Citations

Abstract Background: While brief duration primary care appointments may improve access, they also limit the time clinicians spend evaluating painful conditions. This study aimed to evaluate whether 15-minute primary care appointments resulted in higher rates of opioid prescribing when compared to ≥30-minute appointments. Methods: We performed a retrospective cohort study using electronic health record (EHR), pharmacy, and administrative scheduling data from five primary care practices in Minnesota. Adult patients seen for acute Evaluation & Management visits between 10/1/2015 and 9/30/2017 scheduled for 15-minute appointments were propensity score matched to those scheduled for ≥30-minutes. Sub-groups were analyzed to include patients with acute and chronic pain conditions and prior opioid exposure. Multivariate logistic regression was performed to examine the effects of appointment length on the likelihood of an opioid being prescribed, adjusting for covariates including ethnicity, race, sex, marital status, and prior ED visits and hospitalizations. Results: We identified 45,471 eligible acute primary care visits during the study period with 2.7% (N=1233) of the visits scheduled for 15 minutes and 98.2% (N=44238) scheduled for 30 minutes or longer. Rates of opioid prescribing were significantly lower for opioid naive patients with acute pain scheduled in 15-minute appointments when compared to appointments of 30 minutes of longer (OR 0.55, 95% CI 0.35-0.84). There were no significant differences in opioid prescribing among other sub-groups. Conclusions: For selected indications and for selected patients, shorter duration appointments may not result in greater rates of opioid prescribing for common painful conditions.

OBJECTIVE To examine factors associated with emergency department (ED) transport after hypoglycemia treated by emergency medical services (EMS) and assess the impact of ED transport on severe hypoglycemia recurrence. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS We retrospectively analyzed electronic health records of a multistate advanced life support EMS provider and an integrated healthcare delivery system serving an overlapping geographic area in the upper Midwest. For adults with diabetes treated by EMS for hypoglycemia between 2013 and 2019, we examined rates of ED transport, factors associated with it, and its impact on rates of recurrent hypoglycemia requiring EMS, ED, or hospital care within 3, 7, and 30 days. RESULTS We identified 1,977 hypoglycemia-related EMS encounters among 1,028 adults with diabetes (mean age 63.5 years [SD 17.7], 55.2% male, 87.4% non-Hispanic White, 42.4% rural residents, and 25.6% with type 1 diabetes), of which 46.4% resulted in ED transport (31.1% of calls by patients with type 1 diabetes and 58.0% of calls by patients with type 2 diabetes). Odds of ED transport were lower in patients with type 1 diabetes (odds ratio [OR] 0.44 [95% CI 0.31–0.62] vs. type 2 diabetes) and higher in patients with prior ED visits (OR 1.38 [95% CI 1.03–1.85]). Within 3, 7, and 30 days, transported patients experienced recurrent severe hypoglycemia 2.8, 5.2, and 10.6% of the time, respectively, compared with 7.4, 11.2, and 22.8% of the time among nontransported patients (all P < 0.001). This corresponds to OR 0.58 (95% CI 0.42–0.80) for recurrent severe hypoglycemia within 30 days for transported versus nontransported patients. When subset by diabetes type, odds of recurrent severe hypoglycemia among transported patients were 0.64 (95% CI 0.43–0.96) and 0.42 (95% CI 0.24–0.75) in type 1 and type 2 diabetes, respectively. CONCLUSIONS Transported patients experienced recurrent hypoglycemia requiring medical attention approximately half as often as nontransported patients, reinforcing the importance of engaging patients in follow-up to prevent recurrent events.

