BACKGROUND:Patients with diabetes at risk of food insecurity face cost barriers to healthy eating and, as a result, poor health outcomes. Population health management strategies are needed to improve food security in real-world health system settings. We seek to test the effect of a prescription produce program, 'Eat Well' on cardiometabolic health and healthcare utilization. We will also assess the implementation of an automated, affirmative outreach strategy. METHODS:We will recruit approximately 2400 patients from an integrated academic health system in the southeastern United States as part of a two-arm parallel hybrid type 1 pragmatic randomized controlled trial. Patients with diabetes, at risk for food insecurity, and a recent hemoglobin A1c reading will be eligible to participate. The intervention arm receives, 'Eat Well', which provides a debit card with $80 (added monthly) for 12 months valid for fresh, frozen, or canned fruits and vegetables across grocery retailers. The control arm does not. Both arms receive educational resources with diabetes nutrition and self-management materials, and information on existing care management resources. Using an intent-to-treat analysis, primary outcomes include hemoglobin A1C levels and emergency department visits in the 12 months following enrollment. Reach and fidelity data will be collected to assess implementation. DISCUSSION:Addressing food insecurity, particularly among those at heightened cardiometabolic risk, is critical to equitable and effective population health management. Pragmatic trials provide important insights into the effectiveness and implementation of 'Eat Well' and approaches like it in real-world settings. REGISTRATION:ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT05896644; Clinical Trial Registration Date: 2023-06-09.

This cohort study compares measures of referral vs receipt in evaluating social resource platform outcomes among patients with health-related social needs.

Background Community-based organizations (CBOs) are key players in health and social care integration initiatives, yet little is known about CBO perspectives and experiences in these pilot programs. Understanding CBO perspectives is vital to identifying best practices for successful medical and social care integration. Methods From February 2021 to March 2021, we conducted surveys with 12 CBOs that participated in the North Carolina COVID-19 Social Support Program, a pre-pilot for North Carolina’s Medicaid Sect. 1115 demonstration waiver program that addresses social drivers of health. Results CBO participants preferred communication strategies that involved direct communication and felt clear communication was vital to the program’s success. Participants expressed varied experiences regarding their ability to handle a changing volume of referrals. Participants identified their organizations’ strengths as: strong organizational operations, past experiences with and understanding of the community, and coordination across organizations. Participants identified challenges as: difficulty communicating with clients, coping with capacity demands for scaling services, and lack of clear processes from external organizations. Almost all CBO participants expressed enthusiasm for participating in similar social care transformation programs in the future. Conclusions CBO participants in our study had broadly positive experiences in the pilot program and almost all would participate in a similar program in the future. Participants provided perspectives that can inform health and social care integration initiatives, including strengths and challenges in such programs. To build and sustain health and social care integration programs, it is important to: (1) support CBOs through regular, direct communication that builds trust and power-sharing between CBO and health care entities; (2) leverage CBO community expertise; and (3) pursue an individualized assessment of CBO capacity and identify CBO capacity-building strategies that ensure program success and sustainability.

