Accountable care organization initiatives to improve the cost and outcomes of specialty care.

OBJECTIVES: To assess initiatives to manage the cost and outcomes of specialty care in organizations that participate in Medicare accountable care organizations (ACOs). STUDY DESIGN: Cross-sectional analysis of 2023 ACO survey data. METHODS: Analysis of responses to a 12-question web-based survey from 101 respondents representing 174 ACOs participating in the Medicare Shared Savings Program or the Realizing Equity, Access, and Community Health ACO model in 2023. RESULTS: Improving specialist alignment was a high priority for 62% of the 101 respondents and a medium priority for 34%. Only 11% reported that employed specialists were highly aligned and 7% reported that contracted specialists were highly aligned. A subset of ACOs reported major efforts to engage specialists in quality improvement projects (38%) and to convene specialists to develop evidence-based care pathways (30%). They also reported supporting primary care physicians through providing specialist directories (44%), specialist e-consults (23%), and sharing specialist cost data (20%). The most common challenges reported were the influence of fee-for-service payment on specialist behavior (58%), lack of data to evaluate specialist performance (53%), and insufficient bandwidth or ACO resources to address specialist alignment (49%). CONCLUSIONS: Engaging specialists in accountable care is an emerging area for ACOs but one with numerous challenges. Making better data on specialist costs and outcomes available to Medicare ACOs is essential for accelerating progress.

Differences in Lifetime Earning Potential for Pediatric Subspecialists.

OBJECTIVES: Our 2011 report, reflecting data from 2007-2008, demonstrated that, for many pediatric subspecialties, pursuing fellowship training was a negative financial decision when compared with practicing as a general pediatrician. We provide an updated analysis on the financial impact of pediatric fellowship training and model interventions that can influence the results. METHODS: We estimated the financial returns a graduating pediatric resident might anticipate from fellowship training followed by a career as a pediatric subspecialist and compared them with the returns expected from starting a career as a general pediatrician immediately after residency. We evaluated the potential effects of eliminating medical school debt, shortening the length of fellowship training, and implementing a federal loan repayment program for pediatric subspecialists. We compared the financial returns of subspecialty training in 2018-2019 to those from our previous report. RESULTS: Pursuing fellowship training generated widely variable financial returns when compared with general pediatrics that ranged from +$852 129 for cardiology to -$1 594 366 for adolescent medicine. Twelve of 15 subspecialties analyzed yielded negative financial returns. The differences have become more pronounced over time: the spread between the highest and lowest earning subspecialties widened from >$1.4 million in 2007-2008 to >$2.3 million in 2018-2019. The negative financial impact of fellowship training could be partially ameliorated by shortening the length of training or by implementing pediatric subspecialist specific loan repayment programs. CONCLUSIONS: This report can be used to help guide trainees, educators, and policy makers. The interventions discussed could help maintain an adequate and balanced pediatric workforce.

Managing Craniomaxillofacial Injury Without Inpatient Consult: Outcomes and Patient Cost Savings.

BACKGROUND: We hypothesized that trauma surgeons can safely selectively manage traumatic craniomaxillofacial injuries (CMF) without specialist consult, thereby decreasing the overall cost burden to patients. METHODS: A 4-year retrospective analysis of all CMF fractures diagnosed on facial CT scans. CMF consultation was compared with no-CMF consultation. Demographics, injury severity, and specialty consultation charges were recorded. Penetrating injuries, skull fractures, or patients completing inpatient craniofacial surgery were excluded. RESULTS: 303 patients were studied (124 CMF consultation vs 179 no-CMF consultation), mean age was 47.8 years, with 70% males. Mean Glasgow Coma Scale and Injury Severity Score (ISS) was 14 ± 3.4 and 10 ± 9, respectively. Patients with CMF consults had higher ISS (P < .001) and needed surgery on admission (P < .001), while no-CMF consults had shorter length of stay (P < .002). No in-hospital mortality or 30-day readmission rates were related to no-CMF consult. Total patient charges saved with no-CMF consultation was $26 539.96. DISCUSSION: Trauma surgeons can selectively manage acute CMF injuries without inpatient specialist consultation. Additional guidelines can be established to avoid tertiary transfers for specialty consultation and decrease patient charges.

