Faculty Bibliography

BACKGROUND:Many survivors of childhood cancer do not receive recommended longitudinal oncology care. Factors present at the time of childhood cancer diagnosis may identify patients who are vulnerable to poor adherence to follow-up. METHODS:This cohort of survivors of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) diagnosed from 1996 to 1999 at seven Consortium for New England Childhood Cancer Survivors institutions was evaluated for attendance at oncology clinics at 5 and 10 years from diagnosis. Demographic, socioeconomic, disease, and treatment characteristics were analyzed as risk factors for nonadherence to follow-up. RESULTS:Of 317 patients, 90% were alive 5 years from diagnosis and 88% of those remained in active follow-up. At 10 years from diagnosis, 88% were alive, 73% of whom continued in active follow-up. Insurance status at diagnosis was significantly associated with adherence at both 5 and 10 years. At 10 years, initial enrollment on therapeutic study was associated with increased attendance and central nervous system (CNS) leukemia with decreased attendance. In multivariable modeling of follow-up at 5 years, patients who were adults were less likely to participate and those with private insurance at diagnosis more likely to participate. At 10 years, insurance status at diagnosis remained a predictor of adherence to follow-up. CONCLUSIONS:In this regional cohort, many patients who are survivors of ALL continue to participate in oncology care at 5 and 10 years from diagnosis. Factors known at diagnosis including insurance status, CNS leukemia, older age, and enrollment on therapeutic study were associated with differential attendance to follow-up visits.

IMPORTANCE/OBJECTIVE:Appropriate Use Criteria for Coronary Revascularization were developed to critically evaluate and improve patient selection for percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). National trends in the appropriateness of PCI have not been examined. OBJECTIVE:To examine trends in PCI utilization, patient selection, and procedural appropriateness following the introduction of Appropriate Use Criteria. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS/METHODS:Multicenter, longitudinal, cross-sectional analysis of patients undergoing PCI between July 1, 2009, and December 31, 2014, at hospitals continuously participating in the National Cardiovascular Data Registry CathPCI registry over the study period. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES/METHODS:Proportion of nonacute PCIs classified as inappropriate at the patient and hospital level using the 2012 Appropriate Use Criteria for Coronary Revascularization. RESULTS:A total of 2.7 million PCI procedures from 766 hospitals were included. Annual PCI volume of acute indications was consistent over the study period (377,540 in 2010; 374,543 in 2014), but the volume of nonacute PCIs decreased from 89,704 in 2010 to 59,375 in 2014. Among patients undergoing nonacute PCI, there were significant increases in angina severity (Canadian Cardiovascular Society grade III/IV angina, 15.8% in 2010 and 38.4% in 2014), use of antianginal medications prior to PCI (at least 2 antianginal medications, 22.3% in 2010 and 35.1% in 2014), and high-risk findings on noninvasive testing (22.2% in 2010 and 33.2% in 2014) (P < .001 for all), but only modest increases in multivessel coronary artery disease (43.7% in 2010 and 47.5% in 2014, P < .001). The proportion of nonacute PCIs classified as inappropriate decreased from 26.2% (95% CI, 25.8%-26.6%) to 13.3% (95% CI, 13.1%-13.6%), and the absolute number of inappropriate PCIs decreased from 21,781 to 7921. Hospital-level variation in the proportion of PCIs classified as inappropriate persisted over the study period (median, 12.6% [interquartile range, 5.9%-22.9%] in 2014). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE/CONCLUSIONS:Since the publication of the Appropriate Use Criteria for Coronary Revascularization in 2009, there have been significant reductions in the volume of nonacute PCI. The proportion of nonacute PCIs classified as inappropriate has declined, although hospital-level variation in inappropriate PCI persists.

There has been a considerable expansion of the patient-centered medical home model of primary care delivery, in an effort to reduce health care costs and to improve patient experience and population health. To attain these goals, it is essential to integrate behavioral health services into the patient-centered medical home, because behavioral health problems often first present in the primary care setting, and they significantly affect physical health. At the 2013 Patient-Centered Medical Home Research Conference, an expert workgroup convened to determine policy recommendations to promote the integration of primary care and behavioral health. In this article we present these recommendations: Build demonstration projects to test existing approaches of integration, develop interdisciplinary training programs to support members of the integrated care team, implement population-based strategies to improve behavioral health, eliminate behavioral health carve-outs and test innovative payment models, and develop population-based measures to evaluate integration.