Eun Ji Kim

Electronic Consultations (E-consults): Advancing Infectious Disease Care in a Large Veterans Affairs Healthcare System

The impact of e-consults on total consultative services was evaluated. After implementing infectious diseases e-consults within an electronically integrated healthcare system, consultation volume increased. As compared with face-to-face consultations, e-consults were more often related to antimicrobial guidance and were requested by off-site providers. E-consults increased the breadth and volume of total consults.

Disparities in Potentially Preventable Hospitalizations: Near-National Estimates for Hispanics

OBJECTIVE To obtain near-national rates of potentially preventable hospitalization (PPH)-a marker of barriers to outpatient care access-for Hispanics; to examine their differences from other race-ethnic groups and by Hispanic national origin; and to identify key mediating factors. DATA SOURCES/STUDY SETTING Data from all-payer inpatient discharge databases for 15 states accounting for 85 percent of Hispanics nationally. STUDY DESIGN Combining counts of inpatient discharges with census population for adults aged 18 and older, we estimated age-sex-adjusted PPH rates. We examined county-level variation in race-ethnic disparities in these rates to identify the mediating role of area-level indicators of chronic condition prevalence, socioeconomic status (SES), health care access, acculturation, and provider availability. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS Age-sex-adjusted PPH rates were 13 percent higher among Hispanics (1,375 per 100,000 adults) and 111 percent higher among blacks (2,578) compared to whites (1,221). Among Hispanics, these rates were relatively higher in areas with predominantly Puerto Rican and Cuban Americans than in areas with Hispanics of other nationalities. Small area variation in chronic condition prevalence and SES fully accounted for the higher rates among Hispanics, but only partially among blacks. CONCLUSIONS Hispanics and blacks face higher barriers to outpatient care access; the higher barriers among Hispanics (but not blacks) seem mediated by SES, lack of insurance, cost barriers, and limited provider availability.

Understanding the Digital Gap Among US Adults With Disability: Cross-Sectional Analysis of the Health Information National Trends Survey 2013

Background Disabilities affect more than 1 in 5 US adults, and those with disabilities face multiple barriers in accessing health care. A digital gap, defined as the disparity caused by differences in the ability to use advanced technologies, is assumed to be prevalent among individuals with disabilities. Objective This study examined the associations between disability and use of information technology (IT) in obtaining health information and between trust factors and IT use. We hypothesized that compared to US adults without disabilities, those with disabilities are less likely to refer to the internet for health information, more likely to refer to a health care provider to obtain health information, and less likely to use IT to exchange medical information with a provider. Additionally, we hypothesized that trust factors, such as trust toward health information source and willingness to exchange health information, are associated with IT use. Methods The primary database was the 2013 Health Information National Trends Survey 4 Cycle 3 (N=3185). Disability status, the primary study covariate, was based on 6 questions that encompassed a wide spectrum of conditions, including impairments in mobility, cognition, independent living, vision, hearing, and self-care. Study covariates included sociodemographic factors, respondents’ trust toward the internet and provider as information sources, and willingness to exchange medical information via IT with providers. Study outcomes were the use of the internet as the primary health information source, use of health care providers as the primary health information source, and use of IT to exchange medical information with providers. We conducted multivariate logistic regressions to examine the association between disability and study outcomes controlling for study covariates. Multiple imputations with fully conditional specification were used to impute missing values. Results We found presence of any disability was associated with decreased odds (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] 0.65, 95% CI 0.43-0.98) of obtaining health information from the internet, in particular for those with vision disability (AOR 0.27, 95% CI 0.11-0.65) and those with mobility disability (AOR 0.51, 95% CI 0.30-0.88). Compared to those without disabilities, those with disabilities were significantly more likely to consult a health care provider for health information in both actual (OR 2.21, 95% CI 1.54-3.18) and hypothetical situations (OR 1.80, 95% CI 1.24-2.60). Trust toward health information from the internet (AOR 3.62, 95% CI 2.07-6.33), and willingness to exchange via IT medical information with a provider (AOR 1.88, 95% CI 1.57-2.24) were significant predictors for seeking and exchanging such information, respectively. Conclusions A potential digital gap may exist among US adults with disabilities in terms of their recent use of the internet for health information. Trust toward health information sources and willingness play an important role in people’s engagement in use of the internet for health information. Future studies should focus on addressing trust factors associated with IT use and developing tools to improve access to care for those with disabilities.

