Factors Associated With Hospitalization by Veterans in Home-Based Primary Care.

OBJECTIVES: This study examined the extent to which program site-based and Veteran characteristics were associated with potentially avoidable hospitalizations or other hospitalization of Veterans enrolled in the Veterans Affairs (VA) Home-Based Primary Care (HBPC). DESIGN: Retrospective claims-based study. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: HBPC programs that responded to a national survey of HBPC programs (n = 189) in fiscal year (FY) 2016 were studied. Veterans in the analysis cohort were identified as having been enrolled in VA-HBPC in FY2016 who had not received care by VA-HBPC within 1 year prior to their first HBPC enrollment in FY2016 (N = 8497). METHODS: Multinomial logistic regression analysis with 5 outcome categories within the 6 months following the first HBPC enrollment date: (1) any potentially avoidable hospitalizations for ambulatory care-sensitive conditions (ACSC) as identified by AHRQ Prevention Quality Indicator (PQI), (2) any other hospitalizations for non-ACSC conditions, (3) died during study period, (4) discharged from HBPC, or (5) remained at home with HBPC. Average marginal effects (AME) of veteran-level and VA-HBPC-level covariates are reported for each of the outcome categories. RESULTS: More frail Veterans and Veterans 85 years old or older were more likely to have potentially preventable ACSC hospitalizations (AME = 5.4%, 1.8%, respectively). Veterans who were younger than 75 years, functionally impaired, bed-bound, or frail were more likely to have non-ACSC hospitalization (AME = 3.0%, 2.2%, 3.5%, and 9.0%, respectively). Veterans with low frailty index scores were less likely to have non-ACSC hospitalizations (AME = -17.1%). Six-month hospitalization patterns were not associated with reported HBPC site characteristics. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: Within the framework of the national VA HBPC program, variations in the structural model used at HBPC sites are not significantly associated with hospitalizations. Tailoring of HBPC care, based on individual patient factors and clinical judgment rather than standard protocols, may be central to the success of HBPC in reducing ACSC hospitalizations.

Implementing Clinical Practice Guidelines for Replacing Peripheral Intravenous Catheters.

BACKGROUND: A community hospital policy of routinely replacing peripheral intravenous catheters (PIVCs) needed updating to the clinical practice guideline (CPG) of clinically indicated replacement. METHODS: Guided by Lean principles, a clinical nurse leader (CNL) led a quality improvement small test of change on a 38-bed medical unit. The impact of the CPG was evaluated using quality, safety, and workflow measures. RESULTS: Nurses managed 469 inpatients, receiving 1033 PIVCs. Routine PIVC replacement declined from 34% to 3% (P < .001). PIVC dwell time ranged from 4 to 20 days and did not increase phlebitis (P = .41) or catheter-related bloodstream infections. Nurses attributed the improvements in workflow (P = .01) and the quality of patient care (94%) to the updated PIVC guideline. CONCLUSIONS: Clinically-indicated PIVC replacement reduced unnecessary catheter insertions, maintained patient safety, improved efficiency, and is being implemented hospital-wide. This project highlights and advances the CNL role in transforming healthcare.

Perceived Effectiveness of Home-Based Primary Care Teams in Veterans Health Administration.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Previous studies have shown that staff perception of team effectiveness is related to better health outcomes in various care settings. This study focused on the Veterans Health Administration's Home-Based Primary Care (HBPC) program. We examined variations in HBPC interdisciplinary teamwork (IDT) and identified modifiable team and program characteristics that may influence staff perceptions of team effectiveness. RESEARCH DESIGN: We used a broadly validated survey instrument to measure perceived team effectiveness, workplace conditions/resources, group culture, and respondents' characteristics. Surveys were initiated in January and completed in July, 2016. METHODS: Team membership rosters (n = 249) included 2,852 IDT members. The final analytical data set included 1,403 surveys (49%) from 221 (89%) teams. A generalized estimating equation model with logit link function, weighted by survey response rates, was used to examine factors associated with perceived team effectiveness. RESULTS: Respondents who served as primary care providers (PCPs) were 8% more likely (p = .0044) to view team's performance as highly effective compared to other team members. Teams with nurse practitioners serving as team leader reported 6% higher likelihood of high-perceived team effectiveness (p = .0234). High team effectiveness was 13% more likely in sites where the predominant culture was characterized as group/developmental, and 7%-8% more likely in sites with lower environmental stress and better resources and staffing, respectively. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: Team effectiveness is an important indirect measure of HBPC teams' function. HBPC teams should examine their predominant culture, workplace stress, resources and staffing, and PCP leadership model as part of their quality improvement efforts.