ObjectivesTo evaluate the ability of claims‐based risk adjustment and incremental components of clinical data to identify 90‐day episode costs among lower extremity joint replacement (LEJR) patients according to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Comprehensive Care for Joint Replacement (CJR) program provisions.Data SourcesMedicare fee‐for‐service (FFS) data for qualifying CJR episodes in the United States, and FFS data linked with clinical data from CJR‐qualifying LEJR episodes performed at High Value Healthcare Collaborative (HVHC) and Mayo Clinic in 2013. HVHC and Mayo Clinic populations are subsets of the total FFS population to assess the additive value of additional pieces of clinical data in correctly assigning patients to cost groups.Study DesignMultivariable logistic models identified high‐cost episodes.Data Collection/Extraction MethodsClinical data from participating health care systems merged with Medicare FFS data.Principal FindingsOur three populations consisted of 363 621 patients in the CMS population, 4881 in the HVHC population, and 918 in the Mayo population. When modeling per CJR specifications, we observed low to moderate model performance (CMS C‐Stat = 0.714; HVHC C‐Stat = 0.628; Mayo C‐Stat = 0.587). Adding CMS‐HCC categories improved identification of patients in the top 20% of episode costs (CMS C‐Stat = 0.758, HVHC C‐Stat = 0.692, Mayo C‐Stat = 0.677). Clinical variables, particularly functional status in the population for which this was available (Mayo C‐Stat = 0.783), improved ability to identify patients within cost groups.ConclusionsPolicy makers could use these findings to improve payment adjustments for bundled LEJR procedures and in consideration of new data elements for reimbursement.

AbstractBackground and AimOptimal rectal cancer (RC) outcomes depend on accurate locoregional staging. The study sought to describe the impact of endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) on RC treatment patterns and survival.MethodsUsing the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results‐Medicare database, the study identified patients with RC between 2005 and 2007. The study excluded patients with stage IV disease, those not enrolled in Medicare parts A and B, those enrolled in managed care, and those staged with pelvic magnetic resonance imaging (because of low numbers). The study then compared outcomes between patients who received EUS and computed tomography of the abdomen and pelvis (CTAP) to those staged with CTAP alone after propensity score matching.ResultsBetween 2005 and 2007, we identified 3,408 nonmetastatic RC patients. Compared with patients staged with CTAP alone, those who received EUS and CTAP were younger (median age: 75 vs 76 years, P < 0.0001), more likely men (57.6% vs 48.7%, P < 0.0001), with a lower Charlson comorbidity index (P < 0.0001). Predictors of EUS included socioeconomic status (highest vs lowest) (odds ratio [OR] 1.87, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.4–2.5), care by a gastroenterologist (OR 1.713, 95% CI 1.38–2.13), and care in a teaching hospital (OR 1.68, 95% CI 1.35–2.08). Receipt of neoadjuvant chemoradiation was higher in EUS‐staged patients (50.3% vs 16.0%, P < 0.0001). EUS‐staged patients had longer overall survival compared with those staged with CTAP alone (60 vs 57 months), but this was not statistically significant (P = 0.24).ConclusionEndoscopic ultrasound in RC staging is associated with higher utilization of neoadjuvant chemoradiation without a significant difference in overall survival.

ObjectiveAssess algorithms for linking patients across de‐identified databases without compromising confidentiality.Data Sources/Study SettingHospital discharges from 11 Mayo Clinic hospitals during January 2008–September 2012 (assessment and validation data). Minnesota death certificates and hospital discharges from 2009 to 2012 for entire state (application data).Study DesignCross‐sectional assessment of sensitivity and positive predictive value (PPV) for four linking algorithms tested by identifying readmissions and posthospital mortality on the assessment data with application to statewide data.Data Collection/Extraction MethodsDe‐identified claims included patient gender, birthdate, and zip code. Assessment records were matched with institutional sources containing unique identifiers and the last four digits of Social Security number (SSNL4).Principal FindingsGender, birthdate, and five‐digit zip code identified readmissions with a sensitivity of 98.0 percent and a PPV of 97.7 percent and identified postdischarge mortality with 84.4 percent sensitivity and 98.9 percent PPV. Inclusion of SSNL4 produced nearly perfect identification of readmissions and deaths. When applied statewide, regions bordering states with unavailable hospital discharge data had lower rates.ConclusionAddition of SSNL4 to administrative data, accompanied by appropriate data use and data release policies, can enable trusted repositories to link data with nearly perfect accuracy without compromising patient confidentiality. States maintaining centralized de‐identified databases should add SSNL4 to data specifications.

