Delivering diabetes education through nurseled telecoaching : cost-effectiveness analysis

Background : People with diabetes have a high risk of developing micro-and macrovascular complications associated with diminished life expectancy and elevated treatment costs. Patient education programs can improve diabetes control in the short term, but their cost-effectiveness is uncertain. Our study aimed to analyze the lifelong cost-effectiveness of a nurse-led tele-coaching program compared to usual care in people with type 2 diabetes from the perspective of the Belgian healthcare system. Methods : The UKPDS Outcomes Model was populated with patient-level data from an 18-month randomized clinical trial in the Belgian primary care sector involving 574 participants; trial data were extrapolated to 40 years; Quality Adjusted Life Years (QALYs), treatment costs and Incremental Cost-Effectiveness Ratio (ICER) were calculated for the entire cohort and the subgroup with poor glycemic control at baseline ("elevated HbA1c subgroup") and the associated uncertainty was explored. Results : The cumulative mean QALY (95% CI) gain was 0.21 (0.13; 0.28) overall and 0.56 (0.43; 0.68) in elevated HbA1c subgroup; the respective incremental costs were (sic)1,147 (188; 2,107) and (sic)2,565 (654; 4,474) and the respective ICERs (sic)5,569 ((sic)677; (sic)15,679) and (sic)4,615 (1,207; 9,969) per QALY. In the scenario analysis, repeating the intervention for lifetime had the greatest impact on the cost-effectiveness and resulted in the mean ICERs of (sic) 13,034 in the entire cohort and (sic)7,858 in the elevated HbA1c subgroup. Conclusion : Taking into account reimbursement thresholds applied in West-European countries, nurseled telecoaching of people with type 2 diabetes may be considered highly cost-effective within the Belgian healthcare system

Patient and provider acceptance of telecoaching in type 2 diabetes : a mixed-method study embedded in a randomised clinical trial

Background: Despite advances in diagnosis and treatment of type 2 diabetes, suboptimal metabolic control persists. Patient education in diabetes has been proved to enhance self-efficacy and guideline-driven treatment, however many people with type 2 diabetes do not have access to or do not participate in self-management support programmes. Tele-education and telecoaching have the potential to improve accessibility and efficiency of care, but there is a slow uptake in Europe. Patient and provider acceptance in a local context is an important precondition for implementation. The aim of the study was to explore the perceptions of patients, nurses and general practitioners (GPs) regarding telecoaching in type 2 diabetes. Methods: Mixed-method study embedded in a clinical trial, in which a nurse-led target-driven telecoaching programme consisting of 5 monthly telephone sessions of +/- 30 min was offered to 287 people with type 2 diabetes in Belgian primary care. Intervention attendance and satisfaction about the programme were analysed along with qualitative data obtained during post-trial semi-structured interviews with a purposive sample of patients, general practitioners (GPs) and nurses. The perceptions of patients and care providers about the intervention were coded and the themes interpreted as barriers or facilitators for adoption. Results: Of 252 patients available for a follow-up analysis, 97.5 % reported being satisfied. Interviews were held with 16 patients, 17 general practitioners (GPs) and all nurses involved (n = 6). Themes associated with adoption facilitation were: 1) improved diabetes control; 2) need for more tailored patient education programmes offered from the moment of diagnosis; 3) comfort and flexibility; 4) evidence-based nature of the programme; 5) established cooperation between GPs and diabetes educators; and 6) efficiency gains. Most potential barriers were derived from the provider views: 1) poor patient motivation and suboptimal compliance with "faceless" advice; 2) GPs' reluctance in the area of patient referral and information sharing; 3) lack of legal, organisational and financial framework for telecare. Conclusions: Nurse-led telecoaching of people with type 2 diabetes was well-accepted by patients and providers, with providers being in general more critical in their reflections. With increasing patient demand for mobile and remote services in healthcare,the findings of this study should support professionals involved in healthcare policy and innovation

Nurse-led telecoaching of people with type 2 diabetes in primary care: rationale, design and baseline data of a randomized controlled trial

