{"title":"Hospital Involvement in Screening for and Addressing Patients' Health-Related Social Needs.","authors":"Simone R Singh, Rachel Hogg-Graham","doi":"10.1177/10775587241310922","DOIUrl":"10.1177/10775587241310922","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The number of hospitals screening patients for health-related social needs (HRSNs) has increased substantially in recent years, yet little is known about the extent to which hospitals invest in programs or strategies aimed at addressing identified needs. Using data from the 2022 American Hospital Association (AHA) Annual Survey for 2,468 non-federal general medical and surgical hospitals, this study explored screening rates and related interventions for eight HRSNs: housing, food insecurity, utilities, interpersonal violence, transportation, employment or income, education, and social isolation. Sample hospitals screened for an average of 6.1 HRSNs and had programs or strategies for an average of 5.4 HRSNs. Hospitals that screened their patients for HRSNs were significantly more likely to invest in interventions aimed at addressing these needs. Serving patients more holistically by addressing both medical and social needs has the potential to improve health outcomes and ultimately reduce health disparities.</p>","PeriodicalId":51127,"journal":{"name":"Medical Care Research and Review","volume":" ","pages":"269-275"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2025-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143015591","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Impact of Fentanyl Test Strips as Harm Reduction for Drug-Related Mortality.","authors":"Moiz Bhai, Benjamin J McMichael, David T Mitchell","doi":"10.1177/10775587251316919","DOIUrl":"10.1177/10775587251316919","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>This study examines the impact of legalizing fentanyl test strips (FTSs) on drug-related mortality in the United States from 2018 to 2022. Using a difference-in-differences approach with state-level data, we find that FTS legalization is associated with a significant reduction in drug-overdose deaths. Across the population, FTS legalization corresponds to a 7% decrease in overdose mortality, with an even more pronounced 13.5% reduction among Black individuals. Our analysis employs two-way fixed effects models and triple differences specifications to isolate the effect of FTS legalization from other factors. The results suggest that FTS legalization is particularly effective in reducing unintentional drug-overdose deaths. These findings underscore the potential of FTS as a critical harm reduction tool in addressing the opioid crisis, especially in mitigating racial disparities in overdose mortality. The study provides evidence to support expanding access to FTS as part of comprehensive public health strategies.</p>","PeriodicalId":51127,"journal":{"name":"Medical Care Research and Review","volume":" ","pages":"240-251"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2025-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143400710","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Brianna M Lombardi, Brooke Lombardi, Evan Galloway, Lisa de Saxe Zerden
{"title":"Understanding Available Data Sources to Estimate the Size and Distribution of Community Health Workers in the United States.","authors":"Brianna M Lombardi, Brooke Lombardi, Evan Galloway, Lisa de Saxe Zerden","doi":"10.1177/10775587241304145","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/10775587241304145","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>This study used three national data sources to estimate the size and distribution of Community health workers (CHWS) in the United States. CHWs were identified in the National Plan and Provider Enumeration System (NPPES; 2022), Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data (2021), and American Community Survey (ACS; 2020). The rate of CHWs per 100,000 people was calculated and compared across states. Then, the study assessed if the rate of CHWS per the population varied in states with or without CHW certification or reimbursement in a series of one-way analyses of variance (ANOVAs). Nationally, the rate of CHWs per 100,000 people in NPPES is 7.44, 18.37 in the BLS, and 35.44 in the ACS. No significant differences in the mean number of CHWs per 100,0000 people in states with or without certification and/or reimbursement was found. Further exploration of available data sources is needed to provide new insights and potential solutions to employ, fund, and sustain the CHW workforce.</p>","PeriodicalId":51127,"journal":{"name":"Medical Care Research and Review","volume":"82 3","pages":"276-283"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2025-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12018715/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144043625","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Percent of Medicare Enrollees Who Use Home-Based Health Care and Number of Visits Among Respondents to the Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey by Plan Option.","authors":"Tami M Videon, Robert J Rosati","doi":"10.1177/10775587251318404","DOIUrl":"10.1177/10775587251318404","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Using beneficiary reports of health care utilization from the 2019 Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey Cost Supplement, we compare the prevalence of home-based care and number of visits among Medicare beneficiaries aged 65 and older, by plan option, excluding dual-eligible beneficiaries. Traditional Medicare (TM) beneficiaries were significantly more likely to receive home-based medical visits (10.4% vs. 8.0%) with greater differences observed in vulnerable subgroups. While average number of visits were comparable for TM (35.6) and Medicare Advantage (MA) (34.9) beneficiaries, the distribution of the number of visits varied by plan option. Compared with TM beneficiaries, MA beneficiaries were 4.5 times more likely to receive a single home-based medical visit (17.5% vs. 3.9%) and roughly 1.5 times more likely to have the fewest (two to four visits; 12.2% vs. 8.0%) and greatest number of home visits (90+ visits; 11.1% vs. 7.7%). Access to, and number of, home-based medical care differs significantly by plan option.</p>","PeriodicalId":51127,"journal":{"name":"Medical Care Research and Review","volume":" ","pages":"252-259"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2025-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143494833","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Mahdi Neshan, Vennila Padmanaban, Naleef Fareed, Samantha M Ruff, Elizabeth Palmer Kelly, Timothy M Pawlik
