKGROUND: Type 2 diabetes can be prevented through lifestyle programs like the Diabetes Prevention Programs (DPP), but few people with prediabetes participate in them, in part because their insurance does not reliably cover DPPs. Prior studies have not focused on payor-level barriers. OBJECTIVE: To understand barriers to DPP uptake that exist and intersect at different levels (patients, PCPs, and payors) to inform strategies to improve diabetes prevention in primary care settings through interviews with PCPs and payors. DESIGN: From May 2020 to October 2021, we conducted remote, semi-structured interviews with PCPs and payors. PARTICIPANTS: PCPs were from primary care practices affiliated with one mid-Atlantic academic system. Payor leaders were from regional commercial, Medicare, and Medicaid plans. APPROACH: Using a standardized interview guide focused on barriers, facilitators, and potential intervention components, interviews were audio-recorded using Zoom and professionally transcribed. Two reviewers double-coded transcripts using the framework analytic approach. KEY RESULTS: We interviewed 16 PCPs from 13 primary care clinics and 7 payor leaders representing 6 insurance plans. Two themes emerged from PCP reports of patient-level barriers: (1) lack of programs and insurance coverage of resources to address nutrition and exercise and (2) inadequate resources to address social determinants of health that impact diabetes prevention. Among barriers PCPs faced, we identified two themes: (1) low PCP knowledge about DPPs and misperceptions of insurance coverage of DPPs and (2) inadequate clinical staff to address diabetes prevention. Barriers common to PCPs and payors included (1) absence of prediabetes quality measures and (2) inadequate engagement of PCPs and patients with payors. CONCLUSIONS: Discussions with PCPs and payors revealed systemic barriers that suggest important priorities to improve prediabetes clinical care, including universal coverage of DPPs, clarity about coverage benefits, data reporting and outreach by payors to PCPs, and adoption of appropriate prediabetes quality measures.

Outpatient visits before and after Lyme disease diagnosis in a Maryland employer-based health plan.

BACKGROUND: Insurance claims data have been used to inform an understanding of Lyme disease epidemiology and cost of care, however few such studies have incorporated post-treatment symptoms following diagnosis. Using longitudinal data from a private, employer-based health plan in an endemic US state, we compared outpatient care utilization pre- and post-Lyme disease diagnosis. We hypothesized that utilization would be higher in the post-diagnosis period, and that temporal trends would differ by age and gender. METHODS: Members with Lyme disease were required to have both a corresponding ICD-9 code and a fill of an antibiotic indicated for treatment of the infection within 30 days of diagnosis. A 2-year 'pre- diagnosis' period and a 2-year 'post-diagnosis period' were centered around the diagnosis month. Lyme disease-relevant outpatient care visits were defined as specific primary care, specialty care, or urgent care visits. Descriptive statistics examined visits during these pre- and post-diagnosis periods, and the association between these periods and the number of visits was explored using generalized linear mixed effects models adjusting for age, season of the year, and gender. RESULTS: The rate of outpatient visits increased 26% from the pre to the post-Lyme disease diagnosis periods among our 317-member sample (rate ratio = 1.26 [1.18, 1.36], p < 0.001). Descriptively, care utilization increases appeared to persist across months in the post-diagnosis period. Women's care utilization increased by 36% (1.36 [1.24, 1.50], p < 0.001), a significantly higher increase than the 14% increase found among men (1.14 [1.02, 1.27], p = 0.017). This gender difference was mainly driven by adult members. We found a borderline significant 17% increase in visits for children < 18 years, (1.17 [0.99, 1.38], p = 0.068), and a 31% increase for adults ≥ 18 years (1.31 [1.21, 1.42], p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Although modest at the population level, the statistically significant increases in post-Lyme diagnosis outpatient care we observed were persistent and unevenly distributed across demographic and place of service categories. As Lyme disease cases continue to grow, so will the cumulative prevalence of persistent symptoms after treatment. Therefore, it will be important to confirm these findings and understand their significance for care utilization and cost, particularly against the backdrop of other post-acute infectious syndromes.