Objective Endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine needle aspiration (EUS-FNA) allows preoperative tissue confirmation of malignancy, but fear of tumour cell dissemination along the needle track has limited its use. We hypothesised that if tumour cell dissemination occurs with EUS-FNA, survival after complete resection would be impaired. We aimed to evaluate the association of preoperative EUS-FNA with long-term outcomes of patients with resected pancreatic cancer. Design Using the linked Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER)–Medicare data, we identified patients with locoregional pancreatic cancer who underwent curative intent surgery from 1998 to 2009. The patients who received EUS-FNA within the peridiagnostic period were included in the EUS-FNA group. Patients who did not receive EUS evaluation or who underwent EUS without FNA were included in the non-EUS-FNA group. Overall survival and pancreatic cancer-specific survival were compared after controlling for relevant covariates. Results A total of 2034 patients with pancreatic cancer were included (90% pancreatic adenocarcinoma). Of these, 498 (24%) patients were in EUS-FNA group. Patients with multiple comorbidities and more recent diagnosis were more likely to receive EUS-FNA. In multivariate analysis, after controlling for age, race, gender, tumour histology, tumour stage, tumour grade, tumour location, SEER site, year of diagnosis, undergoing percutaneous aspiration/biopsy, Charlson Comorbidity Index, radiation and chemotherapy, EUS-FNA was marginally associated with improved overall survival (HR 0.84, 95% CI 0.72 to 0.99), but did not affect cancer-specific survival (HR 0.87, 95% CI 0.74 to 1.03). Conclusions Preoperative EUS-FNA was not associated with increased risk of mortality. These data suggest that EUS-FNA can be safely performed for the work-up of suspicious pancreatic lesions.

AbstractAims and objectivesThe aim of this study was to assess the impact of historical screening compliance with the effectiveness of patient reminder letters on cervical cancer screening rates.MethodUsing population‐based informatics systems, women with no cervical cancer screening in the prior 3 years were identified in two primary care clinics, Mayo Family Clinic Northeast (NE; n = 1613) and Northwest (NW; n = 1088). Patients were divided into two compliance groups: overdue/unknown screening status at study start or previously compliant. The NE Clinic sent reminder letters over a 6 months window to patients eligible for screening at the study start or during the study that were also identified as employees/dependents (E/D). There were 795 intervention (NE Clinic E/D patients) and 1906 control subjects. Using an intent‐to‐treat analysis, differences in screening rates were assessed.ResultsA higher unadjusted screening rate was observed for the E/D group than the non‐E/D group at both sites (32.7 versus 18.2% at NW, P < 0.001; 39.0 versus 14.7% at NE, P < 0.001). For the historically compliant group, unadjusted screening rates were higher for those who received letters (E/D subjects at NE) versus those who did not (E/D subjects at NW; 56.1 versus 44.5%, P = 0.01). No difference was observed between E/D subjects at NE (received letters) and NW (no letters) for the overdue/unknown group (27.4 versus 25.9%, P = 0.62). There was no difference in screening rates for non‐E/D subjects at NE versus at NW (none of whom received letters) for both the compliant (24.2 versus 30.6%, P = 0.18) and the overdue/unknown groups (11.9 versus 13.0%, P = 0.59). Multivariate logistic regression models showed a significant overall effect of E/D status (P = 0.006), compliance group (P < 0.001), and the interaction between clinic site and E/D status (P = 0.04).ConclusionAmong insured women, reminder letters appear to improve cervical cancer screening rates for those with a history of screening compliance. Reminder letters appear insufficient to motivate women if screening is overdue. Further investigation of the cohort of women overdue for screening is needed to develop interventions to successfully target this group.