Paying Family Medical Caregivers for Children's Home Healthcare in Colorado: A Working Medicaid Model
children with medical complexity; Medicaid; children with special health care needs; Colorado; Caregiving
OBJECTIVE: To compare the characteristics and healthcare utilization of children with medical complexity (CMC) who receive paid certified nursing assistant (CNA) care by a family member (family CNA) and by a traditional non-family member (non-family CNA). STUDY DESIGN: This was retrospective cohort study of children who received CNA care through Colorado's Medicaid paid family caregiving program between 2017-2019 by a home healthcare agency. We compared patient characteristics between the family CNA and non-family CNA groups. A multivariable Poisson regression model was used to compare hospitalization rates (days in the hospital per year), adjusting for patient age patient sex, nursing care, and complex chronic condition. RESULTS: Of 861 patients, 79% (N=680) received family CNA care and 21% (N=181) received non-family CNA care. Patient demographics and hospitalization did not differ between the groups, although family CNA patients were less likely to receive additional nursing-level care (42% versus 60%, p<0.01). Family and non-family CNA caregivers had similar characteristics, except that family CNA caregivers had substantially better 3-year retention (82% versus 9%, p<0.01) despite lower average hourly pay ($14.60 vs. $17.60 per hour, p<0.01). Hospitalizations were rare (<10% of patients). In the adjusted model, family CNA patients experienced 1 more hospitalized day per year, compared with non-family CNA patients (p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Paid family caregivers provided CNA level care to CMC with a greater employee retention compared with non-family CNA caregivers, with marginally different hospitalization rates using a family-centered approach. This model may help address workforce shortages while also providing income to family caregivers.
Foster C; Kwon S; Blakely C; Carter K; Sobotka SA; Goodman DM; Agrawal R; Brittan M
The Journal of Pediatrics
2023
Article information provided for research and reference use only. PedPalASCNET does not hold any rights over the resource listed here. All rights are retained by the journal listed under publisher and/or the creator(s).
<a href="http://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpeds.2022.12.043" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">10.1016/j.jpeds.2022.12.043</a>
Demographic and Clinical Differences Between Applied Definitions of Medical Complexity
Child; Chronic Disease; Cross-Sectional Studies; Demography; Hospitalization; Hospitals; Pediatric; Humans; Infant; Retrospective; Studies
OBJECTIVES: To identify the degree of concordance and characterize demographic and clinical differences between commonly used definitions of multisystem medical complexity in children hospitalized in children's hospitals. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective, cross-sectional cohort study of children <21 years of age hospitalized at 47 US Pediatric Health Information System-participating children's hospitals between January 2017 to December 2019. We classified patients as having multisystem complexity when using 3 definitions of medical complexity (pediatric complex chronic conditions, pediatric medical complexity algorithm, and pediatric chronic critical illness) and assessed their overlap. We compared demographic, clinical, outcome, cost characteristics, and longitudinal healthcare utilization for each grouping. RESULTS: Nearly one-fourth (23.5%) of children hospitalized at Pediatric Health Information System-participating institutions were identified as meeting at least 1 definition of multisystem complexity. Children with multisystem complexity ranged from 1.0% to 22.1% of hospitalized children, depending on the definition, with 31.2% to 95.9% requiring an ICU stay during their index admission. Differences were seen in demographic, clinical, and resource utilization patterns across the definitions. Definitions of multisystem complexity demonstrated poor agreement (Fleiss' κ 0.21), with 3.5% of identified children meeting all 3. CONCLUSIONS: Three definitions of multisystem complexity identified varied populations of children with complex medical needs, with poor overall agreement. Careful consideration is required when applying definitions of medical complexity in health services research, and their lack of concordance should result in caution in the interpretation of research using differing definitions of medical complexity.
Heneghan JA; Goodman DM; Ramgopal S
Hospital Pediatrics
2022
Article information provided for research and reference use only. PedPalASCNET does not hold any rights over the resource listed here. All rights are retained by the journal listed under publisher and/or the creator(s).
