Andrea Wysocki

Whole-Body Vibration Therapy for Osteoporosis: State of the Science

Clinical guidelines for osteoporosis recommend dietary and pharmacologic interventions and weight-bearing exercise to prevent bone fractures. These interventions sometimes have low adherence and can cause adverse effects. A proposed alternative or adjunctive treatment is whole-body vibration therapy (WBV), in which energy produced by a forced oscillation is transferred to an individual from a mechanical vibration platform. Whole-body vibration platforms are not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for medical purposes. This review provides a broad overview of important issues related to WBV therapy for prevention and treatment of osteoporosis. Relying on key informants and a search of the gray and published literature from January 2000 to August 2011, the investigators found that the designs of WBV platforms and protocols for their use vary widely. The optimal target population for the therapy is not defined. Although WBV has some theoretical advantages, key informants have voiced several concerns, including uncertain safety and potential consumer confusion between low-intensity vibration platforms intended for osteoporosis therapy and high-intensity platforms intended for exercise. Finally, the scant literature did not establish whether WBV therapy leads to clinically important increases in bone mineral density or reduces risk for fracture.

The Minimum Data Set 3.0 Cognitive Function Scale.

Background: The Minimum Data Set (MDS) 3.0 introduced the Brief Interview for Mental Status (BIMS), a short performance-based cognitive screener for nursing home (NH) residents. Not all residents are able to complete the BIMS and are consequently assessed by staff. We designed a Cognitive Function Scale (CFS) integrating self-report and staff-report data and present evidence of the scale’s construct validity. Design: A retrospective cohort study. Subjects: The subjects consisted of 3 cohorts: (1) long-stay NH residents (N=941,077) and (2) new admissions (N=2,066,580) during 2011–2012, and (3) residents with the older MDS 2.0 assessment in 2010 and the newer MDS 3.0 assessment (n=688,511). Measures: MDS 3.0 items were used to create a single, integrated 4-category hierarchical CFS that was compared with residents’ prior MDS 2.0 Cognitive Performance Scale scores and other concurrent MDS 3.0 measures of construct validity. Results: The new CFS suggests that 28% of the long-stay cohort in 2011–2012 were cognitively intact, 22% were mildly impaired, 33% were moderately impaired, and 17% were severely impaired. For the admission cohort, the CFS noted 56% as cognitively intact, 23% as mildly impaired, 17% as moderately impaired, and 4% as severely impaired. The CFS corresponded closely with residents’ prior MDS 2.0 Cognitive Performance Scale scores and with performance of Activities of Daily Living, and nurses’ judgments of function and behavior in both the admission and long-stay cohorts. Conclusions: The new CFS is valuable to researchers as it provides a single, integrated measure of NH residents’ cognitive function, regardless of the mode of assessment.

Functional Improvement Among Short-Stay Nursing Home Residents in the MDS 3.0

OBJECTIVES To examine the completeness of the activities of daily living (ADL) items on admission and discharge assessments and the improvement in ADL performance among short-stay residents in the newly adopted Minimum Data Set (MDS) 3.0. DESIGN Retrospective analysis of MDS admission and discharge assessments. SETTING Nursing homes from July 1, 2011, to June 30, 2012. PARTICIPANTS New nursing home residents admitted from acute hospitals with corresponding admission and discharge assessments between July 1, 2011, and June 30, 2012, who had a length of stay of 100 days or less. MEASUREMENTS ADL self-performance items, including bed mobility, transfer, walking in room, walking in corridor, locomotion on unit, locomotion off unit, dressing, eating, toilet use, and personal hygiene, at admission and discharge. RESULTS The ADL self-performance items are complete at both admission and discharge, with less than 1% missing for any item. More than 60% of residents improved over the course of their post-acute stay. New short-stay nursing home residents with conditions such as cognitive impairment, delirium, dementia, heart failure, and stroke showed less improvement in ADL performance during their stay. CONCLUSION The discharge assessment data in the MDS 3.0 provide new information to researchers and providers to examine and track ADL performance. Nursing homes can identify and track patients who require more intensive therapies or targeted interventions to achieve functional improvement during their stay. Future research can examine facility-level measures to better understand how ADL improvement varies across facilities.

