Supplemental findings of the 2021 National Blood Collection and Utilization Survey.

BACKGROUND: The Department of Health and Human Services' National Blood Collection and Utilization Survey (NBCUS) has been conducted biennially since 1997. Data are used to estimate national blood collection and use. Supplemental data from the 2021 NBCUS not presented elsewhere are presented here. METHODS: Data on survey participation, donor characteristics, blood component cost, transfusion-associated adverse reactions, and implementation of blood safety measures, including pathogen-reduction of platelets, during 2021, were analyzed. Comparisons are made to 2019 survey data where available (2013-2019 for survey participation). RESULTS: During 2021, there were 11,507,000 successful blood donations in the United States, a 4.8% increase from 2019. Persons aged 45-64 years accounted for 42% of all successful blood donations. Donations by persons aged 65 years and older increased by 40.7%, while donations among minorities and donors aged <25 years decreased. From 2019 to 2021, the median price hospitals paid per unit of leukoreduced red blood cells, leukoreduced and pathogen-reduced apheresis platelets, and fresh frozen plasma increased. The largest increase in price per unit of blood component in 2021 was for leukoreduced apheresis platelets, which increased by ~$51. Between 2019 and 2021, the proportion of transfusing facilities reporting use of pathogen-reduced platelets increased, from 13% to 60%. Transfusion-related adverse reactions declined slightly between 2019 and 2021, although the rate of transfusion-transmitted bacterial infections remained unchanged. CONCLUSION: During 2021, blood donations increased nationally, although donations from those aged <25 years and minorities declined. The prices hospitals paid for most blood products increased, as did the use of pathogen-reduced platelets.

Birth Outcomes Associated With E-Cigarette and Non-E-Cigarette Tobacco Product Use During Pregnancy: An Examination of PATH Data Waves 1-5.

OBJECTIVES: To examine associations of prenatal e-cigarette use to pregnancy and birth outcomes. METHODS: Currently pregnant women (n = 1 037) from Waves 1 through 4 of the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health Study who had pregnancy or live birth outcome data in a subsequent wave (Waves 2-5; 2013 to 2019). Weighted bivariate and multivariable models\ examined associations between past 30-day tobacco use assessed during pregnancy (any past 30-day e-cigarette use, any past 30-day non-e-cigarette tobacco use, or no past 30-day tobacco use) with adverse pregnancy (miscarriage, abortion, ectopic or tubal pregnancy, stillbirth) and birth outcomes (preterm birth, low birth weight, birth defect, placenta previa, placental abruption, pre-eclampsia) reported in the subsequent wave. RESULTS: Approximately 1% of pregnant women reported past 30-day exclusive e-cigarette use and 3.2% used e-cigarettes and one other tobacco product. Compared to no tobacco use, past 30-day e-cigarette use (exclusive or use with another tobacco product) during pregnancy was not associated with increased odds of an adverse pregnancy or birth outcome in bivariate or multivariable models. Past 30-day non-e-cigarette tobacco use was associated with increased odds of an adverse pregnancy outcome in multivariable models, but not an adverse live birth outcome. Compared to past 30-day cigarette use, past 30-day e-cigarette use during pregnancy was not associated with lowered odds of a birth or pregnancy outcome. CONCLUSIONS: E-cigarette use during pregnancy is rare. Understanding the positive and negative impacts of pre-natal e-cigarette use on women's health may guide public health messaging campaigns. IMPLICATIONS: Results showed that past 30-day e-cigarette use during pregnancy was low, with cigarette smoking remaining the most prevalent form of tobacco use during pregnancy. Current e-cigarette use during pregnancy used either exclusively or with another tobacco product, was not associated with increased risk of an adverse pregnancy, or birth outcome. A small sample size of e-cigarette users and limited information on quantity and frequency of e-cigarette use before and during pregnancy may limit conclusions. Healthcare providers may use this information when discussing the harms and consequences associated with e-cigarette and tobacco use during pregnancy.

Are trends in billing for high-intensity emergency care explained by changes in services provided in the emergency department? An observational study among US Medicare beneficiaries.

