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Cost and healthcare utilization analysis of culturally sensitive, shared medical appointment model for Latino children with type 1 diabetes
Author(s) -
Gold Heather T.,
Pirraglia Elizabeth,
Huang Elbert S.,
Wan Wen,
Pascual Andrea B.,
Jensen Ryan James,
Gonzalez Andrea Gerard
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
pediatric diabetes
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.678
H-Index - 75
eISSN - 1399-5448
pISSN - 1399-543X
DOI - 10.1111/pedi.13218
Subject(s) - medicine , gee , generalized estimating equation , intervention (counseling) , health care , emergency department , type 2 diabetes , logistic regression , demography , diagnosis code , family medicine , diabetes mellitus , gerontology , pediatrics , environmental health , nursing , population , statistics , mathematics , endocrinology , sociology , economics , economic growth
Objective This study evaluated costs and healthcare utilization associated with a culturally‐sensitive, medical and education program for pediatric Latino patients with type 1 diabetes. Research Design and Methods Program participants included Latino children ages 1–20 years old diagnosed with type 1 diabetes ( n = 57). Control subjects with type 1 diabetes were matched by age, sex, and zip code to intervention participants from the Colorado All Payer Claims Database. Data included emergency department (ED) visits, hospitalizations, demographic information, and health insurance claims data 180 days prior to program start/index date through 1 year after program start/index date. We tracked program staff time and estimated costs for healthcare utilization using data from the scientific literature. Generalized Estimating Equation (GEE) models with logit link were used to estimate group differences in probabilities of ED visits and hospitalizations over 6‐month periods pre/post‐study, accounting for correlation of within‐subject data across time points. Sensitivity analyses modeled longer‐term cost differences under different assumptions. Results The intervention group had fewer hospitalizations, 2% versus 12% of controls ( p = 0.047,OR = 0.13;95%CI: 0.02–0.97) for 6 months following start date. The intervention group had fewer ED visits, 19% versus 32% in controls (n.s.; p = 0.079,OR = 0.52;95%CI:0.25–1.08) and significantly fewer hospitalizations, 4% versus 15% of controls ( p = 0.039,OR = 0.21;95%CI: 0.05–0.93) 6–12 months post‐start date. One‐year per‐patient program costs of $633 and healthcare cost savings of $2710 yielded total per‐patient savings of $2077, or a 5‐year cost savings of $14,106. Conclusion This unique type 1 diabetes management program altered health service utilization of program participants, reducing major healthcare cost drivers, ED visits, and hospitalizations.