The pilot oncology practices had many structures and processes in common, many of which were established during the early intervention period of this pilot. However, there was little standardization within and across practices in the way these processes were established and documented. Establishing structures for care coordination, quality improvement, and quality measurement should be priorities for practices considering transformation to a patient-centered model of care.
Human papillomavirus (HPV) is the most common sexually transmitted infection, with a reported 79 million persons aged 15–59 years in the United States currently infected with HPV, and approximately 14 million new cases diagnosed each year. Although most HPV infections are asymptomatic, transient, and do not cause disease, persistent HPV infection can lead to cervical, vulvar, vaginal, anal, penile, and oropharyngeal cancer. In the United States, approximately 27,000 HPV-attributable cancers occur each year. HPV vaccination is an effective primary prevention strategy that can reduce many of the HPV infections that lead to cancer, and is routinely recommended for adolescents aged 11–12 years. To determine whether the recommended HPV vaccination series is currently being administered to adolescents with health insurance, CDC and the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) assessed 2013 data from the Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set (HEDIS). The HEDIS HPV Vaccine for Female Adolescents performance measure evaluates the proportion of female adolescent members in commercial and Medicaid health plans who receive the recommended 3-dose HPV vaccination series by age 13 years. In 2013, in the United States, the median HPV vaccination coverage levels for female adolescents among commercial and Medicaid plans were 12% and 19%, respectively (ranges = 0%–34% for commercial plans; 5%–52% for Medicaid plans). Improving HPV vaccination coverage and understanding of what health plans might do to support HPV vaccination are needed, including understanding the barriers to, and facilitators for, vaccination coverage.
PURPOSE: Oncology practices often serve as the “medical home” for patients but may not have systems to support all aspects of patient-centered care. We piloted a new set of oncology medical home standards that call for accessible, continuous, coordinated, and team-based care. We examined how adoption of the standards varies across a variety of practices and compared practice self-report with external evaluation of implementation. METHODS: Five medical oncology practices in southeastern Pennsylvania implemented the standards from 2014 into 2016. Implementation support included training webinars and technical assistance. External reviewers evaluated practices’ implementation of the standards. We conducted site visits to interview providers and patients. RESULTS: Between baseline and follow-up, practice self-assessments and independent audits showed practices increased implementation of the patient-centered oncology standards. The largest improvement was seen in continuous quality improvement (QI). Practices were less successful in implementing care coordination: achievement on two standards (access and evidence-based decision support) declined from baseline to follow-up. Qualitative analyses revealed that practices focused QI in five areas: goals of care, engaging patients in QI, financial counseling, symptom management, and care coordination. Interviewees talked about facilitators, such as leadership support and physician buy-in, and barriers to transformation, including inadequate resources and staffing. Health information technology both supported and limited implementation. CONCLUSION: Oncology practices showed some progress in their implementation of patient-centered care processes over the course of the pilot program. Systems for tracking and documenting improvement, training for staff and clinicians, leadership support, and alignment of financial incentives are critical to transformation.
Context An estimated 79 million Americans are infected with human papillomavirus (HPV). Vaccination can reduce the burden of infection and HPV-associated cancers, yet vaccination rates remain low. Little is known about why some health plans achieve higher vaccination rates. Objective This study sought to identify strategies used by higher-performing health plans to support HPV vaccination. Design We used 2013 data from the Health Effectiveness Data and Information Set (HEDIS®) Human Papillomavirus Vaccine for Female Adolescents measure to identify high-performing plans. The measure examines the percentage of female adolescent plan members who received three doses of HPV vaccine by their 13th birthday. High performers were defined as the subset of commercial plans with the top 10 rates and the subset of Medicaid plans with the top 10 rates. An interview guide was developed to assess activities related to providing HPV vaccination. Interviews were conducted with selected plans and audio-recorded. Transcripts were reviewed independently by two interviewers and analyzed by hand to identify key themes. Participants Ten plans agreed to be interviewed, representing a diversity of plan size (range: 5,500 members to over 2.7 million members); plan type (about half were commercial, half were Medicaid plans); patient population, from predominantly White to predominantly non-White; and geographic region. Results Plans highlighted multiple strategies that support HPV vaccination, particularly the “normalizing” of the vaccine. Plans’ efforts highlighted patient and provider education, reminders, feedback loops, community collaborations, immunization registries and use of medical home concepts—including team-driven efforts and coordination. Conclusions Although HPV immunization rates are low nationally, health plans can employ multiple efforts to encourage vaccination by implementing activities that involve the patient, provider and community.
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