Development of claims-based measures of unplanned acute care with superior power for assessing the effectiveness of interventions following acute care.

OBJECTIVE: To develop outcome measures that are more sensitive than current measures for evaluating primary or transitional care after hospitalizations, emergency department (ED) visits, or observation stays. DATA SOURCES: Medicare claims data from January 1, 2015, to October 31, 2017, for 1 261 707 Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries served by (a) primary care practices participating in Track 1 of the Comprehensive Primary Care Plus (CPC+) initiative, and (b) their matched comparison practices. STUDY DESIGN: Given the poor statistical power in many studies to detect effects on readmissions, we developed two novel claims-based measures of unplanned acute care (UAC) following an index acute care event. The first measure assesses the proportion of hospitalizations followed by an unplanned readmission, ED visit, or observation stay within 30 days of discharge; the second assesses the proportion of ED visits and observation stays followed by a hospitalization, ED visit, or observation stay within 30 days. We calculate minimum detectable effects (MDEs) for both measures and for a conventional measure of 30-day unplanned readmissions, using CPC+ data. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Repeat UAC events are common among Medicare beneficiaries served by the CPC+ practices. In 2017, 22% of discharges and 21% of ED visits and observation stays had a UAC event within 30 days. Readmissions were the most common UAC event following discharge, whereas ED visits were most common following index ED visits or observation stays. MDEs are 25%-40% lower for the new measures than for the standard 30-day readmissions measure, indicating better statistical power to detect impacts of primary or transitional care interventions. CONCLUSIONS: This study introduces two new claims-based measures to assess quality of care during a patient's vulnerable period following acute care. The new measures complement existing measures, covering a broader range of UAC events than the standard 30-day readmissions measure, and yielding greater statistical power.

Estimating the hospital costs of inpatient harms.

OBJECTIVE: To estimate the additional hospital costs associated with inpatient medical harms occurring during an index inpatient admission and costs from subsequent readmissions within 90 days. DATA SOURCE: 2009 to 2011 Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project's State Inpatient Databases from 12 states. STUDY DESIGN: We compare hospital costs incurred by patients experiencing a specific harm during their hospital stay to the costs incurred by similar patients who did not experience that harm. DATA EXTRACTION: We extracted records for adult patients admitted for a reason other than rehabilitation or mental health, were at risk of a harm, and were admitted for less than a year. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: The costliest inpatient harms, such as surgical site infections and severe pressure ulcers, are associated with approximately $30 000 in additional index stay costs per harm. Less costly harms, such as catheter- or hospital-associated urinary tract infections and venous thromboembolism, can add $6000 to $13 000. Birth and obstetric traumas add as little as $100. CONCLUSIONS: Our analysis represents rigorous estimates of the hospital costs of a variety of inpatient harms; these should be of interest to health care administrators and policy makers to identify areas for cost savings to the health care system.

Costs to Medicare of the Informatics for Diabetes Education and Telemedicine (IDEATel) home telemedicine demonstration: findings from an independent evaluation.

OBJECTIVE: To estimate the impacts on Medicare costs of providing a particular type of home telemedicine to eligible Medicare beneficiaries with type 2 diabetes. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: Two cohorts of beneficiaries (n = 1,665 and 504, respectively) living in two medically underserved areas of New York between 2000 and 2007 were randomized to intensive nurse case management via televisits or usual care. Medicare service use and costs covering a 6-year follow-up period were drawn from claims data. Impacts were estimated using regression analyses. RESULTS: Informatics for Diabetes Education and Telemedicine (IDEATel) did not reduce Medicare costs in either site. Total costs were between 71 and 116% higher for the treatment group than for the control group. CONCLUSIONS: Although IDEATel had modest effects on clinical outcomes (reported elsewhere), it did not reduce Medicare use or costs for health services. The intervention's costs were excessive (over $8,000 per person per year) compared with programs with similar-sized clinical impacts.