Rebecca M. Sacks

When Patient Activation Levels Change, Health Outcomes And Costs Change, Too

Patient engagement has become a major focus of health reform. However, there is limited evidence showing that increases in patient engagement are associated with improved health outcomes or lower costs. We examined the extent to which a single assessment of engagement, the Patient Activation Measure, was associated with health outcomes and costs over time, and whether changes in assessed activation were related to expected changes in outcomes and costs. We used data on adult primary care patients from a single large health care system where the Patient Activation Measure is routinely used. We found that results indicating higher activation in 2010 were associated with nine out of thirteen better health outcomes-including better clinical indicators, more healthy behaviors, and greater use of womens preventive screening tests-as well as with lower costs two years later. Changes in activation level were associated with changes in over half of the health outcomes examined, as well as costs, in the expected directions. These findings suggest that efforts to increase patient activation may help achieve key goals of health reform and that further research is warranted to examine whether the observed associations are causal.

Adding a Measure of Patient Self-Management Capability to Risk Assessment Can Improve Prediction of High Costs

We explored whether supplementing a clinical risk score with a behavioral measure could improve targeting of the patients most in need of supports that reduce their risk of costly service utilization. Using data from a large health system that determines patient self-management capability using the Patient Activation Measure, we examined utilization of hospital and emergency department care by the 15 percent of patients with the highest clinical risk scores. After controlling for risk scores and placing patients within segments based on their level of activation in 2011, we found that the lower the activation level, the higher the utilization and cost of hospital services in each of the following three years. These findings demonstrate that adding a measure of patient self-management capability to a risk assessment can improve prediction of high care costs and inform actions to better meet patient needs.

How well do patient activation scores predict depression outcomes one year later

BACKGROUND This study examines the relationship between patient activation, a measure of individuals׳ knowledge, skill, and confidence for managing their health, and rates of depression remission and response among patients with depression. METHODS Patients from Fairview Health Services in Minnesota with moderate to severe depression in 2011 and a PHQ-9 score in 2012 were included in the analysis (n=5253). Patient activation in 2011 and other health and demographic features were extracted from the electronic health record. We examined how patient activation predicted depression remission and response rates and changes in depression severity over one year using regression models. We also explored how activation predicted healthy behaviors among depressed patients. RESULTS Higher baseline patient activation predicted lower depression severity and higher depression remission and response rates a year later. The most activated patients had PHQ-9 scores in 2012 two points lower than the lowest activated patients, and they had twice the odds of remission. Activation also predicted increase in healthy behaviors. LIMITATIONS We were unable to examine the use of mental health services or control for the number of prior depressive episodes and duration of the current depressive episode in the analysis. CONCLUSIONS We found that higher patient activation predicted better depression outcomes. While we are unable to explore the mechanism of this association, we observed that more activated patients are also engaged in more healthy behaviors, suggesting that the mechanism may be behavioral. Support of patient activation may be an effective approach for providers to reduce patients׳ depression severity.

Does patient activation predict the course of type 2 diabetes? A longitudinal study

OBJECTIVE To examine whether patient activation is predictive of the course of diabetes over a three year period among patients with and without diabetes. METHODS Longitudinal analyses utilized electronic health record data from 2011 to 2014. We examined how the patient activation measure (PAM) was predictive of 2014 diabetes-related outcomes among patients with diabetes (n=10,071); pre-diabetes (n=1804); and neither diabetes nor pre-diabetes (n=46,402). Outcomes were clinical indicators (blood pressure, cholesterol, and trigylcerides), costly utilization, and progression from no diabetes to pre-diabetes or diabetes. RESULTS Higher PAM level predicted better clinical indicator control in patients with diabetes. In patients with pre-diabetes, PAM level predicted better clinical indicator control, and those in the highest level of PAM in 2011 had lower odds of having a hospitalization compared to those in the lowest level. In patients without diabetes or pre-diabetes in 2011, higher PAM level was associated with lower odds of developing pre-diabetes. CONCLUSIONS More activated patients with diabetes and pre-diabetes had better outcomes than less activated patients. More activated patients without diabetes or pre-diabetes were less likely to develop pre-diabetes over a three year period. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS Strategies to improve patient activation may be useful to help curb the diabetes epidemic.

