VA Provider Perspectives on Coordinating COPD Care Across Health Systems

Implementation and Evaluation of a Training Curriculum for Experienced Nurses in Care Coordination: The VA Rural Transitions Nurse Training Program

BACKGROUND

High-quality transitional care at discharge is essential for improved patient outcomes. Registered nurses (RNs) play integral roles in transitions; however, few receive structured training.

PURPOSE

We sought to create, implement, and evaluate an evidence-informed nursing transitional care coordination curriculum, the Transitions Nurse Training Program (TNTP).

METHODS

We conceptualized the curriculum using adult learning theory and evaluated with the New World Kirkpatrick Model. Self-reported engagement, satisfaction, acquired knowledge, and confidence were assessed using surveys. Clinical and communication skills were evaluated by standardized patient assessment and behavior sustainment via observation 6 to 9 months posttraining.

RESULTS

RNs reported high degrees of engagement, satisfaction, knowledge, and confidence and achieved a mean score of 92% on clinical and communication skills. Posttraining observation revealed skill sustainment (mean score 98%).

CONCLUSIONS

Results suggest TNTP is effective for creating engagement, satisfaction, acquired and sustained knowledge, and confidence for RNs trained in transitional care.

Patient, carer and health professional experiences of end-of-life care services in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: an interpretive synthesis of qualitative studies

The objective of this systematic literature review is to identify patients’, carers’ and health professionals’ reported perspectives of end-of-life care services for severe chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases (COPD) and explore whether services are person-centred and integrated according to WHO definitions. The systematic review was qualitative with interpretive synthesis. The data sources included MEDLINE, CINAHL, Emcare, Embase, Cochrane (CENTRAL), Joanna Briggs Institute and PsycINFO databases from inception to 23 May 2022 limited to the English language. Qualitative studies were eligible if they reported open-ended patients,’ carers’ or healthcare professionals’ experiences of end-of-life care for severe COPD. Qualitative data were categorised according to healthcare stakeholder groups and conceptualised within a health services network using the Actor-Network Theory. Eighty-seven studies proved eligible. Eleven stakeholder groups constituted the healthcare services network for severe COPD (in order of frequency of interactions with other stakeholders): secondary care, primary care, community services, acute care, palliative care, carer, healthcare environment, patient, government, social supports and research. When evaluating the network for evidence of patient-centred care, patients and carers received input from all stakeholder groups. The relationship between stakeholder groups and patients was largely unidirectional (stakeholders towards patients) with low influence of patients towards all stakeholder groups. There was limited interaction between specific healthcare services, suggesting low network integration. Government services, research and social supports had few connections with other services in the healthcare network. Multiple intersecting health, community and government services acted on patients, rather than providing patient-informed care. Health services provided poorly integrated services for end-of-life care for severe COPD.

PROSPERO registration number

CRD42020168733.

Decreasing Hospital Readmissions Utilizing an Evidence-Based COPD Care Bundle

PURPOSE

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a chronic condition that leads to significant morbidity and mortality. Management of COPD hospitalizations utilizing an evidence-based care bundle can provide consistent quality of care and may reduce readmissions.

METHODS

This single-center retrospective cohort study evaluated readmission rates in patients hospitalized with a COPD exacerbation. Patients in the pre-intervention cohort received usual care, while patients in the post-intervention cohort received an innovative inpatient COPD care bundle. The bundle focused on optimizing care in five areas: consults, inpatient interventions, education, transitions of care, and after discharge care.

RESULTS

In this study, 149 subjects were included in the pre-intervention cohort and 214 subjects were included in the post-intervention cohort. Thirty-day readmission rates were lower in the post-intervention cohort compared to the pre-intervention cohort, 22.4% vs. 38.3% (p = 0.001). A reduction in 60-day and 90-day readmission rates was also observed, 13.7% vs. 40.3% (p < 0.001) and 10.1% vs. 32.2% (p < 0.001), respectively.

CONCLUSION

Bundled care is an effective and inexpensive method for institutions to provide consistent and quality care. The findings of this study demonstrate that the implementation of a COPD care bundle is an effective strategy to decrease hospital readmissions.

Implications of Cross-System Use Among US Veterans With Advanced Kidney Disease in the Era of the MISSION Act: A Qualitative Study of Health Care Records

IMPORTANCE

Since 2014, when Congress passed the Veterans Access Choice and Accountability (Choice) Act (replaced in 2018 with the more comprehensive Maintaining Internal Systems and Strengthening Integrated Outside Networks [MISSION] Act), the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has been paying for US veterans to receive increasing amounts of care in the private sector (non-VA care or VA community care). However, little is known about the implications of these legislative changes for the VA system.

OBJECTIVE

To describe the implications for the VA system of recent increases in VA-financed non-VA care.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS

This qualitative study was a thematic analysis of documentation in the electronic health records (EHRs) of a random sample of US veterans with advanced kidney disease between June 6, 2019, and February 5, 2021.

EXPOSURES

Mentions of community care in participant EHRs.

MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES

Dominant themes pertaining to VA-financed non-VA care.

