The Challenge and Opportunity of Capturing Patient Reported Measures of Rheumatoid Arthritis Disease Activity in Vulnerable Populations with Limited Health Literacy and Limited English Proficiency.

Limited health literacy and limited English proficiency are widely prevalent and contribute to rheumatoid arthritis (RA) health care disparities. The RA Patient Global Assessment of Disease Activity often introduces complexity to the health care encounters of patients and research subjects with limited health literacy and limited English proficiency. Important work is being done to ensure that patient-reported outcomes are validated and appropriate for diverse and vulnerable populations.

Cross-sectional correlation of single-item health literacy screening questions with established measures of health literacy in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

Research suggests that health literacy (HL) is associated with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients' functional status. Single-item health literacy screening (SILS) questionnaires may establish patients' HL; however, the wording of SILS may be misinterpreted by RA patients as a query regarding physical limitations. Despite this threat to validity, multiple publications have employed the SILSs as a measure of health literacy. We assessed the construct validity of two SILS's versions by correlating scores with standardized HL measures. English-speaking adult RA patients at a hospital serving low-income patients were enrolled in a cross-sectional study. Subjects completed two SILS versions, as well as two longer HL measurement tools [short test of functional health literacy in adults (s-TOFHLA) and the rapid estimate of adult literacy in medicine (REALM)]. Spearman correlation was used to compare these tools. The study enrolled 110 subjects. There was a good correlation between the two SILS versions (r = 0.705). The correlation of SILS2 and REALM or s-TOFHLA was less robust. The distribution of scores within each SILS2 category demonstrated substantial variation. The SILS2 has construct validity in the assessment of HL in patients with RA, though its correlation with traditional methods of assessing HL is weak.

Strong association of health literacy with functional status among rheumatoid arthritis patients: a cross-sectional study.

OBJECTIVE: Studies linking health literacy to outcomes in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) have been underpowered and have not adequately accounted for confounders. We examined the association of health literacy with functional status in 6,052 subjects participating in a prospective observational study, controlling for numerous important covariates. METHODS: Using linear regression, we analyzed the cross-sectional association of health literacy, as measured by 2 validated single-item literacy screening questions (SILS1 and SILS2), and functional status, assessed by the Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ) disability index. Subjects reported demographics, comorbidities, social support, educational attainment, visual problems, and memory problems, as well as use of prednisone, disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs, and biologic agents. Each SILS measure was forced into the final model. RESULTS: Low health literacy was present in 7.0% and 4.3% of subjects (per SILS1 and SILS2, respectively). When controlling for all covariates, low health literacy was associated with a 0.376-point greater HAQ score, compared to subjects with adequate health literacy (95% confidence interval 0.306, 0.447; P < 0.001). This relationship persisted, even after modeling educational attainment. Results were similar for the 2 SILS instruments. Low health literacy was also associated with poorer self-reported adherence to RA medications. Visual and memory problems were associated with worse functional status. CONCLUSION: Health literacy was more strongly associated with functional status than prednisone use, smoking history, and biologic agent use, and independent of educational attainment. Health literacy may play an important role in understanding functional status in RA patients. Single-item questions amenable to use in the clinical setting may identify subjects with low health literacy, who are at risk for poor RA outcomes.

Health literacy predicts discrepancies between traditional written patient assessments and verbally administered assessments in rheumatoid arthritis.

OBJECTIVE: Patient assessments of disease activity (PtGA) and general health (GH) measured by visual analog scale (VAS) are widely used in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) clinical practice and research. These require comprehension of the question's wording and translation of disease activity onto a written VAS, which is problematic for patients with limited health literacy (HL) or difficulty completing forms. This study's objective was to validate verbally administered versions of patient assessments and identify factors that might explain discrepancies between verbal and written measures. METHODS: We enrolled patients with RA at the Denver Health rheumatology clinic (n = 300). Subjects were randomized to complete the traditional written PtGA and GH and one of the verbal assessments. Subjects provided a verbal numeric response after reading the question, having the question read to them in person, or hearing the question over the phone. Spearman and Lin correlations comparing written and verbal assessments were determined. Multivariate logistic regression was performed to explain any discrepancies. RESULTS: The instruments administered verbally in-person showed good, but not excellent, correlation with traditional written VAS forms (Spearman coefficients 0.59 to 0.70; p < 0.001 for all correlations). Twenty-three percent of subjects were unable to complete 1 of the written VAS assessments without assistance. HL predicted missing written data and discrepancies between verbal and written assessments (p < 0.05 for all correlations). CONCLUSION: Providers should use verbal versions of PtGA and GH with caution while caring for patients unable to complete traditional written version. Limited HL is widely prevalent and a barrier to obtaining patient-oriented data.

A discharge panel at Denver Health, focused on complex patients, may have influenced decline in length-of-stay.

Acute care hospitals struggle to manage complex patients who no longer require acute care services but who present medical and psychosocial challenges that make safe discharge to a lower level of care difficult. These challenges can be particularly acute at safety-net hospitals that cater predominantly to the poor and uninsured. For a person with a serious illness, such as a spinal cord injury, lack of insurance for long-term care services may add many weeks of medically unnecessary hospital days and result in higher costs. We describe safety-net system Denver Health's efforts to facilitate appropriate nonhospital care for these complex patients through the formation of a Complex Discharge Subcommittee. Successful solutions include accelerating legal guardianship approval to facilitate patient acceptance by skilled nursing facilities, as well as providing specialized equipment such as bariatric beds to nursing facilities to enable them to accommodate these patients. However, further policy interventions, such as updated reimbursement policies, are warranted.

