Collaborative Care Improves Clinical Outcomes, Costs in Pediatric Neurology Patients

VANCOUVER – Care integration across specialists helps to improve outcomes and reduce costs faced by patients with complex neurological disorders, according to data presented at the 2016 Child Neurology Society Annual Meeting, October 26-29, 2016 in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Fragmentation of care has been linked to worse clinical outcomes, increased costs of care, and overall poor experiences for families and patients, especially those with neurological disorders.

Previous research¹ conducted by David Urion, MD, FAAN, of Boston Children’s Hospital, and colleagues involving the Pediatric Integrated Care Survey (PICS), which reflects family-reported experiences of care integration, showed that nearly 52% of respondents reported that their child’s care team did not create short-term goals, while nearly 20% reported that the care team was “never or rarely aware” of test of evaluation results obtained previously.

Focusing on care transitions, Dr Urion and colleagues instituted care integration measures in a population of pediatric patients with Rett syndrome.² The program focused specifically on communication of lab results and consultations to families and referring providers. The researchers also utilized the Care Coordination Measurement Tool to help quantify the value of non-billable coordination measures.

The researchers reported that over 1 year, inpatient charges dropped 7%, from 48% total spend ($1.59 million) to 41% ($1.42 million), while unanticipated admissions dropped from an average 2.06 admissions per patient per year to 1.32 admissions. Notably, admissions to the emergency department dropped from 28 admissions per year to 15 per year.

While previous research has indicated that care coordination improves the patient/family experience, reduces unnecessary costs, and improves quality of care, this analysis also suggests that coordination improves outcomes and reduces costs in this specific population.

For more coverage of CNS 2016, go here.

Reference

1. Urion D, Rosenberg H, Ziniel S, McCrave J, Antonelli R. Measuring the Family Experience of Care Integration In Child Neurology: The Pediatric Integrated Care Survey. Presented at: 2016 Child Neurology Society Annual Meeting. October 26-29, 2016; Vancouver, BC. Abstract 166.
2. Urion D, Rosenberg H, Ziniel S, et al. The Effect of Care Integration on Patient Outcomes and Costs in a Population with Rett Syndrome. Presented at: 2016 Child Neurology Society Annual Meeting. October 26-29, 2016; Vancouver, BC. Abstract 167.