Dedicated to the Mission: Strategies US Department of Veterans Affairs Home-Based Primary Care Teams Apply to Keep Veterans at Home.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: The US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Home-Based Primary Care (HBPC) Program provides interdisciplinary, long-term primary care for frail, disabled, or chronically ill veterans. This research identifies strategies used by HBPC teams to support veterans in their homes, rather than in institutionalized care. DESIGN: Focus groups and semistructured interviews were conducted with HBPC interdisciplinary team (IDT) members, including program directors, medical directors, and key staff, from September 2017 to March 2018. Field observations were gathered during visits to veterans' homes and IDT meetings. SETTING: In-person site visits were conducted at eight HBPC Programs across the United States. Sites varied in location, setting, and primary care model. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 105 HBPC professionals. MEASUREMENT: Qualitative thematic content analysis. RESULTS: Four main strategies drive and support the shared mission of IDTs to support veterans at home: fostering frequent communication among IDT members, veterans, caregivers, and outside agencies; development of longitudinal, trusting, reliable relationships within IDTs and with veterans and caregivers; ongoing, consistent education for IDT members and veterans and caregivers; and collaboration within and outside IDTs. Adhering to this mission meant providing timely and efficient care that kept veterans in their homes and minimized the need for acute hospitalizations and nursing home placement. CONCLUSION: HBPC IDTs studied worked together across disciplines to effectively create a dedicated culture of caring for veterans, caregivers, and themselves, leading to keeping veterans at home. Focusing on the strategies identified in this research may be useful to achieve similar positive outcomes when caring for medically complex, homebound patients within and outside the VA. J Am Geriatr Soc 67:2511-2518, 2019.

Telehealth in Home-Based Primary Care: Factors and Challenges Associated With Integration Into Veteran Care.

OBJECTIVES: To describe the structural characteristics and challenges associated with home telehealth (HT) use in the US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Home-Based Primary Care (HBPC) program. DESIGN: We designed a national survey to collect information about HBPC program structural characteristics. The survey included eight organizational and service domains, one of which was HT. HBPC program directors were surveyed online using REDCap. PARTICIPANTS: We received 232 surveys from 394 HBPC sites (59% response rate). METHODS: HBPC structural domains were compared between sites using and not using HT technology. Open-ended responses were analyzed using content analysis. RESULTS: A total of 127 sites (76%) used HT, which was more likely when HBPC sites were aligned organizationally with the VA's Geriatrics and Extended Care Services division, when there were more disciplines on the HBPC team, and when primary care providers made home visits. Program directors overwhelmingly viewed HT as contributing to managing veterans' complex chronic conditions (81%), yet HT data were not readily integrated into care planning (24%). Challenges to HT use included veterans' acceptance and adherence, device issues, and collaboration between HBPC teams and HT staff. CONCLUSION: Corresponding to HBPC's complexity, HT use is primarily a self-organizing process that shapes the patterns of integration at each site. Although HT technology is compatible with core structures of the HBPC model, usability varies, and overall is low. To optimize HT use in HBPC, there are opportunities to redesign systems to mitigate challenges to adoption. As the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services' strives to increase access to both HBPC and telehealth benefits, evidenced by the continuation of its successful Independence at Home demonstration and the final changes in the proposed rule in April 2019 incorporating additional telehealth benefits for beneficiaries, this information will be relevant to VA and non-VA alike. J Am Geriatr Soc 67:1928-1933, 2019.

Interdisciplinary Team Perspectives on Mental Health Care in VA Home-Based Primary Care: A Qualitative Study.

OBJECTIVES: This qualitative study describes the structure and processes of providing care to U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Home-Based Primary Care (HBPC) enrollees with mental health care needs; explains the role of the HBPC psychologist; and describes how mental health treatment is integrated into care from the perspective of HBPC team members. DESIGN: HBPC programs were selected for in-person site visits based on initial surveys and low hospitalization rates. SETTING: Programs varied in setting, geographic locations, and primary care model. PARTICIPANTS: Eight site visits were completed. During visits, key informants including HBPC program directors, medical directors, team members, and other key staff involved with the HBPC program participated in semi-structured individual and group interviews. MEASUREMENTS: Recorded interviews, focus groups, and field observation notes. RESULTS: Qualitative thematic content analysis revealed four themes: 1) HBPC Veterans have not only complex physical needs but also co-occurring mental health needs; 2) the multi-faceted role of psychologists on HBPC teams, that includes providing care for Veterans and support for colleagues; 3) collaboration between medical and mental health providers as a means of caring for HBPC Veterans with mental health needs; and 4) gaps in providing mental health care on HBPC teams, primarily related to a lack of team psychiatrists and/or need for specialized medication management for psychiatric illness. CONCLUSIONS: Mental health providers are essential to HBPC teams. Given the significant mental health care needs of HBPC enrollees and the roles of HBPC mental health providers, HBPC teams should integrate both psychologists and consulting psychiatrists.