Importance Studies elucidating determinants of residential neighborhood–level health inequities are needed. Objective To quantify associations of structural racism indicators with neighborhood prevalence of chronic kidney disease (CKD), diabetes, and hypertension. Design, Setting, and Participants This cross-sectional study used public data (2012-2018) and deidentified electronic health records (2017-2018) to describe the burden of structural racism and the prevalence of CKD, diabetes, and hypertension in 150 residential neighborhoods in Durham County, North Carolina, from US census block groups and quantified their associations using bayesian models accounting for spatial correlations and residents’ age. Data were analyzed from January 2021 to May 2023. Exposures Global (neighborhood percentage of White residents, economic-racial segregation, and area deprivation) and discrete (neighborhood child care centers, bus stops, tree cover, reported violent crime, impervious areas, evictions, election participation, income, poverty, education, unemployment, health insurance coverage, and police shootings) indicators of structural racism. Main Outcomes and Measures Outcomes of interest were neighborhood prevalence of CKD, diabetes, and hypertension. Results A total of 150 neighborhoods with a median (IQR) of 1708 (1109-2489) residents; median (IQR) of 2% (0%-6%) Asian residents, 30% (16%-56%) Black residents, 10% (4%-20%) Hispanic or Latino residents, 0% (0%-1%) Indigenous residents, and 44% (18%-70%) White residents; and median (IQR) residential income of $54 531 ($37 729.25-$78 895.25) were included in analyses. In models evaluating global indicators, greater burden of structural racism was associated with greater prevalence of CKD, diabetes, and hypertension (eg, per 1-SD decrease in neighborhood White population percentage: CKD prevalence ratio [PR], 1.27; 95% highest density interval [HDI], 1.18-1.35; diabetes PR, 1.43; 95% HDI, 1.37-1.52; hypertension PR, 1.19; 95% HDI, 1.14-1.25). Similarly in models evaluating discrete indicators, greater burden of structural racism was associated with greater neighborhood prevalence of CKD, diabetes, and hypertension (eg, per 1-SD increase in reported violent crime: CKD PR, 1.15; 95% HDI, 1.07-1.23; diabetes PR, 1.20; 95% HDI, 1.13-1.28; hypertension PR, 1.08; 95% HDI, 1.02-1.14). Conclusions and Relevance This cross-sectional study found several global and discrete structural racism indicators associated with increased prevalence of health conditions in residential neighborhoods. Although inferences from this cross-sectional and ecological study warrant caution, they may help guide the development of future community health interventions.

Abstract The purpose of this research was to quantify the rates of specialty care referral completion and identify variables associated with successful completion among a population of low-income, elderly and/or disabled homebound patients with barriers to accessing office-based care. This was a cross-sectional study using descriptive and multivariate predictive analysis of specialty care referral completion, operationalized as attending an appointment of the same specialty care type within 6 months of being referred. Independent variables include patient age, sex, race, marital status, health insurance, blood pressure, and body mass index. Patient characteristics, referral information, and appointment information from July 1, 2014 to July 1, 2019 were extracted from electronic health record data of patients enrolled in the Just for Us primary care home visiting program in Durham, NC. Specialty care referrals were restricted to those for office-based consultations for chronic disease co-management originating from an outpatient primary care provider. Of 443 total referrals identified from 162 patients, 36% were successfully completed. Being married and female gender were found to be associated with successful referral completion. Of the 217 total patients in the study sample, 25% were identified as not having any referrals. No included patient characteristics were found to be significantly associated with being referred to specialty care. This study demonstrates that the specialty care needs of a medically and socially vulnerable population of homebound patients are not being adequately met.

Relatively few successful medication adherence interventions are translated into real-world clinical settings. The Prevention of Cardiovascular Outcomes in African Americans with Diabetes (CHANGE) intervention was originally conceived as a randomized controlled trial to improve cardiovascular disease-related medication adherence and health outcomes. The purpose of the study was to describe the translation of the CHANGE trial into two community-based clinical programs. CHANGE 2 was available to Medicaid patients with diabetes and hypertension whose primary care homes were part of a care management network in the Northern Piedmont region of North Carolina. CHANGE 3 was available to low-income patients receiving care in three geographical areas with multiple chronic conditions at low or moderate risk for developing cardiovascular disease. Adaptations were made to ensure fit with available organizational resources and the patient population's health needs. Data available for evaluation are presented. For CHANGE 2, we evaluated improvement in A1c control using paired t test. For both studies, we describe feasibility measured by percentage of patients who completed the curriculum. CHANGE 2 involved 125 participants. CHANGE 3 had 127 participants. In CHANGE 2, 69 participants had A1c measurements at baseline and 12-month follow-up; A1c improved from 8.4 to 7.8 (p = .008). In CHANGE 3, interventionists completed 47% (n = 45) of calls to enroll participants at the 4-month encounter, and among those eligible for a 12-month call (n = 52), 21% of 12-month calls were completed with participants. In CHANGE 2, 40% of participants (n = 50) completed all 12 encounters. Thoughtful adaptation is critical to translate clinical trials into community-based clinic settings. Successful implementation of adapted evidence-based interventions may be feasible and can positively affect patients' disease control.

