Optimal Design of Population-Level Financial Incentives of Influenza Vaccination for the Elderly.

OBJECTIVES: To identify how monetary incentives affect influenza vaccination uptake rate using a randomized control experiment and to subsequently design an optimal incentive program in Singapore, a high-income country with a market-based healthcare system. METHODS: 4000 people aged ≥65 were randomly assigned to 4 treatment groups (1000 each) and were offered a monetary incentive (in shopping vouchers) if they chose to participate. The baseline group was invited to complete a questionnaire with incentives of 10 Singapore dollars (SGD; where 1 SGD ≈ 0.73 USD), whereas the other three groups were invited to complete the questionnaire and be vaccinated against influenza at their own cost of around 32 SGD, in return for incentives of 10, 20, or 30 SGD. RESULTS: Increasing the total incentive for vaccination and reporting from 10 to 20 SGD increased participation in vaccination from 4.5% to 7.5% (P < .001). Increasing the total incentive from 20 to 30 SGD increased the participation rate to 9.2%, but this was not statistically significantly different from a 20-SGD incentive. The group of nonworking elderly were more sensitive to changes in incentives than those who worked. In addition to working status, the effects of increasing incentives on influenza vaccination rates differed by ethnicity, socio-economic status, household size, and a measure of social resilience. There were no significant differential effects by age group, gender, or education, however. The cost of the program per completed vaccination under a 20-SGD incentive is 36.80 SGD, which was the lowest among the three intervention arms. For a hypothetical population-level financial incentive program to promote influenza vaccination among the elderly, accounting for transmission dynamics, an incentive between 10 and 20 SGD minimizes the cost per completed vaccination from both governmental and health system perspectives. CONCLUSIONS: Appropriate monetary incentives can boost influenza vaccination rates. Increasing monetary incentives for vaccination from 10 to 20 SGD can improve the influenza vaccination uptake rate, but further increasing the monetary incentive to 30 SGD results in no additional gains. A partial incentive may therefore be considered to improve vaccination coverage in this high-risk group.

The Australian National Aged Care Classification (AN-ACC): a new casemix classification for residential aged care.

OBJECTIVE: To develop a casemix classification to underpin a new funding model for residential aged care in Australia. DESIGN, SETTING: Cross-sectional study of resident characteristics in thirty non-government residential aged care facilities in Melbourne, the Hunter region of New South Wales, and northern Queensland, March 2018 - June 2018. PARTICIPANTS: 1877 aged care residents and 1600 residential aged care staff. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The Australian National Aged Care Classification (AN-ACC), a casemix classification for residential aged care based on the attributes of aged care residents that best predict their need for care: frailty, mobility, motor function, cognition, behaviour, and technical nursing needs. RESULTS: The AN-ACC comprises 13 aged care resident classes reflecting differences in resource use. Apart from the class that included palliative care patients, the primary branches were defined by the capacity for mobility; further classification is based on physical capacity, cognitive function, mental health problems, and behaviour. The statistical performance of the AN-ACC was good, as measured by the reduction in variation statistic (RIV; 0.52) and class-specific coefficients of variation. The statistical performance and clinical acceptability of AN-ACC compare favourably with overseas casemix models, and it is better than the current Australian aged care funding model, the Aged Care Funding Instrument (64 classes; RIV, 0.20). CONCLUSIONS: The care burden associated with frailty, mobility, function, cognition, behaviour and technical nursing needs drives residential aged care resource use. The AN-ACC is sufficiently robust for estimating the funding and staffing requirements of residential aged care facilities in Australia.

Febrile neutropenia-related care and associated costs in elderly patients with breast cancer, lung cancer, or non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