Service Utilization for Parent Management of Early Childhood Behavior Problems in a Private Outpatient Behavioral Clinic: The Impact of Out-of-Pocket Cost, Travel Distance, and Initial Treatment Progress.

Poorly-managed early childhood disruptive behavior disorders (DBDs) have costly psychological and societal burdens. While parent management training (PMT) is recommended to effectively manage DBDs, appointment adherence is poor. Past studies on influential factors of PMT appointment adherence focused on parental factors. Less well studied are social drivers relative to early treatment gains. This study investigated how financial and time cost relative to early gains influence PMT appointment adherence for early childhood DBDs in a clinic of a large behavioral health pediatric hospital from 2016 to 2018. Using information obtained from the clinic's data repository, claims records, public census and geospatial data, we assessed how owed unpaid charges, travel distance from home to clinic, and initial behavioral progress influences total and consistent attendance of appointments for commercially- and publicly-insured (Medicaid and Tricare) patients, controlling for demographic, service, and clinical differences. We further assessed how social deprivation interacted with unpaid charges to influence appointment adherence for commercially-insured patients. Commercially-insured patients had poorer appointment adherence with longer travel distances, or having unpaid charges and greater social deprivation; they also attended fewer total appointments with faster behavioral progress. Comparatively, publicly-insured patients were not affected by travel distance and had higher consistent attendance with faster behavioral progress. Longer travel distance and difficulty paying service costs while living in greater social deprivation are barriers to care for commercially-insured patients. Targeted intervention may be needed for this specific subgroup to attend and stay engaged in treatment.

Clinical Care Among Individuals with Prediabetes in Primary Care: a Retrospective Cohort Study.

BACKGROUND: The incidence of diabetes in the general US population (6.7 per 1000 adults in 2018) has not changed significantly since 2000, suggesting that individuals with prediabetes are not connecting to evidence-based interventions. OBJECTIVE: We sought to describe the clinical care of individuals with prediabetes, determine patient factors associated with this care, and evaluate risk for diabetes development. DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study using linked claims and electronic health record data. PARTICIPANTS: We created a cohort of adults with prediabetes based on laboratory measures. We excluded patients with a prior history of diabetes, pregnancy in prior 6 months, or recent steroid use. MAIN MEASURES: We measured ordering and completion of clinical services targeting prediabetes management and diabetes incidence within 12 months following cohort entry. We tested the strength of the association between individuals' characteristics and outcomes of interest using bivariate and multiple logistic regression. RESULTS: Our cohort included 3888 patients with a laboratory diagnosis of prediabetes (incident or prevalent prediabetes). Within 12 months, 63.4% had repeat glycemic testing, yet only 10.4% had coded diagnoses of prediabetes, 1.0% were referred for nutrition services, and 5.4% were prescribed metformin. Most patients completed labs and nutrition visits when referred and filled metformin when prescribed. Individuals with a higher glycemic level or BMI were more likely to receive prediabetes clinical care. Six percent of individuals developed diabetes within 12 months of cohort entry and had higher glycemic levels and BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2. In the adjusted model, Black individuals had 1.4 times higher odds of developing diabetes than White individuals. CONCLUSIONS: Rates of prediabetes clinical care activities are low and have not improved. Strategies are urgently needed to improve prediabetes care delivery thereby preventing or delaying incident diabetes.

Scaling Interventions to Manage Chronic Disease: Innovative Methods at the Intersection of Health Policy Research and Implementation Science.