Limited health literacy is a common finding in a public health hospital's rheumatology clinic and is predictive of disease severity.

BACKGROUND: Health literacy (HL) is associated with outcomes in many conditions, but little is known about its impact on arthritic diseases. OBJECTIVES: We sought to determine whether HL is related to disease activity and severity in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). METHODS: English-speaking adult RA patients were recruited for this cross-sectional study. Background information was ascertained by medical record review; Disease Activity Score 28 (DAS-28) scores were determined by providers; subjects completed the Multidimensional Health Assessment Questionnaire (MDHAQ), demographic questionnaires, and validated HL instruments, including the Short Test of Functional Health Literacy in Adults, Rapid Estimate of Adult Literacy in Medicine, and the single-item literacy screener. We used linear regression to assess whether HL was associated with MDHAQ and DAS-28 scores. RESULTS: One hundred ten subjects participated in the study. Limited HL was a common finding, especially among ethnic minorities. The single-item literacy screener results were predictive of lower MDHAQ scores by univariate regression analysis. Similar trends were observed for the Short Test of Functional Health Literacy in Adults and Rapid Estimate of Adult Literacy in Medicine. The relationship between the single-item literacy screener and MDHAQ remained statistically significant in multivariate analysis that controlled for the impact of demographic features and RA disease characteristics. Health literacy scores were not associated with DAS-28 scores. CONCLUSIONS: Health literacy was independently associated with functional impairment in English-speaking RA patients at an urban safety-net clinic. This new finding suggests that RA functional status might be improved by strategies that target limited HL's causal pathways.

Five consecutive cases of a cutaneous vasculopathy in users of levamisole-adulterated cocaine.

Five patients with an antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)-associated cutaneous vasculopathy secondary to levamisole-adulterated cocaine were prospectively followed up at a single hospital. All patients presented with retiform purpura, with ear involvement being the most characteristic finding. Cocaine metabolites were present on urine toxicology screening, with 2 of 4 of those tested also being positive for levamisole. High-titer polyspecific ANCA and positive antiphospholipid antibody tests were defining laboratory features. Thrombosis and/or leukocytoclastic vasculitis were seen on skin biopsy. Improvement of skin lesions and laboratory findings occurred with cessation of cocaine; however, arthralgias and other complications developed. Levamisole-adulterated cocaine is a cause of a cutaneous vasculopathy associated with characteristic laboratory and clinical features that allow it to be distinguished from classic ANCA-associated small-vessel vasculitides. The chronic sequelae of this syndrome and the potential role for immunosuppression are yet to be completely defined.

Health literacy predicts the discrepancy between patient and provider global assessments of rheumatoid arthritis activity at a public urban rheumatology clinic.

OBJECTIVE: Numerous studies report that significant discordance exists between patient and provider [physician] measures of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). We examined whether health literacy explains this discordance. METHODS: We recruited English-speaking adult patients with RA for this cross-sectional study. Subjects completed 2 versions of patient global assessments of disease activity (PTGA), using standard terminology from the Multi-Dimensional Health Assessment Questionnaire (MDHAQ) and the 28-joint count Disease Activity Score 28 (DAS28). The provider global assessment (MDGA) was also obtained. The discrepancy between PTGA and MDGA was calculated as the absolute difference between these assessments. We used validated instruments [Short Test of Functional Health Literacy in Adults (S-TOFHLA) and Rapid Estimate of Adult Literacy in Medicine (REALM)] and linear regression to determine whether health literacy predicts disease measure discrepancy. RESULTS: The study included 110 subjects. Limited health literacy was a common finding by both the REALM and S-TOFHLA. PTGA and MDGA showed fair to good correlation (r = 0.66-0.68), although both versions of the PTGA were significantly higher than MDGA by the t-test (p < 0.001). The S-TOFHLA and REALM both were associated with the absolute difference between the MDGA and PTGA by linear regression, and results remained statistically significant in multivariate analysis. CONCLUSION: Health literacy was independently associated with the extent of discrepancy between PTGA and MDGA in English-speaking patients with RA at an urban clinic. This finding should influence our interpretation of disease measures.

A concise evaluation and management curriculum for physicians in training improved billing at an outpatient academic rheumatology clinic.

PURPOSE: To study whether providing house staff with a brief lecture and handout about proper documentation could improve billing at an academic rheumatology clinic. METHOD: The authors created an educational sheet about documentation and billing after a review of the common documentation omissions responsible for down coding (Appendix, Supplemental Digital Content 1, available at: http://links.lww.com/RHU/A8). Beginning in November of 2006, the house staff were provided with this sheet and a brief lecture regarding how outpatient evaluation and management levels of service are coded. The results of clinic billing from January 1, 2006 to October 31, 2006 and November 1, 2006 to August 31, 2007 were obtained from the physician billing office. The authors compared the average level of service, by appointment type, in the prepost comparison periods using the student t test. RESULTS: There was a significant improvement in the level of service billed for new visits (P < 0.001), consults (P < 0.001), and return visits (P < 0.001) after November 1, 2006. The percentage of patients evaluated for the first time who were billed as consults improved from 15% to 78% (P < 0.001 by chi2). These changes resulted in $34,342 of additional billing during the postintervention period. DISCUSSION: A simple strategy for educating the house staff about proper documentation of the history, physical examination, and clinical decision making resulted in a significant improvement in an academic rheumatology division's outpatient billing.