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Snooks HA, Anthony R, Chatters R, Dale J, Fothergill R, Gaze S, Halter M, Humphreys I, Koniotou M, Logan P, Lyons R, Mason S, Nicholl J, Peconi J, Phillips C, Phillips J, Porter A, Siriwardena AN, Smith G, Toghill A, Wani M, Watkins A, Whitfield R, Wilson L, Russell IT. Support and Assessment for Fall Emergency Referrals (SAFER) 2: a cluster randomised trial and systematic review of clinical effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of new protocols for emergency ambulance paramedics to assess older people following a fall with referral to community-based care when appropriate. Health Technol Assess 2017; 21:1-218. [PMID: 28397649 PMCID: PMC5402213 DOI: 10.3310/hta21130] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Emergency calls are frequently made to ambulance services for older people who have fallen, but ambulance crews often leave patients at the scene without any ongoing care. We evaluated a new clinical protocol which allowed paramedics to assess older people who had fallen and, if appropriate, refer them to community-based falls services. OBJECTIVES To compare outcomes, processes and costs of care between intervention and control groups; and to understand factors which facilitate or hinder use. DESIGN Cluster randomised controlled trial. PARTICIPANTS Participating paramedics at three ambulance services in England and Wales were based at stations randomised to intervention or control arms. Participants were aged 65 years and over, attended by a study paramedic for a fall-related emergency service call, and resident in the trial catchment areas. INTERVENTIONS Intervention paramedics received a clinical protocol with referral pathway, training and support to change practice. Control paramedics continued practice as normal. OUTCOMES The primary outcome comprised subsequent emergency health-care contacts (emergency admissions, emergency department attendances, emergency service calls) or death at 1 month and 6 months. Secondary outcomes included pathway of care, ambulance service operational indicators, self-reported outcomes and costs of care. Those assessing outcomes remained blinded to group allocation. RESULTS Across sites, 3073 eligible patients attended by 105 paramedics from 14 ambulance stations were randomly allocated to the intervention group, and 2841 eligible patients attended by 110 paramedics from 11 stations were randomly allocated to the control group. After excluding dissenting and unmatched patients, 2391 intervention group patients and 2264 control group patients were included in primary outcome analyses. We did not find an effect on our overall primary outcome at 1 month or 6 months. However, further emergency service calls were reduced at both 1 month and 6 months; a smaller proportion of patients had made further emergency service calls at 1 month (18.5% vs. 21.8%) and the rate per patient-day at risk at 6 months was lower in the intervention group (0.013 vs. 0.017). Rate of conveyance to emergency department at index incident was similar between groups. Eight per cent of trial eligible patients in the intervention arm were referred to falls services by attending paramedics, compared with 1% in the control arm. The proportion of patients left at scene without further care was lower in the intervention group than in the control group (22.6% vs. 30.3%). We found no differences in duration of episode of care or job cycle. No adverse events were reported. Mean cost of the intervention was £17.30 per patient. There were no significant differences in mean resource utilisation, utilities at 1 month or 6 months or quality-adjusted life-years. In total, 58 patients, 25 paramedics and 31 stakeholders participated in focus groups or interviews. Patients were very satisfied with assessments carried out by paramedics. Paramedics reported that the intervention had increased their confidence to leave patients at home, but barriers to referral included patients' social situations and autonomy. CONCLUSIONS Findings indicate that this new pathway may be introduced by ambulance services at modest cost, without risk of harm and with some reductions in further emergency calls. However, we did not find evidence of improved health outcomes or reductions in overall NHS emergency workload. Further research is necessary to understand issues in implementation, the costs and benefits of e-trials and the performance of the modified Falls Efficacy Scale. TRIAL REGISTRATION Current Controlled Trials ISRCTN60481756 and PROSPERO CRD42013006418. FUNDING This project was funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Health Technology Assessment programme and will be published in full in Health Technology Assessment; Vol. 21, No. 13. See the NIHR Journals Library website for further project information.