PURPOSE: Limited information is available regarding elderly patients experiencing febrile neutropenia (FN). This study evaluated FN-related care among elderly cancer patients who received high/intermediate FN-risk chemotherapy and experienced ≥ 1 FN episodes. METHODS: We used Medicare data to identify patients aged ≥ 66 years who initiated high/intermediate FN-risk chemotherapy between 1 January 2008 and 31 August 2015 to treat breast cancer (BC), lung cancer (LC), or non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) and had ≥ 1 FN episodes. We identified within-cycle FN episodes for each chemotherapy cycle on Part A inpatient claims or outpatient or Part B claims. We described the FN-related care setting (inpatient hospital, outpatient emergency department [ED], or outpatient non-ED) and reported mean total cost of FN-related care per episode overall and by care setting (adjusted to 2015 US$). RESULTS: We identified 2138, 3521, and 2862 patients with BC, LC, and NHL, respectively, with ≥ 1 FN episodes (total episodes: 2407, 3840, 3587, respectively). Most FN episodes required inpatient care (BC, 88.1%; LC, 93.0%; NHL, 93.2%) with mean hospital length of stay (LOS) 6.2, 6.5, and 6.8 days, respectively. Intensive care unit admission was required for 20.4% of BC, 29.0% of LC, and 25.7% of NHL hospitalizations (mean LOS: 4.7, 4.7, 5.5 days, respectively). The mean total cost of FN care per episode was $11,959 BC, $14,388 LC, and $15,006 NHL, with inpatient admission the costliest care component ($11,826; $14,294; and $14,873; respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Among elderly patients with BC, LC, or NHL who experienced FN, most FN episodes required costly hospital care, highlighting the FN burden on healthcare systems.

Medicare Spending and the Adequacy of Support With Daily Activities in Community-Living Older Adults With Disability: An Observational Study.

Background: Identifying factors that affect variation in health care spending among older adults with disability may reveal opportunities to better address their care needs while offsetting excess spending. Objective: To quantify differences in total Medicare spending among older adults with disability by whether they experience negative consequences due to inadequate support with household activities, mobility, or self-care. Design: Observational study of in-person interviews and linked Medicare claims. Setting: United States, 2015. Participants: 3716 community-living older adults who participated in the 2015 NHATS (National Health and Aging Trends Study) and survived for 12 months. Measurements: Total Medicare spending by spending quartile in multivariable regression models that adjusted for individual characteristics. Results: Negative consequences were experienced by 18.3% of participants with disability in household activities, 25.6% with mobility disability, and 20.0% with self-care disability. Median Medicare spending was higher for those who experienced negative consequences due to household ($4866 vs. $4095), mobility ($7266 vs. $4115), and self-care ($10 935 vs. $4436) disability versus those who did not. In regression-adjusted analyses, median spending did not differ appreciably for participants who experienced negative consequences in household activities ($338 [95% CI, -$768 to $1444]), but was higher for those with mobility ($2309 [CI, $208 to $4409]) and self-care ($3187 [CI, $432 to $5942]) disability. In the bottom-spending quartile, differences were observed for self-care only ($1460 [CI, $358 to $2561]). No differences were observed in the top quartile. Limitation: This observational study could not establish causality. Conclusion: Inadequate support for mobility and self-care is associated with higher Medicare spending, especially in the middle and lower ends of the spending distribution. Better support for the care needs of older adults with disability could offset some Medicare spending. Primary Funding Source: The Commonwealth Fund.

Return on Investment of the Primary Health Care Integrated Geriatric Services Initiative Implementation.

BACKGROUND: Since June 2017, the Primary Health Care Integrated Geriatric Services Initiative (PHC IGSI) has been implemented in Alberta, Canada to, among other aims, reduce costs of unplanned health service utilization while maximizing the utilization of available community resources to support people living with dementia living in communities. AIM OF THE STUDY: We performed an economic evaluation of this initiative to inform policy regarding sustainability, scale up and spread. METHODS: We used a cohort design together with a difference-in-difference approach and a propensity score matching technique to calculate impacts of the intervention on patient's health service utilization, including inpatient, outpatient and physician services, as well as prescription drugs. We then used a decision tree to compare between benefits and costs of the intervention and reported net benefits (NB) and return on investment ratios (ROI). We used a health system perspective and a time horizon of 1 year. Both deterministic and probabilistic sensitivity analyses were performed for the uncertainty of parameters. We analyzed real-world data extracted from the Alberta Health Administrative Databases. All costs/savings were inflated to 2019 CAD (CAD 1 \sim = USD 0.75) using the Canadian Consumer Price Index. RESULTS: The intervention reduced the use of hospital (inpatient, emergency, and outpatient) services by increasing the use of community services (physician and prescription drug). As hospital services are expensive, the PHC IGSI community intervention resulted in a NB from CAD 554 to 4,046 per patient-year for the health system, and a ROI from 1.3 to 3.1 meaning that every CAD invested in PHC IGSI would bring CAD 1.3 to 3.1 in return. The probability of PHC IGSI to be cost-saving was 56.4% to 69.3%. IMPLICATIONS FOR HEALTH CARE PROVISION AND USE: The PHC IGSI is cost-effective in Alberta. IMPLICATIONS FOR HEALTH POLICY: The savings would be larger if the initiative is sustained, scaled up and spread because of not only a reduced cost of intervention in the sustainability phase, but also because of the increased number of patients that would be impacted. IMPLICATIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH: Future studies taking a societal perspective to also include costs for families and health and social sectors at the community level, would be desirable. Additionally, future works to determine how wellbeing is impacted by the PHC IGSI as vertical and horizontal integration interventions are implemented at the community level, are essential to undertake. Finally, in addition to people living with dementia, the PHC IGSI also supports people living in the community with frailty and other geriatric syndromes, therefore, the cost-savings estimated in this study are likely underestimated.