Does Home- and Community-Based Care Affect Nursing Home Use?

A study was conducted to assess change in numbers, expenditures, and case mix of nursing home residents as Medicaid investment in home- and community-based services (HCBS) 1915(c) waivers increased in seven states. The seven states provided Medicaid expenditure and utilization data from 2001 to 2005, including waiver and state plan utilization. The Minimum Data Set was used for nursing home residents. For three states, community assessment data were also used. In six states, the number of nursing home clients decreased as the numbers of HCBS clients grew. However, in most states, the number of additional waiver clients often greatly exceeded reductions in nursing home residents. Nursing home payments decreased moderately, but this decrease was offset by increases in HCBS waiver and state plan expenditures, leading to a net increase in long-term support services (LTSS) expenditures from 2001 to 2005. Increases in waiver expenditures outpaced increases in waiver clients, indicating expansion of services on top of expansion in clients. States that showed substantial increases in HCBS showed only modest increases in nursing home case mix. The case mix for nursing home residents was more acute than that for HCBS users. The expectation that greater HCBS use would siphon off less severe LTSS users and hence lead to a higher case mix in nursing homes was partially met. The more acute case mix in nursing homes suggests that HCBS serves some individuals who were previously cared for in nursing homes but many who were not. Efforts to promote substitution of HCBS for institutional care will require more proactive strategies such as diversion.

Diagnosed Prevalence and Health Care Expenditures of Mental Health Disorders Among Dual Eligible Older People

PURPOSE Little is known about mental health disorders (MHDs) and their associated health care expenditures for the dual eligible elders across long-term care (LTC) settings. We estimated the 12-month diagnosed prevalence of MHDs among dual eligible older adults in LTC and non-LTC settings and calculated the average incremental effect of MHDs on medical care, LTC, and prescription drug expenditures across LTC settings. METHODS Participants were fee-for-service dual eligible elderly beneficiaries from 7 states. We obtained their 2005 Medicare and Medicaid claims data and LTC program participation data from federal and state governments. We grouped beneficiaries into non-LTC, community LTC, and institutional LTC groups and identified enrollees with any of 5 MHDs (anxiety, bipolar, major depression, mild depression, and schizophrenia) using the International Classification of Diseases Ninth Revision codes associated with Medicare and Medicaid claims. We obtained medical care, LTC, and prescription drug expenditures from related claims. RESULTS Thirteen percent of all dual eligible elderly beneficiaries had at least 1 MHD diagnosis in 2005. Beneficiaries in non-LTC group had the lowest 12-month prevalence rates but highest percentage increase in health care expenditures associated with MHDs. Institutional LTC residents had the highest prevalence rates but lowest percentage increase in expenditures. LTC expenditures were less affected by MHDs than medical and prescription drug expenditures. IMPLICATIONS MHDs are prevalent among dual eligible older persons and are costly to the health care system. Policy makers need to focus on better MHD diagnosis among community-living elders and better understanding in treatment of MHDs in LTC settings.

Hospitalization of Elderly Medicaid Long-Term Care Users Who Transition from Nursing Homes

To compare hospitalizations of dually eligible older adults who had an extended Medicaid nursing home (NH) stay and transitioned out to receive Medicaid home‐ and community‐based services (HCBS) with hospitalizations of those who remained in the NH.

Effect of long-term care use on Medicare and Medicaid expenditures for dual eligible and non-dual eligible elderly beneficiaries.

BACKGROUND Dual eligible Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries consume disproportionate shares of both programs. OBJECTIVES To compare Medicare and Medicaid expenditures of elderly dual eligible beneficiaries with non-dual eligible beneficiaries based on their long-term care (LTC) use. RESEARCH DESIGN Secondary analysis of linked MAX and Medicare data in seven states. SUBJECTS Dual eligible adults (65+) receiving LTC in institutions, in the community, or not at all; and Medicare non-dual eligibles. MEASURES Medicaid acute medical and LTC expenditures per beneficiary year, Medicare expenditures. RESULTS Among dual eligibles and non-dual eligibles, the average number of diseases and case mix scores are higher for LTC users. Adjusting for case mix virtually eliminates the difference for medical costs, but not for LTC expenditures. Adjusting for LTC status reduces the difference in LTC costs, but increases the difference in medical costs. CONCLUSIONS Efforts to control costs for dual eligibles should target those in LTC while better coordinating medical and LTC expenditures.

