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Revista Brasileira de Epidemiologia =... 2024To analyze the temporal trend and magnitude of national indicators of previdenciary benefits for workplace accidents issued and granted by the Social Security of Brazil.
OBJECTIVE
To analyze the temporal trend and magnitude of national indicators of previdenciary benefits for workplace accidents issued and granted by the Social Security of Brazil.
METHODS
Secondary data from Social Security from 2008 to 2019 were used. The trend and percentage variation of the indicators were estimated through Prais-Winsten generalized linear regression.
RESULTS
A total of 9,220,372 previdenciary benefits for workplace accidents were issued by the Social Security of Brazil in the period, costing approximately R$ 8.4 billion and representing about 2.0% of the net value of all benefits paid. None of the categories of previdenciary benefits for workplace accidents showed an increasing trend. The highest variation in the benefits granted and issued for workplace accidents occurred in temporary disability benefit (B91), with an annual percentage variation of -54.00% and -29.29%, respectively.
CONCLUSION
A reduction in magnitude and an overall decreasing trend were observed in the historical series of national indicators of benefits granted and benefits issued related to workplace accidents in Brazil from 2008 to 2019.
Topics: Brazil; Humans; Accidents, Occupational; Time Factors; Social Security; Workers' Compensation; Workplace
PubMed: 38922200
DOI: 10.1590/1980-549720240032 -
Frontiers in Health Services 2024Evidence-based practice (EBP) involves making clinical decisions based on three sources of information: evidence, clinical experience and patient preferences. Despite... (Review)
Review
BACKGROUND
Evidence-based practice (EBP) involves making clinical decisions based on three sources of information: evidence, clinical experience and patient preferences. Despite popularization of EBP, research has shown that there are many barriers to achieving the goals of the EBP model. The use of artificial intelligence (AI) in healthcare has been proposed as a means to improve clinical decision-making. The aim of this paper was to pinpoint key challenges pertaining to the three pillars of EBP and to investigate the potential of AI in surmounting these challenges and contributing to a more evidence-based healthcare practice. We conducted a selective review of the literature on EBP and the integration of AI in healthcare to achieve this.
CHALLENGES WITH THE THREE COMPONENTS OF EBP
Clinical decision-making in line with the EBP model presents several challenges. The availability and existence of robust evidence sometimes pose limitations due to slow generation and dissemination processes, as well as the scarcity of high-quality evidence. Direct application of evidence is not always viable because studies often involve patient groups distinct from those encountered in routine healthcare. Clinicians need to rely on their clinical experience to interpret the relevance of evidence and contextualize it within the unique needs of their patients. Moreover, clinical decision-making might be influenced by cognitive and implicit biases. Achieving patient involvement and shared decision-making between clinicians and patients remains challenging in routine healthcare practice due to factors such as low levels of health literacy among patients and their reluctance to actively participate, barriers rooted in clinicians' attitudes, scepticism towards patient knowledge and ineffective communication strategies, busy healthcare environments and limited resources.
AI ASSISTANCE FOR THE THREE COMPONENTS OF EBP
AI presents a promising solution to address several challenges inherent in the research process, from conducting studies, generating evidence, synthesizing findings, and disseminating crucial information to clinicians to implementing these findings into routine practice. AI systems have a distinct advantage over human clinicians in processing specific types of data and information. The use of AI has shown great promise in areas such as image analysis. AI presents promising avenues to enhance patient engagement by saving time for clinicians and has the potential to increase patient autonomy although there is a lack of research on this issue.
CONCLUSION
This review underscores AI's potential to augment evidence-based healthcare practices, potentially marking the emergence of EBP 2.0. However, there are also uncertainties regarding how AI will contribute to a more evidence-based healthcare. Hence, empirical research is essential to validate and substantiate various aspects of AI use in healthcare.
PubMed: 38919828
DOI: 10.3389/frhs.2024.1368030 -
Western Pacific Surveillance and... 2024Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) reached Tuvalu's shores in November 2022, making Tuvalu one of the last countries in the world to experience community transmission of the...
PROBLEM
Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) reached Tuvalu's shores in November 2022, making Tuvalu one of the last countries in the world to experience community transmission of the disease. With minimal capacity to deliver critical care and a small health workforce that had been further depleted by COVID-19 infection, response priorities rapidly shifted to the outer islands.
CONTEXT
The outer islands are accessible only by boat, with travel taking from 6 to 24 hours. The return of high school students to their home islands for the Christmas holidays had the potential to place further pressure on the islands' medical facilities.