Correction to: Implementing goals of care conversations with veterans in VA long-term care setting: a mixed methods protocol.

CORRECTION: The authors would like to correct errors in the original article [1] that may have lead readers to misinterpret the scope, evidence base and target population of VHA Handbook 1004.03 "Life-Sustaining Treatment (LST) Decisions: Eliciting, Documenting, and Honoring Patients' Values, Goals, and Preferences".

Impact of Nursing Home Palliative Care Teams on End-of-Life Outcomes: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

BACKGROUND: Deficits in end-of-life care in nursing homes (NHs) are reported, but the impact of palliative care teams (PCTeams) on resident outcomes remains largely untested. OBJECTIVE: Test the impact of PCTeams on end-of-life outcomes. RESEARCH DESIGN: Multicomponent strategy employing a randomized, 2-arm controlled trial with a difference-in-difference analysis, and a nonrandomized second control group to assess the intervention's placebo effect. SUBJECTS: In all, 25 New York State NHs completed the trial (5830 decedent residents) and 609 NHs were in the nonrandomized group (119,486 decedents). MEASURES: Four risk-adjusted outcome measures: place of death, number of hospitalizations, self-reported moderate-to-severe pain, and depressive symptoms. The Minimum Data Set, vital status files, staff surveys, and in-depth interviews were employed. For each outcome, a difference-in-difference model compared the pre-post intervention periods using logistic and Poisson regressions. RESULTS: Overall, we found no statistically significant effect of the intervention. However, independent analysis of the interview data found that only 6 of the 14 treatment facilities had continuously working PCTeams throughout the study period. Decedents in homes with working teams had significant reductions in the odds of in-hospital death compared to the other treatment [odds ratio (OR), 0.400; P<0.001), control (OR, 0.482; P<0.05), and nonrandomized control NHs (0.581; P<0.01). Decedents in these NHs had reduced rates of depressive symptoms (OR, 0.191; P≤0.01), but not pain or hospitalizations. CONCLUSIONS: The intervention was not equally effective for all outcomes and facilities. As homes vary in their ability to adopt new care practices, and in their capacity to sustain them, reforms to create the environment in which effective palliative care can become broadly implemented are needed.

National Structural Survey of Veterans Affairs Home-Based Primary Care Programs.

OBJECTIVES: To describe the current structural and practice characteristics of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Home-Based Primary Care (HBPC) program. DESIGN: We designed a national survey and surveyed HBPC program directors on-line using REDCap. PARTICIPANTS: We received 236 surveys from 394 identified HBPC sites (60% response rate). MEASUREMENTS: HBPC site characteristics were quantified using closed-ended formats. RESULTS: HBPC program directors were most often registered nurses, and HBPC programs primarily served veterans with complex chronic illnesses that were at high risk of hospitalization and nursing home care. Primary care was delivered using interdisciplinary teams, with nurses, social workers, and registered dietitians as team members in more than 90% of the sites. Most often, nurse practitioners were the principal primary care providers (PCPs), typically working with nurse case managers. Nearly 60% of the sites reported dual PCPs involving VA and community-based physicians. Nearly all sites provided access to a core set of comprehensive services and programs (e.g., case management, supportive home health care). At the same time, there were variations according to site (e.g., size, location (urban, rural), use of non-VA hospitals, primary care models used). CONCLUSION: HBPC sites reflected the rationale and mission of HBPC by focusing on complex chronic illness of home-based veterans and providing comprehensive primary care using interdisciplinary teams. Our next series of studies will examine how HBPC site structural characteristics and care models are related to the processes and outcomes of care to determine whether there are best practice standards that define an optimal HBPC structure and care model or whether multiple approaches to HBPC better serve the needs of veterans.

Implementing goals of care conversations with veterans in VA long-term care setting: a mixed methods protocol.

