Quantifying sustained health system benefits of primary care-based integrated disease management for COPD: a 6-year interrupted time series study.

BACKGROUND: Severe exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a trajectory-changing life event for patients and a major contributor to health system costs. This study evaluates the real-world impact of a primary care, integrated disease management (IDM) programme on acute health service utilisation (HSU) in the Canadian health system. METHODS: Interrupted time series analysis using retrospective health administrative data, comparing monthly HSU event rates 3 years prior to and 3 years following the implementation of COPD IDM. Primary outcomes were COPD-related hospitalisation and emergency department (ED) visits. Secondary outcomes included hospital bed days and all-cause HSU. RESULTS: There were 2451 participants. COPD-related and all-cause HSU rates increased in the 3 years prior to IDM implementation. With implementation, there was an immediate decrease (month 1) in COPD-related hospitalisation and ED visit rates of -4.6 (95% CI: -7.76 to -1.39) and -6.2 (95% CI: -11.88, -0.48) per 1000 participants per month, respectively, compared with the counterfactual control group. After 12 months, COPD-related hospitalisation rates decreased: -9.1 events per 1000 participants per month (95% CI: -12.72, -5.44) and ED visits -19.0 (95% CI: -25.50, -12.46). This difference nearly doubled by 36 months. All-cause HSU also demonstrated rate reductions at 12 months, hospitalisation was -10.2 events per 1000 participants per month (95% CI: -15.79, -4.44) and ED visits were -30.4 (95% CI: -41.95, -18.78). CONCLUSIONS: Implementation of COPD IDM in a primary care setting was associated with a changed trajectory of COPD-related and all-cause HSU from an increasing year-on-year trend to sustained long-term reductions. This highlights a substantial real-world opportunity that may improve health system performance and patient outcomes.

Decision threshold models in medical decision making: a scoping literature review.

BACKGROUND: Decision thresholds play important role in medical decision-making. Individual decision-making differences may be attributable to differences in subjective judgments or cognitive processes that are captured through the decision thresholds. This systematic scoping review sought to characterize the literature on non-expected utility decision thresholds in medical decision-making by identifying commonly used theoretical paradigms and contextual and subjective factors that inform decision thresholds. METHODS: A structured search designed around three concepts-individual decision-maker, decision threshold, and medical decision-was conducted in MEDLINE (Ovid) and Scopus databases from inception to July 2023. ProQuest (Dissertations and Theses) database was searched to August 2023. The protocol, developed a priori, was registered on Open Science Framework and PRISMA-ScR guidelines were followed for reporting on this study. Titles and abstracts of 1,618 articles and the full texts for the 228 included articles were reviewed by two independent reviewers. 95 articles were included in the analysis. A single reviewer used a pilot-tested data collection tool to extract study and author characteristics, article type, objectives, theoretical paradigm, contextual or subjective factors, decision-maker, and type of medical decision. RESULTS: Of the 95 included articles, 68 identified a theoretical paradigm in their approach to decision thresholds. The most common paradigms included regret theory, hybrid theory, and dual processing theory. Contextual and subjective factors that influence decision thresholds were identified in 44 articles. CONCLUSIONS: Our scoping review is the first to systematically characterizes the available literature on decision thresholds within medical decision-making. This study offers an important characterization of the literature through the identification of the theoretical paradigms for non-expected utility decision thresholds. Moreover, this study provides insight into the various contextual and subjective factors that have been documented within the literature to influence decision thresholds, as well as these factors juxtapose theoretical paradigms.

Cost-effectiveness of integrated disease management for high risk, exacerbation prone, patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in a primary care setting.

BACKGROUND: We evaluate the cost-effectiveness of the 'Best Care' integrated disease management (IDM) program for high risk, exacerbation prone, patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) compared to usual care (UC) within a primary care setting from the perspective of a publicly funded health system (i.e., Ontario, Canada). METHODS: We conducted a model-based, cost-utility analysis using a Markov model with expected values of costs and outcomes derived from a Monte-Carlo Simulation with 5000 replications. The target population included patients started in GOLD II with a starting age of 68 years in the trial-based analysis. Key input parameters were based on a randomized control trial of 143 patients (i.e., UC (n = 73) versus IDM program (n = 70)). Results were shown as incremental cost per quality-adjusted life year (QALY) gained. RESULTS: The IDM program for high risk, exacerbation prone, patients is dominant in comparison with the UC group. After one year, the IDM program demonstrated cost savings and improved QALYs (i.e., UC was dominated by IDM) with a positive net-benefit of $5360 (95% CI: ($5175, $5546) based on a willingness to pay of $50,000 (CAN) per QALY. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrates that the IDM intervention for patients with COPD in a primary care setting is cost-effective in comparison to the standard of care. By demonstrating the cost-effectiveness of IDM, we confirm that investment in the delivery of evidence based best practices in primary care delivers better patient outcomes at a lower cost than UC.

