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Managing High‐Cost Healthcare Users: The International Search for Effective Evidence‐Supported Strategies
Author(s) -
Lee Justin Y.,
Muratov Sergei,
Tarride JeanEric,
Holbrook Anne M.
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
journal of the american geriatrics society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.992
H-Index - 232
eISSN - 1532-5415
pISSN - 0002-8614
DOI - 10.1111/jgs.15257
Subject(s) - medicine , health care , psychological intervention , government (linguistics) , population , evidence based practice , nursing , environmental health , economic growth , alternative medicine , economics , linguistics , philosophy , pathology
High‐cost healthcare users ( HCU s) are a small proportion of the population who use a disproportionate amount of healthcare resources. Although the phenomenon occurs across the entire age spectrum, older adults represent the majority of HCU s. HCU s have drawn increasing attention internationally from clinicians, health policy‐makers, and government administrators. Many experts have suggested that the short‐ and long‐term sustainability of the healthcare system is threatened unless current approaches to the care and healthcare costs of this population are modified. Complex case management and care coordination models are being implemented internationally to address HCU s despite a lack of strong evidence to support their effectiveness in improving clinical outcomes or savings in costs of care. We review what is known about HCU s and the available evidence for the effectiveness of interventions designed to manage their high and costly healthcare use.