A More Nuanced Discussion Required.

Williams and colleagues make a valuable contribution to the home care policy literature, however, their arguments are not always convincing. Missing is a more nuanced discussion of research showing that even when governments provide more supportive services for older adults, families continue to provide care, and a discussion of alternative forms of caring that may arise in the future such as care from siblings and non-married older adults helping one another. Drawing on research pointing to several countries that offer caregivers a range of services would also have been helpful. Furthermore, it is not clear, as the authors argue, that the reason policy makers have moved toward providing for higher needs patients with fewer and fewer services for lower needs patients is a 'wait and see' attitude. Alternative reasoning is just as plausible. The benefits of providing supports to caregivers of children are well articulated but this does not negate the need among caregivers to older adults where some of the issues differ from caring for sick and disabled minors. Finally, action items for government are not offered but could have been helpful. Examples are provided.

Incentive-Based Primary Care: Cost and Utilization Analysis.

CONTEXT: In its fee-for-service funding model for primary care, British Columbia, Canada, introduced incentive payments to general practitioners as pay for performance for providing enhanced, guidelines-based care to patients with chronic conditions. Evaluation of the program was conducted at the health care system level. OBJECTIVE: To examine the impact of the incentive payments on annual health care costs and hospital utilization patterns in British Columbia. DESIGN: The study used Ministry of Health administrative data for Fiscal Year 2010-2011 for patients with diabetes, congestive heart failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and/or hypertension. In each disease group, cost and utilization were compared across patients who did, and did not, receive incentive-based care. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Health care costs (eg, primary care, hospital) and utilization measures (eg, hospital days, readmissions). RESULTS: After controlling for patients' age, sex, service needs level, and continuity of care (defined as attachment to a general practice), the incentives reduced the net annual health care costs, in Canadian dollars, for patients with hypertension (by approximately Can$308 per patient), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (by Can$496), and congestive heart failure (by Can$96), but not diabetes (incentives cost about Can$148 more per patient). The incentives were also associated with fewer hospital days, fewer admissions and readmissions, and shorter lengths of hospital stays for all 4 groups. CONCLUSION: Although the available literature on pay for performance shows mixed results, we showed that the funding model used in British Columbia using incentive payments for primary care might reduce health care costs and hospital utilization.

Family physicians enhance end-of-life care: evaluation of a new continuing medical education learning module in British Columbia.

BACKGROUND: The Practice Support Program (PSP) is an innovative peer-to-peer continuing medical education (CME) program that offers full-service family physicians/general practitioners (GPs) in British Columbia (BC), Canada, post-graduate training on a variety of topics. We present the evaluation findings from the PSP learning module on enhancing end-of-life (EOL) care within primary care. METHODS: Pen-and-paper surveys were administered to participants three times: at the beginning of the first training session (n = 608; 69.6 % response rate), at training completion (n = 381, 55.6 % response rate), and via a mail-out survey at 3-6 months following training completion (n = 109, 24.8 % response rate). Surveys asked GPs about current EOL-related practices and confidence in EOL-related skills. At end of training, respondents also provided ratings of satisfaction and perceptions of the module's impact on their practice and their EOL patients. RESULTS: Satisfaction and impact were rated very highly by over 90 % of the GP respondents. Module participation increased the GPs' confidence on EOL-related communication and collaboration skills: e.g., initiating conversations about EOL care, developing an action plan for EOL care, communicating the patient's needs and wishes to other care providers, participating in collaborative care with home and community care nurses, and accessing and referring patients to EOL specialists in the community. Increased confidence was maintained at 3-6 months following completion of training. CONCLUSIONS: The EOL learning module offered by the PSP to family physicians in BC is a successful and impactful CME accredited training module for enhancing end-of-life care in primary care settings.

Financial implications of the continuity of primary care.

