Addressing Health-Related Social Needs Via Community Resources: Lessons From Accountable Health Communities.

The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation launched the Accountable Health Communities (AHC) Model in 2017 to assess whether identifying and addressing Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries' health-related social needs reduced health care use and spending. We surveyed a subset of AHC Model beneficiaries with one or more health-related social needs and two or more emergency department visits in the prior twelve months to assess their use of community services and whether their needs were resolved. Survey findings indicated that navigation-connecting eligible patients with community services-did not significantly increase the rate of community service provider connections or the rate of needs resolution, relative to a randomized control group. Findings from interviews with AHC Model staff, community service providers, and beneficiaries identified challenges connecting beneficiaries to community services. When connections were made, resources often were insufficient to resolve beneficiaries' needs. For navigation to be successful, investments in additional resources to assist beneficiaries in their communities may be required.

Satisfaction and Mental Health Outcomes Associated with a Large Regional Helpline.

We surveyed users of a behavioral health helpline serving New York City and surroundings, to assess their helpline experiences, changes in psychological distress after contacting the helpline, and factors associated with differences in these measures. We surveyed users twice: roughly 2 weeks following their helpline contact, from 4/2019 to 9/2019 (N = 1097 respondents) and again 6 months following contact, from 10/2019 to 3/2020 (N = 732 respondents). Eighty-nine percent of respondents reported that contacting the helpline helped them deal a little or a lot more effectively with their problems. Rates of psychological distress decreased from 41.3% 2 weeks following helpline contact to 29.0% 6 months after (P < 0.05). Improvements in psychological distress were found across a range of demographic characteristics and were greatest for repeat users. Users reported broadly positive experiences with the helpline and improved psychological distress 6 months later. Behavioral health helplines can offer beneficial services to diverse populations, complementing the formal behavioral healthcare system.

Bundled Payment Episodes Initiated by Physician Group Practices: Medicare Beneficiary Perceptions of Care Quality.

BACKGROUND: The Bundled Payments for Care Improvement (BPCI) initiative incentivizes participating providers to reduce total Medicare payments for an episode of care. However, there are concerns that reducing payments could reduce quality of care. OBJECTIVE: To assess the association of BPCI with patient-reported functional status and care experiences. DESIGN: We surveyed a stratified random sample of Medicare beneficiaries with BPCI episodes attributed to participating physician group practices, and matched comparison beneficiaries, after hospitalization for one of the 18 highest volume clinical episodes. The sample included beneficiaries discharged from the hospital from February 2017 through September 2017. Beneficiaries were surveyed approximately 90 days after their hospital discharge. We estimated risk-adjusted differences between the BPCI and comparison groups, pooled across all 18 clinical episodes and separately for the five largest clinical episodes. PARTICIPANTS: Medicare beneficiaries with BPCI episodes (n=16,898, response rate=44.5%) and comparison beneficiaries hospitalized for similar conditions selected using coarsened exact matching (n=14,652, response rate=46.2%). MAIN MEASURES: Patient-reported functional status, care experiences, and overall satisfaction with recovery. KEY RESULTS: Overall, we did not find differences between the BPCI and comparison respondents across seven measures of change in functional status or overall satisfaction with recovery. Both BPCI and comparison respondents reported generally positive care experiences, but BPCI respondents were less likely to report positive care experience for 3 of 8 measures (discharged at the right time, -1.2 percentage points (pp); appropriate level of care, -1.8 pp; preferences for post-discharge care taken into account, -0.9 pp; p<0.05 for all three measures). CONCLUSIONS: The proportion of respondents with favorable care experiences was smaller for BPCI than comparison respondents. However, we did not detect differences in self-reported change in functional status approximately 90 days after hospital discharge, indicating that differences in care experiences did not affect functional recovery.

Patient-reported Outcomes Among Vulnerable Populations in the Medicare Bundled Payments for Care Improvement Initiative.

