Decision Making on Medical Innovations in a Changing Health Care Environment: Insights from Accountable Care Organizations and Payers on Personalized Medicine and Other Technologies

Background

New payment and care organization approaches, such as those of accountable care organizations (ACOs), are reshaping accountability and shifting risk, as well as decision making, from payers to providers, within the Triple Aim context of health reform. The Triple Aim calls for improving experience of care, improving health of populations, and reducing health care costs.

An Evidence Roadmap for Implementation of Integrated Behavioral Health under the Affordable Care Act

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) created incentives and opportunities to redesign health care to better address mental and behavioral health needs. The integration of behavioral health and primary care is increasingly viewed as an answer to address such needs, and it is advisable that evidence-based models and interventions be implemented whenever possible with fidelity. At the same time, there are few evidence-based models, especially beyond depression and anxiety, and thus further research and evaluation is needed. Resources being allocated to adoption of models of integrated behavioral health care (IBHC) should include quality improvement, evaluation, and translational research efforts using mixed methodology to enhance the evidence base for IBHC in the context of health care reform. This paper covers six key aspects of the evidence for IBHC, consistent with mental and behavioral health elements of the ACA related to infrastructure, payments, and workforce. The evidence for major IBHC models is summarized, as well as evidence for targeted populations and conditions, education and training, information technology, implementation, and cost and sustainability.     

Accountable Communities for Health: Moving From Providing Accountable Care to Creating Health

Lessons from community-oriented primary care in the United States can offer insights into how we could improve population health by integrating the public health, social service, and health care sectors to form accountable communities for health (ACHs). Unlike traditional accountable care organizations (ACOs) that address population health from a health care perspective, ACHs address health from a community perspective and consider the total investment in health across all sectors. The approach embeds the ACO in a community context where multiple stakeholders come together to share responsibility for tackling multiple determinants of health. ACOs using the ACH model provide a roadmap for embedding health care in communities in a way that uniquely addresses local social determinants of health.     

From Triple to Quadruple Aim: Care of the Patient Requires Care of the Provider

The Triple Aim—enhancing patient experience, improving population health, and reducing costs—is widely accepted as a compass to optimize health system performance. Yet physicians and other members of the health care workforce report widespread burnout and dissatisfaction. Burnout is associated with lower patient satisfaction, reduced health outcomes, and it may increase costs. Burnout thus imperils the Triple Aim. This article recommends that the Triple Aim be expanded to a Quadruple Aim, adding the goal of improving the work life of health care providers, including clinicians and staff.     

Veterans Health Administration Models of Community-Based Long-Term Care: State of the Science

The complex care needs of older adults arising at the intersection of age-related illnesses, military service, and social barriers have presented challenges to the US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) for decades. In response, the VA has invested in centers that integrate research, education, and clinical innovation, using approaches aligned with a learning health care system, to create, evaluate, and implement new care models. This article presents an integrative review of 6 community care models developed within the VA to manage multimorbidity, complex social needs, and avoid institutional care, examining how these models address complex care needs among older adults. The models reviewed include Home Based Primary Care, Medical Foster Home, the VA Caregiver Support Program, the Resources Enhancing Alzheimer's Caregiver Health (REACH)-VA program, the Caregivers of Older Adults Cared for at Home (COACH) program, and Veteran Directed Care. Core components and evaluation outcomes for each model are summarized, along with implications for more widespread implementation and research. Each model promotes coordinated care, integrates behavioral health, and leverages interprofessional expertise. All models are cost-neutral or incur only modest cost increases to improve outcomes. Broader implementation will require interprofessional workforce development, payment model realignment, and infrastructure to evaluate outcomes in new settings. The VA provides a blueprint for infrastructure that could be adapted to other domestic and international settings. Care models successfully implemented within the VA's single-payer system hold promise to address persistent dilemmas in long-term care, such as management of multimorbidity and social drivers of health, integration and support of family caregivers, and mental health integration. These models also demonstrate the value of incorporating care approaches that have been developed or tested outside the United States and argue for greater cross-fertilization of ideas from different health systems.     

