Author: Beth C

Declining COVID-19 Mortality Rates Among Nursing Home Residents

Posted on by Beth C

Declining COVID-19 Mortality Rates Among Nursing Home Residents

March 11, 2021

A paper presenting the results on changes in thirty-day mortality rates between March and November 2020 among 12,271 nursing home residents with COVID-19. Investigators found that adjusted mortality rates significantly declined from a high of 20.9 percent in early April to 11.2 percent in early November. Mortality risk declined for residents with both symptomatic and asymptomatic infections and for residents with both high and low clinical complexity. The mechanisms driving these trends are not entirely understood, but they may include improved clinical management within nursing homes, improved personal protective equipment supply and use, and genetic changes in the virus. Read the full article here.

Association of a Geriatric Emergency Department Innovation Program With Cost Outcomes Among Medicare Beneficiaries

Posted on by Beth C

Association of a Geriatric Emergency Department Innovation Program With Cost Outcomes Among Medicare Beneficiaries

March 1, 2021

A paper reviewing a cross-sectional study of 24 ,839 Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries at two geriatric emergency departments. There was a significant association with reduced total costs of care after being seen by either a transitional care nurse and/or social worker trained to deliver geriatric emergency care. Per beneficiary, these savings were as much as $2905 after 30 days and $3202 after 60 days of the index ED visit. Read the full article here.

The HEAR‐VA Pilot Study: Hearing Assistance Provided to Older Adults in the Emergency Department

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The HEAR‐VA Pilot Study: Hearing Assistance Provided to Older Adults in the Emergency Department

February 11, 2021

This paper reviews the results of a pilot study which assessed the feasibility and potential benefit of providing a simple hearing assistance device during an emergency department (ED) visit, for people who reported difficulty hearing. Read the full article here.

Recommendations to Improve Payment Policies for Comprehensive Dementia Care

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Recommendations to Improve Payment Policies for Comprehensive Dementia Care

September 25, 2020

This special article reviews the recommendations for payment policy reform from the Payment Model for Comprehensive Dementia Care Conference in November 2019. More than 50 national experts from diverse perspectives reviewed promising strategies for payment reform including ways to accelerate their adoption. Recommendations for reform included payments for services to family caregivers; new research to determine success metrics; education for consumers, providers, and policymakers; and advancing a population health model approach to tier coverage based on risk and need within a health system. Read the full article at this link.

The Effects of Dementia Care Co‐Management on Acute Care, Hospice, and Long‐Term Care Utilization

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The Effects of Dementia Care Co‐Management on Acute Care, Hospice, and Long‐Term Care Utilization

June 23, 2020

This paper seeks to further explain the impact of nurse practitioner dementia care co-management on cost of care for fee-for-service (FFS) Medicare beneficiaries. The authors examine acute care utilization, long‐term care admissions, and hospice use of program enrollees as compared with persons with dementia not in the program using FFS and managed Medicare claims data. Read the full article at this link.

Language barriers can mean life or death in fight against coronavirus

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Language barriers can mean life or death in fight against coronavirus

April 23, 2020

An opinion piece in “The Hill” about how language barriers affect the outcomes of COVID-19 cases, with non-native English speakers with no or limited proficiency in the language disproportionately affected by the pandemic and dying in disproportionate numbers. Read the full article at this link.

Continued bans on nursing home visitors are unhealthy and unethical

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Continued bans on nursing home visitors are unhealthy and unethical

July 13, 2020

An opinion piece in the Washington Post calling for long-term care facilities to reconsider visitor bans. The authors argue that while banning visitors was a sensible early containment strategy, many family members are essential caregivers and care monitors for people living with dementia, making their visits vital for the wellbeing of residents. Read the full article at this link.

Advance Care Planning Video Intervention Among Long-Stay Nursing Home Residents

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Advance Care Planning Video Intervention Among Long-Stay Nursing Home Residents

July 6, 2020

This paper reviews a study to test the effect of an Advance Care Planning video program on hospital transfers, burdensome treatments, and hospice enrollment among long-stay nursing home residents with and without advanced illness. Read the full article at this link.

A tutorial on sample size calculation for cluster randomised multiple-period parallel, cross-over and stepped-wedge trials using the Shiny CRT Calculator.

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A tutorial on sample size calculation for cluster randomised multiple-period parallel, cross-over and stepped-wedge trials using the Shiny CRT Calculator

February 22, 2020

This paper provides a tutorial on sample size calculation for cluster randomized designs–with particular emphasis on designs with multiple periods of measurement–and provides a web-based tool to allow researchers to easily conduct these calculations. Read the full article at this link.

Substantial risks associated with few clusters in cluster randomized and stepped wedge designs

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Substantial risks associated with few clusters in cluster randomized and stepped wedge designs

March 3, 2016

This paper addresses the implications and risks involved in the use of novel cluster randomized trial designs that aim to maximize the informational value from relatively few clusters, including increased probability of chance imbalances and type I and type II error, limited perceived or actual generalizability, and fewer options for statistical analysis. Read the full article at this link.