Innovating Long-Term Care Provision in Mediterranean Welfare States: A Comparison Between Italy and Israel.

Social innovations in long-term care (LTC) may be useful in more effective responses to the challenges of population aging for Western societies. One of the most investigated aspects in this regard is the role of family/informal care and strategies to improve its integration into the formal care system, yielding a more holistic care approach that may enhance opportunities for aging in place. This article reports the findings of a comparative research focusing on the Italian and Israeli LTC systems as representative of the Mediterranean "family-based" care model. To analyze the innovative solutions that have been adopted or are needed to improve LTC provision in these two contexts, focus groups and expert interviews have been carried out in both countries to identify the most relevant challenges and responses to them and to highlight promising policies and strategies to be adopted or up-scaled in the future. These include multidisciplinary case and care management, a stronger connection between prevention and LTC provision, and more systematic recognition of the role and limits of informal caregivers' contributions.

Geriatric Telepsychiatry: Systematic Review and Policy Considerations.

Telemental health (TMH) for older patients has the potential to increase access to geriatric specialists, reduce travel times for patients and providers, and reduce ever growing healthcare costs. This systematic review article examines the literature regarding psychiatric assessment and treatment via telemedicine for geriatric patients. English language literature was searched using Ovid Medline, PubMed, and PsycINFO with search terms including telemedicine, telemental health, aging, and dementia. Abstracts were reviewed for relevance based on inclusion criteria. Multiple study types were reviewed, including open label, qualitative and randomized controlled trial study designs. Data was compiled regarding participants, study intervention, and outcomes. 76 articles were included. TMH was shown to be feasible and well accepted in the areas of inpatient and nursing home consultation, cognitive testing, dementia diagnosis and treatment, depression in integrated and collaborative care models, and psychotherapy. There is limited data on cost-effectiveness of TMH in the elderly. This article will discuss the current barriers to broader implementation of telemedicine for geriatric patients including reimbursement from the Medicare program. Medicare reimbursement for telemedicine is limited to rural areas, which does not allow for the widespread development of telemedicine programs. All Medicare beneficiaries would benefit from increased access to telemedicine services, not only those living in rural areas. As many elderly and disabled individuals have mobility problems, home-based telemedicine services should also be made available. There are efforts in Congress to expand the coverage of these services under Medicare, but strong advocacy will be needed to ensure these efforts are successful.

The impact of a medication reconciliation programme at geriatric hospital admission: A pre-/postintervention study.