RESULTS

Among 1000 study participants, the mean (SD) age was 73.8 (11.4) years, and 957 participants (95.7%) were male. Three interrelated themes pertaining to VA-financed non-VA care emerged from qualitative analysis of documentation in cohort member EHRs: (1) VA as mothership, which describes extensive care coordination by VA staff members and clinicians to facilitate care outside the VA and the tendency of veterans and their non-VA clinicians to rely on the VA to fill gaps in this care; (2) hidden work of veterans, which describes the efforts of veterans and their family members to navigate the referral process, and to serve as intermediaries between VA and non-VA clinicians; and (3) strain on the VA system, which describes a challenging referral process and the ways in which cross-system care has stretched the traditional roles of VA staff and clinicians and interfered with VA care processes.

CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE

The findings of this qualitative study describing VA-financed non-VA care for veterans with advanced kidney disease spotlight the substantial challenges of cross-system use and the strain placed on the VA system, VA staff and clinicians, and veterans and their families in recent years. These difficult-to-measure consequences of cross-system care should be considered when budgeting, evaluating, and planning the provision of VA-financed non-VA care in the private sector.

Perceptions of Care Coordination Among Homeless Veterans Receiving Medical Care in the Veterans Health Administration and Community Care Settings: Results From a National Survey

BACKGROUND

Initiatives to expand Veterans' access to purchased health care outside Veterans Health Administration (VHA) facilities ("community care") present care coordination challenges for Veterans experiencing homelessness.

OBJECTIVE

Among Veterans with homeless experiences, to evaluate community care use and satisfaction, and compare perceptions of care coordination among Veterans using VHA services and community care to those using VHA services without community care.

RESEARCH DESIGN

Cross-sectional analysis of responses to a 2018 mailed survey.

SUBJECTS

VHA outpatients with homeless experiences.

MEASURES

Self-reported use of community care, Likert-style ratings of satisfaction with that care, and Access/Coordination experiences from the Primary Care Quality-Homeless (PCQ-H) survey.

RESULTS

Of 4777 respondents, 1325 (26.7%) reported using community care; most of this subsample affirmed satisfaction with the community care they received (83%) and its timeliness (75%). After covariate adjustment, Veteran characteristics associated with greater community care use included female sex, being of retirement age and nonmarried, and having higher education, more financial hardship, ≥3 chronic conditions, psychological distress, depression, and posttraumatic stress disorder. Satisfaction with community care was lower among patients with travel barriers, psychological distress, and less social support. Compared with those using the VHA without community care, Veterans using VHA services and community care were more likely to report unfavorable access/coordination experiences [odds ratio (OR)=1.34, confidence interval (CI)=1.15-1.57]. This included hassles following referral (OR=1.37, CI=1.14-1.65) and perceived delays in receiving health care (OR=1.38, CI=1.19-1.61).

CONCLUSIONS

Veterans with homeless experiences value community care options. Potential access benefits are balanced with risks of unfavorable coordination experiences for vulnerable Veterans with limited resources.

Care coordination for veterans with COPD: a positive deviance study

OBJECTIVES

Improving chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) care and reducing hospital readmissions is an urgent healthcare system priority. However, little is known about the organizational factors that underlie intersite variation in readmission rates. Evidence from other chronic diseases points to care coordination as one such factor.

STUDY DESIGN

To understand whether intersite differences in care coordination may be one of the organizational factors contributing to the variation in readmission rates, we examined provider perspectives on COPD care at Veterans Affairs (VA) sites.

METHODS

In this mixed-methods positive deviance study, we selected 3 VA sites in the lowest quartile and 3 in the highest quartile for 2016 risk-adjusted COPD readmission rates. During June to October 2017, we conducted semistructured interviews with primary and specialty care providers involved in COPD care at VA sites with low (n = 14) and high (n = 11) readmission rates.

RESULTS

Although providers at all sites referenced ongoing readmission reduction initiatives, only providers at low-readmission sites described practice environments characterized by high relational coordination (ie, high-quality work relationships and high-quality communication). They also reported fewer significant structural barriers to collaboration in areas like patient volume.

CONCLUSIONS

The most notable differences between high- and low-readmission sites were related to the quality of relational coordination and the presence of structural barriers to coordination, rather than specific readmission reduction initiatives. Implementing organizational reforms aimed at enhancing relational coordination and removing structural barriers would enhance care for COPD and may improve quality of care for other chronic conditions.

VA-Community Dual Care: Veteran and Clinician Perspectives

Many veterans receive care in both community settings and the VA. Recent legislation has increased veteran access to community providers, raising concerns about safety and coordination. This project aimed to understand the benefits and challenges of dual care from the perceptions of both the Veterans their clinicians. We conducted surveys and focus groups of veterans who use both VA and community care in VT and NH. We also conducted a web-based survey and a focus group involving primary care clinicians from both settings. The main measures included (1) reasons that veterans seek care in both settings; (2) problems faced by veterans and clinicians; (3) association of health status and ease of managing care with sites of primary care; and (4) association of veteran rurality with dual care experiences. The primary reasons veterans reported for using both VA and community care were (1) for convenience, (2) to access needed services, and (3) to get a second opinion. Veterans reported that community and VA providers were informed about the others' care more than half the time. Veterans in isolated rural towns reported better overall health and ease of managing their care. VA and community primary care clinicians reported encountering systems problems with dual-care including communicating medication changes, sharing lab and imaging results, communicating with specialists, sharing discharge summaries and managing medication renewals. Both Veterans and their primary clinicians report substantial system issues in coordinating care between the VA and the community, raising the potential for significant patient safety and Veteran satisfaction concerns.