Background: Despite the efforts of the healthcare community to improve the quality of diabetes care, about 50% of people with type 2 diabetes do not reach their treatment targets, increasing the risk of future micro-and macro-vascular complications. Diabetes self-management education has been shown to contribute to better disease control. However, it is not known which strategies involving educational programs are cost-effective. Telehealth applications might support chronic disease management. Transferability of successful distant patient self-management support programs to the Belgian setting needs to be confirmed by studies of a high methodological quality. "The COACH Program" was developed in Australia as target driven educational telephone delivered intervention to support people with different chronic conditions. It proved to be effective in patients with coronary heart disease after hospitalization. Clinical and cost-effectiveness of The COACH Program in people with type 2 diabetes in Belgium needs to be assessed. Methods/Design: Randomized controlled trial in patients with type 2 diabetes. Patients were selected based on their medication consumption data and were recruited by their sickness fund. They were randomized to receive either usual care plus "The COACH Program" or usual care alone. The study will assess the difference in outcomes between groups. The primary outcome measure is the level of HbA1c. The secondary outcomes are: Total Cholesterol, LDL-Cholesterol, HDL-Cholesterol, Triglycerides, Blood Pressure, body mass index, smoking status; proportion of people at target for HbA1c, LDL-Cholesterol and Blood Pressure; self-perceived health status, diabetes-specific emotional distress and satisfaction with diabetes care. The follow-up period is 18 months. Within-trial and modeled cost-utility analyses, to project effects over life-time horizon beyond the trial duration, will be undertaken from the perspective of the health care system if the intervention is effective. Discussion: The study will enhance our understanding of the potential of telehealth in diabetes management in Belgium. Research on the clinical effectiveness and the cost-effectiveness is essential to support policy makers in future reimbursement and implementation decisions

A multi-level perspective on perceived unmet needs for home support in home-dwelling older adults in the Swiss context: a secondary data analysis of a population study

Unmet needs for home support occur when any support services perceived by older people as needed are not being received. Not meeting these needs can negatively impact older adults' quality of life, and increase health care utilization, hospitalizations, institutionalizations, or death. To date there is no consensus in how to define and assess these unmet needs. In parallel, previous research of factors associated with unmet needs for home support has mostly focused on factors at the micro level. Thus, this paper aims to identify the prevalence of unmet needs for home support among a home-dwelling older population and the factors at the macro, meso and micro levels contributing to them.; Using an ecological approach we identified multi-level factors associated with the presence of unmet needs for home support among the home-dwelling older population (aged 75+) in Switzerland. This is a secondary cross-sectional analysis of the INSPIRE Population Survey of home-dwelling older adults (n = 8,508) living in Basel-Landschaft in Switzerland, conducted as part of the TRANS-SENIOR Project. Prevalence of perceived unmet needs for home support was self-reported, using a dichotomized question. Multiple logistic regression analyses were performed to investigate the associations of factors at each level with unmet needs for home support.; 4.3% of participants reported unmet needs for home support, with a median age of 81 years. 45.1% had private health insurance and 6.3% needed additional government support. Being a recipient of other type of government support (OR = 1.65; 95% CI = 1.17-2.29) (macro-); the use of transportation services (OR = 1.74; 95% CI = 1.15-2.57) (meso-); and feeling depressed (OR = 1.40; 95% CI = 1.06-1.85) or abandoned (OR = 2.60; 95% CI = 1.96-3.43) (micro-) increased odds of having perceived unmet needs for home support. Having a private health insurance (macro-) (OR = 0.63; 95% CI = 0.49-0.80), speaking Swiss-German (OR = 0.44; 95% CI = 0.24-0.88) or German (OR = 0.47; 95% CI = 0.24-0.98), having a high level of education [primary (OR = 0.48; 95% CI = 0.24-1.02); secondary (OR = 0.49; 95% CI = 0.25-1.03); tertiary (OR = 0.38; 95% CI = 0.19-0.82); other (OR = 0.31 (0.12-0.75)], having a high score of self-perceived health status [score ≥ 76 (OR = 0.42; 95% CI = 0.20-0.96)] and having informal care (OR = 0.57; 95% CI = 0.45-0.73), among others (micro-) were associated with decreased odds of having perceived unmet needs for home support.; Our study findings highlight the role of socio-economical inequality in the perception of unmet needs for home support in home-dwelling older adults. In order to address unmet needs in home-dwelling older adults, healthcare leaders and policy makers should focus on strategies to reduce socio-economic inequalities at the different levels in this population

Interdisciplinary diabetes care teams operating on the interface between primary and specialty care are associated with improved outcomes of care: findings from the Leuven Diabetes Project