BACKGROUND: The program "Implementing Goals of Care Conversations with Veterans in VA LTC Settings" is proposed in partnership with the US Veterans Health Administration (VA) National Center for Ethics in Health Care and the Geriatrics and Extended Care Program Offices, together with the VA Office of Nursing Services. The three projects in this program are designed to support a new system-wide mandate requiring providers to conduct and systematically record conversations with veterans about their preferences for care, particularly life-sustaining treatments. These treatments include cardiac resuscitation, mechanical ventilation, and other forms of life support. However, veteran preferences for care go beyond whether or not they receive life-sustaining treatments to include issues such as whether or not they want to be hospitalized if they are acutely ill, and what kinds of comfort care they would like to receive. METHODS: Three projects, all focused on improving the provision of veteran-centered care, are proposed. The projects will be conducted in Community Living Centers (VA-owned nursing homes) and VA Home-Based Primary Care programs in five regional networks in the Veterans Health Administration. In all the projects, we will use data from context and barrier and facilitator assessments to design feedback reports for staff to help them understand how well they are meeting the requirement to have conversations with veterans about their preferences and to document them appropriately. We will also use learning collaboratives-meetings in which staff teams come together and problem-solve issues they encounter in how to get veterans' preferences expressed and documented, and acted on-to support action planning to improve performance. DISCUSSION: We will use data over time to track implementation success, measured as the proportions of veterans in Community Living Centers (CLCs) and Home-Based Primary Care (HBPC) who have a documented goals of care conversation soon after admission. We will work with our operational partners to spread approaches that work throughout the Veterans Health Administration.

Pioneering a Nursing Home Quality Improvement Learning Collaborative: A Case Study of Method and Lessons Learned.

OBJECTIVES: To describe the development of a nursing home (NH) quality improvement learning collaborative (QILC) that provides Lean Six Sigma (LSS) training and infrastructure support for quality assurance performance improvement change efforts. DESIGN: Case report. SETTING/PARTICIPANTS: Twenty-seven NHs located in the Greater Rochester, NY area. INTERVENTION: The learning collaborative approach in which interprofessional teams from different NHs work together to improve common clinical and organizational processes by sharing experiences and evidence-based practices to achieve measurable changes in resident outcomes and system efficiencies. MEASUREMENTS: NH participation, curriculum design, LSS projects. RESULTS: Over 6 years, 27 NHs from urban and rural settings joined the QILC as organizational members and sponsored 47 interprofessional teams to learn LSS techniques and tools, and to implement quality improvement projects. CONCLUSIONS: NHs, in both urban and rural settings, can benefit from participation in QILCs and are able to learn and apply LSS tools in their team-based quality improvement efforts.

Developing palliative care practice guidelines and standards for nursing home-based palliative care teams: a Delphi study.

CONTEXT: Lack of nursing home (NH)-specific palliative care practice guidelines has been identified as a barrier to improving palliative and end-of-life (EOL) quality of care. OBJECTIVES: The objectives of this study were to (1) assess which of the guidelines developed by the National Consensus Project, and the corresponding preferred care practices endorsed by the National Quality Forum, are important and feasible to implement in NHs; and (2) identify the operational standards for palliative care teams in NHs. METHODS: Two-round mail Delphi study. Based on the existing literature, a set of 7 domains with associated 22 palliative practice guidelines was drafted. We invited 48 NH leaders, including clinicians, to review the importance (10-point Likert scale) and the feasibility (5-point Likert scale) of these guidelines. Participants were also asked about palliative care team composition rounding frequency. RESULTS: The response rate to both rounds was 85%. With regard to importance, the mean rating for all guidelines was 8 or higher (ie, highly important), but there was variability in agreement with regard to 5 of the guidelines. The same 5 guidelines were also considered more difficult to implement (eg, costly, unrealistic). Overall, 17 palliative care guidelines were identified for use by NH palliative care teams. Five disciplines (social work, certified nurse assistant, nurse, physician, and nurse practitioner or physician assistant) were identified as comprising a core team and 3 were proposed as extended or ad hoc members. CONCLUSION: The palliative care guidelines and team standards identified in this study may be helpful in providing practical direction to NH administrators and staff looking to improve palliative care practice for their residents.

Finding electronic information for health policy advocacy: a guide to improving search results.