AIMS: The aim of this study was to improve medication reconciliation and reduce the occurrence of duplicate prescriptions by pharmacists and physicians within 72 hours of hospital admission using an intelligent prescription system combined with the National Health Insurance PharmaCloud system to integrate the database with the medical institution computerized physician order entry (CPOE) system. METHODS: This 2-year intervention study was implemented in the geriatric ward of a hospital in Taiwan. We developed an integrated CPOE system linked with the PharmaCloud database and established an electronic platform for coordinated communication with all healthcare professionals. Patients provided written informed consent to access their PharmaCloud records. We compared the intervention effectiveness within 72 hours of admission for improvement in pharmacist medication reconciliation, increased at-home medications documentation and decreased costs from duplicated at-home prescriptions. RESULTS: The medication reconciliation rate within 72 hours of admission increased from 44.0% preintervention to 86.8% postintervention (relative risk = 1.97, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.69-2.31; P < .001). The monthly average of patients who brought and took home medications documented in the CPOE system during hospitalization increased by 7.54 (95% CI 5.58-20.49, P = .22). The monthly average of home medications documented increased by 102.52 (95% CI 38.44-166.60; P = .01). Savings on the monthly average prescription expenditures of at-home medication increased by US$ 2,795.52 (95% CI US$1310.41-4280.63; P < .01). CONCLUSION: Integrating medication data from PharmaCloud to the hospital's medical chart system improved pharmacist medication reconciliation, which decreased duplicated medications and reduced in-hospital medication costs.

The effect of China's new cooperative medical scheme on health expenditures among the rural elderly.

BACKGROUND: The alarming progression of an increasingly aging population in China has attracted much attention within the country and abroad. In 2003, the Chinese central government launched the New Cooperative Medical Scheme (NCMS) to resolve problems of healthcare inequity in regions with inadequate infrastructure and relative poverty. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of NCMS on health expenditures by the Chinese rural elderly population. METHODS: The data were obtained from the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey (CLHLS), which was conducted in 2005, 2008, 2011 and 2014. Elderly people living in rural areas and 60 years old or above were screened for the investigation. The sample size was 7472 in 2005, 11,705 in 2008, 9239 in 2011, and 6059 in 2014. The OOP% and reimbursement ratio were the medical expenses paid by individuals accounting for their per capita annual income and the medical expenses paid by medical insurance accounting for their total medical expenses, respectively. By controlling for individuals' sociodemographic characteristics, pensions, demands and utilization of health services, we estimated the effect of the NCMS on the OOP% and reimbursement ratio for the rural elderly using seemingly unrelated regression (SUR). RESULTS: The NCMS coverage ranged from 11.63% in 2005 to 80.34% in 2014. The medical expenses of the elderly also increased from an average of $204.77 in 2005 to $696.23 in 2014, which was more than three times as much as in 2005. From 2005 to 2014, the reimbursement ratio for medical expenses of rural elderly people with NCMS increased significantly from 30.6% in 2005 to 56.1% in 2014. The proportion of reimbursement ratio for rural seniors with NCMS increased by 6.4% across each survey cycle (every 3 years). However, the NCMS resulted in an insignificant decrease in OOP% by 1.4% across each survey cycle (every 3 years). Among other medical insurances, public insurance and private elder insurance had significant positive impacts on reimbursement ratio but did not influence OOP%. CONCLUSIONS: NCMS remarkably increased the rural elderly's reimbursement ratio but insignificantly decreased the rural elderly's OOP%. In addition, the proportion of reimbursement ratio for NCMS participants increased by 6.4% every 3 years. Lower outpatient reimbursement, migration, limited reimbursement scope, an increasing demand for medical services and the rapid growth of medical expenses may be reasons for the gaps between the nominal reimbursement ratio and the actual reimbursement ratio and OOP%. Policymakers should further modify NCMS policies in rural China.

Medical expenditure for middle-aged and elderly in Beijing.

BACKGROUND: High medical expenditures serve as a major obstacle for many people trying to access healthcare. Our goals are to provide an updated and comprehensive description of each category of medical expenditure in inpatient and outpatient treatment, and to identify factors associated with medical expenditures. METHODS: A survey of the middle-aged and elderly was conducted in August 2016 in Beijing, China. Data were collected from 808 random samples. Each participant had reported at least one inpatient or outpatient treatment episode and was 45 years old or older, were collected. Chi-squared tests, t-tests, multivariate analysis, and a linear regression were conducted in the data analysis. RESULTS: A total of 452 and 734 subjects had at least one inpatient and outpatient treatment, respectively. Even though insurance covered a significant amount of the total cost, the remaining out-of-pocket cost was still high, possibly resulting in financial difficulties for a number of the subjects. Demographic and socioeconomic factors were found to be associated with various costs. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that the government may need to further adjust health care and health insurance systems to alleviate financial burdens caused by illness and improve the effective utilization of healthcare services.