Skin Cancer Excision Is More Efficient and Cost Effectivein a Specialist Secondary Care Service.

Aim To compare the relative efficiencies of skin excisions in primary and secondary care. Methods We compared the benign: malignant ratio for specimens referred by General Practice, General Surgery and the Skin Cancer Service to the regional pathology laboratory over one month. We used cost minimization analysis to compare the relative efficiencies of the services. Results 620 excisions were received: 139 from General Practice, 118 from General Surgery and 363 from the Skin Cancer Service. The number (%) of malignant lesions was 13 (9.4%) from General Practice, 18 (15.2%) from General Surgery and 137 (37.7%) from the Skin Cancer Service. Excision was cheaper in General Practice at €84.58 as compared to €97.49 in the hospital day surgical unit. However, the cost per malignant lesion excised was €1779.80 in general practice versus €381.78 in the Skin Cancer Service. Conclusion Our results indicate that moving skin cancer treatment to General Practice may result in an excess of benign excisions and therefore be both less efficient and less cost effective.

Association between specialist compensation and Accountable Care Organization performance.

OBJECTIVE: To determine if Medicare Shared Savings Program Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) using cost reduction measures in specialist compensation demonstrated better performance. DATA SOURCES: National, cross-sectional survey data on ACOs (2013-2015) linked to public-use data on ACO performance (2014-2016). STUDY DESIGN: We compared characteristics of ACOs that did and did not report use of cost reduction measures in specialist compensation and determined the association between using this approach and ACO savings, outpatient spending, and specialist visit rates. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Of 160 ACOs surveyed, 26 percent reported using cost reduction measures to help determine specialist compensation. ACOs using cost reduction in specialist compensation were more often physician-led (68.3 vs 49.6 percent) and served higher-risk patients (mean Hierarchical Condition Category score 1.09 vs 1.05). These ACOs had similar savings per beneficiary year (adjusted difference $82.6 [95% CI -77.9, 243.1]), outpatient spending per beneficiary year (-24.0 [95% CI -248.9, 200.8]), and specialist visits per 1000 beneficiary years (369.7 [95% CI -9.3, 748.7]). CONCLUSION: Incentivizing specialists on cost reduction was not associated with ACO savings in the short term. Further work is needed to determine the most effective approach to engage specialists in ACO efforts.

Differentiation Strategy in Online Physician Competition: Does Specialization Matter?

Objective: We aim to investigate how a specialization differentiation strategy impacts a physician's online economic rewards and the market conditions under which a specialization differentiation strategy has stronger effects. Methods: The study was performed using data from the health care system of the People's Republic of China. We used physician-based secondary data (data that were collected by someone other than the researcher) in an econometric analysis of transactions obtained from an e-consultation website (haodf.com) for four clinical specialties (pediatrics, endocrinology, gynecology, and oncology) from 2008 to 2015. Patient economics are not considered in this study. A total of 1,153 physicians were included in the analysis. Results: The specialization differentiation strategy has a significant positive impact on the physician's online income (ß = 0.009, p < 0.001) and service price (ß = 0.003, p < 0.001). Moreover, specialization will improve a physician's competitive advantage in terms of income (ß = 0.129, p < 0.001) and service price (ß = 0.024, p < 0.01) when market competition is more intense.Conclusions: Physicians whose expertise is different from that of the majority have higher online incomes and service prices, and this impact will be stronger when market competition is more intense. Our study indicates that e-consultations may accelerate the specialization trend observed in the health care industry because the online market favors more-specialized physicians, and competition in the online market is stronger than in the off-line market. The e-consultation impact may be positive for some complicated diseases but less positive or even negative for chronic diseases, and therefore, policy-makers should be cautious about unintended consequences.

Healthcare Costs for People with Serious Mental Illness in England: An Analysis of Costs Across Primary Care, Hospital Care, and Specialist Mental Healthcare.