BACKGROUND: The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Bundled Payments for Care Improvement (BPCI) initiative tested whether episode-based payment models could reduce Medicare payments without harming quality. Among patients with vulnerabilities, BPCI appeared to effectively reduce payments while maintaining the quality of care. However, these findings could overlook potential adverse patient-reported outcomes in this population. RESEARCH DESIGN: We surveyed beneficiaries with 4 characteristics (Medicare-Medicaid dual eligibility; dementia; recent institutional care; or racial/ethnic minority) treated at BPCI-participating or comparison hospitals for congestive heart failure, sepsis, pneumonia, or major joint replacement of the lower extremity. We estimated risk-adjusted differences in patient-reported outcomes between BPCI and comparison respondents, stratified by clinical episode and vulnerable characteristic. MEASURES: Patient care experiences during episodes of care and patient-reported functional outcomes assessed roughly 90 days after hospitalization. RESULTS: We observed no differences in self-reported functional improvement between BPCI and comparison respondents with vulnerable characteristics. Patient-reported care experience was similar between BPCI and comparison respondents in 11 of 15 subgroups of clinical episode and vulnerability. BPCI respondents with congestive heart failure, sepsis, and pneumonia were less likely to indicate positive care experiences than comparison respondents for at least 1 subgroup with vulnerabilities. CONCLUSIONS: As implemented by hospitals, BPCI Model 2 was not associated with adverse effects on patient-reported functional status among beneficiaries who may be vulnerable to reductions in care. Hospitals participating in heart failure, sepsis or pneumonia bundled payment episodes should focus on patient care experience while implementing changes in care delivery.

Acceptance of New Clients by Mental Health Clinicians in Massachusetts: Findings From a Representative Survey.

OBJECTIVE: The objective was to assess the number of new clients accepted by licensed mental health clinicians in Massachusetts and clinician characteristics associated with new clients accepted. METHODS: Surveys about client access to outpatient mental health care were sent to a stratified random sample of 2,250 licensed mental health clinicians (psychiatrists, psychologists, licensed certified social workers, licensed independent clinical social workers, licensed mental health counselors, and licensed marriage and family therapists) practicing in Massachusetts. The survey was administered from September 2016 to March 2017 by using a mail survey with a push-to-Web design and telephone follow-up. The final adjusted response rate was 28% (N=413). Results were weighted to reflect the sampling design and for nonresponse and are representative of all licensed mental health clinicians in Massachusetts. RESULTS: On average, clinicians accepted seven new clients per month. Although most clinicians reported accepting one or more new clients per month, half reported accepting four or fewer new clients per month. After adjustment for other factors, the analysis showed that clinicians in practices owned by hospitals or health systems reported accepting eight more new clients per month, on average, than clinicians in solo private practices (p<0.05). Clinicians in private group practices reported accepting two more new clients per month on average than clinicians in solo private practices (p<0.05). Working fewer than 30 hours per week and tenure of more than 1 year in one's current position were negatively associated with acceptance of new clients. CONCLUSIONS: New client acceptance varied by practice setting but not by type of clinician. These findings can inform mental health system and workforce planning to improve access to mental health services.

Association of Medicare's Bundled Payments for Care Improvement initiative with patient-reported outcomes.

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether the Bundled Payments for Care Improvement (BPCI) initiative affected patient-reported measures of quality. DATA SOURCES: Surveys of Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries discharged from acute care hospitals participating in BPCI Model 2 and comparison hospitals between October 2014 and June 2017. Variables from Medicare administrative data and the Provider of Services file were used for sampling and risk adjustment. STUDY DESIGN: We estimated risk-adjusted differences in patient-reported measures of care experience and changes in functional status, for beneficiaries treated by BPCI and comparison hospitals. DATA COLLECTION: We selected a stratified random sample of BPCI and matched comparison beneficiaries. We fielded nine waves of surveys using a mail and phone protocol, yielding 29 193 BPCI and 29 913 comparison respondents. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Most BPCI and comparison survey respondents reported a positive care experience and high satisfaction. BPCI respondents were slightly less likely than comparison respondents to report positive care experience or high satisfaction. Despite these differences in care experience, there was no difference between BPCI and comparison respondents in self-reported functional status approximately 90 days after hospital discharge. CONCLUSIONS: These findings reduce concerns that BPCI may have unintentionally harmed patient health but suggest room for improvement in patient care experience.

Using multi-stakeholder alliances to accelerate the adoption of health information technology by physician practices.