Is China facing the social risks associated with reliance on hospitalization for the care of the elderly with chronic diseases?

This study aims to investigate if China is facing the social risks associated with reliance on hospitalization for the care of the elderly with chronic diseases. Textual studies and big data analysis indicate the following outcomes: (1) The elderly population suffering from chronic diseases is expanding rapidly, while the prevalence rate also shows a growing trend; (2) the reliance on hospitalization for the care of the elderly patients exists and has caused three new social risks; and (3) these social risks are wasted health resources, poverty between individuals and families, and relative increase in the disability rate of the elderly after hospital admission. We conclude that effectively defusing the risks entails strengthening the management of chronic diseases related to communal public health, initiating the concept of "continuity of care" to pursue an active combination of medical and health care, hastening the implementation of long-term care insurance (LTCI) and other policy measures.

The costs of dementia subtypes to California Medicare fee-for-service, 2015.

INTRODUCTION: Dementia is among the costliest of medical conditions, but it is not known how these costs vary by dementia subtype. METHODS: The effect of dementia diagnosis subtype on direct health care costs and utilization was estimated using 2015 California Medicare fee-for-service data. Potential drivers of increased costs in Lewy body dementia (LBD), in comparison to Alzheimer's disease, were tested. RESULTS: 3,001,987 Medicare beneficiaries were identified, of which 8.2% had a dementia diagnosis. Unspecified dementia was the most common diagnostic category (59.6%), followed by Alzheimer's disease (23.2%). LBD was the costliest subtype to Medicare, on average, followed by vascular dementia. The higher costs in LBD were explained in part by falls, urinary incontinence or infection, depression, anxiety, dehydration, and delirium. DISCUSSION: Dementia subtype is an important predictor of health care costs. Earlier identification and targeted treatment might mitigate the costs associated with co-occurring conditions in LBD.

An exploration of older Hong Kong residents' willingness to make copayments toward vouchers for community care.

Because of its rapidly aging population, Hong Kong faces great challenges in the provision and financing of long-term care (LTC) and needs to explore sustainable funding mechanisms. However, there is a paucity of research on older people's willingness to pay (WTP) for LTC services in Hong Kong. This study utilizes data collected in Hong Kong in 2011 (N = 536) to investigate older people's receptivity to this financing mode by assessing their co-payments for a community care service voucher scheme and then testing how potential factors affect respondents' amount of co-payment. Results show that respondents' WTP was positively associated with family financial support, financial condition, and positive attitudes toward this novel policy and negatively associated with family caregiving support. Direct and moderating effects of family financial support on WTP were found. The policy-related implications of LTC financing to improve older people's acceptance of co-payment mechanisms, financial condition, and shared responsibility of care are discussed.

Social health insurance, healthcare utilization, and costs in middle-aged and elderly community-dwelling adults in China.

BACKGROUND: Although many studies have analyzed health insurance worldwide, most focus on whole populations rather than specific vulnerable groups. There is a lack of studies that compare different schemes. This paper evaluates the impact of different types of social health insurance and other associated factors on healthcare utilization and costs among middle-aged and elderly Chinese adults. METHODS: Data were obtained from a nationally representative middle-aged and elderly household survey, the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study, which was conducted in 2015. Middle-aged and elderly are defined as people who are ≥45 years. Descriptive statistics were used to show the prevalence of each variable. Both logistic and multiple linear regression models were used to evaluate the association between healthcare utilization/healthcare costs and health insurance in addition to other related factors. RESULTS: Although the rapid expansion of social health insurance coverage has significantly improved the healthcare utilization among middle-aged and elderly adults, the difference between three schemes is large. Urban Employee Medical Insurance (UEMI) has had a greater effect in improving healthcare utilization than New Cooperative Medical Insurance (NCMI) or Urban Resident Medical Insurance (URMI). Unification of health insurance programs and optimization of health resource allocations should be a practical way to alleviate healthcare utilization inequality across schemes. People having social health insurance spend more on total and out-of-pocket (OOP) healthcare costs than people not covered by social health insurance, suggesting that enrollment in social health insurance induces significant increases in both total and OOP healthcare expenses. UEMI for the urban employed has relatively higher funding criteria and reimbursement rate, which makes the greatest extent to induce increase in healthcare costs. Some demographic or socioeconomic factors significantly affect healthcare utilization and costs among middle-aged and elderly adults. CONCLUSION: Our study demonstrates the differences in healthcare utilization and costs between those with and without social health insurance and between those with different health insurance schemes. Policy efforts should further focus on adjusting social health insurance and optimizing healthcare resource allocation in order to enhance effective utilization of healthcare services and control cost increases among middle-aged and elderly adults.