Policy implementation is a key component of scaling effective chronic disease prevention and management interventions. Policy can support scale-up by mandating or incentivizing intervention adoption, but enacting a policy is only the first step. Fully implementing a policy designed to facilitate implementation of health interventions often requires a range of accompanying implementation structures, like health IT systems, and implementation strategies, like training. Decision makers need to know what policies can support intervention adoption and how to implement those policies, but to date research on policy implementation is limited and innovative methodological approaches are needed. In December 2021, the Johns Hopkins ALACRITY Center for Health and Longevity in Mental Illness and the Johns Hopkins Center for Mental Health and Addiction Policy convened a forum of research experts to discuss approaches for studying policy implementation. In this report, we summarize the ideas that came out of the forum. First, we describe a motivating example focused on an Affordable Care Act Medicaid health home waiver policy used by some US states to support scale-up of an evidence-based integrated care model shown in clinical trials to improve cardiovascular care for people with serious mental illness. Second, we define key policy implementation components including structures, strategies, and outcomes. Third, we provide an overview of descriptive, predictive and associational, and causal approaches that can be used to study policy implementation. We conclude with discussion of priorities for methodological innovations in policy implementation research, with three key areas identified by forum experts: effect modification methods for making causal inferences about how policies' effects on outcomes vary based on implementation structures/strategies; causal mediation approaches for studying policy implementation mechanisms; and characterizing uncertainty in systems science models. We conclude with discussion of overarching methods considerations for studying policy implementation, including measurement of policy implementation, strategies for studying the role of context in policy implementation, and the importance of considering when establishing causality is the goal of policy implementation research.

A double-edged sword: The effects of social network ties on job satisfaction in primary care organizations.

BACKGROUND: Social ties between health care workers may be an important driver of job satisfaction; however, research on this topic is limited. PURPOSE: We used social network methods to collect data describing two types of social ties, (a) instrumental ties (i.e., exchange of advice that enables work) and (b) expressive ties (i.e., exchange of social support), and related those ties to workers' job satisfaction. METHODOLOGY: We surveyed 456 clinicians and staff at 23 primary care practices about their social networks and workplace attitudes. We used multivariable linear regression to estimate the relationship between an individual's job satisfaction and two network properties: (a) eigenvector centrality (a measure of the importance of an individual in a network) and (b) ego network density (a measure of the cohesiveness of an individual's network). We examined this relationship for both instrumental and expressive ties. RESULTS: Individuals who were more central in the expressive network were less satisfied in their job, b = -0.40 (0.19), p < .05, whereas individuals who had denser instrumental networks were more satisfied in their job, b = 0.49 (0.21), p < .05. CONCLUSION: Workplace relationships affect worker well-being. Centrality in an expressive network may require greater emotional labor, increasing workers' risk for job dissatisfaction. On the other hand, a dense instrumental network may promote job satisfaction by strengthening workers' access to full information, supporting competence and confidence. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: Efforts to increase job satisfaction should consider both the positive and negative effects of social networks on workers' sense of well-being.

Outcomes Accountability Systems for Early Childhood Disruptive Behaviors: A Scoping Review of Availability.

Early childhood disruptive behaviors are common mental health problems among American youth, and if poorly-managed, pose costly psychological and societal burdens. Outcomes accountability systems in clinical practice are vital opportunities to optimize early intervention for common mental health problems; however, such systems seem rare. A scoping review was conducted to summarize the current availability of outcomes accountability systems in clinical programs addressing early childhood disruptive behaviors, particularly in the US. We used PsycINFO to identify peer-reviewed literature published in English from 2005 to 2021, from which we selected 23 publications from the US, UK, and Netherlands on outcomes accountability systems within clinical programs treating common childhood mental health problems. Only 3 out of 23 publications described outcomes accountability efforts specifically for early childhood problems. Within the 3 studies, only one UK-based study specifically targeted early childhood disruptive behaviors. We did not find publications specifically describing outcomes accountability efforts in US-based clinical programs to treat early childhood disruptive behaviors. There are multi-level challenges preventing changes to the prevalent US model of paying a fee for each unit of child mental healthcare, with little regard for patient outcomes. However, opportunities exist to improve US-based accountability efforts; from top-down expansion of financial incentives, accountability initiatives, and PDT evidence-based practices to an iterative, bottom-up development of meaningful outcomes measurement by providers. Greater adoption of outcomes monitoring in US clinical practice for common mental health problems can optimize management of early childhood disruptive behaviors and mitigate long-term societal and economic burdens.

