Second-generation antipsychotic use among stimulant-using children, by organization of medicaid mental health.

2014

1458-64

2014 Dec 01

1557-9700

<p><b>OBJECTIVE: </b>Reducing overuse of second-generation antipsychotics among Medicaid-enrolled children is a national priority, yet little is known about how service organization affects use. This study compared differences in second-generation antipsychotic utilization among Medicaid-enrolled children across fee-for-service, integrated managed care, and managed behavioral health carve-out organizational structures.</p><p><b>METHODS: </b>Organizational structures of Medicaid programs in 82 diverse counties in 34 states were categorized and linked to child-level cross-sectional claims data from the Medicaid Analytic Extract covering fiscal years 2004, 2006, and 2008. To approximate the population at risk of antipsychotic treatment, the sample was restricted to stimulant-using children ages three to 18 (N=419,226). The sample was stratified by Medicaid eligibility group, and logistic regression models were estimated for probability of second-generation antipsychotic use. Models included indicators of county-level organizational structure as main predictors, with sequential adjustment for personal and county-level covariates.</p><p><b>RESULTS: </b>With adjustment for person-level covariates, second-generation antipsychotic use was 31% higher among youths in foster care in fee-for-service counties than for youths in counties with carve-outs (odds ratio [OR]=1.69, 95% confidence interval [CI]=1.26-2.27). Foster care youths in integrated counties had the second highest adjusted odds (OR=1.31, CI=1.08-1.58). Similar patterns of use also were found for youths eligible for Supplemental Security Income but not for those eligible for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families. Differences persisted after adjustment for county-level characteristics.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS: </b>Carve-outs, versus other arrangements, were associated with lower second-generation antipsychotic use. Future research should explore carve-out features (for example, tighter management of inpatient or restricted access, as well as care coordination) contributing to lower second-generation antipsychotic use.</p>

10.1176/appi.ps.201300574

Psychiatr Serv

25179737

Adoption of a Portal for the Primary Care Management of Pediatric Asthma: A Mixed-Methods Implementation Study.

2016

e172

2016

1438-8871

<p><strong>BACKGROUND: </strong>Patient portals may improve communication between families of children with asthma and their primary care providers and improve outcomes. However, the feasibility of using portals to collect patient-reported outcomes from families and the barriers and facilitators of portal implementation across diverse pediatric primary care settings have not been established.</p>

<p><strong>OBJECTIVE: </strong>We evaluated the feasibility of using a patient portal for pediatric asthma in primary care, its impact on management, and barriers and facilitators of implementation success.</p>

<p><strong>METHODS: </strong>We conducted a mixed-methods implementation study in 20 practices (11 states). Using the portal, parents of children with asthma aged 6-12 years completed monthly surveys to communicate treatment concerns, treatment goals, symptom control, medication use, and side effects. We used logistic regression to evaluate the association of portal use with child characteristics and changes to asthma management. Ten clinician focus groups and 22 semistructured parent interviews explored barriers and facilitators of use in the context of an evidence-based implementation framework.</p>

<p><strong>RESULTS: </strong>We invited 9133 families to enroll and 237 (2.59%) used the portal (range by practice, 0.6%-13.6%). Children of parents or guardians who used the portal were significantly more likely than nonusers to be aged 6-9 years (vs 10-12, P=.02), have mild or moderate/severe persistent asthma (P=.009 and P=.04), have a prescription of a controller medication (P&lt;.001), and have private insurance (P=.002). Portal users with uncontrolled asthma had significantly more medication changes and primary care asthma visits after using the portal relative to the year earlier (increases of 14% and 16%, respectively). Qualitative results revealed the importance of practice organization (coordinated workflows) as well as family (asthma severity) and innovation (facilitated communication and ease of use) characteristics for implementation success.</p>

<p><strong>CONCLUSIONS: </strong>Although use was associated with higher treatment engagement, our results suggest that achieving widespread portal adoption is unlikely in the short term. Implementation efforts should include workflow redesign and prioritize enrollment of symptomatic children.</p>

<p><strong>CLINICALTRIAL: </strong>Clinicaltrials.gov NCT01966068; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01966068 (Archived by WebCite at http://www.webcitation.org/6i9iSQkm3).</p>

10.2196/jmir.5610

J. Med. Internet Res.

27357835

Increasing pediatrician participation in EHR incentive programs.

2015

e1-4

01/2015

1098-4275

10.1542/peds.2014-2438

Pediatrics

25548326