Health Policy and Dementia.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: The anticipated number of persons with dementia continues to grow, and the US has insufficiently planned to provide and pay for care for this large population. RECENT FINDINGS: A number of significant clinical trials aiming to prevent or cure dementia, including Alzheimer's disease, have not demonstrated success. Because of the lack of efficacious treatments, and the fact that brain changes associated with dementia may begin decades before symptoms, we can predict that efforts to cure or prevent dementia will not succeed in time for millions of people in the baby boomer generation. Because of the anticipated increase in people suffering with dementia in the coming years, US health policy must address major gaps in how to provide and pay for dementia care. Reliance on Medicaid and Medicare as currently structured will not sustain the necessary care, nor can families alone provide all necessary dementia care. Innovative forms of providing long-term care and paying for it are crucially needed.

Clustered domestic residential aged care in Australia: fewer hospitalisations and better quality of life.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the outcomes and costs of clustered domestic and standard Australian models of residential aged care. DESIGN: Cross-sectional retrospective analysis of linked health service data, January 2015 - February 2016. SETTING: 17 aged care facilities in four Australian states providing clustered (four) or standard Australian (13) models of residential aged care. PARTICIPANTS: People with or without cognitive impairment residing in a residential aged care facility (RACF) for at least 12 months, not in palliative care, with a family member willing to participate on their behalf if required. 901 residents were eligible; 541 consented to participation (24% self-consent, 76% proxy consent). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Quality of life (measured with EQ-5D-5L); medical service use; health and residential care costs. RESULTS: After adjusting for patient- and facility-level factors, individuals residing in clustered models of care had better quality of life (adjusted mean EQ-5D-5L score difference, 0.107; 95% CI, 0.028-0.186; P = 0.008), lower hospitalisation rates (adjusted rate ratio, 0.32; 95% CI, 0.13-0.79; P = 0.010), and lower emergency department presentation rates (adjusted rate ratio, 0.27; 95% CI, 0.14-0.53; P < 0.001) than residents of standard care facilities. Unadjusted facility running costs were similar for the two models, but, after adjusting for resident- and facility-related factors, it was estimated that overall there is a saving of $12 962 (2016 values; 95% CI, $11 092-14 831) per person per year in residential care costs. CONCLUSIONS: Clustered domestic models of residential care are associated with better quality of life and fewer hospitalisations for residents, without increasing whole of system costs.

Direct health and residential care costs of people living with dementia in Australian residential aged care.

OBJECTIVES: This analysis estimates the whole-of-system direct costs for people living with dementia in residential care by using a broad health and social care provision perspective and compares it to people without dementia living in residential care. METHODS: Data were collected from 541 individuals living permanently in 17 care facilities across Australia. The annual cost of health and residential care was determined by using individual resource use data and reported by the dementia status of the individuals. RESULTS: The average annual whole-of-system cost for people living with dementia in residential care was approximately AU$88 000 (US$ 67 100) per person in 2016. The cost of residential care constituted 93% of the total costs. The direct health care costs were comprised mainly of hospital admissions (48%), pharmaceuticals (31%) and out-of-hospital attendances (15%). While total costs were not significantly different between those with and without dementia, the cost of residential care was significantly higher and the cost of health care was significantly lower for people living with dementia. CONCLUSION: This study provides the first estimate of the whole-of-system costs of providing health and residential care for people living with dementia in residential aged care in Australia using individual level health and social care data. This predominantly bottom-up cost estimate indicates the high cost associated with caring for people with dementia living permanently in residential care, which is underestimated when limited cost perspectives or top-down, population costing approaches are taken.

