Evaluation of chronic disease management on outcomes and cost of care for Medicaid beneficiaries.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the impacts of the chronic disease management program on the outcomes and cost of care for Virginia Medicaid beneficiaries.


METHODS
A total of 35,628 patients and their physicians and pharmacists received interventions for five chronic diseases and comorbidities from 1999 to 2001. Comparisons of medical utilization and clinical outcomes between experimental groups and control group were conducted using ANOVA and ANCOVA analyses.


RESULTS
Findings indicate that the disease state management (DSM) program statistically significantly improved patient's drug compliance and quality of life while reducing (ER), hospital, and physician office visits and adverse events. The average cost per hospitalization would have been $42 higher without the interventions.


CONCLUSIONS
A coordinated disease management program designed for Medicaid patients experiencing significant chronic diseases can substantially improve clinical outcomes and reduce unnecessary medical utilization, while lowering costs, although these results were not observed across all disease groups. The DSM model may be potentially useful for Medicaid programs in states or other countries. If the adoption of the DSM model is to be promoted, evidence of its effectiveness should be tested in broader settings and best practice standards are expected.
Zhang
Ning Jackie
NJ
College of Health and Public Affairs, University of Central Florida, 3280 Progress Drive, Orlando, FL 32826, United States. nizhang@mail.ucf.edu
Wan
Thomas T H
TT
Rossiter
Louis F
LF
Murawski
Matthew M
MM
Patel
Urvashi B
UB
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002908:Chronic Disease / Q000628:therapy*; D019468:Disease Management; D005260:Female; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D005102:Health Expenditures; D006801:Humans; D007345:Insurance Claim Review; D008297:Male; D008484:Medicaid; D008875:Middle Aged; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care; D014481:United States; D014768:Virginia