OBJECTIVE: There has been concern that an increase in billing for high-intensity emergency care is due to changes in coding practices facilitated by electronic health records. We sought to characterise the trends in billing for high-intensity emergency care among Medicare beneficiaries and to examine the degree to which trends in high-intensity billing are explained by changes in patient characteristics and services provided in the emergency department (ED). DESIGN, SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: Observational study using traditional Medicare claims to identify ED visits at non-federal acute care hospitals for elderly beneficiaries in 2006, 2009 and 2012. OUTCOMES MEASURES: Billing intensity was defined by emergency physician evaluation and management (E&M) codes. We tested for overall trends in high-intensity billing (E&M codes 99285, 99291 and 99292) and in services provided over time using linear regression models, adjusting for patient characteristics. Additionally, we tested for time trends in rates of admission to the hospital and to the intensive care unit (ICU). Next, we classified outpatient visits into 39 diagnosis categories and analysed the change in proportion of high-intensity visits versus the change in number of services. Finally, we quantified the extent to which trends in high-intensity billing are explained by changes in patient demographics and services provided in the ED using multivariable modelling. RESULTS: High-intensity visits grew from 45.8% of 671 103 visits in 2006 to 57.8% of 629 010 visits in 2012 (2.0% absolute increase per year; 95% CI 1.97% to 2.03%) as did the mean number of services provided for admitted (1.28 to 1.41; +0.02 increase in procedures per year; 95% CI 0.018 to 0.021) and discharged ED patients (7.1 to 8.6; +0.25 increase in services per year; 95% CI 0.245 to 0.255). There was a reduction in hospital admission rate from 40.1% to 35.9% (-0.68% per year; 95% CI -0.71% to -0.65%; P<0.001), while the ICU rate of admission rose from 11.7% to 12.3% (+0.11% per year; 95% CI 0.09% to 0.12%; P<0.001). When we stratified by diagnosis category, there was a moderate correlation between change in visits billed as high intensity and the change in mean number of services provided per visit (r=0.38; 95% CI 0.07 to 0.63). Trends in patient characteristics and services provided accounted moderately for the trend in practice intensity for outpatient visits (pseudo R2 of 0.47) but very little for inpatient visits (0.051) and visits overall (0.148). CONCLUSIONS: Increases in services provided in the ED moderately account for the trends in billing for high-intensity emergency care for outpatient visits.

Concentration of Potentially Preventable Spending Among High-Cost Medicare Subpopulations: An Observational Study.

BACKGROUND: Little is known about whether potentially preventable spending is concentrated among a subset of high-cost Medicare beneficiaries. OBJECTIVE: To determine the proportion of total spending that is potentially preventable across distinct subpopulations of high-cost Medicare beneficiaries. DESIGN: Beneficiaries in the highest 10% of total standardized individual spending were defined as "high-cost" patients, using a 20% sample of Medicare fee-for-service claims from 2012. The following 6 subpopulations were defined using a claims-based algorithm: nonelderly disabled, frail elderly, major complex chronic, minor complex chronic, simple chronic, and relatively healthy. Potentially preventable spending was calculated by summing costs for avoidable emergency department visits using the Billings algorithm plus inpatient and associated 30-day postacute costs for ambulatory care-sensitive conditions (ACSCs). The amount and proportion of potentially preventable spending were then compared across the high-cost subpopulations and by individual ACSCs. SETTING: Medicare. PARTICIPANTS: 6 112 450 Medicare beneficiaries. MEASUREMENTS: Proportion of spending deemed potentially preventable. RESULTS: In 2012, 4.8% of Medicare spending was potentially preventable, of which 73.8% was incurred by high-cost patients. Despite making up only 4% of the Medicare population, high-cost frail elderly persons accounted for 43.9% of total potentially preventable spending ($6593 per person). High-cost nonelderly disabled persons accounted for 14.8% of potentially preventable spending ($3421 per person) and the major complex chronic group for 11.2% ($3327 per person). Frail elderly persons accounted for most spending related to admissions for urinary tract infections, dehydration, heart failure, and bacterial pneumonia. LIMITATION: Potential misclassification in the identification of preventable spending and lack of detailed clinical data in administrative claims. CONCLUSION: Potentially preventable spending varied across Medicare subpopulations, with the majority concentrated among frail elderly persons. PRIMARY FUNDING SOURCE: The Commonwealth Fund.