BACKGROUND: Serious mental illness (SMI) is a set of disabling conditions associated with poor outcomes and high healthcare utilisation. However, little is known about patterns of utilisation and costs across sectors for people with SMI. OBJECTIVE: The aim was to develop a costing methodology and estimate annual healthcare costs for people with SMI in England across primary and secondary care settings. METHODS: A retrospective observational cohort study was conducted using linked administrative records from primary care, emergency departments, inpatient admissions, and community mental health services, covering financial years 2011/12-2013/14. Costs were calculated using bottom-up costing and are expressed in 2013/14 British pounds (GBP). Determinants of annual costs by sector were estimated using generalised linear models. RESULTS: Mean annual total healthcare costs for 13,846 adults with SMI were £4989 (median £1208), comprising 19% from primary care (£938, median £531), 34% from general hospital care (£1717, median £0), and 47% from inpatient and community-based specialist mental health services (£2334, median £0). Mean annual costs related specifically to mental health, as distinct from physical health, were £2576 (median £290). Key predictors of total cost included physical comorbidities, ethnicity, neighbourhood deprivation, SMI diagnostic subgroup, and age. Some associations varied across care context; for example, older age was associated with higher primary care and hospital costs, but lower mental healthcare costs. CONCLUSIONS: Annual healthcare costs for people with SMI vary significantly across clinical and socioeconomic characteristics and healthcare sectors. This analysis informs policy and research, including estimation of health budgets for particular patient profiles, and economic evaluation of health services and policies.

Association between medical student debt and choice of specialty: a 6-year retrospective study.

BACKGROUND: The effect of rapidly increasing student debt on medical students' ultimate career plans is of particular interest to residency programs desiring to enhance recruitment, including primary care specialties. Previous survey studies of medical students indicate that amount of student debt influences choice of medical specialty. Research on this topic to date remains unclear, and few studies have included the average income of different specialties in analyses. The purpose of this study is to observe whether empirical data demonstrates an association between debt of graduating medical students and specialties into which students match. METHODS: This was a retrospective cross-sectional study of a public institution including data from graduation years 2010-2015. For each included student, total educational debt at graduation and matched specialty were obtained. Average income of each specialty was also obtained. Statistical hypothesis testing was performed to analyze any differences in average debt among specialties; subanalysis was performed assessing debt for primary care (PC) versus non-primary care (NPC) specialties. Correlation between student debt and average specialty income was also evaluated. RESULTS: One thousand three hundred ten students met the inclusion criteria and 178 were excluded for a final study population of 1132 (86%). The average debt was $182,590. Average debt was not significantly different among the different specialties (P = 0.576). There was no significant difference in average debt between PC and NPC specialties (PC $182,345 ± $64,457, NPC $182,868 ± $70,420, P = 0.342). There was no correlation between average specialty income and graduation debt (Spearman's rho = 0.021, P = 0.482). CONCLUSIONS: At our institution, student indebtedness did not appear to affect matched medical specialty, and no correlation between debt and average specialty income was observed. Different subspecialties and residency programs interested in recruiting more students or increasing diversity may consider addressing alternative factors which may have a stronger influence on student choices.

The Public Health Consequences of Sport Specialization.

Sport specialization was thought to affect a relatively small number of elite athletes, but it is now a common practice in youth sport culture. Recent research in the field of sport specialization has led to a better understanding of the influence this issue is having on youth (ie, younger than 19 years of age) today. This review focuses on sport specialization from a public health perspective to elucidate the effect that this practice is having within the United States. The specific goals of this review are to describe (1) the prevalence of sport specialization and the factors that may affect the decision to specialize, (2) the costs of youth sport-related injuries in the context of sport specialization, (3) the financial costs that sport specialization has for families, and (4) how sport specialization may be affecting physical literacy.

Substitution of outpatient hospital care with specialist care in the primary care setting: A systematic review on quality of care, health and costs.