{"title":"Patient Decisional Preferences: A Systematic Review of Instruments Used to Determine Patients' Preferred Role in Decision-Making.","authors":"Mahdi Neshan, Vennila Padmanaban, Naleef Fareed, Samantha M Ruff, Elizabeth Palmer Kelly, Timothy M Pawlik","doi":"10.1177/10775587251316917","DOIUrl":"10.1177/10775587251316917","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Decision control preferences (DCPs) refer to the degree of control patients' desire over their medical treatment. Several validated tools exist to evaluate a patient's DCPs, yet there is no universally used instrument and their use in clinical settings is lacking. We provide a systematic comparative summary of available DCP tools. Following a systematic database search, English language studies across medical contexts and patient populations were eligible if a validated assessment tool to evaluate patient DCPs was reported. Among the 15 tools that met inclusion criteria, the autonomy preference index (API) and the control preference scale (CPS) were the most used tools (API: 40%, CPS: 26.6%). Most studies (<i>n</i> = 9) sought to identify the information-seeking preferences of patients as a critical component of decision-making. Only few studies evaluated providers' perceptions of patient preferences. Considering the variety of patients' DCPs, implementation of DCP tools can optimize shared decision-making and improve patient outcomes.</p>","PeriodicalId":51127,"journal":{"name":"Medical Care Research and Review","volume":" ","pages":"225-239"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2025-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143374934","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Seiyoun Kim, Mingyu Qi, R Tamara Konetzka, Rachel M Werner
{"title":"Home Health Care Use Among Medicare Beneficiaries From 2010 to 2020.","authors":"Seiyoun Kim, Mingyu Qi, R Tamara Konetzka, Rachel M Werner","doi":"10.1177/10775587251318407","DOIUrl":"10.1177/10775587251318407","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Medicare home health coverage is an important resource for Medicare beneficiaries requiring health care at home. However, there have been changes in the United States health care system that might impact home health utilization such as pressures to constrain Medicare spending, growth in Medicare Advantage (MA) plan enrollment, decline in institutional long-term care and growth of Medicaid home- and community-based services. Given these changes, we examined home health care use trends among beneficiaries enrolled in traditional Medicare (TM) and MA from 2010 to 2020. We separately examined home health episodes that were initiated after a hospital or skilled nursing facility discharge and those initiated within the community and among dually and non-dually eligible beneficiaries. Home health use decreased among TM enrollees for both community-initiated and post-discharge needs but increased among MA enrollees for community-initiated home health use. Increases in community-initiated home health use were concentrated in non-dually eligible beneficiaries.</p>","PeriodicalId":51127,"journal":{"name":"Medical Care Research and Review","volume":" ","pages":"260-268"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2025-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12018719/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143460563","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Ashlee Korsberg, Sarah L Cornelius, Fares Awa, James O'Malley, Erika L Moen
{"title":"A Scoping Review of Multilevel Patient-Sharing Network Measures in Health Services Research.","authors":"Ashlee Korsberg, Sarah L Cornelius, Fares Awa, James O'Malley, Erika L Moen","doi":"10.1177/10775587241304140","DOIUrl":"10.1177/10775587241304140","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Social network analysis is the study of the structure of relationships between social entities. Access to health care administrative datasets has facilitated use of \"patient-sharing networks\" to infer relationships between health care providers based on the extent to which they have encounters with common patients. The structure and nature of patient-sharing relationships can reflect observed or latent aspects of health care delivery systems, such as collaboration and influence. We conducted a scoping review of peer-reviewed studies that derived patient-sharing network measure(s) in the analyses. There were 134 papers included in the full-text review. We identified and created a centralized resource of 118 measures and uncovered three major themes captured by them: <i>Influential and Key Players, Care Coordination and Teamwork</i>, and <i>Network Structure and Access to Care</i>. Researchers may use this review to inform their use of patient-sharing network measures and to guide the development of novel measures.</p>","PeriodicalId":51127,"journal":{"name":"Medical Care Research and Review","volume":"82 3","pages":"203-224"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2025-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144057975","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Jane Vaillant, Richa Gairola, Jessica S Merlin, Amal N Trivedi, Theresa I Shireman, Patience M Dow