BACKGROUND: The objective of this study was to assess the financial implications of the continuity of care, for patients with high care needs, by examining the cost of government-funded health care services in British Columbia, Canada. METHODS: Using British Columbia Ministry of Health administrative databases for fiscal year 2010-2011 and generalized linear models, we estimated cost ratios for 10 cost-related predictor variables, including patients' attachment to the practice. Patients were selected and divided into groups on the basis of their Resource Utilization Band (RUB) and placement in provincial registries for 8 chronic conditions (1,619,941 patients). The final dataset included all high- and very-high-care-needs patients in British Columbia (ie, RUB categories 4 and 5) in 1 or more of the 8 registries who met the screening criteria (222,779 patients). RESULTS: Of the 10 predictors, across 8 medical conditions and both RUBs, patients' attachment to the practice had the strongest relationship to costs (correlations = -0.168 to -0.322). Higher attachment was associated with lower costs. Extrapolation of the findings indicated that an increase of 5% in the overall attachment level, for the selected high-care-needs patients, could have resulted in an estimated cost avoidance of $142 million Canadian for fiscal year 2010-2011. CONCLUSIONS: Continuity of care, defined as a patient's attachment to his/her primary care practice, can reduce health care costs over time and across chronic conditions. Health care policy makers may wish to consider creating opportunities for primary care physicians to increase the attachment that their high-care-needs patients have to their practices.

RISQy business (Relationships, Incentives, Supports, and Quality): evolution of the British Columbia Model of Primary Care (patient-centered medical home).

In 2002, the British Columbia Ministry of Health and the British Columbia Medical Association (now Doctors of BC) came together to form the British Columbia General Practice Services Committee to bring about transformative change in primary care in British Columbia, Canada. This committee's approach to primary care was to respond to an operational problem--the decline of family practice in British Columbia--with an operational solution--assist general practitioners to provide better care by introducing new incentive fees into the fee-for-service payment schedule, and by providing additional training to general practitioners. This may be referred to as a "soft power" approach, which can be summarized in the abbreviation RISQ: focus on Relationships; provide Incentives for general practitioners to spend more time with their patients and provide guidelines-based care; Support general practitioners by developing learning modules to improve their practices; and, through the incentive payments and learning modules, provide better Quality care to patients and improved satisfaction to physicians. There are many similarities between the British Columbian approach to primary care and the US patient-centered medical home.

Mental health practice and attitudes of family physicians can be changed!

OBJECTIVES: An adult mental health module was developed in British Columbia to increase the use of evidence-based screening and cognitive behavioral self-management tools as well as medications that fit within busy family physician time constraints and payment systems. Aims were to enhance family physician skills, comfort, and confidence in diagnosing and treating mental health patients using the lens of depression; to improve patient experience and partnership; to increase use of action or care plans; and to increase mental health literacy and comfort of medical office assistants. METHODS: The British Columbia Practice Support Program delivered the module using the Plan-Do-Study-Act cycle for learning improvement. Family physicians were trained in adult mental health, and medical office assistants were trained in mental health first aid. Following initial testing, the adult mental health module was implemented across the province. RESULTS: More than 1400 of the province's 3300 full-service family physicians have completed or started training. Family physicians reported high to very high success implementing self-management tools into their practices and the overall positive impact this approach had on patients. These measures were sustained or improved at 3 to 6 months after completion of the module. An Opening Minds Survey for health care professionals showed a decrease in stigmatizing attitudes of family physicians. CONCLUSIONS: The adult mental health module is changing the way participants practice. Office-based primary mental health care can be improved through reimbursed training and support for physicians to implement practical, time-efficient tools that conform to payment schemes. The module provided behavior-changing tools that seem to be changing stigmatizing attitudes towards this patient population. This unexpected discovery has piqued the interest of stigma experts at the Mental Health Commission of Canada.