<a href="http://doi.org/10.1542/hpeds.2021-006432">10.1542/hpeds.2021-006432</a>
The Child With Severe Chronic Illness in the ICU: A Concise Review
Children; Chronic illness; Intensive care unit; Review
OBJECTIVES: Children with severe chronic illness are a prevalent, impactful, vulnerable group in PICUs, whose needs are insufficiently met by transitory care models and a narrow focus on acute care needs. Thus, we sought to provide a concise synthetic review of published literature relevant to them and a compilation of strategies to address their distinctive needs. DATA SOURCES: English language articles were identified in MEDLINE using a variety of phrases related to children with chronic conditions, prolonged admissions, resource utilization, mortality, morbidity, continuity of care, palliative care, and other critical care topics. Bibliographies were also reviewed. STUDY SELECTION: Original articles, review articles, and commentaries were considered. DATA EXTRACTION: Data from relevant articles were reviewed, summarized, and integrated into a narrative synthetic review. DATA SYNTHESIS: Children with serious chronic conditions are a heterogeneous group who are growing in numbers and complexity, partly due to successes of critical care. Because of their prevalence, prolonged stays, readmissions, and other resource use, they disproportionately impact PICUs. Often more than other patients, critical illness can substantially negatively affect these children and their families, physically and psychosocially. Critical care approaches narrowly focused on acute care and transitory/rotating care models exacerbate these problems and contribute to ineffective communication and information sharing, impaired relationships, subpar and untimely decision-making, patient/family dissatisfaction, and moral distress in providers. Strategies to mitigate these effects and address these patients' distinctive needs include improving continuity and communication, primary and secondary palliative care, and involvement of families. However, there are limited outcome data for most of these strategies and little consensus on which outcomes should be measured. CONCLUSION(S): The future of pediatric critical care medicine is intertwined with that of children with serious chronic illness. More concerted efforts are needed to address their distinctive needs and study the effectiveness of strategies to do so. Copyright © by 2022 by the Society of Critical Care Medicine and Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Edwards JD; Goodman DM
Critical Care Medicine
2022
<a href="http://doi.org/10.1097/CCM.0000000000005512" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">10.1097/CCM.0000000000005512</a>
Resources and Costs Associated With Repeated Admissions to PICUs
pediatric; intensive care units; healthcare costs; patient readmission
Objective: To determine the costs and hospital resource use from all PICU patients readmitted with a PICU stay within 12 months of hospital index discharge. Design: Cross-sectional, retrospective cohort study using Pediatric Health Information System. Setting: Fifty-two tertiary children’s hospitals. Subjects: Pediatric patients under 18 years old admitted to the PICU from January 1, 2016, to December 31, 2017. Interventions: None. Measurements and Main Results: Patient characteristics and costs of care were compared between those with readmission requiring PICU care and those with only a single PICU admission per annum. In this 2-year cohort, there were 239,157 index PICU patients of which 36,970 (15.5%) were readmitted and required PICU care during the 12 months following index admission. The total hospital cost for all index admissions and readmissions was $17.3 billion, of which 21.5% ($3.71 billion) were incurred during a readmission stay involving care in the PICU; of the 3,459,079 hospital days, 20.3% (702,200) were readmission days including those where PICU care was required. Of the readmitted patients, 11,703 (30.0%) received only PICU care, accounting for $662 million in costs and 110,215 PICU days. Although 43.6% of all costs were associated with patients who required readmission, these patients only accounted for 15.5% of the index patients and 28% of index hospitalization expenditures. More patients in the readmitted group had chronic complex conditions at index discharge compared with those not readmitted (83.9% vs 54.9%; p < 0.001). Compared with those discharged directly to home without home healthcare, patients discharged to a skilled nursing facility had 18% lower odds of readmission (odds ratio 0.82 [95% CI, 0.75–0.89]; p < 0.001) and those discharged home with home healthcare had 43% higher odds of readmission (odds ratio, 1.43 [95% CI, 1.36–1.51]; p < 0.001). Conclusions: Repeated admissions with PICU care resulted in significant direct medical costs and resource use for U.S. children’s hospitals.
Kane JM; Hall M; Cecil C; Montgomery VL; Rakes LC; Rogerson C; Stockwell JA; Slain KN; Goodman DM
Critical Care Explorations
2021
Article information provided for research and reference use only. PedPalASCNET does not hold any rights over the resource listed here. All rights are retained by the journal listed under publisher and/or the creator(s).
<a href="http://doi.org/10.1097/CCE.0000000000000347" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">10.1097/CCE.0000000000000347</a>
Timing of Co-occurring Chronic Conditions in Children With Neurologic Impairment
children chronic conditions medical complexity neurological disorders
BACKGROUND: Children with neurologic impairment (NI) are at risk for developing co-occurring chronic conditions, increasing their medical complexity and morbidity. We assessed the prevalence and timing of onset for those conditions in children with NI. METHODS: This longitudinal analysis included 6229 children born in 2009 and continuously enrolled in Medicaid through 2015 with a diagnosis of NI by age 3 in the IBM Watson Medicaid MarketScan Database. NI was defined with an existing diagnostic code set encompassing neurologic, genetic, and metabolic conditions that result in substantial functional impairments requiring subspecialty medical care. The prevalence and timing of co-occurring chronic conditions was assessed with the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Chronic Condition Indicator system. Mean cumulative function was used to measure age trends in multimorbidity. RESULTS: The most common type of NI was static (56.3%), with cerebral palsy (10.0%) being the most common NI diagnosis. Respiratory (86.5%) and digestive (49.4%) organ systems were most frequently affected by co-occurring chronic conditions. By ages 2, 4, and 6 years, the mean (95% confidence interval [CI]) numbers of co-occurring chronic conditions were 3.7 (95% CI 3.7-3.8), 4.6 (95% CI 4.5-4.7), and 5.1 (95% CI 5.1-5.2). An increasing percentage of children had ≥9 co-occurring chronic conditions as they aged: 5.3% by 2 years, 10.0% by 4 years, and 12.8% by 6 years. CONCLUSIONS: Children with NI enrolled in Medicaid have substantial multimorbidity that develops early in life. Increased attention to the timing and types of multimorbidity in children with NI may help optimize their preventive care and case management health services.
Thomson J; Hall M; Nelson K; Flores JC; Garrity B; DeCourcey DD; Agrawal R; Goodman DM; Feinstein JA; Coller RJ; Cohen E; Kuo DZ; Antoon JW; Houtrow AJ; Bastianelli L; Berry JG
Pediatrics
2021
Article information provided for research and reference use only. PedPalASCNET does not hold any rights over the resource listed here. All rights are retained by the journal listed under publisher and/or the creator(s).
<a href="http://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2020-009217" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">10.1542/peds.2020-009217</a>