Segmenting high-cost Medicare patients into potentially actionable cohorts.

BACKGROUND: Providers are assuming growing responsibility for healthcare spending, and prior studies have shown that spending is concentrated in a small proportion of patients. Using simple methods to segment these patients into clinically meaningful subgroups may be a useful and accessible strategy for targeting interventions to control costs. METHODS: Using Medicare fee-for-service claims from 2011 (baseline year, used to determine comorbidities and subgroups) and 2012 (spending year), we used basic demographics and comorbidities to group beneficiaries into 6 cohorts, defined by expert opinion and consultation: under-65 disabled/ESRD, frail elderly, major complex chronic, minor complex chronic, simple chronic, and relatively healthy. We considered patients in the highest 10% of spending to be "high-cost." RESULTS: 611,245 beneficiaries were high-cost; these patients were less often white (76.2% versus 80.9%) and more often dually-eligible (37.0% versus 18.3%). By segment, frail patients were the most likely (46.2%) to be high-cost followed by the under-65 (14.3%) and major complex chronic groups (11.1%); fewer than 5% of the beneficiaries in the other cohorts were high-cost in the spending year. The frail elderly ($70,196) and under-65 disabled/ESRD ($71,210) high-cost groups had the highest spending; spending in the frail high-cost group was driven by inpatient ($23,704) and post-acute care ($24,080), while the under 65-disabled/ESRD spent more through part D costs ($23,003). CONCLUSIONS: Simple criteria can segment Medicare beneficiaries into clinically meaningful subgroups with different spending profiles. IMPLICATIONS: Under delivery system reform, interventions that focus on frail or disabled patients may have particularly high value as providers seek to reduce spending. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: IV.

Medicare's Bundled Payment initiative: most hospitals are focused on a few high-volume conditions.

The Bundled Payments for Care Improvement initiative is a federally funded innovation model mandated by the Affordable Care Act. It is designed to help transition Medicare away from fee-for-service payments and toward bundling a single payment for an episode of acute care in a hospital and related postacute care in an appropriate setting. While results from the initiative will not be available for several years, current data can help provide critical early insights. However, little is known about the participating organizations and how they are focusing their efforts. We identified participating hospitals and used national Medicare claims data to assess their characteristics and previous spending patterns. These hospitals are mostly large, nonprofit, teaching hospitals in the Northeast, and they have selectively enrolled in the bundled payment initiative covering patient conditions with high clinical volumes. We found no significant differences in episode-based spending between participating and nonparticipating hospitals. Postacute care explains the largest variation in overall episode-based spending, signaling an opportunity to align incentives across providers. However, the focus on a few selected clinical conditions and the high degree of integration that already exists between enrolled hospitals and postacute care providers may limit the generalizability of bundled payment across the Medicare system.

The impact of a Medical Home for children with developmental disability within a pediatric resident continuity clinic. .

Primary care provided in a Medical Home (MH) can improve outcomes for Children with Special Health Care Needs. It is important for residents to experience MH in their training. The Oklahoma Family Support 360 project, a five-year collaborative initiative, established a MH in a pediatric primary care resident continuity clinic at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center. A study of the effects of enhancement of the seven key MH attributes showed a significant decrease in Emergency Service use, a significant increase in Dental Service use, high satisfaction with MH activities, and high ratings for a positive impact on quality of life for the child and family. The project demonstrated that a MH could be established in a pediatric academic program, improved health service use, and had a high level of satisfaction from participating families. This model provides a good example of the MH qualities for residents in training.

Social support and survival in young women with breast carcinoma.