Integrated models of care delivery for the frail elderly: international perspectives / Modelos integrados de asistencia para ancianos frágiles: perspectiva internacional

Introduction: Interest is growing in integrated systems of care for the frail elderly. Few such systems have been both documented and evaluated in a rigorous manner. The present article provides an international review of such systems. Methods: The literature on integrated care covered the period from 1997 to 2010, inclusive. Some 2,496 citations were identified from Age Line, PsycINFO, CINAHAL and MedLine and were reviewed. To be included in this paper, articles had to provide a good description of the care delivery system and good quality evaluations. Only nine articles were retained. Most of the articles reviewed described some form of coordinated care without evaluation. Results: There were essentially two types of models of integrated care delivery for the frail elderly. One was a smaller, community-based model that relied on cooperation across care providers, focused on home and community care, and played an active role in health and social care coordination. The second type of model was a large-scale model that could be applied at a national/provincial/state, or large regional health authority, level, had a single administrative authority and a single budget, and included both home/community and residential services. Discussion: Integrated care delivery can be achieved in various ways. Irrespective of which model is adopted, some of the key factors to be considered are how care can be coordinated effectively across different types of services, and how all the care provider organizations can be coordinated to ensure continuity of care for frail elderly persons (AU)

Introducción: Los sistemas integrados de asistencia para los ancianos frágiles suscitan cada vez más interés. Hay pocos sistemas de este tipo que hayan sido documentados y evaluados de forma rigurosa. Este trabajo presenta un estudio internacional de estos sistemas. Métodos: Correspondientes al periodo de 1997 a 2010, se identificaron y revisaron 2496 referencias bibliográficas de Age Line, PsycINFO, CINAHL y MedLine. Para ser incluidos en el estudio, los artículos debían ofrecer una buena descripción del sistema de asistencia sanitaria y unas buenas evaluaciones de calidad. Sólo se seleccionaron nueve artículos; la mayoría de ellos describían algún tipo de asistencia coordinada sin evaluación. Resultados: Principalmente se han encontrado dos tipos de modelos de atención sanitaria integrada destinada a los ancianos frágiles. Uno era un modelo comunitario pequeño basado en la cooperación entre profesionales sanitarios, se centraba en la asistencia domiciliaria y comunitaria, y tenía un papel activo en la coordinación de la asistencia sanitaria y social. El segundo era un modelo a gran escala que podía ser aplicado por autoridades sanitarias nacionales/provinciales/estatales/regionales, que tenía una autoridad administrativa única, un solo presupuesto e incluía tanto servicios domiciliarios/comunitarios como residenciales. Discusión: Hay varios modos de lograr una asistencia sanitaria integrada. Algunos de los factores clave a tener en cuenta, independientemente de cuál sea el modelo que se adopte, son cómo coordinar la asistencia entre los diferentes tipos de servicios de forma eficaz y cómo asegurarse de que todas las organizaciones asistenciales trabajan juntas para garantizar la continuidad de la asistencia para las personas mayores frágiles (AU)

Integrated models of care delivery for the frail elderly: international perspectives.

INTRODUCTION: Interest is growing in integrated systems of care for the frail elderly. Few such systems have been both documented and evaluated in a rigorous manner. The present article provides an international review of such systems. METHODS: The literature on integrated care covered the period from 1997 to 2010, inclusive. Some 2,496 citations were identified from Age Line, PsycINFO, CINAHAL and MedLine and were reviewed. To be included in this paper, articles had to provide a good description of the care delivery system and good quality evaluations. Only nine articles were retained. Most of the articles reviewed described some form of coordinated care without evaluation. RESULTS: There were essentially two types of models of integrated care delivery for the frail elderly. One was a smaller, community-based model that relied on cooperation across care providers, focused on home and community care, and played an active role in health and social care coordination. The second type of model was a large-scale model that could be applied at a national/provincial/state, or large regional health authority, level, had a single administrative authority and a single budget, and included both home/community and residential services. DISCUSSION: Integrated care delivery can be achieved in various ways. Irrespective of which model is adopted, some of the key factors to be considered are how care can be coordinated effectively across different types of services, and how all the care provider organizations can be coordinated to ensure continuity of care for frail elderly persons.

An evidence-based policy prescription for an aging population.