Innovative Use Of Electronic Consultations In Preoperative Anesthesiology Evaluation At VA Medical Centers In New England

Electronic consultations (e-consults) improve access to specialty care without requiring face-to-face patient visits. We conducted a mixed-methods descriptive study to understand the variability in e-consult use across anesthesiology departments in the Veterans Affairs New England Healthcare System (VANEHS). In the period 2012-15, the system experienced a rapid increase in the use of anesthesiology e-consults: 5,023 were sent in 2015, compared with 103 in 2012. Uptake across sites varied from near-universal use of e-consults for preoperative assessment to use for only selected low-risk patients or no use. Interviews with stakeholders revealed considerable differences in the perceived impact of e-consults on workflow and patient-centeredness. Clinicians at sites with high use of e-consults noted that they improved workflow efficiency. In comparison, clinicians at sites with low use preferentially valued face-to-face visits for some or all patients. The adoption of a health information technology innovation can alter the process of care delivery, depending on perceptions of its value by key stakeholders.

Racial/ethnic disparities among Asian Americans in inpatient acute myocardial infarction mortality in the United States

BackgroundAcute myocardial infarction (AMI) is a common high-risk disease with inpatient mortality of 5% nationally. But little is known about this outcome among Asian Americans (Asians), a fast growing racial/ethnic minority in the country. The objectives of the study are to obtain near-national estimates of differences in AMI inpatient mortality between minorities (including Asians) and non-Hispanic Whites and identify comorbidities and sociodemographic characteristics associated with these differences.MethodThis is a retrospective analysis of 2010–2011 state inpatient discharge data from 10 states with the largest share of Asian population. We identified hospitalization with a primary diagnosis of AMI using the ICD-9 code and used self-reported race/ethnicity to identify White, Black, Hispanic, and Asian. We performed descriptive analysis of sociodemographic characteristics, medical comorbidities, type of AMI, and receipt of cardiac procedures. Next, we examined overall inpatient AMI mortality rate based on patients’ race/ethnicity. We also examined the types of AMI and a receipt of invasive cardiac procedures by race/ethnicity. Lastly, we used sequential multivariate logistic regression models to study inpatient mortality for each minority group compared to Whites, adjusting for covariates.ResultsOver 70% of the national Asian population resides in the 10 states. There were 496,472 hospitalizations with a primary diagnosis of AMI; 75% of all cases were Whites, 10% were Blacks, 12% were Hispanics, and 3% were Asians. Asians had a higher prevalence of cardiac comorbidities, including hypertension, diabetes, and kidney failure compared to Whites (p-value< 0.01). There were 158,623 STEMI (ST-elevation AMI), and the proportion of hospitalizations for STEMI was the highest for Asians (35.2% for Asians, 32.7% for Whites, 25.3% for Blacks, and 32.1% for Hispanics). Asians had the highest rates of inpatient AMI mortality: 7.2% for Asians, 6.3% for Whites, 5.4% for Blacks, and 5.9% for Hispanics (ANOVA p-value < 0.01). In adjusted analyses, Asians (OR = 1.11 [95% CI: 1.04–1.19]) and Hispanics (OR = 1.14 [1.09–1.19]) had a higher likelihood of inpatient mortality compared to Whites.ConclusionsAsians had a higher risk-adjusted likelihood of inpatient AMI mortality compared to Whites. Further research is needed to identify the underlying reasons for this finding to improve AMI disparities for Asians.