BACKGROUND: Multi-stakeholder alliances - groups of payers, purchasers, providers, and consumers that work together to address local health goals - are frequently used to improve health care quality within communities. Under the Aligning Forces for Quality (AF4Q) initiative, multi-stakeholder alliances were given funding and technical assistance to encourage the use of health information technology (HIT) to improve quality. We investigated whether HIT adoption was greater in AF4Q communities than in other communities. METHODS: Drawing upon survey data from 782 small and medium-sized physician practices collected as part of the National Study of Physician Organizations during July 2007 - March 2009 and January 2012-November 2013, we used weighted fixed effects models to detect relative changes in four measures representing three domains: use of electronic health records (EHRs), receipt of electronic information from hospitals, and patients' online access to their medical records. RESULTS: Improvement on a composite EHR adoption measure was 7.6 percentage points greater in AF4Q communities than in non-AF4Q communities, and the increase in the probability of adopting all five EHR capabilities was 23.9 percentage points greater in AF4Q communities. There was no significant difference in improvement in receipt of electronic information from hospitals or patients' online access to medical records between AF4Q and non-AF4Q communities. CONCLUSION: By linking HIT to quality improvement efforts, AF4Q alliances may have facilitated greater adoption of EHRs in small and medium-sized physician practices, but not receipt of electronic information from hospitals or patients' online access to medical records. IMPLICATIONS: Multi-stakeholder alliances charged with promoting HIT to advance quality improvement may accelerate adoption of EHRs.

Patient-initiated Electronic Messages and Quality of Care for Patients With Diabetes and Hypertension in a Large Fee-for-Service Medical Group: Results From a Natural Experiment.

BACKGROUND: Few studies have examined the association between patient-initiated electronic messaging (e-messaging) and clinical outcomes in fee-for-service settings. OBJECTIVE: To estimate the association between patient-initiated e-messages and quality of care among patients with diabetes and hypertension. DESIGN: Longitudinal observational study from 2009 to 2013. In March 2011, the medical group eliminated a $60/year patient user fee for e-messaging and established a provider payment of $3-5 per patient-initiated e-message. Quality of care for patients initiating e-messages was compared before and after March 2011, relative to nonmessaging patients. Propensity score weighting accounted for differences between e-messaging and nonmessaging patients in generalized estimating equations. SETTING: Large multispecialty practice in California compensating providers' fee-for-service. SUBJECTS: Patients with diabetes (N=4232) or hypertension (N=15,463) who had activated their online portal but not e-messaged before e-messaging became free. MEASURES: Quality of care included HEDIS-based process measures for hemoglobin (Hb) A1c, blood pressure, low-density lipoprotein (LDL), nephropathy, and retinopathy tests, and outcome measures for HbA1c, blood pressure, and LDL. E-messaging was measured as counts of patient-initiated e-message threads sent to providers. Patients were categorized into quartiles by e-messaging frequency. RESULTS: The probability of annually completing indicated tests increased by 1%-7% for e-messaging patients, depending on the outcome and e-messaging frequency. E-messaging was associated with small improvements in HbA1c and LDL for some patients with diabetes. CONCLUSION: Patient-initiated e-messaging may increase the likelihood of completing recommended tests, but may not be sufficient to improve clinical outcomes for most patients with diabetes or hypertension without additional interventions.

Increased Use of Care Management Processes and Expanded Health Information Technology Functions by Practice Ownership and Medicaid Revenue.

Practice ownership and Medicaid revenue may affect the use of care management processes (CMPs) for chronic conditions and expansion of health information technology (HIT). Using a national cohort of medical practices, we compared the use of CMPs and HIT from 2006/2008 to 2013 by practice ownership and level of Medicaid revenue. Poisson regression models estimated changes in CMP use, and linear regression estimated changes in HIT, by practice ownership and Medicaid patient revenue, controlling for other practice characteristics. Compared with physician-owned practices, system-owned practices adopted a greater number of CMPs and HIT functions over time (p < .001). High Medicaid revenue (≥30.0%) was associated with less adoption of CMPs (p < .001) and HIT (p < .01). System-owned practices (p < .001) and community health centers (p < .001) with high Medicaid revenue were more likely than physician-owned practices with high Medicaid revenue to adopt CMPs over time. System and community health center ownership appear to help high Medicaid practices overcome CMP adoption constraints.

Association of mandated language access programming and quality of care provided by mental health agencies.