RATIONALE, AIMS AND OBJECTIVE: Substituting outpatient hospital care with primary care is seen as a solution to decrease unnecessary referrals to outpatient hospital care and decrease rising healthcare costs. This systematic review aimed to evaluate the effects on quality of care, health and costs outcomes of substituting outpatient hospital care with primary care-based interventions, which are performed by medical specialists in face-to-face consultations in a primary care setting. METHOD: The systematic review was performed using the PICO framework. Original papers in which the premise of the intervention was to substitute outpatient hospital care with primary care through the involvement of a medical specialist in a primary care setting were eligible. RESULTS: A total of 14 papers were included. A substitution intervention in general practitioner (GP) practices was described in 11 papers, three described a joint consultation intervention in which GPs see patients together with a medical specialist. This study showed that substitution initiatives result mostly in favourable outcomes compared to outpatient hospital care. The initiatives resulted mostly in shorter waiting lists, shorter clinic waiting times and higher patient satisfaction. Costs for treating one extra patient seemed to be higher in the intervention settings. This was mainly caused by inefficient planning of consultation hours and lower patient numbers. CONCLUSIONS: Despite the fact that internationally a lot has been written about the importance of performing substitution interventions in which preventing unnecessary referrals to outpatient hospital care was the aim, only 14 papers were included. Future systematic reviews should focus on the effects on the Triple Aim of substitution initiatives in which other healthcare professions than medical specialists are involved along with new technologies, such as e-consults. Additionally, to gain more insight into the effects of substitution initiatives operating in a dynamic healthcare context, it is important to keep evaluating the interventions in a longitudinal study design.

The Effects of Case Timing and Care Team Composition on Hospital Operating Room Costs for Endovascular Procedures.

BACKGROUND: The contemporary healthcare environment is complex with mounting pressures to perform greater procedural volumes with less support staff to minimize costs and maximize efficiency. This report details an analysis of routine endovascular procedures performed with dedicated vascular support staff during daytime hours compared to similar cases performed after hours with general operating room staff. METHODS: All lower extremity endovascular cases over a 37-month period were identified using Current Procedural Terminology codes from a query of our institutional database. Emergent/urgent cases and cases with associated open surgical procedures were excluded. Cases were divided according to the time of day and available clinical support structure according to procedure start time: specialty-specific daytime (SS) and general staff after hours for all others (AH). The resulting case list was examined by case type according to SS or AH designation and case types occurring disproportionately during either time frame were excluded to create a homogenous group of cases. Demographics, case specifics, and cost data were then obtained from the electronic health record and our enterprise cost data warehouse. Multivariable mixed linear modeling was used to examine component costs (i.e., anesthesia, supplies, etc.) and total costs controlling for a number of factors that could affect cost. RESULTS: Two hundred fifty-two routine endovascular-only procedures were examined in 232 patients (190 SS, 42 AH). No significant differences in procedure specifics were observed between the groups [number and location of access site(s), indication for procedure, type and number of interventions, etc.]. Multivariable analyses controlled for factors affecting costs. Costs associated with anesthesia (cost ratio 1.90, P = 0.001), operating room time costs (cost ratio 1.29, P = 0.03), and post anesthesia recovery (cost ratio 1.23, P = 0.004) were all significantly increased in AH cases compared to SS cases. The average total hospital cost for routine endovascular cases that performed AH was $8,095 compared to $5,636 for SS cases (cost ratio 1.44, P = 0.008). CONCLUSIONS: Performance of routine endovascular cases was associated with significantly less cost to the hospital system when performed by SS teams during regular hospital hours with a ∼30% increase in total cost associated with AH cases. In the current healthcare environment, investments in SS teams and process improvements are likely to be cost effective.

Gender inequality in salaries among reproductive endocrinology and infertility subspecialists in the United States.