This study evaluated the correlation of an emergency department embedded care coordinator with access to community and medical records in decreasing hospital and emergency department use in patients with behavioral health issues. This retrospective cohort study presents a 6-month pre-post analysis on patients seen by the care coordinator (n=524). Looking at all-cause healthcare utilization, care coordination was associated with a significant median decrease of one emergency department visit per patient (p < 0.001) and a decrease of 9.5 h in emergency department length of stay per average visit per patient (p<0.001). There was no significant effect on the number of hospitalizations or hospital length of stay. This intervention demonstrated a correlation with reducing emergency department use in patients with behavioral health issues, but no correlation with reducing hospital utilization. This under-researched approach of integrating medical records at point-of-care could serve as a model for better emergency department management of behavioral health patients.

Medicaid beneficiaries in 6 North Carolina counties were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 clinical decision support (CDS) care transition strategies: (1) usual care (Control), (2) CDS messaging to patients and their medical homes (Reports), or (3) CDS messaging to patients, their medical homes, and their care managers (Reports+). We included 7146 Medicaid patients and evaluated transitions from specialist visit, ER and hospital encounters back to the patient's medical home. Patients enrolled in Medicare and Medicaid were not eligible. The number of care manager contacts was greater for patients in the Reports+ Group than in the Control Group. However, there were no treatment-related differences in emergency department (ED) encounter rates, or in the secondary outcomes of outpatient and hospital encounter rates and medical costs. Study monitors found study intervention documentation in approximately 60% of patient charts. These results highlight the importance of effectively integrating information interventions into healthcare delivery workflow systems.

OBJECTIVE:Studies indicate needed improvement in clinician communication and patient satisfaction. Motivational interviewing (MI) helps promote patient behavior change and improves satisfaction. In this pilot study, we tested a coaching intervention to teach MI to all clinic staff to improve clinician and patient satisfaction.METHODS:We included four clinics (n=29 staff members). In the intervention clinics (one primary care and one pediatric obesity-focused), we trained all clinic staff in MI through meetings as a group seven times, directly observing clinicians in practice 4-10 times, and providing real-time feedback on MI techniques. In all clinics, we assessed patient satisfaction via anonymous surveys and also assessed clinician burnout and self-rated MI skills.RESULTS:Clinicians in the intervention clinics reported improvements in burnout scores, self-rated MI skills, and perceived cohesion whereas clinicians in the control clinic reported worse scores. Patient satisfaction improved in the intervention clinics more than in the control clinics.CONCLUSION:This is the first study to find some benefit of training an entire clinic staff in MI via a coaching model.PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS:It might help to train staff in MI to improve clinician satisfaction, team cohesion, perceived skills, and patient satisfaction.

Although evidence-based pharmacotherapies are a principal component of patient care, 30-50% of patients do not take their medications as prescribed. We conducted a randomized trial of two clinical decision support (CDS) interventions in 2219 patients: patient adherence reports to providers (n=744), patient adherence reports to providers + email notices to care managers (n=736), and controls (739). At 18-month follow-up, there were no treatment-related differences in patient medication adherence (overall, by medication class, and by medical condition). There also were no treatment-related differences in patient clinical and economic outcomes. Thus, while this study's CDS information interventions were successfully delivered to providers and care managers, and were effective in identifying medication adherence deficits and in increasing care manager responses to medication adherences issues, these interventions were not able to alter patient medication behavior.

To determine whether a clinical decision support system can favorably impact the delivery of emergency department and hospital services. Randomized clinical trial of three clinical decision support delivery modalities: email messages to care managers (email), printed reports to clinic administrators (report) and letters to patients (letter) conducted among 20,180 Medicaid beneficiaries in Durham County, North Carolina with follow-up through 9 months. Patients in the email group had fewer low-severity emergency department encounters vs. controls (8.1 vs. 10.6/100 enrollees, p < 0.001) with no increase in outpatient encounters or medical costs. Patients in the letter group had more outpatient encounters and greater outpatient and total medical costs. There were no treatment-related differences for patients in the reports group. Among patients <18 years, those in the email group had fewer low severity (7.6 vs. 10.6/100 enrollees, p < 0.001) and total emergency department encounters (18.3 vs. 23.5/100 enrollees, p < 0.001), and lower emergency department ($63 vs. $89, p = 0.002) and total medical costs ($1,736 vs. $2,207, p = 0.009). Patients who were ≥18 years in the letter group had greater outpatient medical costs. There were no intervention-related differences in patient-reported assessments of quality of life and medical care received. The effectiveness of clinical decision support messaging depended upon the delivery modality and patient age. Health IT interventions must be carefully evaluated to ensure that the resultant outcomes are aligned with expectations as interventions can have differing effects on clinical and economic outcomes.