Frailty and healthcare costs-longitudinal results of a prospective cohort study.

Objective: to investigate how frailty and frailty symptoms affect healthcare costs in older age longitudinally. Methods: data were gathered from a prospective cohort study in Saarland, Germany (two waves with 3-year interval, n = 1,636 aged 57-84 years at baseline). Frailty was assessed by the five Fried frailty criteria. Frailty was defined as having at least three criteria, the presence of 1-2 criteria as 'pre-frail'. Healthcare costs were quantified based on self-reported healthcare use in the sectors of inpatient treatment, outpatient treatment, professional nursing care and informal care as well as the provision of pharmaceuticals, medical supplies and dental prostheses. Results: while the onset of pre-frailty did not increase (log) total healthcare costs after adjusting for potential confounders including comorbidity, progression from non-frailty to frailty was associated with an increase in total healthcare costs (for example, costs increased by ~54 and 101% if 3 and 4 or 5 symptoms were present, respectively). This association of frailty onset with increased healthcare costs was in particular observed in the inpatient sector and for informal nursing care. Among the frailty symptoms, the onset of exhaustion was associated with an increase in total healthcare costs, whereas changes in slowness, weakness, weight loss and low-physical activity were not significantly associated with an increase in total healthcare costs. Conclusions: our data stress the economic relevance of frailty in late life. Postponing or reducing frailty might be fruitful in order to reduce healthcare costs.

Supported Discharge Teams for older people in hospital acute care: a randomised controlled trial.

Background: Supported Discharge Teams aim to help with the transition from hospital to home, whilst reducing hospital length-of-stay. Despite their obvious attraction, the evidence remains mixed, ranging from strong support for disease-specific interventions to less favourable results for generic services. Objective: To determine whether older people referred to a Supported Discharge Team have: (i) reduced length-of-stay in hospital; (ii) reduced risk of hospital readmission; and (iii) reduced healthcare costs. Methods: Randomised controlled trial with follow-up to 6 months; 103 older women and 80 men (n = 183) (mean age 79), in hospital, were randomised to receive either Supported Discharge Team or usual care. Home-based rehabilitation was delivered by trained Health Care Assistants up to four times a day, 7 days a week, under the guidance of registered nurses, allied health and geriatricians for up to 6 weeks. Results: Participants randomised to the Supported Discharge Team spent less time in hospital during the index admission (mean 15.7 days) in comparison to usual care (mean 21.6 days) (mean difference 5.9: 95% CI 0.6, 11.3 days: P = 0.03) and spent less time in hospital in the 6 months following discharge home. Supported discharge group costs were calculated at mean NZ$10,836 (SD NZ$12,087) compared to NZ$16,943 (SD NZ$22,303) in usual care. Conclusion: A Supported Discharge Team can provide an effective means of discharging older people home early from hospital and can make a cost-effective contribution to managing increasing demand for hospital beds.

Diagnosing and treating dementia in German primary and specialized care between 2011 and 2015
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BACKGROUND: Whilst there was no upturn in detection rate of persons with dementia (PwD) in German general practitioner (GP) practices before 2012, dementia diagnoses markedly increased in 2013 and 2014. OBJECTIVE: (1) Verify the increase of dementia diagnoses in GP practices and neurologist/psychiatrist (NP) practices; (2) examine the subsequent prescription of antidementia drugs. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We performed a retrospective, longitudinal analysis of 874 GP and 141 NP practices collecting clinical data about 220,213 patients who received a dementia diagnosis (ICD-10: G30, F01, F03) between 2011 and 2015. RESULTS: In GP practices, documented dementia diagnoses increased by 73% between 2012 and 2014 (mean 6.4 - 11.1 PwD/practice) and decreased by 26% in 2015 (8.3 PwD/practice). This trend was mostly due to the subgroup of nonspecific (+63%) and vascular dementia (+170%). The upturn has been accompanied by a downturn of the proportion of PwD receiving antidementia drugs (2012: 13.9% vs. 2014: 7.8%). Neither of these trends was found in NP practices. CONCLUSION: The upturn parallels the introduction of monetary incentives for both patients and GPs. It should be examined if these monetary incentives will also lead to an improvement in treatment and care of PwD in the long run.
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