Improving Population Health Management Strategies: Identifying Patients Who Are More Likely to Be Users of Avoidable Costly Care and Those More Likely to Develop a New Chronic Disease.

OBJECTIVE To explore using the Patient Activation Measure (PAM) for identifying patients more likely to have ambulatory care-sensitive (ACS) utilization and future increases in chronic disease. DATA SOURCES Secondary data are extracted from the electronic health record of a large accountable care organization. STUDY DESIGN This is a retrospective cohort design. The key predictor variable, PAM score, is measured in 2011, and is used to predict outcomes in 2012-2014. Outcomes include ACS utilization and the likelihood of a new chronic disease. DATA Our sample of 98,142 adult patients was drawn from primary care clinic users. To be included, patients had to have a PAM score in 2011 and at least one clinic visit in each of the three subsequent years. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS PAM level is a significant predictor of ACS utilization. Less activated patients had significantly higher odds of ACS utilization compared to those with high PAM scores. Similarly, patients with low PAM scores were more likely to have a new chronic disease diagnosis over each of the years of observation. CONCLUSIONS Assessing patient activation may help to identify patients who could benefit from greater support. Such an approach may help ACOs reach population health management goals.

Summarized Costs, Placement Of Quality Stars, And Other Online Displays Can Help Consumers Select High-Value Health Plans

Starting in 2017, all state and federal health insurance exchanges will present quality data on health plans in addition to cost information. We analyzed variations in the current design of information on state exchanges to identify presentation approaches that encourage consumers to take quality as well as cost into account when selecting a health plan. Using an online sample of 1,025 adults, we randomly assigned participants to view the same comparative information on health plans, displayed in different ways. We found that consumers were much more likely to select a high-value plan when cost information was summarized instead of detailed, when quality stars were displayed adjacent to cost information, when consumers understood that quality stars signified the quality of medical care, and when high-value plans were highlighted with a check mark or blue ribbon. These approaches, which were equally effective for participants with higher and lower numeracy, can inform the development of future displays of plan information in the exchanges.

Mental Health Care Among Low-Income Pregnant Women with Depressive Symptoms: Facilitators and Barriers to Care Access and the Effectiveness of Financial Incentives for Increasing Care

Abstract Access to mental health care is suboptimal for low-income pregnant women. Using in-depth interviews, we examined barriers and facilitators to accessing care among 42 low income pregnant women with depressive symptoms. To pilot whether financial incentives would increase utilization during pregnancy, half the women were randomized to receive

Does Compensating Primary Care Providers to Produce Higher Quality Make Them More or Less Patient Centric

10 gift cards after mental health visits. Women reported external and internal barriers to accessing mental health care, and internal and interpersonal facilitators. Financial incentives did not impact how often the women visited mental health providers, suggesting that small incentives are not sufficient to catalyze mental health care use for this population.

How much do clinicians support patient self-management? The development of a measure to assess clinician self-management support ☆

Both payment reform and patient engagement are key elements of health care reform. Yet the question of how incentivizing primary care providers (PCPs) on quality outcomes affects the degree to which PCPs are supportive of patient activation and patient self-management has received little attention. In this mixed-methods study, we use in-depth interviews and survey data from PCPs working in a Pioneer Accountable Care Organization that implemented a compensation model in which a large percentage of PCP salary is based on quality performance. We assess how much PCPs report focusing their efforts on supporting patient activation and self-management, and whether or not they become frustrated with patients who do not change their behaviors. The findings suggest that most PCPs do not see the value in investing their own efforts in supporting patient self-management and activation. Most PCPs saw patient behavior as a major obstacle to improving quality and many were frustrated that patient behaviors affected their compensation.