[Obtaining a Second Opinion in Germany: an Analysis of the Billing Data of the Health Insurer AOK Nordost]. / Inanspruchnahme von Zweitmeinungen in Deutschland ­ eine Analyse von Abrechnungsdaten der AOK Nordost.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this billing data analysis was to examine the implementation of the second opinion directive in Germany and to investigate how often informing patients about their right to a second opinion (SO) and obtaining a SO are documented. METHODS: To examine the frequency of "informing about SO" and "obtaining an SO", insured patients who received an indication for tonsillectomy, tonsillotomy or hysterectomy in 2019 or 2020 were included, as well as insured patients who received an indication for shoulder arthroscopy in Q2-Q3 2020. Data were analyzed descriptively. RESULTS: During the study period, 5307 surgeries were reported for the above-mentioned indications. "Informing about SO" was documented for 121 patients with surgery and "obtaining an SO" was documented for 12 patients with surgery. The proportion of documented "informing about SO" compared to the number of surgeries was highest for tonsillectomy/tonsillotomy<18 years (4%) and lowest for shoulder arthroscopy (0.6%). In total, no patient was documented for both "informing about SO" and "obtaining an SO". CONCLUSIONS: The present billing data analysis shows that information about the right to an SO according to the directive as well as the obtaining of such an SO has not yet been implemented in standard care as required by law.

Preference-Based Implementation of Video Consultations in Urban and Rural Regions in Outpatient Care in Germany: Protocol for a Mixed Methods Study.

BACKGROUND: Particularly in rural regions, factors such as lower physician density and long travel distances complicate adequate outpatient care. However, urban regions can also be affected by deficits in care, for example, long waiting times. One model of care intending to improve the situation is the implementation of video consultations. The study protocol presents the methodology of the research project titled "Preference-based implementation of the video consultation in urban and rural regions" funded by the German Federal Joint Committee (funding number 01VSF20011). OBJECTIVE: This study aims to identify existing barriers to the use of video consultation and the preferences of insured individuals and physicians as well as psychotherapists in order to optimize its design and thus increase acceptance and use of video consultations in urban and rural regions. METHODS: Built on a mixed methods approach, this study first assesses the status quo of video consultation use through claims data analysis and carries out a systematic literature review on barriers and promoting factors for the use of video consultations. Based on this preliminary work, focus groups are conducted in order to prepare surveys with insureds as well as physicians and psychotherapists in the second study phase. The central element of the survey is the implementation of discrete choice experiments to elicit relevant preferences of (potential) user groups and service providers. The summarized findings are discussed in a stakeholder workshop and translated into health policy recommendations. RESULTS: The methodological approach used in this study is the focus of this paper. The study is still ongoing and will continue until March 2024. The first study phase has already been completed, in which preliminary work has been done on potential applications and hurdles for the use of video consultations. Currently, the survey is being conducted and analyses are being prepared. CONCLUSIONS: This study is intended to develop a targeted strategy for health policy makers based on actual preferences and perceived obstacles to the use of video consultations. The results of this study will contribute to further user-oriented development of the implementation of video consultations in German statutory health insurance. Furthermore, the iterative and mixed methods approach used in this study protocol is also suitable for a variety of other research projects. INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID): DERR1-10.2196/50932.

Determinants for participation in a prevention and early detection programme for children and adolescents in Germany: does social background play a role?

Early detection examinations and prevention are particularly important in childhood and adolescence, as certain diseases are already developing and health-related attitudes and behaviour patterns are formed and implemented. Despite the importance of screening and prevention, not all families use the available services and programmes. The aim of this study is to identify factors associated with participation in an early detection and prevention programme for children and adolescents, as well as factors associated with actual uptake of an examination. The analyses are based on questionnaire data of an online survey of participants and non-participants. Descriptive analyses and logistic regression models are conducted on a defined sample (n = 1,289). The results show that both groups differ with regard to several factors: age, chronic diseases, federal state, living space, number of siblings, country of birth, migration background, language spoken at home, mother's occupational status, household income, treatment duration, and trust in treating physician. Regression I shows that participation in the programme is significantly associated with higher age, language spoken at home, mother's occupational status and greater trust in the treating physician. The latter demonstrates the highest predictive power. Regression II indicates that the actual uptake of an examination among participants is significantly affected by age, federal state and father's occupational status. Overall, the results of this study show that social background partly plays a role in participation, but that factors such as trust in the treating physician also have a significant impact. For the future, further research on the factors influencing participation in screening and prevention services or programmes for children and adolescents is important in order to develop strategies to overcome existing barriers and thus reach groups that have not been reached yet. In this context, trust in the treating physician and his or her influence on decision-making should in particular be considered.

