Analysing horizontal equity in enrolment in Disease Management Programmes for coronary heart disease in Germany 2008-2010

Chronic disease management in patients with intellectual disabilities: a matched study in Dutch general practice

BACKGROUND

Disease management programmes (DMPs) aim to deliver standardised, high- quality care to patients with chronic diseases. Although chronic diseases are common among people with intellectual disabilities (ID), this approach may be suboptimal for meeting their care needs.

AIM

To examine differences between patients with and without ID who have a chronic illness in DMP enrolment and disease monitoring in Dutch general practice.

DESIGN AND SETTING

Observational study utilising the Nivel Primary Care Database (2015-2018) comparing patients with ID and cardiovascular disease, diabetes mellitus, or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) with matched (1:5) controls with these conditions but without ID.

METHOD

Using conditional logistic regression, enrolment in DMP per chronic disease was examined and differences tested between groups in the frequencies of consultations, medication prescriptions, and routine examinations.

RESULTS

A total of 2653 patients with chronic illness with ID were matched with 13 265 controls without ID. Patients with both diabetes mellitus and ID were more likely than controls to be enrolled in DMP (odds ratio [OR] = 1.44, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.27 to 1.64). Independent of DMP enrolment, patients with chronic illness with ID were more likely than controls to have frequent consultations. Patients with both diabetes mellitus and ID and patients with both COPD and ID who were not enrolled in DMPs had more medication prescriptions than non-enrolled patients with diabetes or COPD but without ID (OR = 1.46, 95% CI = 1.10 to 1.95; OR = 1.28, 95% CI = 0.99 to 1.66, respectively). Most patients with ID and their controls enrolled in DMPs received routine examinations at similar frequencies.

CONCLUSION

Although DMPs do not specifically address the needs of patients with both chronic illness and ID, these patients do not seem underserved in the management of chronic diseases in terms of consultation, medication, and tests.

[Social inequalities in healthcare provision for patients with coronary heart disease: Results from the GEDA (German Health Update) study 2014/2015]

INTRODUCTION

Little is known about social inequalities in outpatient long-term care of coronary heart disease (CHD) in Germany.

METHODS

Regression analyses are based on the responses of women and men who participated in the national cross-sectional study "German Health update" (GEDA) 2014/2015 and had self-reported CHD (N=920). Outpatient healthcare of CHD was analysed on the basis of the self-reported administration of antihypertensive and cholesterol-lowering drugs, and the frequency of general practitioner (GP) contacts.

RESULTS

On average, respondents visited their GP 7.5 times a year (mean). 46 % did not receive guideline-consistent treatment, i. e. both antihypertensive and cholesterol-lowering drugs. Respondents of lower social status consulted their GP more frequently (approx. two visits per year) than those of higher social status (AME: 1.94; 95% CI 0.56 to 3.31). Regarding treatment with antihypertensive and cholesterol-lowering drugs, there were no significant differences for either gender or social status. Nevertheless, the probability that respondents with increased levels of blood lipids or cholesterol took only one or none of the two medications recommended for long-term treatment of CHD was reduced by 54 percentage points (AME: -0,54; 95% CI -0,61 to -0,48).

DISCUSSION

There are no social inequalities in the treatment of CHD patients with antihypertensive and cholesterol-lowering drugs, but inequalities exist in the frequency of visits to the GP who is more often consulted by the more socially disadvantaged patients.

CONCLUSION

With about 7.5 consultations per year, CHD patients visit their general practitioner more often than average, but in about half of these patients the medication supply is less than optimal. This may indicate a deficit in the medical treatment of CHD that cannot be explained by social inequalities. A possible starting point for improving healthcare, especially for patients without other risk factors, is to focus more strongly on a guideline-based approach to prescribing medication for CHD patients.

Patients with coronary artery disease after acute myocardial infarction: effects of continuous enrollment in a structured Disease Management Program on adherence to guideline-recommended medication, health care expenditures, and survival

OBJECTIVE

Acute myocardial infarction (AMI) carries increased risk of mortality and excess costs. Disease Management Programs (DMPs) providing guideline-recommended care for chronic diseases seem an intuitively appealing way to enhance health outcomes for patients with chronic conditions such as AMI. The aim of the study is to compare adherence to guideline-recommended medication, health care expenditures and survival of patients enrolled and not enrolled in the German DMP for coronary artery disease (CAD) after an AMI from the perspective of a third-party payer over a follow-up period of 3 years.

METHODS

The study is based on routinely collected data from a regional statutory health insurance fund (n = 15,360). A propensity score matching with caliper method was conducted. Afterwards guideline-recommended medication, health care expenditures, and survival between patients enrolled and not enrolled in the DMP were compared with generalized linear and Cox proportional hazard models.

