Patient Outcomes Research Teams: contribution to outcomes and effectiveness research

Preoperative pain and function profiles reflect consistent TKA patient selection among US surgeons

BACKGROUND

As the number of primary total knee arthroplasties (TKAs) performed in the United States increases, policymakers have questioned whether the indications and timing of TKA have evolved so that surgery is offered earlier.

QUESTIONS/PURPOSES

We analyzed data from a US national TKA cohort to evaluate variation in surgeon selection criteria for elective unilateral TKA based on preoperative patient-reported pain and function scores.

METHODS

Preoperative SF-36 (Physical Component Summary [PCS]/physical function) scores and Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS) (pain, activities of daily living/function) of 4900 patients undergoing elective unilateral TKA enrolled in this national database of prospectively followed patients from 22 states were evaluated. The 25th, 50th, and 75th percentile pain and function scores for patients cared for in 24 orthopaedic offices with 20 or more patients in the database were compared to assess whether consistent preoperative criteria are used in selecting patients undergoing TKA across settings.

RESULTS

The preoperative global function (PCS median, 32.6; national norm, 50; SD, 10) and knee-specific function (KOOS median, 51.5; maximum score, 100; SD, 17) percentile scores represented substantial patient disability, because both values approached 2 SDs below ideal. Consistency in patients across 24 surgeon offices, and more than 100 surgeons, was noted because site-specific medians varied from the national median by less than the minimum clinically important change.

CONCLUSIONS

These data suggest that despite the rapidly growing use of TKA, surgeons in the participating sites use consistent patient criteria in scheduling TKA. Today's patients report significant pain and disability, supporting the need for TKA.

Measure once, cut twice--adding patient-reported outcome measures to the electronic health record for comparative effectiveness research

OBJECTIVE

This article presents the current state of patient-reported outcome measures and explains new opportunities for leveraging the recent adoption of electronic health records to expand the application of patient-reported outcomes in both clinical care and comparative effectiveness research.

STUDY DESIGN AND SETTING

Historic developments of patient-reported outcome, electronic health record, and comparative effectiveness research are analyzed in two dimensions: patient centeredness and digitization. We pose the question, "What needs to be standardized around the collection of patient-reported outcomes in electronic health records for comparative effectiveness research?"

RESULTS

We identified three converging trends: the progression of patient-reported outcomes toward greater patient centeredness and electronic adaptation; the evolution of electronic health records into personalized and fully digitized solutions; and the shift toward patient-oriented comparative effectiveness research. Related to this convergence, we propose an architecture for patient-reported outcome standardization that could serve as a first step toward a more comprehensive integration of patient-reported outcomes with electronic health record for both practice and research.

CONCLUSION

The science of patient-reported outcome measurement has matured sufficiently to be integrated routinely into electronic health records and other electronic health solutions to collect data on an ongoing basis for clinical care and comparative effectiveness research. Further efforts and ideally coordinated efforts from various stakeholders are needed to refine the details of the proposed framework for standardization.

From comparative effectiveness research to patient-centered outcomes research: policy history and future directions

Containing growth in health care expenditures is considered to be essential to improving both the long-term fiscal outlook of the federal government and the future affordability of health care in the US. As health care expenditures have increased, so too have concerns about the quality of health care. Better information on the clinical effectiveness of alternative treatments and other interventions is needed to improve the quality of care and restrain growth in expenditures. This article explains the key role played by the federal government in defining the context and process of comparative effectiveness research as well as its funding. Subsequently, the article explores the mission, priorities, and research agenda of the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute, which is an independent, nonprofit corporation established in 2010 by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

Economic analysis of medical practice variation between 1991 and 2000: The impact of patient outcomes research teams (PORTs)

Objectives:The aim of this study was to examine the impact of the multi-hundred million dollar investment by the federal government in the developing Patient Outcomes Research Teams (PORTs) in over a dozen major academic medical centers in the United States throughout the 1990s. The objective of the PORTs was to reduce unnecessary clinical variation in medical treatment.

Methods:Using an economic derivation of welfare loss attributable to medical practice variation and hospital admission claims data for 2 million elderly patients generalizable to the nation, we estimate the change in welfare between 1991 and 2000, the period within which the PORTs were designed and executed and their results disseminated.

Results:Our results show inpatient admission types targeted by the PORTs did have less welfare loss relative to their total expenditure by 2000, but that there was not a net decrease in the welfare loss for all hospital admissions affected by the PORT.

Conclusions:We conclude that PORTs may have had favorable effects on welfare, most likely by reducing variation in clinical care, but that causality cannot be proved, and the effects were not equal across all conditions targeted by PORTs. This research provides a methodological template that may be used to evaluate the impact of patient safety research on welfare loss and on variation in medical treatment in both hospital and ambulatory settings.

