Integrating Formal Technology Assessment into an Integrated Healthcare Delivery System: Smart Innovation.

OBJECTIVES: We designed, developed, and implemented a new hospital-based health technology assessment (HB-HTA) program called Smart Innovation. Smart Innovation is a decision framework that reviews and makes technology adoption decisions. Smart Innovation was meant to replace the fragmented and complex process of procurement and adoption decisions at our institution. Because use of new medical technologies accounts for approximately 50 percent of the growth in healthcare spending, hospitals and integrated delivery systems are working to develop better processes and methods to sharpen their approach to adoption and management of high cost medical innovations. METHODS: The program has streamlined the decision-making process and added a robust evidence review for new medical technologies, aiming to balance efficiency with rigorous evidence standards. To promote system-wide adoption, the program engaged a broad representation of leaders, physicians, and administrators to gain support. RESULTS: To date, Smart Innovation has conducted eleven HB-HTAs and made clinician-led adoption decisions that have resulted in over $5 million dollars in cost avoidance. These are comprised of five laboratory tests, three software-assisted systems, two surgical devices, and one capital purchase. CONCLUSIONS: Smart Innovation has achieved cost savings, avoided uncertain or low-value technologies, and assisted in the implementation of new technologies that have strong evidence. The keys to its success have been the program's collaborative and efficient decision-making systems, partnerships with clinicians, executive support, and proactive role with vendors.

Impact of initiatives to reduce prescription opioid risks on medically attended injuries in people using chronic opioid therapy.

PURPOSE: The purpose of the study is to determine whether initiatives to improve the safety of opioid prescribing decreased injuries in people using chronic opioid therapy (COT). METHODS: We conducted an interrupted time series analysis using data from Group Health (GH), an integrated health care delivery system in the United States. In 2007, GH implemented initiatives which substantially reduced daily opioid dose and increased patient monitoring. Among GH members age 18 or older receiving COT between 2006 and 2014, we compared injury rates for patients in GH's integrated group practice (IGP; exposed to the initiatives) vs patients cared for by contracted providers (not exposed). Injuries were identified using a validated algorithm. We calculated injury incidence during the baseline (preintervention) period from 2006 to 2007; the dose reduction period, 2008 to 2010; and the risk stratification and monitoring period, 2010 to 2014. Using modified Poisson regression, we estimated adjusted relative risks (RRs) representing the relative change per year in injury rates. RESULTS: Among 21 853 people receiving COT in the IGP and 8260 in contracted care, there were 2679 injuries during follow-up. The baseline injury rate was 1.0% per calendar quarter in the IGP and 0.9% in contracted care. Risk reduction initiatives did not decrease injury rates: Within the IGP, the RR in the dose reduction period was 1.01 (95% CI, 0.95-1.07) and in the risk stratification and monitoring period, 0.99 (95% CI, 0.95-1.04). Injury trends did not differ between the two care settings. CONCLUSIONS: Risk reduction initiatives did not decrease injuries in people using COT.

Sedative Hypnotic Medication Use and the Risk of Motor Vehicle Crash.

OBJECTIVES: We sought to estimate the association between sedative hypnotic use and motor vehicle crash risk. METHODS: We conducted a new user cohort study of 409 171 adults in an integrated health care system. Health plan data were linked to driver license and collision records. Participants were aged 21 years or older, licensed to drive in Washington State, had at least 1 year of continuous enrollment between 2003 and 2008, and were followed until death, disenrollment, or study end. We used proportional hazards regression to estimate the risk of crash associated with 3 sedatives. RESULTS: We found 5.8% of patients received new sedative prescriptions, with 11 197 person-years of exposure. New users of sedatives were associated with an increased risk of crash relative to nonuse: temazepam hazard ratio (HR) = 1.27 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.85, 1.91), trazodone HR = 1.91 (95% CI = 1.62, 2.25), and zolpidem HR = 2.20 (95% CI = 1.64, 2.95). These risk estimates are equivalent to blood alcohol concentration levels between 0.06% and 0.11%. CONCLUSIONS: New use of sedative hypnotics is associated with increased motor vehicle crash risk. Clinicians initiating sedative hypnotic treatment should consider length of treatment and counseling on driving risk.