居民就医选择与基层医疗机构的竞争性分析

目的探索影响城乡居民选择基层医疗机构就诊的影响因素,并为基层医疗机构发展提出建议。方法采用Logistic回归对中国健康与营养调查2009年截面数据进行分析。结果疾病严重程度、医疗保险状况、有无工作以及户籍是影响居民选择基层医疗机构就诊的关键因素。结论应当针对这些方面对目前政策做出调整以增强基层医疗机构竞争力。     

Access to Health Care in the Scandinavian Countries: Ethical Aspects

The health care systems are fairly similar in theScandinavian countries. The exact details vary, but inall three countries the system is almost exclusivelypublicly funded through taxation, and most (or all)hospitals are also publicly owned and managed. Thecountries also have a fairly strong primary caresector (even though it varies between the countries),with family physicians to various degrees acting asgatekeepers to specialist services. In Denmark most ofthe GP services are free. For the patient in Norwayand Sweden there are out-of-pocket co-payments for GPconsultations, with upper limits, but consultations forchildren are free. Hospital treatment is free inDenmark while the other countries use a system without-of-pocket co-payment. There is a very strongpublic commitment to access to high quality healthcare for all. Solidarity and equality form theideological basis for the Scandinavian welfare state.Means testing, for instance, has been widely rejectedin the Scandinavian countries on the grounds thatpublic services should not stigmatise any particulargroup. Solidarity also means devoting specialconsideration to the needs of those who have lesschance than others of making their voices heard orexercising their rights. Issues of limited access arenow, however, challenging the thinking about a healthcare system based on solidarity.     

从医药消费量的时序变化看医疗改革效果

文章使用经价格指数调整后的医疗保健支出作为医药消费量的代理变量,以城镇居民医药消费量的时序变化为评价指标,建立计量模型,采用最小二乘法,对1997—2005年30个省的相关数据进行回归分析,得出医药消费量的时序变化。发现在保证其他因素不变后,居民人均医药消费量在大部分年度不但没有增加反而下降的事实,证明医疗体制改革没有达到预期效果。最后本文建议医疗体制改革设计要从根本入手,要考虑到具体措施的可操作性。     

论城市初级卫生保健是健康城市的基础

城市化和人口剧增使城市生存环境日趋恶化,WHO发起的“健康城市”运动正在世界范围内兴起,它将成为提高城市人口生存质量最有效的途径。“健康城市”的实施需要政府支持、部门协作和社区参与,而“2000年人人享有卫生保健”是全球卫生战略和城市社会发展的目标,城市初级卫生保健是“健康城市”的关键和基本途径,是“健康城市”的基础。     

Estimating Preferences for Complex Health Technologies: Lessons Learned and Implications for Personalized Medicine

We examine key study design challenges of using stated-preference methods to estimate the value of whole-genome sequencing (WGS) as a specific example of genomic testing. Assessing the value of WGS is complex because WGS provides multiple findings, some of which can be incidental in nature and unrelated to the specific health concerns that motivated the test. In addition, WGS results can include actionable findings (variants considered to be clinically useful and can be acted on), findings for which evidence for best clinical action is not available (variants considered clinically valid but do not meet as high of a standard for clinical usefulness), and findings of unknown significance. We consider three key challenges encountered in designing our national study on the value of WGS—layers of uncertainty, potential downstream consequences with endogenous aspects, and both positive and negative utility associated with testing information—and potential solutions as strategies to address these challenges. We conceptualized the decision to acquire WGS information as a series of sequential choices that are resolved separately. To determine the value of WGS information at the initial decision to undergo WGS, we used contingent valuation questions, and to elicit respondent preferences for reducing risks of health problems and the consequences of taking the steps to reduce these risks, we used a discrete-choice experiment. We conclude by considering the implications for evaluating the value of other complex health technologies that involve multiple forms of uncertainty.