The effect of self-care interventions on the use of medical service within a Medicare population.
To determine the effect of a self-care communication-based health education program on ambulatory care utilization, a prospective, randomized, controlled trial was conducted with a Medicare population within a health maintenance organization. A statistically significant decrease of 15% in total medical visits was found in the experimental group as compared with a control. Although not evident in the control, a statistically significant decrease in the ratio of follow-up visits from pre-entry to postentry was realized in the experimental group. Medical-visit decreases resulted in a savings of $36.65 per household in the experimental group for a benefit-cost ratio of 2.19 saved for every dollar spent on intervention. These results demonstrate that a health education program can reduce utilization while having no known negative impact on the quality of health.
Vickery
D M
DM
Center for Corporate Health Promotion, Inc., Reston, Virginia 22091.
Golaszewski
T J
TJ
Wright
E C
EC
Kalmer
H
H
D000368:Aged; D000553:Ambulatory Care / Q000191:economics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D003365:Costs and Cost Analysis; D006266:Health Education; D006279:Health Maintenance Organizations; D006801:Humans; D006278:Medicare; D008875:Middle Aged; D009819:Office Visits / Q000191:economics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012648:Self Care / Q000191:economics; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires