Medical Assistant-based care management for high risk patients in small primary care practices: A cluster randomized clinical trial
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Medical Assistant-based care management for high risk patients in small primary care practices : A cluster randomized clinical trial. / Freund, Tobias; Peters-Klimm, Frank; Boyd, Cynthia M.; Mahler, Cornelia; Gensichen, Jochen; Erler, Antje; Beyer, Martin; Gondan, Matthias; Rochon, Justine; Gerlach, Ferdinand M.; Szecsenyi, Joachim.
In: Annals of Internal Medicine, Vol. 164, No. 5, 2016, p. 323-333.Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review
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TY - JOUR
T1 - Medical Assistant-based care management for high risk patients in small primary care practices
T2 - A cluster randomized clinical trial
AU - Freund, Tobias
AU - Peters-Klimm, Frank
AU - Boyd, Cynthia M.
AU - Mahler, Cornelia
AU - Gensichen, Jochen
AU - Erler, Antje
AU - Beyer, Martin
AU - Gondan, Matthias
AU - Rochon, Justine
AU - Gerlach, Ferdinand M.
AU - Szecsenyi, Joachim
PY - 2016
Y1 - 2016
N2 - Background: Patients with multiple chronic conditions are at high risk of potentially avoidable hospital admissions, which may be reduced by care coordination and self-management support. Medical assistants are an increasingly available resource for patient care in primary care practices.Objective: To determine whether protocol-based care management delivered by medical assistants improves patient care in patients at high risk of future hospitalization in primary care.Design: Two-year cluster randomized clinical trial.Setting: 115 primary care practices in Germany.Patients: 2,076 patients with type 2 diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or chronic heart failure and a likelihood of hospitalization in the upper quartile of the population, as predicted by insurance data analysis.Intervention: We compared protocol-based care management including structured assessment, action planning, and monitoring delivered by medical assistants with usual care.Measurements: All-cause hospitalizations at 12 months (primary outcome) and quality of life scores (Short Form 12 Health Questionnaire [SF-12] and the Euroqol instrument [EQ-5D]).Results: Included patients had, on average, four co-occurring chronic conditions. All-cause hospitalizations did not differ between the groups at 12 months (risk ratio [RR] 1.01, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.87 to 1.18) and 24 months (RR 0.98, CI 0.85 to 1.12) of intervention. Quality of life (SF-12 physical +1.16, CI 0.24 to 2.08; SF-12 mental +1.68, CI 0.60 to 2.77) and general health scores (EQ-5D +0.03, CI 0.00 to 0.05) improved significantly at 24 months of intervention. Intervention costs summed up to 10 United States dollars per patient per month.Limitations: Limitations included a small number of primary care practices and a low intensity of intervention.Conclusion: This type of low intensive intervention did not reduce all-cause hospital admissions. But the intervention showed positive effects on quality of life in high-risk multimorbid patients at reasonable costs.
AB - Background: Patients with multiple chronic conditions are at high risk of potentially avoidable hospital admissions, which may be reduced by care coordination and self-management support. Medical assistants are an increasingly available resource for patient care in primary care practices.Objective: To determine whether protocol-based care management delivered by medical assistants improves patient care in patients at high risk of future hospitalization in primary care.Design: Two-year cluster randomized clinical trial.Setting: 115 primary care practices in Germany.Patients: 2,076 patients with type 2 diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or chronic heart failure and a likelihood of hospitalization in the upper quartile of the population, as predicted by insurance data analysis.Intervention: We compared protocol-based care management including structured assessment, action planning, and monitoring delivered by medical assistants with usual care.Measurements: All-cause hospitalizations at 12 months (primary outcome) and quality of life scores (Short Form 12 Health Questionnaire [SF-12] and the Euroqol instrument [EQ-5D]).Results: Included patients had, on average, four co-occurring chronic conditions. All-cause hospitalizations did not differ between the groups at 12 months (risk ratio [RR] 1.01, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.87 to 1.18) and 24 months (RR 0.98, CI 0.85 to 1.12) of intervention. Quality of life (SF-12 physical +1.16, CI 0.24 to 2.08; SF-12 mental +1.68, CI 0.60 to 2.77) and general health scores (EQ-5D +0.03, CI 0.00 to 0.05) improved significantly at 24 months of intervention. Intervention costs summed up to 10 United States dollars per patient per month.Limitations: Limitations included a small number of primary care practices and a low intensity of intervention.Conclusion: This type of low intensive intervention did not reduce all-cause hospital admissions. But the intervention showed positive effects on quality of life in high-risk multimorbid patients at reasonable costs.
U2 - 10.7326/M14-2403
DO - 10.7326/M14-2403
M3 - Journal article
C2 - 26833209
VL - 164
SP - 323
EP - 333
JO - Annals of Internal Medicine
JF - Annals of Internal Medicine
SN - 0003-4819
IS - 5
ER -
ID: 147506650