OBJECTIVE: This study examined the association between language access programming and quality of psychiatric care received by persons with limited English proficiency (LEP). METHODS: In 1999, the California Department of Mental Health required county Medicaid agencies to implement a "threshold language access policy" to meet the state's Title VI obligations. This policy required Medi-Cal agencies to provide language access programming, including access to interpreters and translated written material, to speakers of languages other than English if the language was spoken by at least 3,000, or 5%, of the county's Medicaid population. Using a longitudinal study design with a nonequivalent control group, this study examined the quality of care provided to Spanish speakers with LEP and a severe mental illness before and after implementation of mandatory language access programming. Quality was measured by receipt of at least two follow-up medication visits within 90 days or three visits within 180 days of an initial medication visit over a period of 38 quarter-years. RESULTS: On average, only 40% of Spanish-speaking clients received at least three medication follow-up visits within 180 days. In multivariate analyses, language access programming was not associated with receipt of at least two medication follow-up visits within 90 days or at least three visits within 180 days. CONCLUSIONS: This study found no evidence that language access programming led to increased rates of follow-up medication visits for clients with LEP.

Patient and provider characteristics associated with colorectal, breast, and cervical cancer screening among Asian Americans.

BACKGROUND: Routinely recommended screening for breast, cervical, and colorectal cancers can significantly reduce mortality from these types of cancer, yet screening is underutilized among Asians. Surveys rely on self-report and often are underpowered for analysis by Asian ethnicities. Electronic health records (EHR) include validated (as opposed to recall-based) rates of cancer screening. In this article, we seek to better understand cancer screening patterns in a population of insured Asian Americans. METHODS: We calculated rates of compliance with cervical, breast, and colorectal cancer screening among Asians from an EHR population and compared them with non-Hispanic whites. We performed multivariable modeling to evaluate potential predictors (at the provider- and patient-level) of screening completion among Asian patients. RESULTS: Aggregation of Asian subgroups masked heterogeneity in screening rates. Asian Indians and native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders had the lowest rates of screening in our sample, well below that of non-Hispanic whites. In multivariable analyses, screening completion was negatively associated with patient-physician language discordance for mammography [OR, 0.81; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.71-0.92] and colorectal cancer screening (OR, 0.79; CI, 0.72-0.87) and positively associated with patient-provider gender concordance for mammography (OR, 1.16; CI, 1.00-1.34) and cervical cancer screening (OR, 1.66; CI, 1.51-1.82). In addition, patient enrollment in online health services increased mammography (OR, 1.32; CI, 1.20-1.46) and cervical cancer screening (OR, 1.31; CI, 1.24-1.37). CONCLUSIONS: Language- and gender-concordant primary care providers and culturally tailored online health resources may help improve preventive cancer screening in Asian patient populations. IMPACT: This study demonstrates how the use of EHR data can inform investigations of primary prevention practices within the healthcare delivery setting.

Physician practice participation in accountable care organizations: the emergence of the unicorn.

OBJECTIVE: To provide the first nationally based information on physician practice involvement in ACOs. DATA SOURCES/STUDY SETTING: Primary data from the third National Survey of Physician Organizations (January 2012-May 2013). STUDY DESIGN: We conducted a 40-minute phone survey in a sample of physician practices. A nationally representative sample of practices was surveyed in order to provide estimates of organizational characteristics, care management processes, ACO participation, and related variables for four major chronic illnesses. DATA COLLECTION/EXTRACTION METHODS: We evaluated the associations between ACO participation, organizational characteristics, and a 25-point index of patient-centered medical home processes. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We found that 23.7 percent of physician practices (n = 280) reported joining an ACO; 15.7 percent (n = 186) were planning to become involved within the next 12 months and 60.6 percent (n = 717) reported no involvement and no plans to become involved. Larger practices, those receiving patients from an IPA and/or PHO, those that were physician-owned versus hospital/health system-owned, those located in New England, and those with greater patient-centered medical home (PCMH) care management processes were more likely to have joined an ACO. CONCLUSIONS: Physician practices that are currently participating in ACOs appear to be relatively large, or to be members of an IPA or PHO, are less likely to be hospital-owned and are more likely to use more care management processes than nonparticipating practices.