ACTION
A multiorganizational collaboration between the Australian and Fijian governments, the Pacific Community, the Tuvalu Ministry of Social Welfare and Gender Affairs (MoHSWGA) and the World Health Organization facilitated the deployment of two teams to the outer islands to provide support.
OUTCOME
The team worked with public health and clinical staff to provide technical support for clinical management, infection prevention and control, laboratory, risk communication, community engagement and logistics.
DISCUSSION
The outer islands' response to the pandemic significantly benefited the island communities, the MoHSWGA and the team members who deployed. The key lessons identified relate to the need to strengthen the health workforce and supply chain.
Topics: Humans; COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; Pandemics
PubMed: 38919385
DOI: 10.5365/wpsar.2024.15.2.1080 -
PloS One 2024Self-harm presents an important public health challenge. It imposes a notable burden on the utilization of emergency department (ED) services and medical expenses from...
BACKGROUND
Self-harm presents an important public health challenge. It imposes a notable burden on the utilization of emergency department (ED) services and medical expenses from patients and family. The Medicaid system is vital in providing financial support for individuals who struggle with medical expenses. This study explored the association of Medicaid coverage with ED visits following incidents of self-harm, utilizing nationwide ED surveillance data in Korea.
METHODS
Data of all patients older than 14 years who presented to EDs following incidents of self-harm irrespective of intention to end their life, including cases of self-poisoning, were gathered from the National ED Information System (NEDIS). The annual self-harm visit rate (SHVR) per 100,000 people was calculated for each province and a generalized linear model analysis was conducted, with SHVR as a dependent variable and factors related to Medicaid coverage as independent variables.
RESULTS
A 1% increase in Medicaid enrollment rate was linked to a significant decrease of 14% in SHVR. Each additional 1,000 Korean Won of Medicaid spending per enrollee was correlated with a 1% reduction in SHVR. However, an increase in Medicaid visits per enrollee and an extension of Medicaid coverage days were associated with an increase in SHVR. SHVR exhibited a stronger associated with parameters of Medicaid coverage in adolescents and young adults than in older adult population.
CONCLUSION
Expansion of Medicaid coverage coupled with careful monitoring of shifts in Medicaid utilization patterns can mitigate ED overloading by reducing visits related to self-harm.
Topics: Humans; Medicaid; Republic of Korea; Emergency Service, Hospital; Female; Male; Self-Injurious Behavior; Adult; Middle Aged; United States; Adolescent; Young Adult; Registries; Aged; Patient Acceptance of Health Care
PubMed: 38917201
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0306047 -
Health Affairs Scholar Jun 2024Global financing for health security was dramatically impacted by COVID-19. Here, we provide an empirical analysis of how that funding changed. Using data from Global...
Global financing for health security was dramatically impacted by COVID-19. Here, we provide an empirical analysis of how that funding changed. Using data from Global Health Security (GHS) Tracking (tracking.ghscosting.org), we analyzed disbursements of direct financial assistance for GHS from 2016 to 2022 to compare pre-pandemic funding (2016-2019) to post-pandemic funding (2020-2022) for preparedness and response during each of the seven World Health Organization-declared public health emergencies of international concern (PHEICs) from 2009 to 2022. Over $165B was disbursed for capacity-building and preparedness activities between January 2016 and December 2022, and over $76B was provided for PHEIC response. Preparedness funding remained evenly distributed since 2016 across regions, with the African region receiving about 70% of total preparedness funding. Indeed, how capacity-building and preparedness funding is distributed has changed remarkably little since 2016, despite unprecedented changes to the funding environment-including markedly increased spending-in response to COVID-19. This suggests we now have a unique opportunity to restructure how funds are tracked for accountability and assessing return on investment moving forward.
PubMed: 38915813
DOI: 10.1093/haschl/qxae083 -
BMC Public Health Jun 2024Human trafficking is a human rights violation and urgent public health challenge. It involves the exploitation of a person by means of force, intimidation or deceit and...
BACKGROUND
Human trafficking is a human rights violation and urgent public health challenge. It involves the exploitation of a person by means of force, intimidation or deceit and causes severe health risks. Though it occurs all over the world, its true extent is still unknown. Refugees are especially vulnerable to human trafficking due to language barriers and difficult living conditions. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to estimate the prevalence and design a screening tool to identify survivors of all forms of human trafficking among refugees in a German state registration and reception centre.