BACKGROUND:Replication studies evaluate technologies in usual use settings.METHODS:We conducted a clinical trial to determine whether reductions in clinical and economic results observed in a previous study could be replicated in a larger setting. Subjects were randomized to receive intervention (email notifications for sentinel health events sent to their care managers) or control.MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES:The primary outcome was the rate of emergency department visits for low severity conditions. Secondary outcomes included: medical costs and other clinical event rates.RESULTS:We randomized 13,454 individuals (intervention, 6740; control, 6714). Subjects in both groups had similar rates of clinical events and medical costs.CONCLUSION:The use of email notifications to care managers was associated with no reductions in clinical events or medical costs.

Health information technology (IT) is a promising strategy for improving the quality of health care. However, little is known of the specific benefits of health IT to share information in a community setting using a population health management care model. The purpose of this project was to: 1) increase knowledge and understanding regarding the value of health IT at clinical, organizational, and financial levels within a community partnership focusing on care management of a vulnerable population, 2) determine its value to various stakeholders, and, 3) demonstrate a generalizable approach to health IT in a community setting that can be replicated at other sites. A study population of 20,108 Medicaid beneficiaries in Durham, North Carolina, was randomly assigned by family unit to receive either health IT-augmented or usual care. For the intervention group, sentinel health events were detected using a standards-based clinical decision support tool that conducted routine surveillance on a centralized regional health information exchange database. Events were grouped as:

PRACTICE Durham Community Health Network in Durham, North Carolina, and its local and state partner institutions.WHO AND WHERE Durham Community Health Network, a public-private partnership providing care management for Durham County residents enrolled in Medicaid or the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP); leaders and faculty from Duke University's Department of Community and Family Medicine and School of Nursing; the Durham County Health and Social Services Departments; and area hospitals and health centers.CORE INNOVATIONS With state funding, care managers are assigned to work individually with patients (and their families) enrolled in Medicaid or CHIP who have chronic diseases. The goals are to reduce barriers to care and improve compliance with treatment. A shared data system issues electronic alerts to care managers when patients visit emergency departments or fail to refill maintenance medications.KEY RESULTS A data system captures emergency room visits, unfilled prescriptions, and preventive screenings and issues alerts to care managers. Community-placed kiosks link patients with contextually relevant health information.CHALLENGES Effective collaboration requires sharing of funds, information, and decision making. Primary care providers require electronic access to relevant patient data and quality-improvement information. Future clinicians, researchers, and administrators all must be educated in how to achieve community engagement.

This report describes a clinic run by a federally-qualified health center and an academic medical center. The clinic expands the community's primary care capacity, combining advantages of big and small settings, and of its dual affiliation. Survey data suggest the clinic prevents health care delays and lowers emergency department use.

PURPOSE:To promote health and maintain independence, Just for Us provides financially sustainable, in-home, integrated care to medically fragile, low-income seniors and disabled adults living in subsidized housing.DESIGN AND METHODS:The program provides primary care, care management, and mental health services delivered in patient's homes by a multidisciplinary, multiagency team.RESULTS:After 2 years of operation, Just for Us is serving nearly 300 individuals in 10 buildings. The program is demonstrating improvement in individual indices of health. Medicaid expenditures for enrollees are shifting from ambulances and hospital services to pharmacy, personal care, and outpatient visits. The program is not breaking even, but it is moving toward that goal. The program's success is based on a partnership involving an academic medical center, a community health center, county social and mental health agencies, and a city housing authority to coordinate and leverage services.IMPLICATIONS:Just for Us is becoming a financially sustainable way of creating a "system within a nonsystem" for low-income elderly persons in clustered housing.