Spanish-language community-based mental health treatment programs, policy-required language-assistance programming, and mental health treatment access among Spanish-speaking clients.

OBJECTIVES: We investigated the extent to which implementing language assistance programming through contracting with community-based organizations improved the accessibility of mental health care under Medi-Cal (California's Medicaid program) for Spanish-speaking persons with limited English proficiency, and whether it reduced language-based treatment access disparities. METHODS: Using a time series nonequivalent control group design, we studied county-level penetration of language assistance programming over 10 years (1997-2006) for Spanish-speaking persons with limited English proficiency covered under Medi-Cal. We used linear regression with county fixed effects to control for ongoing trends and other influences. RESULTS: When county mental health plans contracted with community-based organizations, those implementing language assistance programming increased penetration rates of Spanish-language mental health services under Medi-Cal more than other plans (0.28 percentage points, a 25% increase on average; P < .05). However, the increase was insufficient to significantly reduce language-related disparities. CONCLUSIONS: Mental health treatment programs operated by community-based organizations may have moderately improved access after implementing required language assistance programming, but the programming did not reduce entrenched disparities in the accessibility of mental health services.

When does adoption of health information technology by physician practices lead to use by physicians within the practice?

OBJECTIVE: We sought to determine the extent to which adoption of health information technology (HIT) by physician practices may differ from the extent of use by individual physicians, and to examine factors associated with adoption and use. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Using cross-sectional survey data from the National Study of Small and Medium-Sized Physician Practices (July 2007-March 2009), we examined the extent to which organizational capabilities and external incentives were associated with the adoption of five key HIT functionalities by physician practices and with use of those functionalities by individual physicians. RESULTS: The rate of physician practices adopting any of the five HIT functionalities was 34.1%. When practices adopted HIT functionalities, on average, about one in seven physicians did not use those functionalities. One physician in five did not use prompts and reminders following adoption by their practice. After controlling for other factors, both adoption of HIT by practices and use of HIT by individual physicians were higher in primary care practices and larger practices. Practices reporting an emphasis on patient-centered management were not more likely than others to adopt, but their physicians were more likely to use HIT. DISCUSSION: Larger practices were most likely to have adopted HIT, but other factors, including specialty mix and self-reported patient-centered management, had a stronger influence on the use of HIT once adopted. CONCLUSIONS: Adoption of HIT by practices does not mean that physicians will use the HIT.

The impact of threshold language assistance programming on the accessibility of mental health services for persons with limited English proficiency in the Medi-Cal setting.

BACKGROUND: Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act prohibits federal funds recipients from providing care to limited English proficiency (LEP) persons more limited in scope or lower in quality than care provided to others. In 1999, the California Department of Mental Health implemented a "threshold language access policy" to meet its Title VI obligations. Under this policy, Medi-Cal agencies must provide language assistance programming in a non-English language where a county's Medical population contains either 3000 residents or 5% speakers of that language. RESEARCH DESIGN: We examine the impact of threshold language policy-required language assistance programming on LEP persons' access to mental health services by analyzing the county-level penetration rate of services for Russian, Spanish, and Vietnamese speakers across 34 California counties, over 10 years of quarterly data. Exploiting a time series with nonequivalent control group study design, we studied this phenomena using linear regression with random county effects to account for trends over time. RESULTS: Threshold language policy-required assistance programming led to an immediate and significant increase in the penetration rate of mental health services for Russian (8.2, P < 0.01) and Vietnamese (3.3, P < 0.01) language speaking persons. CONCLUSIONS: Threshold language assistance programming was effective in increasing mental health access for Russian and Vietnamese, but not for Spanish-speaking LEP persons.

Small and medium-size physician practices use few patient-centered medical home processes.

The patient-centered medical home has become a prominent model for reforming the way health care is delivered to patients. The model offers a robust system of primary care combined with practice innovations and new payment methods. But scant information exists about the extent to which typical US physician practices have implemented this model and its processes of care, or about the factors associated with implementation. In this article we provide the first national data on the use of medical home processes such as chronic disease registries, nurse care managers, and systems to incorporate patient feedback, among 1,344 small and medium-size physician practices. We found that on average, practices used just one-fifth of the patient-centered medical home processes measured as part of this study. We also identify internal capabilities and external incentives associated with the greater use of medical home processes.