Centralization and innovation: Competing priorities for health systems?

Over the last 15 years, there has been a trend in Canada to centralise the provision of health services that were previously administratively and fiscally decentralised. Canadian policy rhetoric on centralisation often identifies improved innovation as an anticipated outcome. This paper challenges the assumed relationship between centralisation and innovation. We incorporate evidence from the management literature into the debate on the structure of health systems to explore the effects that centralisation is likely to have on innovation in health systems. The findings of this paper will be of interest to international policymakers, who are currently grappling with the prospect of maintaining a decentralised approach or adopting a more centralised health system structure in the future.

Confronting complexity and supporting transformation through health systems mapping: a case study.

INTRODUCTION: Health systems are a complex web of interacting and interconnected parts; introducing an intervention, or the allocation of resources, in one sector can have effects across other sectors and impact the entire system. A prerequisite for effective health system reorganisation or transformation is a broad and common understanding of the current system amongst stakeholders and innovators. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and heart failure (HF) are common chronic diseases with high health care costs that require an integrated health system to effectively treat. STUDY DESCRIPTION: This case study documents the first phase of system transformation at a regional level in Ontario, Canada. In this first phase, visual representations of the health system in its current state were developed using a collaborative co-creation approach, and a focus on COPD and HF. Multiple methods were used including focus groups, open-ended questionnaires, and document review, to develop a series of graphical and visual representations; a health care ecosystem map. RESULTS: The ecosystem map identified key sectoral components, inter-component interactions, and care requirements for patients with COPD and HF and inventoried current programs and services available to deliver this care. Main findings identified that independent system-wide navigation for this vulnerable patient group is limited, primary care is central to the accessibility of nearly half of the identified care elements, and resources are not equitably distributed. The health care ecosystem mapping helped to identify care gaps and illustrates the need to resource the primary care provider and the patient with system navigation resources and interdisciplinary team care. CONCLUSION: The co-created health care ecosystem map brought a collective understanding of the health care system as it applies to COPD and HF. The map provides a blueprint that can be adapted to other disease states and health systems. Future transformation will build on this foundational work, continuing the robust interdisciplinary co-creation strategies, exploring predictive health system modelling and identifying areas for integration.

New hepatitis C diagnoses in Ontario, Canada are associated with the local prescription patterns of a controlled-release opioid.

Increases in acute hepatitis C virus (HCV) incidence may be a result of the rising prevalence of injection drug use and the opioid epidemic. Among persons who inject drugs, sharing of needles/syringes is less common and leads to a smaller proportion of incident cases than does sharing of injection drug preparation equipment. In Canada and Europe, hydromorphone controlled release has been associated with frequent reuse and sharing of IDPE. Drug excipients within HCR have been shown to preserve virus survival within IDPE. We hypothesized that regional differences in HCV incidence would mirror regional differences in HCR prescribing. We reviewed HCV incidence data across Ontario, Canada for 2016. Opioid prescribing patterns in each Health Unit were reviewed. Multivariable Poisson regression analyses were performed to test the strength of hydromorphone controlled release dispensing patterns in explaining HCV incidence compared to all opioids. Less vehicle access, lack of education, lower income, less population density, higher white race/ethnicity and more opioid substitution therapy recipients remained significant positive predictors of hepatitis C incidence in the Ontario model. Higher hydromorphone controlled release dispensing rate was a stronger predictor of HCV incidence than all opioid prescriptions (standardized risk ratio = 1.17, P < .0001 vs sRR = 1.11, P = .02). When hydromorphone controlled release was excluded from the opioid prescription variable, dispensing patterns of all other opioids no longer remained a significant predictor (sRR = 1.042, P = .34). The observed relationship between HCV incidence and hydromorphone controlled release dispensing suggests that the type of opioid prescribed locally may contribute to variations in HCV incidence. These data add support to evidence that hydromorphone controlled release use is contributing to HCV spread in Ontario.

Reverse innovation: an opportunity for strengthening health systems.