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Affiliation(s)
- Helen A Snooks
- Patient and Population Health and Informatics, Swansea University Medical School, Swansea, UK
| | - Rebecca Anthony
- Patient and Population Health and Informatics, Swansea University Medical School, Swansea, UK
| | - Robin Chatters
- School of Health and Related Research (ScHARR), University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
| | - Jeremy Dale
- Warwick Medical School, University of Warwick, Coventry, UK
| | - Rachael Fothergill
- Clinical Audit and Research Unit, London Ambulance Service NHS Trust, London, UK
| | - Sarah Gaze
- Patient and Population Health and Informatics, Swansea University Medical School, Swansea, UK
| | - Mary Halter
- Faculty of Health and Social Care Sciences, St George's University Hospital, London, UK
| | - Ioan Humphreys
- Swansea Centre for Health Economics, Swansea University, Swansea, UK
| | - Marina Koniotou
- Patient and Population Health and Informatics, Swansea University Medical School, Swansea, UK
| | - Phillipa Logan
- Community Health Sciences, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK
| | - Ronan Lyons
- Patient and Population Health and Informatics, Swansea University Medical School, Swansea, UK
| | - Suzanne Mason
- School of Health and Related Research (ScHARR), University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
| | - Jon Nicholl
- School of Health and Related Research (ScHARR), University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
| | - Julie Peconi
- Patient and Population Health and Informatics, Swansea University Medical School, Swansea, UK
| | - Ceri Phillips
- Swansea Centre for Health Economics, Swansea University, Swansea, UK
| | - Judith Phillips
- Centre for Innovative Ageing, Swansea University, Swansea, UK
| | - Alison Porter
- Patient and Population Health and Informatics, Swansea University Medical School, Swansea, UK
| | | | | | | | - Mushtaq Wani
- Department of Geriatric and Stroke Medicine, Morriston Hospital, Swansea, UK
| | - Alan Watkins
- Patient and Population Health and Informatics, Swansea University Medical School, Swansea, UK
| | - Richard Whitfield
- Pre-hospital Emergency Research Unit (PERU), Welsh Ambulance Services NHS Trust, Cardiff, UK
| | - Lynsey Wilson
- Patient and Population Health and Informatics, Swansea University Medical School, Swansea, UK
| | - Ian T Russell
- Patient and Population Health and Informatics, Swansea University Medical School, Swansea, UK
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Diaz R, Behr J, Kumar S, Britton B. MODELING CHRONIC DISEASE PATIENT FLOWS DIVERTED FROM EMERGENCY DEPARTMENTS TO PATIENT-CENTERED MEDICAL HOMES. IIE TRANSACTIONS ON HEALTHCARE SYSTEMS ENGINEERING 2016; 5:268-285. [PMID: 26770663 PMCID: PMC4709841 DOI: 10.1080/19488300.2015.1095824] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/24/2023]
Abstract
Chronic Disease is defined as a long lasting health condition, which can develop and/or worsen over an extended time, but which can also be controlled. The monetary and budgetary toll due to its persistent nature has become unsustainable and requires pressing actions to limit their incidence and burden. This paper demonstrates the utility of the System Dynamics approach to simulate the behavior of key factors involved in the implementation of chronic disease management. We model the patient flow diversion from emergency departments (ED) to patient-centered medical homes (PCMH), with emphasis on the visit rates, as well as the effect of insurance coverage, in an effort to assure continuity of quality care for Asthma patients at lower costs. The model is used as an evaluative method to identify conditions of a maintained health status through adequate policy planning, in terms of resources and capacity. This approach gives decision makers the ability to track the level of implementation of the intervention and generate knowledge about dynamics between population demands and the intervention effectiveness. The functionality of the model is demonstrated through the consideration of hypothetical scenarios executed using sensitivity analysis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rafael Diaz
- Old Dominion University, Virginia Modeling, Analysis, and Simulation Center, Norfolk, United States
| | - Joshua Behr
- Old Dominion University, Virginia Modeling, Analysis, and Simulation Center, Suffolk, 23435 United States
| | - Sameer Kumar
- University of St. Thomas, Minneapolis, United States
| | - Bruce Britton
- Eastern Virginia Medical School, Norfolk, United States
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