PURPOSE: The success of advanced practice registered nurses' (APRNs') health policy advocacy depends on staying well informed about key issues. Searching for high-quality health policy information, however, can be frustrating and time consuming. Busy clinicians need strategies and tips to reduce information overload and to access synthesized research for evidence-based health policy. This article therefore offers APRNs practical guidelines and resources for searching electronic health policy information. DATA SOURCES: Scholarly databases and Internet sites. CONCLUSIONS: Electronic health policy information is generated by a wide variety of public and private organizations and disseminated in hundreds of journals and Web pages. Specialty search tools are needed to retrieve the unindexed gray literature, which includes government documents, agency reports, fact sheets, standards, and statistics not produced by commercial publishers. Further, Internet users need to examine search results with a critical eye for information quality. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: Expertise in searching electronic health policy information is a prerequisite for developing APRNs' leadership in political arenas to influence health policy and the delivery of healthcare services.

A clinical microsystem model to evaluate the quality of primary care for homebound older adults.

The declining use of nursing homes and a growing aging population is increasing the demand for home-based primary care (HBPC) among chronically ill disabled homebound older adults and their informal caregivers. The problem this poses is that access to HBPC is limited. Typically, HBPC programs are small and available in only a few communities. Expansion of HBPC nationally has been hampered by limited awareness of this mode of care and by a dearth of research examining the quality and effectiveness of primary care delivered in the home. In this article, we address the need for stronger evidence demonstrating how well HBPC programs deliver and improve care by laying the foundation for more rigorous evaluation of HBPC services. First, an HBPC clinical microsystem model for evaluating program quality and effectiveness is described to clarify relationships among 5 elements essential for delivering high-quality primary care to homebound elders: purpose, patients, people (staff), processes, and patterns. Data for the model were identified through MEDLINE, CINAHL, and PubMed searches that produced 540 potentially relevant studies, from which 21 studies of HBPC programs and services were selected to construct the clinical microsystem. Second, in order to inform health policymaking about the design and financing of HBPC, findings from program evaluations reported in the selected studies are summarized. Finally, recommendations for future research are outlined, including epidemiological studies to estimate the proportion and characteristics of the homebound population for planning appropriate services and creating large databases for evaluating HBPC quality, costs, and outcomes. Ultimately, the scalability of HBPC to meet the demand of current and future older adults depends on incentives that value the home as a bona fide setting for delivering primary care.

Strengthening nurses' political identity through service learning partnerships in education.

The extent to which nursing students are educationally prepared to lead health policy initiatives is inextricably linked to their political identity. Knowing and showing oneself to be a politic person in interactions with others is a dynamic social process that the authors propose can be facilitated by innovative, community-based service learning partnerships. A partnership between an elected city councilman and Registered Nurses in a baccalaureate-level professional issues course demonstrates how service learning can create a context for students' political socialization. In a pilot study, systematic qualitative research techniques were used to analyze the partners' reflections about their relationship. Findings suggest that students' political identities were developed through involvement in the community. Working on issues of mutual interest also raised policy makers' and nurses' consciousness of the value both groups contribute to addressing problems in urban communities.

Ethics and managed care.

Managed care in the USA is best understood in the context of the history of health care. It is an effort to manage the soaring costs of health care while retaining quality. Many ethical concerns arise because managed care organizations (MCOs) have dual purposes: to realize profits and to provide quality care. Dilemmas are created when persons in institutions are expected to play conflicting roles or when professionals, patients, or others in MCOs lose their voices as participating persons. These and other ethical concerns can be addressed by on-going processes of involvement of persons who have a stake in these organizational arrangements.

Nurses' job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and career intent.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this survey was to define the characteristics of the nursing work force of a mixed urban/rural region of New York state and to determine the nurses' level of job satisfaction and commitment to the work setting. BACKGROUND: Recent investigations suggest nurses are highly dissatisfied with the demands of the healthcare environment and are expressing increased likelihood of leaving the work setting. These factors, in combination with the increasing age of the current nursing work force, are contributing to serious concerns about the future of patient care. METHODS: A random sample survey was mailed to registered nurses in the Finger Lakes Region of New York State in June 2000. Items in the questionnaire addressed nurse characteristics, reasons for leaving or staying with an employing agency, one- and five-year career intent, and level of job satisfaction and organizational commitment. RESULTS: Forty-six percent of the nurses returned completed questionnaires. Within this sample, most of the nurses were older, European American, and female. Personal and organizational characteristics contributed to differences in levels of job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and 1- and 5-year intent. In addition, many of the most satisfied and committed nurses reported their intent to leave nursing within the next 5 years. CONCLUSIONS: Findings of this investigation suggest the organizational environment, educational preparation, and personal characteristics of currently employed registered nurses affect their current job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and plans for continuing as a nurse.