The RICH LIFE Project: A cluster randomized pragmatic trial comparing the effectiveness of health system only vs. health system Plus a collaborative/stepped care intervention to reduce hypertension disparities.

Disparities in the control of hypertension and other cardiovascular disease risk factors are well-documented in the United States, even among patients seen regularly in the healthcare system. Few existing approaches explicitly address disparities in hypertension care and control. This paper describes the RICH LIFE Project (Reducing Inequities in Care of Hypertension: Lifestyle Improvement for Everyone) design. METHODS: RICH LIFE is a two-arm, cluster-randomized trial, comparing the effectiveness of enhanced standard of care, "Standard of Care Plus" (SCP), to a multi-level intervention, "Collaborative Care/Stepped Care" (CC/SC), for improving blood pressure (BP) control and patient activation and reducing disparities in BP control among 1890 adults with uncontrolled hypertension and at least one other cardiovascular disease risk factor treated at 30 primary care practices in Maryland and Pennsylvania. Fifteen practices randomized to the SCP arm receive standardized BP measurement training; race/ethnicity-specific audit and feedback of BP control rates; and quarterly webinars in management practices, quality improvement and disparities reduction. Fifteen practices in the CC/SC arm receive the SCP interventions plus implementation of the collaborative care model with stepped-care components (community health worker referrals and virtual specialist-panel consults). The primary clinical outcome is BP control (<140/90 mm Hg) at 12 months. The primary patient-reported outcome is change from baseline in self-reported patient activation at 12 months. DISCUSSION: This study will provide knowledge about the feasibility of leveraging existing resources in routine primary care and potential benefits of adding supportive community-facing roles to improve hypertension care and reduce disparities. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Clinicaltrials.govNCT02674464.

The association between organizational cultural competence and teamwork climate in a network of primary care practices.

BACKGROUND: A health system's commitment to delivering culturally competent care is essential in creating a culture of respect for patients, clinicians, and administrative staff. As the diversity of the health care workforce grows, gaining an understanding of the perspectives among different health care personnel and the value that they place on organizational cultural competence is a first step in developing more effective team environments. PURPOSE: The aim of the study was to determine whether an association exists between perceptions of organizational cultural competence and teamwork climate among employees in a health system. METHODOLOGY/APPROACH: One thousand eighty employees in a primary care network consisting of 49 ambulatory practices were surveyed on their perceptions of senior management's efforts in organizational cultural competence and teamwork climate in their own work setting using 5-point Likert scales. Linear regression models were used to evaluate the association between organizational cultural competence and teamwork climate. RESULTS: The overall organizational response rate for the survey was 84%. Higher perception of organizational cultural competence was associated with better teamwork climate (coef. = 0.4, p <0.001) after adjusting for gender, age, years in specialty, race, and position type. The association was stronger in magnitude for support staff compared to administrators and clinicians and stronger for younger compared to older age groups. CONCLUSIONS: Higher employee perceptions of organizational cultural competence are associated with better self-reported teamwork climate, and this relationship is magnified for support staff and younger employees. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: Senior leaders of health systems should consider investment in cultural competence as a contributor toward team effectiveness. Specifically, organizations may help support cultural competence by committing resources to the following: developing a comprehensive plan that addresses patients' cultural needs, recruiting and retaining a diverse staff and leadership, collaborating with the community, recognizing and rewarding care that meets patients' cultural needs, and providing adequate diversity training.

Care Coordination and Population Health Management Strategies and Challenges in a Behavioral Health Home Model.

