Dialog Across Cultures: Therapy for Diverse Families.

Child and adolescent psychiatrists (CAPs) work at the intersections of families, cultures, and systems, which affect engagement in care, assessment, and treatment planning. There are several practical strategies that CAPs can apply to practice cultural humility, to join with families, to facilitate difficult conversations and to work through misalignment. Culturally inclusive family-based care can promote greater understanding and lead to stronger outcomes with families as well as help mitigate mental health impact of structural racism and social inequities.

Examining Trends and Coexisting Conditions Among Children Qualifying for SSI Under ADHD, ASD, and ID.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the prevalence trends and coexisting conditions in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and intellectual disability (ID) in the pediatric Supplemental Security Income (SSI) population and general population. METHODS: The Social Security Administration (SSA) provided data on primary and secondary diagnoses of children qualifying for SSI for years 2000 to 2011. We compared SSA data with 2000-2011 National Health Interview Survey data on the prevalence of mental health diagnoses among children in the general population living between 0 and 199% of the federal poverty line. We utilized linear regression analysis to test the statistical significance of differences in the trends of the conditions' prevalence. RESULTS: Over this time period, the SSI population experienced increases in ADHD (5.8%) and ASD (7.2%) and a decrease in ID (-10.3%). Comparison with change in the general population indicated no significant difference in ADHD but significant differences in ASD and ID. Relative percentage changes reflect similar changes. The SSI population qualifying for SSI with ADHD (70.8%) had higher rates of coexisting conditions than the general population (66.1%), but lower rates of coexisting conditions for ASD and ID. CONCLUSIONS: ADHD is on the rise among children receiving SSI and in the general population. This suggests that the rise of ADHD in the SSI population is expected and does not represent a misallocation of resources. Changes described among the SSI population in ASD and ID may allude to diagnostic/coding trends and/or true changes in prevalence. Limitations arise from the comparability of the 2 data sets.

A novel Markov model projecting costs and outcomes of providing antiretroviral therapy to public patients in private practices versus public clinics in South Africa.

INTRODUCTION: Providing private antiretroviral therapy (ART) care for public sector patients could increase access to ART in low- and middle-income countries. We compared the costs and outcomes of a private-care and a public-care ART program in South Africa. METHODS: A novel Markov model was developed from the public-care program. Patients were first tunneled for 6 months in their baseline CD4 category before being distributed into a dynamic CD4 and viral load model. Patients were allowed to return to ART care from loss to follow up (LTFU). We then populated this modeling framework with estimates derived from the private-care program to externally validate the model. RESULTS: Baseline characteristics were similar in the two programs. Clinic visit utilization was higher and death rates were lower in the first few years on ART in the public-care program. After 10 years on ART we estimated the following outcomes in the public-care and private-care programs respectively: viral load <1000 copies/ml 89% and 84%, CD4 >500 cells/µl 33% and 37%, LTFU 14% and 14%, and death 27% and 32%. Lifetime undiscounted survival estimates were 14.1 (95%CI 13.2-14.9) and (95%CI 12.7-14.5) years with costs of 18,734 (95%CI 12,588-14,022) and 13,062 (95%CI 12,077-14,047) USD in the private-care and public-care programs respectively. When clinic visit utilization in the public-care program was reduced by two thirds after the initial 6 months on ART, which is similar to their current practice, the costs were comparable between the programs. CONCLUSIONS: Using a novel Markov model, we determined that the private-care program had similar outcomes but lower costs than the public-care program, largely due to lower visit frequencies. These findings have important implications for increasing and sustaining coverage of patients in need of ART care in resource-limited settings.

Analyzing the true cost of delivering medications.

Reimbursement to providers for delivering medications in the dialysis field is a subject of current concern, with some payors limiting payment to an amount equaling the provider's acquisition cost. At the same time, some providers arbitrarily mark up medications by a large factor. For dialysis, as well as for the general medical field, an objective approach is required for both providers and payors to fairly set prices and reimbursement levels. This analysis evaluated all cost elements involved in the delivery of medications and determined that an increase over the acquisition cost is appropriate for pricing and reimbursement. The increase has 2 parts: a fixed cost associated with resources required for a medication irrespective of its cost and a markup on the acquisition price. The conclusion of this analysis is that an increase over acquisition cost in reimbursement of providers for delivering medications is required to fairly compensate them for their actual costs and avoid compelling them to either incur a loss or cost shift by overcharging some payors to compensate for underpayment by others. Planned adjustments in Medicare reimbursement for dialysis may not recognize this reality.

Assessment of competency in child and adolescent psychiatry training.

OBJECTIVE: Residency training programs in all areas of medicine are required to identify core competencies expected of all graduates and develop methods to assess and ensure attainment of these competencies. To assist with this process for residency programs in child and adolescent psychiatry, the Work Group on Training and Education of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry has developed several principles of the assessment process and compiled a variety of assessment methodologies for use in assessing competency. The principles of assessment include 1) residents should share responsibility for assessment; 2) assessment should be an open, ongoing and predictable process; 3) a wide range of evaluators should be utilized in the process; 4) residents should demonstrate competency in a variety of formats; 5) the goal is for 100% of residents to achieve core competencies. METHODS: Sample methods of assessment are provided in the report with special attention to how the method could be used in child and adolescent psychiatry. CONCLUSION: A multi-method, multi-evaluator for process of assessment is recommended.

Identifying the value of computers in dialysis.

Dialysis providers use computers to automate complicated tasks, ease staff burden, and develop knowledge or understanding to improve operations and patient care. Some applications are successful, others are not. Success can be economically quantified. Business--billing and accounts receivable computerization--can yield over $5.00 for $1.00 invested. The clinical case is more complex and difficult to economically justify. Computerization of clinical information for charge capture is the simplest application (< $1.00/treatment) yielding the greatest benefit. Economic benefits for improving quality of care through electronic medical records are more problematic. Provider benefit of clinical computing is strictly the net income from more dialysis treatments. Greater complexity--e.g., total electronic records--means more expensive systems and increased staff effort. Many systems cost in the $5.00 + range which must be paid by increasing provider overhead. Dialysis providers must determine the point where computerization no longer decreases operational costs as computing cost increases. This is a classical optimization problem; its solution is crucial to the economic health of the dialysis enterprise.