BACKGROUND: Canada, when compared to other OECD countries, ranks poorly with respect to innovation and innovation adoption while struggling with increasing health system costs. As a result of its failure to innovate, the Canadian health system will struggle to meet the needs and demands of both current and future populations. The purpose of this initiative was to explore if a competition-based reverse innovation challenge could mobilize and stimulate current and future leaders to identify and lead potential reverse innovation projects that address health system challenges in Canada. METHODS: An open call for applications took place over a 4-month period. Applicants were enticed to submit to the competition with a $50,000 prize for the top submission to finance their project. Leaders from a wide cross-section of sectors collectively developed evaluation criteria and graded the submissions. The criteria evaluated: proof of concept, potential value, financial impact, feasibility, and scalability as well as the use of prize money and innovation team. RESULTS: The competition received 12 submissions from across Canada that identified potential reverse innovations from 18 unique geographical locations that were considered developing and/or emerging markets. The various submissions addressed health system challenges relating to education, mobile health, aboriginal health, immigrant health, seniors health and women's health and wellness. Of the original 12 submissions, 5 finalists were chosen and publically profiled, and 1 was chosen to receive the top prize. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this initiative demonstrate that a competition that is targeted to reverse innovation does have the potential to mobilize and stimulate leaders to identify reverse innovations that have the potential for system level impact. The competition also provided important insights into the capacity of Canadian students, health care providers, entrepreneurs, and innovators to propose and implement reverse innovation in the context of the Canadian health system.

An Innovative Patient-Centred Approach to Heart Failure Management: The Best Care Heart Failure Integrated Disease-Management Program.

Background: The management of heart failure (HF) is challenging because of the complexities in recommended therapies. Integrated disease management (IDM) is an effective model, promoting guideline-directed care, but the impact of IDM in the community setting requires further evaluation. Methods: A retrospective evaluation of community-based IDM. Patient characteristics were described, and outcomes using a pre- and post-intervention design were HF-related health-service use, quality of life, and concordance with guideline-directed medical therapy (GDMT). Results: 715 patients were treated in the program (2016 to 2023), 219 in a community specialist-care clinic, and 496 in 25 primary-care clinics. The overall cohort was predominantly male (60%), with a mean age of 73.5 years (± 10.7), and 60% with HF with reduced ejection fraction. In patients with ≥ 6 months of follow-up (n = 267), pre vs post annualized rates of HF-related acute health-service use decreased from 36.3 to 8.5 hospitalizations per 100 patients per year, P < 0.0001, from 31.8 to 13.1 emergency department visits per 100 patients per year, P < 0.0001, and from 152.8 to 110.0 urgent physician visits per 100 patients per year, P = 0.0001. The level of concordance with GDMT improved; the number of patients receiving triple therapy and quadruple therapy increased by 10.1% (95% confidence interval [CI], 2.4%,17.8%) and 19.6% (95% CI, 12.0%, 27.3%), respectively. Within these groups, optimal dosing was achieved in 42.5% (95% CI, 32.0%, 53.6%) and 35.0% (95% CI, 23.1%, 48.4%), respectively. In patients with at least one follow-up visit (n = 286), > 50% experienced a clinically relevant improvement in their quality of life. Conclusions: A community-based IDM program for HF, may reduce HF-related acute health-service use, improve quality of life and level of concordance with GDMT. These encouraging preliminary outcomes from a real-world program evaluation require confirmation in a randomized controlled trial.

Contexte: La prise en charge de l'insuffisance cardiaque (IC) représente un défi en raison de la complexité des traitements recommandés. La prise en charge intégrée des maladies est un modèle efficace qui favorise les soins reposant sur les lignes directrices, mais la portée de ce modèle en milieu extra-hospitalier mérite une évaluation plus approfondie. Méthodologie: Évaluation rétrospective de la prise en charge intégrée des maladies à l'échelle communautaire. Les caractéristiques des patients ont été établies. Les résultats mesurés avant et après l'intervention ont été l'utilisation des services de santé liés à l'IC, la qualité de vie et le degré de concordance avec le traitement médical recommandé par les lignes directrices. Résultats: Au total, 715 patients ont été traités dans le cadre du programme (de 2016 à 2023) : 219 dans une clinique communautaire de soins spécialisés et 496 dans 25 cliniques de soins primaires. Dans l'ensemble, la majorité des patients étaient de sexe masculin (60 %). L'âge moyen était de 73,5 ans (± 10,7 ans). Soixante pour cent des patients présentaient une IC avec fraction d'éjection réduite. Chez les patients ayant fait l'objet d'un suivi pendant ≥ 6 mois (n = 267), les taux annualisés d'utilisation des services de santé aigus liés à l'IC avant et après l'intervention sont passés de 36,3 à 8,5 hospitalisations pour 100 patients par année (p < 0,0001), de 31,8 à 13,1 visites aux urgences pour 100 patients par année (p < 0,0001) et de 152,8 à 110,0 consultations avec un urgentologue pour 100 patients par année (p = 0,0001). On a observé une augmentation du degré de concordance avec le traitement médical recommandé par les lignes directrices. Le nombre de patients recevant une trithérapie et une quadrithérapie a également augmenté de 10,1 % (intervalle de confiance [IC] à 95 % : 2,4 % à 17,8 %) et de 19,6 % (IC à 95 % : 12,0 % à 27,3 %), respectivement. Dans ces groupes, la dose optimale a été atteinte chez 42,5 % (IC à 95 % : 32,0 % à 53,6 %) et 35,0 % (IC à 95 % : 23,1 % à 48,4 %) des patients, respectivement. Plus de 50 % des patients ayant effectué au moins une visite de suivi (n = 286) ont obtenu une amélioration cliniquement pertinente de leur qualité de vie. Conclusions: Un programme communautaire de prise en charge intégrée de l'IC peut réduire l'utilisation des services de santé liés à l'IC, améliorer la qualité de vie et augmenter le degré de concordance avec le traitement médical recommandé par les lignes directrices. Bien qu'ils soient encourageants, ces résultats préliminaires issus de l'évaluation d'un programme en contexte réel doivent être confirmés par la réalisation d'une étude à répartition aléatoire et contrôlée.