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether and by how much pay among board-certified or -eligible reproductive endocrinology and infertility (REI) subspecialists in the United States differs by gender. DESIGN: Cross-sectional Web-based survey. SETTING: Not applicable. PATIENT(S): None. INTERVENTION(S): Not applicable. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): The primary outcome measure was continuous income, which was calculated using the mid-point of salary and bonuses as reported in the survey. Secondary outcomes included income based on type of practice, years in practice, region of the country in practice, and race/ethnicity of survey respondent. RESULT(S): Among 215 responses, 49% were female and 95% were full Society for Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility members. Fewer women reported being in private practice than men (45% vs. 64%). Female gender was associated with an income gap of 27% in unadjusted comparisons. When adjusted for years in practice and type of practice (private vs. other), the gap diminished to 21% but remained significant, with men reporting higher incomes than women. CONCLUSION(S): The gender pay gap present among physicians and obstetricians and gynecologists more widely persists among REI subspecialists even when accounting for characteristics related to differences in pay. Acknowledging the pay gap among REI subspecialists is the first step in working toward gender-neutral compensation for equivalent work.

Evaluation of the Statewide Variability in the Current Role of Different Specialties in Lower Extremity Endovascular Revascularization for Medicare Beneficiaries.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the statewide variability in the role of different specialties in lower extremity endovascular revascularization (LEER) and associated submitted charges of care and actual reimbursement for Medicare beneficiaries. METHODS: The 2015 "Medicare Provider Utilization and Payment Data: Physician and Other Supplier" data includes provider-specific information regarding the type of service, submitted average charges of care, and actual average Medicare reimbursements per Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System (HCPCS) code per provider. All HCPCS codes related to LEER were identified. The role of vascular surgery (VS), interventional cardiology (IC), and interventional radiology (IR) in each HCPCS-specific intervention was investigated. RESULTS: In 2015, 4113 providers submitted claims for iliac (n = 13,659), femoropopliteal (n = 52,344), and tibioperoneal (n = 32,688) endovascular revascularizations. In the facility setting, VS performed most of these procedures (52%), followed by IC (32%) and IR (8%). In the outpatient-based lab setting, the proportions were 46%, 36%, and 13%, respectively. Substantial statewide variability in the role of different specialties in LEER was noted. In Maine, Vermont, and Hawaii, all facility claims were submitted by VS, while more than 70% of the claims in Arizona and Utah were submitted by IC. The highest share of LEER for IR was observed in Montana and North Dakota (50%). There was substantial statewide variability in the submitted charges. CONCLUSION: Currently, less than 10% of LEER procedures are being performed by IR. The statewide variability in the submitted charges of care by providers and actual reimbursement for Medicare beneficiaries were investigated in this study.

Early life adversity, use of specialist care and unmet specialist care need among children.

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are linked to increased utilization of health care among adults; however, the impact of ACEs on nonmental health specialist care has been largely overlooked. To address this, data from the 2011-2012 National Survey of Children's Health (n = 89,357) were used to assess the health of children aged 0-17 living with a parent or guardian. Use of specialist care among children in the past 12 months was the outcome of interest and experiencing any one of nine ACEs was the independent variable of interest. After adjusting for confounders in logistic regression modeling, children who experience specific ACEs had higher odds of receiving specialist care. All ACEs were associated with higher unmet need of specialist care, and each additional ACE was independently associated with higher odds of needing specialist care among those who had not received it. This study provides evidence of that experiencing specific ACEs lead to increased demand of nonmental health specialist services among children and adds to the growing body of research indicating that individual ACE items may be differentially associated with health-care utilization or not associated with health-care utilization at all.

The financial value of vascular surgeons as operative consultants to other surgical specialties.