The effectiveness of additional screening examinations for children and adolescents in Germany: a longitudinal retrospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Continuous medical care is particularly important in childhood and adolescence. Since there are gaps in regular care in Germany, various health insurance providers offer to cover additional examinations (e.g., U10, U11, J2) to ensure ongoing paediatrician visits. However, the question arises as to whether these examinations are effective. Thus, the main objective of this study is to determine whether participation in the U10, U11 or J2 examinations leads to more frequent and earlier diagnosis and treatment of age-specific diseases. METHODS: The analyses are based on administrative claims data from a statutory health insurance fund. For each examination, an intervention group (IG) is formed and matched with a corresponding control group (CG). Descriptive analyses include proportion with diagnosis and treatment, average age of diagnosis and treatment initiation. Hypothesis testing is performed using methods appropriate to each. In addition, subgroup analyses and binominal logistic regression models are conducted. RESULTS: More diagnoses are detected in IG, irrespective of subgroups. Additionally, diagnoses are made slightly earlier on average in IG. In the total samples, more therapies are initiated in IG, and slightly earlier. Considering only diagnosed cases, more therapies are initiated in CG but continue to be started earlier in IG. Regression models show that participation in the examinations has the highest predictive power for detecting a diagnosis. The presence of a chronic disease and sex - male at the U10 and U11 and female at the J2 - are also significantly associated. The models further show that nationality, unemployment of parents and region also have a significant influence in some cases, whereas school-leaving qualification, vocational qualification and income of parents do not. Considering the initiation of treatment in overall samples, the models show similar results, but here the presence of a chronic illness has the highest predictive power. CONCLUSION: The results indicate that participation in the examinations leads to significantly more diagnoses and, in the overall samples, significantly more treatments. In addition, diagnoses were made somewhat earlier and therapies were initiated somewhat earlier. In the future, it would be useful to investigate the U10, U11 and J2 examinations over a longer time horizon to determine whether the statistically significant difference found is also clinically relevant, i.e., earlier diagnosis and initiation of therapy lead to prevention of manifestation or progression of the diagnosed diseases and to avoidance of secondary diseases. TRIAL REGISTRATION: German Clinical Trials Register (DRKS), DRKS-ID: DRKS00015280. Prospectively registered on 18 March 2019.

[Less surgery and lower cost due to back pain in a care program with an interdisciplinary second opinion procedure : A controlled non-randomized intervention study based on claims data]. / Weniger Operationen und Kosten wegen Rückenschmerzen in einem Versorgungsprogramm mit interdisziplinärem Zweitmeinungsverfahren : Eine kontrollierte, nichtrandomisierte Interventionsstudie mit GKV-Daten.

BACKGROUND: There is no evidence of effectiveness for interdisciplinary second opinion procedures (ISOP) for recommended back surgery (BS). Since 2015, AOK Nordost has been offering the care program RückenSPEZIAL comprising a preliminary examination, ISOP, and optional interdisciplinary multimodal pain therapy (IMPT). The objective of this study is to determine the effectiveness of RückenSPEZIAL to reduce BS and back pain-related costs (BPRC) compared to patients who likewise received a recommendation for back surgery but not RückenSPEZIAL. METHODS: Insured persons in the AOK Nordost consulted the AOK service center, presented a BS hospital admission slip and received advice to participate in RückenSPEZIAL. Following a 1:1 "matched pairs" selection, patients who participated in RückenSPEZIAL (intervention group [IG]) after this consultation (reference date) where compared with patients who did not participate after this consultation (comparison group [CG]). Patient characteristics, BS and BPRC were operationalised from AOK Nordost claims data. RESULTS: Of 108 IG patients and 108 CG patients, 34 (42%) fewer IG patients had one or more BS in 365 following days (relative risk [RR] 0.58; p < 0.001). The subgroup analysis showed for 21 IG patients with ISOP and IMPT an RR of 0.13 (p < 0.001), and for 67 IG patients with solely ISOP without IMPT an RR of 0.59 (p < 0.001). The increase in RBC from the previous year to the following year was 50.2 percentage points lower for IG patients compared to CG patients (p = 0.088). DISCUSSION: The differences in BS were significant (p < 0.05) and in favor of RückenSPEZIAL. For the specific population it can be expected that mainly savings on BS can cover the intervention costs of RückenSPEZIAL (approximately significant, small case number). Bias due to self-selection needs to be assumed.

The detection and prevention of adverse drug events in nursing home and home care patients: Study protocol of a quasi-experimental study.

AIM: To estimate the cost-effectiveness of an intervention facilitating the early detection of adverse drug events through the means of health professional training and the application of a digital screening tool. DESIGN: Multi-centred non-randomized controlled trial from August 2018 to March 2020 including 65 nursing homes or home care providers. METHODS: We aim to estimate the effect of the intervention on the rate of adverse drug events as primary outcome through a quasi-experimental empirical study design. As secondary outcomes, we use hospital admissions and falls. All outcomes will be measured on patient-month level. Once the causal effect of the intervention is estimated, cost-effectiveness will be calculated. For cost-effectiveness, we include all patient costs observed by the German statutory health insurance. RESULTS: The results of this study will inform about the cost-effectiveness of the optimized drug supply intervention and provide evidence for potential reimbursement within the German statutory health insurance system.