In this paper, the authors provide a policy prescription for Canada's aging population. They question the appropriateness of predictions about the lack of sustainability of our healthcare system. The authors note that aging per se will only have a modest impact on future healthcare costs, and that other factors such as increased medical interventions, changes in technology and increases in overall service use will be the main cost drivers. They argue that, to increase value for money, government should validate, as a priority, integrated systems of care delivery for older adults and recognize such systems as a major component of Canada's healthcare system, along with hospitals, primary care and public/population health. They also note a range of mechanisms to enhance such systems going forward. The authors present data and policy commentary on the following topics: ageism, healthy communities, prevention, unpaid caregivers and integrated systems of care delivery.

Transforming family practice in British Columbia: the General Practice Services Committee.

OBJECTIVE: To describe a new approach to primary care reform developed in British Columbia (BC) under the leadership of the General Practice Services Committee (GPSC). COMPOSITION OF THE COMMITTEE: The GPSC is a joint committee of the BC Ministry of Health Services, the BC Medical Association, and the Society of General Practitioners of BC. Representatives of BC's health authorities also attend as guests. METHOD: This paper is based on the 2008-2009 annual report of the GPSC. It summarizes the history and main activities of the GPSC. REPORT: The GPSC is currently supporting a number of key activities to transform primary care in BC. These activities include the Full Service Family Practice Incentive Program, which provides incentive payments to promote enhanced primary care; the Practice Support Program, which provides family physicians and their medical office assistants with various practical evidence-based strategies and tools for managing practice enhancement; the Family Physicians for BC Program to develop family practices in areas of identified need; the Shared Care Committee, which supports and enables the determination of appropriate scopes of practice among GPs, specialists, and other health care professionals; the Divisions of Family Practice, which are designed to facilitate interactions among family doctors and between doctors and their respective health authorities; and the Community Healthcare and Resource Directory, a Web-based resource to help health care providers find appropriate mental health resources. CONCLUSION: Early results indicate that the GPSC's initiatives are enhancing the delivery of primary care services in BC.

Time for a paradigm shift: managing smarter by moving from data and information to knowledge and wisdom in healthcare decision-making.

Senior decision-makers in the Canadian healthcare system have to continuously make significant, and complex, policy and program decisions. However, it appears that, often, the evidence they have available is fairly simple descriptive information, collected for operational purposes. Trying to solve complex problems with fairly simple data may lead to suboptimal decisions. This article presents a new knowledge development system (KDS) that should allow senior decision-makers and others to manage smarter and take their decision-making to the next level. A KDS represents the integration of information systems, and research and analysis, into one system. It can generate sophisticated, strategic information around complex issues, which should ultimately lead to wiser decisions. This article describes the KDS, provides an example of a current KDS and concludes by presenting a self-diagnostic tool for decision-makers to allow them to determine whether their organization could benefit from a KDS.

Evaluation of healthcare services: asking the right questions to develop new policy and program-relevant knowledge for decision-making.

This article presents a framework for thinking about the key questions that need to be answered to develop new policy and program-relevant knowledge that can be used to make more informed decisions. It is a primer for administrators, policy makers and others about how to identify the knowledge they need to make decisions regarding new or existing programs. The article covers three related dimensions in evaluation: types of evaluations, key domains of inquiry and generic research questions. While the questions are generic, they can be readily adapted to any new and/or existing healthcare program evaluation. Examples of how the generic questions can be adapted to primary healthcare clinics and home care are presented.

Costs of end-of-life care: findings from the province of Saskatchewan.

As part of the Health Care Use at the End-of-Life in Western Canada Study, the Western Office of the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) collaborated with the ministries or departments of health in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba to characterize selected aspects of healthcare at the end of life. In-depth supplementary studies were also conducted for each of the four western provinces. Saskatchewan focused its analysis on healthcare costs in the two years before death. This paper provides a summary of data on healthcare costs for persons who died in Saskatchewan in the 2003-2004 fiscal year. It is based on a more in-depth report prepared for CIHI and Saskatchewan Health titled "Final Report of the Saskatchewan End-of-Life Care Project."

Who cares and how much? The imputed economic contribution to the Canadian healthcare system of middle-aged and older unpaid caregivers providing care to the elderly.