{"title":"Trends and Disparities in the Use of Opioid, Gabapentinoid, and Nonpharmacologic Pain Therapies Among Medicare Beneficiaries With Acute Low Back Pain, 2016-2019.","authors":"Jane Vaillant, Richa Gairola, Jessica S Merlin, Amal N Trivedi, Theresa I Shireman, Patience M Dow","doi":"10.1177/10775587251339917","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/10775587251339917","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Contemporary practice guidelines recommend nonpharmacologic therapies instead of prescription opioids as first-line treatment for many pain types, including acute low back pain (aLBP). This serial cross-sectional study describes trends in the annual prevalence of physical therapy (PT), chiropractic care, gabapentinoids, and prescription opioid receipt among Medicare beneficiaries diagnosed with aLBP from 2016 to 2019, overall and within key demographic, clinical, and geographic subgroups. Overall, changes in PT (5.5%-6.7%), chiropractic care (11.0%-11.7%), and gabapentinoid (9.6%-8.9%) receipt were limited, whereas prescription opioid use substantially decreased (26.2%-17.8%). Prescription opioid receipt was higher among individuals under age 65, American Indian/Alaskan Native, non-Hispanic Black/African American, and Hispanic individuals, individuals with opioid use disorder, and in Southern states, while the use of nonpharmacologic pain therapies remained low among these subgroups. It is essential to promote equitable access to multimodal and guideline-recommended approaches for aLBP management including nonpharmacologic therapies.</p>","PeriodicalId":51127,"journal":{"name":"Medical Care Research and Review","volume":" ","pages":"10775587251339917"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2025-05-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144180243","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Benjamin Lê Cook, K John McConnell, Gareth Parry, Michael Flores, Stephanie Renfro, Anika Kumar, Catherine Holmes, Akhil Reddy, Rujuta Takalkar, Brian Mullin, Sharon-Lise T Normand, Marcela Horvitz-Lennon
{"title":"Disparities in Access to Serious Mental Illness Care Following the Implementation of Value-Based Payment Reform in the Oregon Medicaid Program.","authors":"Benjamin Lê Cook, K John McConnell, Gareth Parry, Michael Flores, Stephanie Renfro, Anika Kumar, Catherine Holmes, Akhil Reddy, Rujuta Takalkar, Brian Mullin, Sharon-Lise T Normand, Marcela Horvitz-Lennon","doi":"10.1177/10775587251339969","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/10775587251339969","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Racial and ethnic disparities in mental health care access are especially consequential for the health outcomes of Medicaid beneficiaries living with serious mental illness (SMI). This descriptive study of Oregon Medicaid claims data assessed for disparities in access to SMI care for Oregon's adult Medicaid beneficiaries from 2010 to 2019, examining changes following the implementation of value-based payment (VBP) in 2012. Multivariable regression analyses compared changes in access to SMI care, pre- and post-VBP implementation, by race and ethnicity. Relative to White beneficiaries, VBP implementation was associated with net increases of 0.28% (95% confidence interval [CI]: [0.01%, 0.55%]) in the rate of access among Black beneficiaries (a complete reduction of the pre-VBP disparity) and 0.34% (95% CI: [0.17%, 0.51%]) among Latinx beneficiaries (narrowing but not closing the pre-VBP disparity). The Oregon policy's focus on access, equity, and beneficiaries with mental illness might have contributed to the observed reductions in disparities.</p>","PeriodicalId":51127,"journal":{"name":"Medical Care Research and Review","volume":" ","pages":"10775587251339969"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2025-05-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144162716","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Kezia S Edmonson, Constance Elaine Owens-Jasey, Leah M Adams, Alison E Cuellar
{"title":"Medicaid Telehealth Policy in Marginalized Communities: Perspectives From Virginia Patients and Providers.","authors":"Kezia S Edmonson, Constance Elaine Owens-Jasey, Leah M Adams, Alison E Cuellar","doi":"10.1177/10775587251331756","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/10775587251331756","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>We sought to understand stakeholder experience with telehealth services, through interviews with patients, providers, and health plans, to inform Medicaid policy after the COVID-19 public health emergency. Our primary aim was to examine whether and how such telehealth policies affect equitable care delivery and to uncover any remaining policy gaps. Applying the Framework for Digital Health Equity our study identified digital determinants that operate at the individual, interpersonal, community and societal levels. Across respondents, telehealth expansion was viewed as overwhelmingly positive and noted as a significant contributor to increased access among marginalized, minoritized, and rural Medicaid participants in this study. Despite these strengths, patients and health care providers identified several challenges and recommendations.</p>","PeriodicalId":51127,"journal":{"name":"Medical Care Research and Review","volume":" ","pages":"10775587251331756"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2025-05-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144162964","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}