A Qualitative Study of Choosing Home Health Care After Hospitalization: The Unintended Consequences of ‘Patient Choice’ Requirements

ABSTRACTBACKGROUNDAlthough hospitals are increasingly held accountable for patients’ post-discharge outcomes, giving them incentive to help patients choose high-performing home health agencies, little is known about how quality reports inform decision making.OBJECTIVEWe aimed to learn how quality reports are used when choosing home care in one northeast state (Rhode Island) .DESIGNThe study consisted of focus groups with home health consumers and structured interviews with hospital case managers.PARTICIPANTSThirteen consumers and 28 case managers from five hospitals participated in the study.APPROACHWe identified key themes and illustrative quotes by audiotaping each session, and then three independent reviewers conducted repeated examination and content analysis.KEY RESULTSNo participants were aware of existing state or Medicare home health agency public reports. Case managers provided agency lists to consumers, who routinely asked case managers to tell them which agencies to choose or which were best; but case managers felt unable to directly respond to consumers’ requests for help in making the choice, because they did not have additional information to provide and because they feared violating federal laws requiring freedom of patient choice. Case managers also felt that there was little difference in agency quality, although they acknowledged they might not be aware of problems related to post-hospital care.CONCLUSIONSHome health consumers and hospital case managers were unaware of public reports about home health quality, which limited consumers’ ability to make informed decisions and case mangers’ ability to assist them in that decision-making process. Case managers were otherwise prohibited from recommending specific providers to patients and viewed the ‘patient choice’ laws as restricting their ability to respond to patients’ requests for help in choosing home health agencies. Public reports can be marketed as tools that case managers can use to help patients differentiate among providers, while supporting patient autonomy.

Using Qualitative Methods to Create a Home Health Web Application User Interface for Patients with Low Computer Proficiency.

Introduction: Despite the investment in public reporting for a number of healthcare settings, evidence indicates that consumers do not routinely use available data to select providers. This suggests that existing reports do not adequately incorporate recommendations for consumer-facing reports or web applications. Methods: Healthcentric Advisors and Brown University undertook a multi-phased approach to create a consumer-facing home health web application in Rhode Island. This included reviewing the evidence base review to identify design recommendations and then creating a paper prototype and wireframe. We performed qualitative research to iteratively test our proposed user interface with two user groups, home health consumers and hospital case managers, refining our design to create the final web application. Results: To test our prototype, we conducted two focus groups, with a total of 13 consumers, and 28 case manager interviews. Both user groups responded favorably to the prototype, with the majority commenting that they felt this type of tool would be useful. Case managers suggested revisions to ensure the application conformed to laws requiring Medicare patients to have the freedom to choose among providers and could be incorporated into hospital workflow. After incorporating changes and creating the wireframe, we conducted usability testing interviews with 14 home health consumers and six hospital case managers. We found that consumers needed prompting to navigate through the wireframe; they demonstrated confusion through both their words and body language. As a result, we modified the web application’s sequence, navigation, and function to provide additional instructions and prompts. Discussion: Although we designed our web application for low literacy and low health literacy, using recommendations from the evidence base, we overestimated the extent to which older adults were familiar with using computers. Some of our key learnings and recommendations run counter to general web design principles, leading us to believe that such guidelines need to be adapted for this user group. As web applications proliferate, it is important to ensure those who are most vulnerable—who have the least knowledge and the lowest literacy, health literacy, and computer proficiency—can access, understand, and use them. Conclusions: In order for the investment in public reporting to produce value, consumer-facing web applications need to be designed to address end users’ unique strengths and limitations. Our findings may help others to build consumer-facing tools or technology targeted to a predominantly older population. We encourage others designing consumer-facing web technologies to critically evaluate their assumptions about user interface design, particularly if they are designing tools for older adults, and to test products with their end users.