Canadians provide significant amounts of unpaid care to elderly family members and friends with long-term health problems. While some information is available on the nature of the tasks unpaid caregivers perform, and the amounts of time they spend on these tasks, the contribution of unpaid caregivers is often hidden. (It is recognized that some caregiving may be for short periods of time or may entail matters better described as "help" or "assistance," such as providing transportation. However, we use caregiving to cover the full range of unpaid care provided from some basic help to personal care.) Aggregate estimates of the market costs to replace the unpaid care provided are important to governments for policy development as they provide a means to situate the contributions of unpaid caregivers within Canada's healthcare system. The purpose of this study was to obtain an assessment of the imputed costs of replacing the unpaid care provided by Canadians to the elderly. (Imputed costs is used to refer to costs that would be incurred if the care provided by an unpaid caregiver was, instead, provided by a paid caregiver, on a direct hour-for-hour substitution basis.) The economic value of unpaid care as understood in this study is defined as the cost to replace the services provided by unpaid caregivers at rates for paid care providers.

Increasing value for money in the Canadian healthcare system: new findings and the case for integrated care for seniors.

Given the recent economic climate and increasing costs in the Canadian healthcare system, we must ensure that we are getting the best value for money possible. This article presents new findings and a broad weight of evidence to make the case that it is possible to obtain better value for money in our healthcare system by adopting models of integrated care delivery for seniors and others with ongoing care needs.

Increasing value for money in the Canadian healthcare system: new findings on the contribution of primary care services.

This article presents a major new finding in regard to the value for money of primary care services. It was found that the more higher-care-needs patients were attached to a primary care practice, the lower the costs were for the overall healthcare system (for the total of medical services, hospital services and drugs). The majority of the cost reductions stemmed from decreases in the costs of hospital services. Thus, for higher-care-needs patients, it appears that the nature of the physician-patient relationship is related to reductions in hospital costs. For example, for very-high-care-needs diabetic patients, the average annual hospital cost in fiscal 2007-2008 for those in the lowest attachment group was $16,988, whereas the hospital costs for those in the highest attachment group was $5,909. The results obtained were even more striking for patients with congestive heart failure. A series of multiple regression analyses were conducted, and the results were very consistent: attachment to practice was the best predictor in regard to cost and was a more significant predictor than other variables that were related to healthcare costs, such as age. These findings support the general literature on the benefits of primary care and the continuity of care.

Organizing healthcare delivery systems for persons with ongoing care needs and their families: a best practices framework.

How systems of care delivery are structured can have a major impact on their relative efficiency and on the quality of care provided to individuals. As the population continues to age, as more people are able to continue to live with disabilities or chronic conditions, and as demands continue from consumers and lobby groups to allow individuals to be more fully integrated into customary Canadian life, pressures to deal with the needs of persons with ongoing care requirements will only continue to mount.

Providing care and support for an aging population: briefing notes on key policy issues.

The Canadian Initiative on Frailty and Aging was initiated with the overall goals of furthering understanding of the causes, trajectory and implications of frailty and improving the lives of older persons at risk of frailty. This paper presents the current research on key policy issues related to the frail elderly.

A comparative analysis of costs to government for home care and long-term residential care services, standardized for client care needs.

This paper reports on the results of analyses using administrative data from British Columbia for 10 years from fiscal 1987/1988 to 1996/1997, inclusive, to examine the comparative costs to government of long-term home care and residential care services. The analyses used administrative data for hospital care, physician care, drugs, and home care and residential long-term care. Direct comparisons for cost and utilization data were possible, as the same care-level classification system is used in BC for home care and residential care clients. Given significant changes in the type and/or level of care of clients over time, a full-time equivalent client strategy was used to maximize the accuracy of comparisons. The findings suggest that, in general, home care can be a lower-cost alternative to residential care for clients with similar care needs. The difference in costs between home care and residential care services narrows considerably for those who change their type and/or level of care, and home care was found to be more costly than long-term institutional care for home care clients who died. The findings from this study indicate that with the appropriate substitution for residential care services, in a planned and targeted manner, home care services can be a lower-cost alternative to residential long-term care in integrated systems of care delivery that include both sets of services.