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Type 2 diabetes mellitus is a complex, progressive disease which requires a variety of quality improvement strategies. Limited information is available on the feasibility and effectiveness of interdisciplinary diabetes care teams (IDCT) operating on the interface between primary and specialty care. A first study hypothesis was that the implementation of an IDCT is feasible in a health care setting with limited tradition in shared care. A second hypothesis was that patients who make use of an IDCT would have significantly better outcomes compared to non-users of the IDCT after an 18-month intervention period. A third hypothesis was that patients who used the IDCT in an Advanced quality Improvement Program (AQIP) would have significantly better outcomes compared to users of a Usual Quality Improvement Program (UQIP).</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>This investigation comprised a two-arm cluster randomized trial conducted in a primary care setting in Belgium. Primary care physicians (PCPs, n = 120) and their patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (n = 2495) were included and subjects were randomly assigned to the intervention arms. The IDCT acted as a cornerstone to both the intervention arms, but the number, type and intensity of IDCT related interventions varied depending upon the intervention arm.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Final registration included 67 PCPs and 1577 patients in the AQIP and 53 PCPs and 918 patients in the UQIP. 84% of the PCPs made use of the IDCT. The expected participation rate in patients (30%) was not attained, with 12,5% of the patients using the IDCT. When comparing users and non-users of the IDCT (irrespective of the intervention arm) and after 18 months of intervention the use of the IDCT was significantly associated with improvements in HbA1c, LDL-cholesterol, an increase in statins and anti-platelet therapy as well as the number of targets that were reached. When comparing users of the IDCT in the two intervention arms no significant differences were noted, except for anti-platelet therapy.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>IDCT's operating on the interface between primary and specialty care are associated with improved outcomes of care. More research is required on what team and program characteristics contribute to improvements in diabetes care.</p> <p>Trial registration</p> <p>NTR 1369.</p

A cluster randomized trial to improve adherence to evidence-based guidelines on diabetes and reduce clinical inertia in primary care physicians in Belgium: study protocol [NTR 1369]

Contains fulltext : 70617.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access)ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Most quality improvement programs in diabetes care incorporate aspects of clinician education, performance feedback, patient education, care management, and diabetes care teams to support primary care physicians. Few studies have applied all of these dimensions to address clinical inertia. AIM: To evaluate interventions to improve adherence to evidence-based guidelines for diabetes and reduce clinical inertia in primary care physicians. DESIGN: Two-arm cluster randomized controlled trial. PARTICIPANTS: Primary care physicians in Belgium. INTERVENTIONS: Primary care physicians will be randomly allocated to 'Usual' (UQIP) or 'Advanced' (AQIP) Quality Improvement Programs. Physicians in the UQIP will receive interventions addressing the main physician, patient, and office system factors that contribute to clinical inertia. Physicians in the AQIP will receive additional interventions that focus on sustainable behavior changes in patients and providers. OUTCOMES: Primary endpoints are the proportions of patients within targets for three clinical outcomes: 1) glycosylated hemoglobin < 7%; 2) systolic blood pressure differences </=130 mmHg; and 3) low density lipoprotein/cholesterol < 100 mg/dl. Secondary endpoints are individual improvements in 12 validated parameters: glycosylated hemoglobin, low and high density lipoprotein/cholesterol, total cholesterol, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, weight, physical exercise, healthy diet, smoking status, and statin and anti-platelet therapy. PRIMARY AND SECONDARY ANALYSIS: Statistical analyses will be performed using an intent-to-treat approach with a multilevel model. Linear and generalized linear mixed models will be used to account for the clustered nature of the data, i.e., patients clustered withinimary care physicians, and repeated assessments clustered within patients. To compare patient characteristics at baseline and between the intervention arms, the generalized estimating equations (GEE) approach will be used, taking the clustered nature of the data within physicians into account. We will also use the GEE approach to test for differences in evolution of the primary and secondary endpoints for all patients, and for patients in the two interventions arms, accounting for within-patient clustering. TRIAL REGISTRATION: number: NTR 1369

Barriers and facilitators to evidence based care of type 2 diabetes patients: experiences of general practitioners participating to a quality improvement program

Objective To evaluate the barriers and facilitators to high-quality diabetes care as experienced by general practitioners (GPs) who participated in an 18-month quality improvement program (QIP). This QIP was implemented to promote compliance with international guidelines. Methods Twenty out of the 120 participating GPs in the QIP underwent semi-structured interviews that focused on three questions: 'Which changes did you implement or did you observe in the quality of diabetes care during your participation in the QIP?' 'According to your experience, what induced these changes?' and 'What difficulties did you experience in making the changes?' Results Most GPs reported that enhanced knowledge, improved motivation, and a greater sense of responsibility were the key factors that led to greater compliance with diabetes care guidelines and consequent improvements in diabetes care. Other factors were improved communication with patients and consulting specialists and reliance on diabetes nurse educators. Some GPs were reluctant to collaborate with specialists, and especially with diabetes educators and dieticians. Others blamed poor compliance with the guidelines on lack of time. Most interviewees reported that a considerable minority of patients were unwilling to change their lifestyles. Conclusion Qualitative research nested in an experimental trial may clarify the improvements that a QIP may bring about in a general practice, provide insight into GPs' approach to diabetes care and reveal the program's limits. Implementation of a QIP encounters an array of cognitive, motivational, and relational obstacles that are embedded in a patient-healthcare provider relationshipGeert Goderis, Liesbeth Borgermans, Chantal Mathieu, Carine Van Den Broeke, Karen Hannes, Jan Heyrman and Richard Gro