PURPOSE: Although previous evidence has shown increased likelihood for survival in cancer patients who have social support, little is known about changes in social support during illness and their impact on survival. This study examines the relationship between social support and survival among women diagnosed with breast carcinoma, specifically assessing the effect of network size and changes in social contact post-diagnosis. METHODS: A population-based sample of 584 women was followed for up to 12.5 years (median follow-up = 10.3 years). The mean age at diagnosis was 44 years, 81% were married, and 29% were racial/ethnic minorities. Cox regression analysis was used to estimate survival as a function of social support (changes in social contact and the size of social support), disease severity, treatment, health status, and socio-demographic factors. RESULTS: Fifty-four percent of the women had local and 44% had regional stage disease. About 53% underwent mastectomy, 68% received chemotherapy, and 55% had radiation. Regression results showed that disease stage, estrogen receptor status, and mastectomy were associated with greater risk of dying. Although network size was not related to survival, increased contact with friends/family post-diagnosis was associated with lower risk of death, with a hazard ratio of 0.31 (95% CI, 0.17-0.57). CONCLUSION: Findings from this study have identified an important aspect of a woman's social network that impacts survival. An increase in the amount of social contact, representing greater social support, may increase the likelihood of the women's survival by enhancing their coping skills, providing emotional support, and expanding opportunities for information-sharing.

Initial implementation indicators from a statewide rollout of SafeCare within a child welfare system.

There is a strong movement toward implementation of evidence-based practices (EBP) in child welfare systems. The SafeCare parenting model is one of few parent-training models that addresses child neglect, the most common form of maltreatment. Here, the authors describe initial findings from a statewide effort to implement the EBP, SafeCare®, into a state child welfare system. A total of 50 agencies participated in training, with 295 individuals entering training to implement SafeCare. Analyses were conducted to describe the trainee sample, describe initial training and implementation indicators, and to examine correlates of initial training performance and implementation indicators. The quality of SafeCare uptake during training and implementation was high with trainees performing very well on training quizzes and role-plays, and demonstrating high fidelity when implementing SafeCare in the field (performing over 90% of expected behaviors). However, the quantity of implementation was generally low, with relatively few providers (only about 25%) implementing the model following workshop training. There were no significant predictors of training or implementation performance, once corrections for multiple comparisons were applied. The Discussion focuses on challenges to large-scale system-wide implementation of EBP.

The effect of adverse medical events on spending on inpatient care.

BACKGROUND: In this study, we examined the proposition that the occurrence of adverse medical events (AMEs) increases spending on inpatient hospital care. METHODS: Employing the individual and the episode of care as the unit of analysis, the study relied on data assembled in the Public Use Data File maintained by the Oklahoma State Department of Health. Multiple regression analyses were used to examine the covariates of the revenue per case and its components, the average revenue per day, and the number of days per case. RESULTS: The results indicate that the occurrence of AMEs would increase the revenue per case, the days of care per case, and the revenue per day. CONCLUSIONS: Study findings suggest that a decline in AMEs improves quality while lowering spending on hospital care and the use of inpatient services.

Presence of carotid artery calcification on panoramic radiographs of patients with chronic diseases.

This study sought to investigate carotid artery calcification (CAC) on panoramic radiographs from both healthy patients and those patients suffering from different chronic diseases. A total of 247 patients met the inclusion criteria and were reviewed. Ninety-two patients had one or more chronic diseases as indicated by their records; the remaining 155 patients had no mention of a chronic disease and were considered to be healthy controls. Among all patients, 13% had evidence of CAC, 21% of the patients with one or more chronic diseases had CAC, and only 8% of the patients in the control group had CAC. Those with liver disease only had the highest proportion (33%) of CAC.

A comparative treatment study of topical tacrolimus and clobetasol in oral lichen planus.

BACKGROUND: Existing clinical trials have shown that topical corticosteroids are often effective in the management of oral lichen planus (OLP). However, tacrolimus has recently been shown to be an effective treatment of OLP. OBJECTIVE: To compare the effectiveness of clobetasol and tacrolimus in the topical management of OLP. STUDY DESIGN: In this randomized comparative double-blind study, 30 consecutive patients with oral lesions consistent clinically and histologically with OLP were recruited. The patients were divided into 2 groups to receive clobetasol 0.05% or tacrolimus 0.1% ointment and were treated for 6 weeks. RESULTS: The profiles of mean lesion sizes and mean pain measures did not differ between the tacrolimus and clobetasol treatment groups. CONCLUSION: We found tacrolimus to be as useful as clobetasol in treatment of OLP. We believe that up-to-date evidence indicates the effectiveness of tacrolimus in treating OLP.