METHODS
In cooperation with the local authorities and the Ministry of Justice and for Migration Baden-Württemberg, we interviewed newly arrived refugees at an initial reception centre in Southern Germany to assess the prevalence of human trafficking. We used both a combination of the Adult Human Trafficking Screening Tool and a publication by Mumma et al. to assess all forms of human trafficking.
RESULTS
In total, 13 of the 176 refugees had experienced trafficking, which corresponded to a prevalence of 7.3% (95%-CI = [3.5%, 11.3%]). Across all languages the questionnaire had a sensitivity of 76.9% and a specificity of 84.0% at a recommended cut-off of six positive responses. The recommended cut-off differed slightly for the Arabic, Farsi, Turkish, and English version. In an exploratory descriptive analysis on subregions, refugees from West Africa had a substantially higher prevalence (33.3%, 8 out of 24) for human trafficking within our sample, especially women. However, when we excluded this region from our analysis, we found no significant gender difference for the rest of the sample.
CONCLUSIONS
The high prevalence of trafficking in most regions, regardless of gender, suggests that more effort is needed to identify and protect all trafficked persons. The designed screening tool seems to be a promising tool to detect an especially vulnerable group of refugees and provides assistance in identifying survivors of human trafficking.
Topics: Humans; Refugees; Human Trafficking; Female; Male; Adult; Prevalence; Germany; Surveys and Questionnaires; Young Adult; Middle Aged; Mass Screening; Adolescent
PubMed: 38914998
DOI: 10.1186/s12889-024-18997-7 -
The American Journal of Managed Care Jun 2024Most Medicare beneficiaries obtain supplemental insurance or enroll in Medicare Advantage (MA) to protect against potentially high cost sharing in traditional Medicare...
OBJECTIVES
Most Medicare beneficiaries obtain supplemental insurance or enroll in Medicare Advantage (MA) to protect against potentially high cost sharing in traditional Medicare (TM). We examined changes in Medicare supplemental insurance coverage in the context of MA growth.
STUDY DESIGN
Repeated cross-sectional analysis of the Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey from 2005 to 2019.
METHODS
We determined whether Medicare beneficiaries 65 years and older were enrolled in MA (without Medicaid), TM without supplemental coverage, TM with employer-sponsored supplemental coverage, TM with Medigap, or Medicaid (in TM or MA).
RESULTS
From 2005 to 2019, beneficiaries with TM and supplemental insurance provided by their former (or current) employer declined by approximately half (31.8% to 15.5%) while the share in MA (without Medicaid) more than doubled (13.4% to 35.1%). The decline in supplemental employer-sponsored insurance use was greater for White and for higher-income beneficiaries. Over the same period, beneficiaries in TM without supplemental coverage declined by more than a quarter (13.9% to 10.1%). This decline was largest for Black, Hispanic, and lower-income beneficiaries.
CONCLUSIONS
The rapid rise in MA enrollment from 2005 to 2019 was accompanied by substantial changes in supplemental insurance with TM. Our results emphasize the interconnectedness of different insurance choices made by Medicare beneficiaries.
Topics: Humans; United States; Aged; Male; Female; Cross-Sectional Studies; Primary Health Care; Medicare; Medicare Part C; Aged, 80 and over; Hospitalization; Insurance Coverage; Medicaid; Cost Sharing
PubMed: 38912952
DOI: 10.37765/ajmc.2024.89509 -
The American Journal of Managed Care Jun 2024To assess whether hospitals participating in Medicare's Bundled Payments for Care Improvement (BPCI) program for joint replacement changed their referral patterns to... (Observational Study)
Observational Study
OBJECTIVES
To assess whether hospitals participating in Medicare's Bundled Payments for Care Improvement (BPCI) program for joint replacement changed their referral patterns to favor higher-quality skilled nursing facilities (SNFs).
STUDY DESIGN
Retrospective observational study using 2009-2015 inpatient and outpatient claims from a 20% sample of Medicare beneficiaries undergoing joint replacement in US hospitals (N = 146,074) linked with data from Medicare's BPCI program and Nursing Home Compare.
METHODS
We ran fixed effect regression models regressing BPCI participation on hospital-SNF referral patterns (number of SNF discharges, number of SNF partners, and SNF referral concentration) and SNF quality (facility inspection survey rating, patient outcome rating, staffing rating, and registered nurse staffing rating).