OBJECTIVES: Behavioral health home (BHH) models have been developed to integrate physical and mental health care and address medical comorbidities for individuals with serious mental illnesses. Previous studies identified population health management capacity and coordination with primary care providers as key barriers to BHH implementation. This study examines the BHH leaders' perceptions of and organizational capacity to conduct these functions within the community mental health programs implementing BHHs in Maryland. METHODS: Interviews and surveys were conducted with 72 implementation leaders and 627 front-line staff from 46 of 48 Maryland BHH programs. In-depth coding of the population health management and primary care coordination themes identified subthemes related to these topics. RESULTS: BHH staff described cultures supportive of evidence-based practices, but limited ability to effectively perform population health management or primary care coordination. Tension between population health management and direct, clinical care, lack of experience, and state regulations for service delivery were identified as key challenges for population health management. Engaging primary care providers was the primary barrier to care coordination. Health information technology and staffing were barriers to both functions. CONCLUSIONS: BHHs face a number of barriers to effective implementation of core program elements. To improve programs' ability to conduct effective population health management and care coordination and meaningfully impact health outcomes for individuals with serious mental illness, multiple strategies are needed, including formalized protocols, training for staff, changes to financing mechanisms, and health information technology improvements.

National Survey of Primary Care Physicians' Knowledge, Practices, and Perceptions of Prediabetes.

BACKGROUND: Despite strong evidence and national policy supporting type 2 diabetes prevention, little is known about type 2 diabetes prevention in the primary care setting. OBJECTIVE: Our objective was to assess primary care physicians' knowledge and practice regarding perceived barriers and potential interventions to improving management of prediabetes. DESIGN: Cross-sectional mailed survey. PARTICIPANTS: Nationally representative random sample of US primary care physicians (PCPs) identified from the American Medical Association Physician Masterfile. MAIN MEASURES: We assessed PCP knowledge, practice behaviors, and perceptions related to prediabetes. We performed chi-square and Fisher's exact tests to evaluate the association between PCP characteristics and the main survey outcomes. KEY RESULTS: In total, 298 (33%) eligible participants returned the survey. PCPs had limited knowledge of risk factors for prediabetes screening, laboratory diagnostic criteria for prediabetes, and management recommendations for patients with prediabetes. Only 36% of PCPs refer patients to a diabetes prevention lifestyle change program as their initial management approach, while 43% discuss starting metformin for prediabetes. PCPs believed that barriers to type 2 diabetes prevention are both at the individual level (e.g., patients' lack of motivation) and at the system level (e.g., lack of weight loss resources). PCPs reported that increased access to and insurance coverage of type 2 diabetes prevention programs and coordination of referral of patients to these resources would facilitate type 2 diabetes preventive efforts. CONCLUSIONS: Addressing gaps in PCP knowledge may improve the identification and management of people with prediabetes, but system-level changes are necessary to support type 2 diabetes prevention in the primary care setting.

Incidence of Lyme Disease Diagnosis in a Maryland Medicaid Population, 2004-2011.

The epidemiology of Lyme disease has been examined utilizing insurance claims from privately insured individuals; however, it is unknown whether reported patterns vary among the publicly insured. We examined trends in incidence rates of first Lyme disease diagnosis among 384,652 Maryland Medicaid recipients enrolled from July 2004 to June 2011. Age-, sex-, county-, season-, and year-specific incidence rates were calculated, and mixed-effects multiple logistic regression models were used to study the relationship between Lyme disease diagnosis and these variables. The incidence rate in our sample was 97.65 cases per 100,000 person-years (95% confidence interval (CI): 91.53, 104.06), and there was a 13% average annual increase in the odds of a Lyme disease diagnosis (odds ratio = 1.13, 95% CI: 1.09, 1.17; P < 0.001). Incidence rates for males and females were not significantly different, though males were significantly more likely to be diagnosed during high-season months (relative risk (RR) = 1.24, 95% CI: 1.06, 1.44) and less likely to be diagnosed during low-season months (RR = 0.63, 95% CI: 0.46, 0.87) than females. Additionally, adults were significantly more likely than children to be diagnosed during low-season months (RR = 1.59, 95% CI: 1.19, 2.12). While relatively rare in this study sample, Lyme disease diagnoses do occur in a Medicaid population in a Lyme-endemic state.