Impact of colorectal cancer screening participation in remote northern Canada: A retrospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Screening provides earlier colorectal cancer (CRC) detection and improves outcomes. It remains poorly understood if these benefits are realized with screening guidelines in remote northern populations of Canada where CRC rates are nearly twice the national average and access to colonoscopy is limited. AIM: To evaluate the participation and impact of CRC screening guidelines in a remote northern population. METHODS: This retrospective cohort study included residents of the Northwest Territories, a northern region of Canada, age 50-74 who underwent CRC screening by a fecal immunohistochemical test (FIT) between January 1, 2014 to March 30, 2019. To assess impact, individuals with a screen-detected CRC were compared to clinically-detected CRC cases for stage and location of CRC between 2014-2016. To assess participation, we conducted subgroup analyses of FIT positive individuals exploring the relationships between signs and symptoms of CRC at the time of screening, wait-times for colonoscopy, and screening outcomes. Two sample Welch t-test was used for normally distributed continuous variables, Mann-Whitney-Wilcoxon Tests for data without normal distribution, and Chi-square goodness of fit test for categorical variables. A P value of < 0.05 was considered to be statistically significant. RESULTS: 6817 fecal tests were completed, meaning an annual average screening rate of 25.04%, 843 (12.37%) were positive, 629 individuals underwent a follow-up colonoscopy, of which, 24.48% had advanced neoplasia (AN), 5.41% had CRC. There were no significant differences in stage, pathology, or location between screen-detected cancers and clinically-detected cancers. In assessing participation and screening outcomes, we observed 49.51% of individuals referred for colonoscopy after FIT were ineligible for CRC screening, most often due to signs and symptoms of CRC. Individuals were more likely to have AN if they had signs and symptoms of cancer at the time of screening, waited over 180 d for colonoscopy, or were indigenous [respectively, estimated RR 1.18 95%CI of RR (0.89-1.59)]; RR 1.523 (CI: 1.035, 2.240); RR 1.722 (CI: 1.165, 2.547)]. CONCLUSION: Screening did not facilitate early cancer detection but facilitated higher than anticipated AN detection. Signs and symptoms of CRC at screening, and long colonoscopy wait-times appear contributory.

Enhancing Physician Managerial Capabilities: Partnership between Medicine and Business.

This article was migrated. The article was marked as recommended. Background Physicians are typically appointed to leadership roles within health care organizations on the basis of individual accomplishments in research, education, and/or clinical care. However, these types of achievements seldom provide the requisite management capabilities to lead within health organizations. In this manuscript, we described our initial experience in developing an in-house program to provide current and aspiring physician leaders with the managerial capabilities to enhance the quality of health care delivery within their respective organization. Methods In a partnership established between a Medical School and a Business School, we designed two series of weekend workshops to provide current and aspiring physician leaders with the financial capabilities to assist them in their future healthcare leadership careers. This course was then expanded to a Management Principles for Physician workshop with open enrollment to physicians at all levels. Baseline demographics and participant evaluations of each course were recorded. In the open enrollment Management Principles for Physician workshop, we examined the relationship between participant background and their course evaluations as well as their areas of interest for further training. Results All 3 workshops received excellent evaluations by participants. The positive impact of the open enrollment program, based on participants' self-evaluations, was the highest in female physicians, as well as early to mid-career physicians. Additionally, physicians who do not currently hold leadership positions and those who are leading at Divisional levels were the most interested in further training in finance. Conclusion In summary, this series of workshops demonstrated the feasibility of an in-house physician leadership program and yielded important information for the design of future leadership development curriculum.