OBJECTIVE: Vascular surgeons provide assistance to other surgical specialties through planned and unplanned joint operative cases. The financial impact to the hospital of vascular surgeons as consultants in this context has yet to be quantified. We sought to quantify the financial value of services provided by consulting vascular surgeons in the performance of joint operative procedures, both planned and unplanned. METHODS: Hospital financial data were reviewed for all inpatient operative cases during a 3-year period (2013-2015). Cases in which a vascular surgeon provided operative assistance as a consultant to a nonvascular surgeon were identified and designated planned or unplanned. Contribution margin, defined as hospital revenue minus variable cost, was determined for each case. In addition, the contribution margin ratio (contribution margin divided by revenue) was determined for each cohort. Financial data for consulting cases was compared with all nonconsult cases. Data analysis was performed with nonparametric statistics. RESULTS: There were 208 cases with a primary nonvascular surgeon that required a vascular co-surgeon during the study period, 169 planned and 39 unplanned. For comparison, 19,594 nonconsult cases of other surgical specialties were identified. The median contribution margin was higher for vascular surgery consult cases compared with nonconsult cases ($14,406 [interquartile range, $63,192] vs $5491 [interquartile range $28,590]; P = .002). The overall contribution margin ratio was higher for vascular surgery consult cases (0.41) compared with control nonconsult cases (0.35). There was no difference in contribution margin and contribution margin ratio between planned and unplanned vascular surgery consult cases. CONCLUSIONS: Vascular surgeons provide essential operative assistance to other surgical specialties. This operative assistance is frequent and provides significant financial value, with high contribution margin and contribution margin ratio. Vascular surgeons, as consulting surgeons, enable the completion of highly complex cases and in this capacity provide significant financial value to the hospital.

Does DRG funding encourage hospital specialization? Evidence from the Italian National Health Service.

The impact of diagnosis-related group (DRG)-based funding has been analyzed along a wide range of dimensions. Its effects on hospital specialization, however, have been investigated only sparsely. This paper examines such effects in the context of the Italian National Health Service, where decentralization has produced a significant degree of variation in funding arrangements. To this end, a 9-year panel data set covering 762 Italian public and private hospitals was analyzed using a finite mixture model approach. Hospital specialization was measured by the internal Herfindahl-Hirschman Index. Three variables were introduced as proxies for the choices made by Italian Regions with respect to the development and use of their DRG systems. The best finite mixture model identified three groups of hospitals, two of which sizeable. Of these, one included nearly all public hospitals, while the other was composed almost exclusively of small and medium-sized investor-owned hospitals. Averagely, private and smaller hospitals showed a stronger tendency to specialize over time. The positive impact of DRG funding on the hospitals' propensity to specialize found only limited empirical support. Moreover, it emerged as comparatively much smaller for public hospitals vis à vis private ones.

A new side of sarcoidosis: medication and hospitalization use in a privately insured patient population.

OBJECTIVE: This study describes patterns of medication prescriptions for sarcoidosis patients in a large commercially insured U.S. population, with specific focus on prescribing practices across medical specialties and their associated hospitalization risk. METHODS: Using the Marketscan Database we selected adult patients with a diagnosis of sarcoidosis by ICD-9 code during the 2012 calendar year. Differences in prescribing practices were evaluated between provider types. A multivariate model controlling for age, sex, and region assessed hospitalization risk associated with provider type, prednisone dose, and use of non-steroid sarcoidosis medications. RESULTS: Using the described criteria, 11,042 total patients were identified. A majority were female, mean age 49.3 years. Of these, 1,792 (16.2%) had one or more hospital admissions (mean 1.6, SD 1.3) with a mean length of stay of 8.1 days (SD 14.5). 25.5% of patients were prescribed prednisone with a 1 year mean cumulative dose of 250mg. Pulmonary/Rheumatology providers prescribed the highest cumulative prednisone dose (961 mg) and were more likely to prescribe methotrexate and monoclonal antibody medications. Sarcoidosis patients receiving a cumulative prednisone dose >500 mg had an increased risk for hospitalization (OR 2.512, 2.210-2.855), while those prescribed methotrexate and azathioprine had decreased risk (OR 0.633, 0.481-0.833 and 0.460, 0.315-0.671). Monoclonal antibody use was associated with increased OR for hospitalization at 1.359. CONCLUSION: Sarcoidosis patients treated by subspecialists were more likely to receive higher doses of prednisone and non-steroid sarcoidosis medications. Higher doses of prednisone and monoclonal antibody use were associated with higher hospitalization risk while methotrexate and azathioprine were associated with lower hospitalization risk.