RESULTS
We found that BPCI participation was associated with a decrease in the number of SNF referrals and no significant change in the number of SNF partners or concentration of SNF partners. BPCI participation was associated with discharge to SNFs with a higher patient outcome rating by 0.04 stars (95% CI, 0.04-0.26). BPCI participation was not associated with improvements in discharge to SNFs with a higher facility survey rating (95% CI, -0.03 to 0.11), staffing rating (95% CI, -0.07 to 0.04), or registered nurse staffing rating (95% CI, -0.09 to 0.02).
CONCLUSIONS
BPCI participation was associated with lower volume of SNF referrals and small increases in the quality of SNFs to which patients were discharged, without narrowing hospital-SNF referral networks.
Topics: Skilled Nursing Facilities; Humans; United States; Retrospective Studies; Medicare; Referral and Consultation; Quality Improvement; Female; Patient Care Bundles; Male; Arthroplasty, Replacement; Aged
PubMed: 38912933
DOI: 10.37765/ajmc.2024.89566 -
The American Journal of Managed Care Jun 2024Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a widely prevalent disease with heterogeneous disease progression. Prior study findings suggest that early referral to nephrologists can...
OBJECTIVES
Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a widely prevalent disease with heterogeneous disease progression. Prior study findings suggest that early referral to nephrologists can improve health outcomes for patients with CKD. Current practice guidelines recommend nephrology referral when patients are diagnosed with CKD stage 4. We tested whether a subset of patients with CKD stage 3 and common medical comorbidities demonstrates disease progression, cost, and utilization patterns that would merit earlier referral.
STUDY DESIGN
Retrospective study of Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries with CKD stages 3 through 5 and end-stage kidney disease.
METHODS
We identified 7 comorbidities with high prevalence in patients with progressive CKD and segmented beneficiaries with CKD stage 3 based on the presence of these comorbidities. Outcomes including costs, utilization, and disease progression were then compared across beneficiaries with different stages of CKD.
RESULTS
We identified that beneficiaries with CKD stage 3 and at least 1 of the selected comorbidities (CKD stage 3-plus) represented 35.4% of all beneficiaries with CKD stage 3. The CKD stage 3-plus cohort had cost and utilization patterns that were more similar to beneficiaries with CKD stages 4 and 5 than to beneficiaries with CKD stage 3 without the selected comorbidities.
CONCLUSIONS
Our findings demonstrate the use of a claims-based algorithm to identify patients with CKD stage 3 who have high costs and are at risk of disease progression, highlighting a potential subset of patients who might benefit from earlier nephrology intervention.
Topics: Humans; Retrospective Studies; Male; United States; Female; Renal Insufficiency, Chronic; Medicare; Aged; Disease Progression; Comorbidity; Cost of Illness; Fee-for-Service Plans; Aged, 80 and over; Severity of Illness Index; Kidney Failure, Chronic; Referral and Consultation
PubMed: 38912931
DOI: 10.37765/ajmc.2024.89564 -
The American Journal of Managed Care Jun 2024This analysis examines the implications of new Alzheimer disease drugs in the era of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). It focuses on balancing innovation in Alzheimer... (Review)
Review
OBJECTIVES
This analysis examines the implications of new Alzheimer disease drugs in the era of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). It focuses on balancing innovation in Alzheimer disease treatment with affordability and access, assessing the impact on Medicare's budget, patient cost, and health care system readiness.
STUDY DESIGN
A comprehensive review was conducted, synthesizing information from recent FDA drug approvals, drug pricing models, Medicare coverage policies, and the updated regulations under the IRA. This analysis reflects on the broader clinical and economic consequences of introducing new Alzheimer disease treatments.
METHODS
The study employs a qualitative review of existing literature, policy documents, and economic data. It explores the implications of Alzheimer disease drugs on health care policy, analyzing the economic and clinical impacts within the current health care landscape in the US.
RESULTS
The study highlights the economic challenges posed by the high costs of new Alzheimer disease drugs, contrasting with their moderate clinical benefits and potential risks. It discusses the limitations of the IRA in regulating drug prices and the resulting implications for Medicare's budget. Additionally, it examines disparities in health care access and system preparedness for these new treatments.
CONCLUSIONS
The study findings underscore the need for a comprehensive approach to ensure fair pricing and equitable access to Alzheimer disease treatments. It suggests the application of frameworks such as the ISPOR Value Flower, focusing on diversity, equity, and comprehensive economic evaluations, to navigate the evolving landscape of Alzheimer disease treatment in the context of the IRA.
Topics: Alzheimer Disease; Humans; United States; Medicare; Health Services Accessibility; Drug Costs; Drug Approval
PubMed: 38912930
DOI: 10.37765/ajmc.2024.89563