Maryland Multipayor Patient-centered Medical Home Program: A 4-Year Quasiexperimental Evaluation of Quality, Utilization, Patient Satisfaction, and Provider Perceptions.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate impact of the Maryland Multipayor Patient-centered Medical Home Program (MMPP) on: (1) quality, utilization, and costs of care; (2) beneficiaries' experiences and satisfaction with care; and (3) perceptions of providers. DESIGN: 4-year quasiexperimental design with a difference-in-differences analytic approach to compare changes in outcomes between MMPP practices and propensity score-matched comparisons; pre-post design for patient-reported outcomes among MMPP beneficiaries. SUBJECTS: Beneficiaries (Medicaid-insured and privately insured) and providers in 52 MMPP practices and 104 matched comparisons in Maryland. INTERVENTION: Participating practices received unconditional financial support and coaching to facilitate functioning as medical homes, membership in a learning collaborative to promote education and dissemination of best practices, and performance-based payments. MEASURES: Sixteen quality, 20 utilization, and 13 cost measures from administrative data; patient-reported outcomes on care delivery, trust in provider, access to care, and chronic illness management; and provider perceptions of team operation, team culture, satisfaction with care provided, and patient-centered medical home transformation. RESULTS: The MMPP had mixed impact on site-level quality and utilization measures. Participation was significantly associated with lower inpatient and outpatient payments in the first year among privately insured beneficiaries, and for the entire duration among Medicaid beneficiaries. There was indication that MMPP practices shifted responsibility for certain administrative tasks from clinicians to medical assistants or care managers. The program had limited effect on measures of patient satisfaction (although response rates were low) and on provider perceptions. CONCLUSIONS: The MMPP demonstrated mixed results of its impact and indicated differential program effects for privately insured and Medicaid beneficiaries.

Care Management to Reduce Disparities and Control Hypertension in Primary Care: A Cost-effectiveness Analysis.

BACKGROUND: Project ReD CHiP (reducing disparities and controlling hypertension in primary care) care management was a clinic-based intervention that aimed to improve blood pressure control through improved care coordination and provide self-management support to patients from racially and socioeconomically. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the cost-effectiveness of ReD CHiP care management versus standard care to treat hypertension in diverse communities. RESEARCH DESIGN: Microsimulation model from a health care sector perspective over 15 years. We used the published literature to inform our model including the ReD CHiP trial and the age-specific and race-specific cardiovascular disease risk equations. Deterministic and probabilistic sensitivity analyses were conducted to assess the uncertainty. SUBJECTS: Primary prevention in a racially diverse setting. MEASURES: Costs per quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) to produce an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER). RESULTS: ReD CHiP had an increase of $2114 and 0.04 QALYs. The ICER was $52,850/QALY. Predominately African American (ICER: $48,250/QALY) and elderly populations (ie, age 65+) derived value from ReD CHiP (ICER: $39,525/QALY). The value of ReD CHiP varied with changes in the reduction in systolic blood pressure (5 mm Hg reduction, ICER: $133,300/QALY; 15 mm Hg reduction, ICER: $18,767/QALY). Probabilistic sensitivity analysis indicated that ReD CHiP CM was cost-effective in over 90% of simulations, based on a willingness-to-pay of $100,000/QALY. CONCLUSIONS: ReD CHiP care management is cost-effective to prevent negative consequences of hypertension. African American and elderly patients have more favorable ICERs, recommending targeted interventions to improve health equity among vulnerable patient populations.