Adherence to practice parameters in Medicare beneficiaries with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
PLoS One
; 19(6): e0304083, 2024.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-38829866
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE:
Physician adherence to evidence-based clinical practice parameters impacts outcomes of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) patients. We sought to investigate compliance with the 2009 practice parameters for treatment of ALS patients in the United States, and sociodemographic and provider characteristics associated with adherence.METHODS:
In this population-based, retrospective cohort study of incident ALS patients in 2009-2014, we included all Medicare beneficiaries age ≥20 with ≥1 International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification ALS code (335.20) in 2009 and no prior years (N = 8,575). Variables of interest included race/ethnicity, sex, age, urban residence, Area Deprivation Index (ADI), and provider specialty (neurologist vs. non-neurologist). Outcomes were use of practice parameters, which included feeding tubes, non-invasive ventilation (NIV), riluzole, and receiving care from a neurologist.RESULTS:
Overall, 42.9% of patients with ALS received neurologist care. Black beneficiaries (odds ratio [OR] 0.56, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.47-0.67), older beneficiaries (OR 0.964, 95% CI 0.961-0.968 per year), and those living in disadvantaged areas (OR 0.70, 95% CI 0.61-0.80) received less care from neurologists. Overall, only 26.7% of beneficiaries received a feeding tube, 19.2% NIV, and 15.3% riluzole. Neurologist-treated patients were more likely to receive interventions than other ALS patients feeding tube (OR 2.80, 95% CI 2.52-3.11); NIV (OR 10.8, 95% CI 9.28-12.6); and riluzole (OR 7.67, 95% CI 6.13-9.58), after adjusting for sociodemographics. These associations remained marked and significant when we excluded ALS patients who subsequently received a code for other diseases that mimic ALS.CONCLUSIONS:
ALS patients treated by neurologists received care consistent with practice parameters more often than those not treated by a neurologist. Black, older, and disadvantaged beneficiaries received less care consistent with the practice parameters.
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Medicare
/
Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis
Limits:
Aged
/
Aged80
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
/
Middle aged
Country/Region as subject:
America do norte
Language:
En
Journal:
PLoS One
Journal subject:
CIENCIA
/
MEDICINA
Year:
2024
Document type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Estados Unidos
Publication country:
EEUU
/
ESTADOS UNIDOS
/
ESTADOS UNIDOS DA AMERICA
/
EUA
/
UNITED STATES
/
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
/
US
/
USA