Patients' outcome after total hip arthroplasty: a comparison between the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities index and the Oxford 12-item hip score

This prospective cohort study included 402 patients who had primary total hip arthroplasty. The Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Index (WOMAC) and the Oxford 12-item Hip Score (OHS) were used to assess patients preoperatively and at 1 year postoperation. The OHS has a higher responsiveness than the WOMAC in the global scale and in the pain subscale. However, the WOMAC has better responsiveness in its function scale. The point estimate of relative precision of measuring postoperative quality of life shows that the OHS has a tendency toward a better performance than the WOMAC; however, this finding is not statistically significant. The OHS also demonstrates similar floor and ceiling effect patterns as does the WOMAC. We recommend that the choice should depend on which scale researchers are using to power a study.

Strategies for promoting organizational and practice change by advancing implementation research

BACKGROUND

The persistence of a large quality gap between what we know about how to produce high quality clinical care and what the public receives has prompted interest in developing more effective methods to get evidence into practice. Implementation research aims to supply such methods.

PURPOSE

This article proposes a set of recommendations aimed at establishing a common understanding of what implementation research is, and how to foster its development.

METHODS

We developed the recommendations in the context of a translation research conference hosted by the VA for VA and non-VA health services researchers.

IMPACTS

Health care organizations, journals, researchers and academic institutions can use these recommendations to advance the field of implementation science and thus increase the impact of clinical and health services research on the health and health care of the public.

Concerns of patients actively contemplating total knee replacement: differences by race and gender

OBJECTIVE

To examine differences by race/ethnicity and gender in patients' concerns regarding total knee replacement (TKR).

METHODS

Focus groups of patients actively considering TKR were conducted. Discussion included patients' questions and concerns regarding TKR. The software ATLAS.ti was used to tabulate themes by race/ethnicity and gender. Concerns raised by focus group participants were compared with thematic content from patient joint replacement information materials. This comparison used patient literature from 3 high-volume academic TKR centers, the Arthritis Foundation, and the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons.

RESULTS

All groups shared similar concerns. However, some issues were more prevalent among certain gender and racial groups. For instance, concerns regarding anesthesia were more important to white Americans and concerns regarding recovery were more important to women. Some of these concerns were not addressed in the available patient literature.

CONCLUSIONS

Different gender and racial subgroups focus on different concerns when considering TKR. These differences may contribute to gender and race/ethnicity disparity seen in TKR use.

Does public health nurse home visitation make a difference in the health outcomes of pregnant clients and their offspring?

Public health nurses (PHNs) at Lincoln-Lancaster County Health Department have used the Care Pathway tool to track client progress. Conceptually similar to critical pathways used in hospital settings, the Care Pathway is used by the PHN to document milestones of progress by trimester of pregnancy. Data for this research was gathered from chart review of 55 prenatal clients. Study results demonstrate that subjects who had from five to nine home visits by a PHN during pregnancy showed a higher average hemoglobin for the mothers and a higher average birthweight for the babies than those visited four or fewer times. None of the low birthweight babies was born to mothers in the "more visits" category. Furthermore, more breastfeeding was recorded for those who had received more PHN visits. This documentation enabled us to describe better the referent population and to begin to estimate the effect of PHN home visitation on the health outcomes of clients. In essence, we addressed the questions: (1) "Does PHN home visitation make a difference in health outcomes of clients and their families?" and (2) "If so, how can effects be measured?"

Selection of clinical, patient-reported, and economic end points in acute exacerbation of chronic bronchitis

BACKGROUND

Acute exacerbation of chronic bronchitis (AECB) places tremendous burden on patients, providers, employers, and health care systems.

OBJECTIVE

The purpose of this paper is to (1) review the clinical, patient-reported, and economic measures used to evaluate disease burden and treatment effectiveness in AECB in clinical trials and (2) propose a guide for selecting study end points in AECB that will help capture all the relevant disease outcomes.

METHODS

Two literature searches of the PubMed database were conducted to identify studies of clinical trials in bronchitis and evaluate the clinical, patient-reported, and economic end points used in these studies.

RESULTS

Previous studies have focused primarily on clinician-assessed outcomes, which do not capture the full impact of AECB on patients' lives. Reporting mechanisms for most end points have been inconsistent, limiting the ability to compare information or interpret differences. Previous studies have given limited attention to patient-reported outcomes and the economic implications of AECB. Patient-reported outcomes such as speed of symptom relief and work productivity are important parameters for assessing treatment effectiveness and provide practical information for treatment evaluation.

CONCLUSIONS

Additional research is needed to develop, examine, and validate patient-reported outcomes and the indirect costs of AECB. Measuring the relevant clinical, economic, and patient-reported outcomes in AECB patients using standardized methods may lead to a clearer understanding of the disease burden and the role, effectiveness, and cost-effectiveness of antibiotic treatment.