RESULTS

The propensity score matching resulted in 3870 pairs of AMI patients previously and continuously enrolled and not enrolled in the DMP. In the 3-year follow-up period the proportion of days covered rates for ACE-inhibitors (60.95% vs. 58.92%), anti-platelet agents (74.20% vs. 70.66%), statins (54.18% vs. 52.13%), and β-blockers (61.95% vs. 52.64%) were higher in the DMP group. Besides that, DMP participants induced lower health care expenditures per day (€58.24 vs. €72.72) and had a significantly lower risk of death (HR: 0.757).

CONCLUSION

Previous and continuous enrollment in the DMP CAD for patients after AMI is a promising strategy as it enhances guideline-recommended medication, reduces health care expenditures and the risk of death.

Health care access for rural youth on equal terms? A mixed methods study protocol in northern Sweden

Background

The purpose of this paper is to propose a protocol for researching the impact of rural youth health service strategies on health care access. There has been no published comprehensive assessment of the effectiveness of youth health strategies in rural areas, and there is no clearly articulated model of how such assessments might be conducted. The protocol described here aims to gather information to; i) Assess rural youth access to health care according to their needs, ii) Identify and understand the strategies developed in rural areas to promote youth access to health care, and iii) Propose actions for further improvement. The protocol is described with particular reference to research being undertaken in the four northernmost counties of Sweden, which contain a widely dispersed and diverse youth population.

Methods

The protocol proposes qualitative and quantitative methodologies sequentially in four phases. First, to map youth access to health care according to their health care needs, including assessing horizontal equity (equal use of health care for equivalent health needs,) and vertical equity (people with greater health needs should receive more health care than those with lesser needs). Second, a multiple case study design investigates strategies developed across the region (youth clinics, internet applications, public health programs) to improve youth access to health care. Third, qualitative comparative analysis of the 24 rural municipalities in the region identifies the best combination of conditions leading to high youth access to health care. Fourth, a concept mapping study involving rural stakeholders, care providers and youth provides recommended actions to improve rural youth access to health care.

Discussion

The implementation of this research protocol will contribute to 1) generating knowledge that could contribute to strengthening rural youth access to health care, as well as to 2) advancing the application of mixed methods to explore access to health care.

Selective enrollment in Disease Management Programs for coronary heart disease in Germany - An analysis based on cross-sectional survey and administrative claims data

Background

In 2002, Disease Management Programs (DMPs) were introduced within the German healthcare system with the aim to increase the quality of chronic disease care. Due to the enrollment procedures, it can be assumed a) that only certain patients actively decide to enroll in a DMP and/or b) that only certain patients get the recommendation for DMP enrollment from their physician. How strong this assumed effect of self- and/or professional selection is, is still unclear.

Methods

We used data from a cross-sectional postal-survey linked on individual level with administrative claims data from a German sickness fund. The sample consisted of individuals suffering from coronary heart disease (CHD) who i) were either enrolled in the respective DMP or ii) fulfilled the disease related criteria for enrollment but were not enrolled. We applied multivariate logistic regression analyses to assess factors on patient level associated with DMP enrollment.

Results

We included 7070 individuals in our analyses. Male sex, higher age and receiving old age pension, a higher Charlson Score and a diagnosis of type 2 diabetes increased the odds for DMP-CHD enrollment significantly. Individuals with a diagnosed myocardial infarction (MI) were also more likely to be enrolled in the DMP-CHD. We found a significant interaction effect for MI and sex, indicating that the association between MI and DMP enrollment is stronger for women than for men.

Conclusion

DMP-enrollees and non-enrollees differ in various factors. Studies analyzing the effectiveness of DMP-CHD should carefully take into account these group differences. Furthermore, the results suggest that the DMP-CHD assessed reaches men better than women.

[Social disparities in outpatient and inpatient care: An overview of current findings in Germany]

There is controversy about social disparities in healthcare services in Germany, but a differentiated analysis regarding various dimensions of healthcare is lacking. This narrative review intends to summarize conceptually the current state of research and draw subsequent conclusions. Separated into access, utilization and quality, the findings of social inequality in outpatient and inpatient care in Germany are summarized. Besides the common individual indicators of socioeconomic status (SES), regional deprivation and health insurance status are also included. Despite methodical diversity, the results show that healthcare inequalities due to SES exist, but not universally. Furthermore, there is a differentiated pattern respecting separate dimensions of healthcare. Concerning access (e.g. waiting times, co-payments) lower status groups and patients covered by statutory health insurance are deprived. Higher utilization becomes apparent among higher status groups and privately insured patients in terms of specialist consultations and prevention services. The findings regarding quality of process and outcome differ depending on quality indicator and disease. In different dimensions of medical healthcare, social disparities still exist, though the impact on health remains unclear for some types of healthcare inequalities. Moreover, it is often difficult to conclude from unequal outcome quality the inequalities of healthcare. Depending on access, utilization and quality, separate interventions for reducing these disparities are to be introduced.