Patent Application
20180108430
None.
The present invention relates generally to the field of information systems and, more particularly, to managing patient or patient populations within a fully integrated captivated healthcare system.
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The medical needs of inmates in US prisons and jails were largely ignored by society until the early 1970s, when the convergence of several independent forces brought the issue of correctional healthcare to the forefront. One of these forces was organized medicine. In response to surveys indicating serious and pervasive healthcare deficiencies within correctional institutions, several organizations became involved in efforts to improve medical care for prisoners. The American Public Health Association published the first comprehensive national healthcare standards for correctional facilities in 1976. The American Medical Association developed model healthcare delivery systems for jails, published its own correctional healthcare standards, and established a program to accredit healthcare systems in jails.
Another force in bringing about reforms was the court system. A series of decisions by the lower federal courts during the early 1970s established a constitutional basis for providing an adequate level of medical care to prisoners. In the landmark case of Estelle v Gamble, the US Supreme Court affirmed that deliberate indifference to the serious medical needs of prisoners was a violation of the Eighth Amendment and ruled that the federal courts could intervene to ensure sufficient medical care. By 1981, 25 states were under court order or consent decree to improve conditions in their correctional institutions.
These reforms were soon threatened by demographic changes in the nation's correctional populations. Responding to society's concerns about crime, lawmakers enacted legislation that limited judicial discretion in sentencing for certain offenses, resulting in sizeable increases in the number of mandatory and fixed sentences, and concurrent decreases in the use of alternatives to incarceration. Between 1980 and the early 1990s, the US prison population more than doubled. Additionally, incarceration rates for offenders with special healthcare needs, including elderly offenders and women, increased rapidly.
The explosive growth of the prison population, coupled with soaring medical costs and a shrinking base of public funding, severely strained the healthcare resources of many correctional systems in the 1990s. Moreover, health policy analysts began to point out that existing health delivery models were not designed to handle the increase in chronic illnesses and infectious diseases within the prison population. Faced with these challenges and a legal mandate to improve conditions in its prisons, the state of Texas began to develop and implement a novel fully integrated population management healthcare system.
The Texas correctional managed healthcare system is structured on a series of contractual relationships between Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ), Correctional Managed Health Care Committee (CMHCC), and 2 state medical schools. TDCJ contracts with CMHCC to provide statewide oversight and coordination of health services. The CMHCC in turn contracts with University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) and Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center (TTUHSC) to provide physical, mental, and dental healthcare to the prison population. Both universities subcontract with local clinicians on an as-needed basis.
The TDCJ Health Services Division monitors the quality of care delivered by the contracted clinicians via its Health Services Quality Improvement Program. Biennial operational reviews of prison health facilities are conducted to ensure compliance with national and state standards and laws. Additionally, the division investigates all medical-related grievances, reviews all prisoner deaths, and monitors the incidence of communicable diseases.
The CMHCC is composed of 9 appointed members, including 3 public members and 2 representatives from TDCJ, UTMB, and TTUHSC. Five members are physicians. Besides coordinating the contractual provision of health services, the committee monitors the general quality of healthcare, resolves disputes related to medical care, and implements the use of case management, utilization review, and other managed care tools. The committee has the power to enforce compliance with contract provisions.
The TTUHSC service area includes the western portion of Texas (about 20% of the prison population); UTMB serves the remainder of the population. UTMB primarily uses its own employees to provide correctional health services; TTUHSC uses a mix of its own employees and subcontracted local clinicians.
Primary care is provided at ambulatory clinics located in every TDCJ facility. Basic dental and mental health services are also available at all but a few clinics. Additionally, infirmaries are located in 16 correctional facilities. More advanced levels of care are available at Hospital Galveston and several regional medical facilities. Either the American Correctional Association or the National Commission on Correctional Health Care accredits all medical facilities. Hospital Galveston has been awarded accreditation with full standards compliance by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations.
A number of programs are available for inmates with special health needs, including those with chronic diseases and psychiatric disorders. Chronic care clinics have been established to provide more effective interventions for the increasing number of offenders with chronic diseases. Elements of chronic care management include patient education, regular evaluations by a clinician, monitoring for medication efficacy and compliance, and evaluation of laboratory tests. Interventions are based on evidence-based practice guidelines and clinical protocols developed by a joint pharmacy and therapeutics committee. The clinics provide care for patients with hepatitis C virus infection, essential hypertension, psychiatric disorders, asthma, diabetes mellitus, HIV infection, and numerous other diseases and disorders.
Many inmates have a medical alert code, indicating a current or past history of a mental disorder. Services available to this population include group and individual psychotherapy, psychopharmacologic therapy, and crisis intervention counseling. Inpatient care is provided at dedicated psychiatric facilities. Outpatient services are available at almost all ambulatory clinics. Extensive use of telepsychiatry has also expanded treatment access and scope. As an alternative to administrative segregation, TTUHSC implemented an inpatient program for mentally ill offenders with a history of aggression. The Program for the Aggressive Mentally-Ill Offender uses cognitive behavioral therapy to help inmates curb aggressive impulses. Texas also was one of the first states to develop a model program for the mentally retarded offender. Telehealth has been an integral component of healthcare delivery under the managed care model. Besides general medicine and surgery, 28 specialty and subspecialty services are available via Telehealth. Telehealth has proved to be especially effective for Texas' sprawling prison system, because it improves timely access to specialty care for offenders in remote locations. Telehealth also has helped reduce the overall cost of transporting inmates over considerable distances for consultations.
UTMB deploys a correctional telehealth network that combines the videoconferencing capabilities of telehealth with a customized electronic records management system (EMR). The technology enables secure, comprehensive storage of medical records that can be readily accessed by clinicians at the prisons and the hub site. Clinicians also have immediate access to the TDCJ formulary and disease management guidelines. Utilization review and case management are facilitated by the fully digital system, which also integrates a pharmacy management program to permit monitoring of compliance with treatment guidelines.
The disclosed invention relates to a comprehensive integrated healthcare population management method and system in a captivated healthcare system, which includes creating a patient profile or a patient population profile; screening, assessing and treating a patient or patient population; reviewing, analyzing, and comparing a patient or patient population to a control group or pre-treatment patient profile or patient population profile; and prioritizing, scheduling, and care coordination for a patient or patient population as part of follow-up healthcare assessment and services included in the fully integrated healthcare delivery system. The disclosed invention further relates to the ability to utilize comparative patient and patient population data to assess and control healthcare access, quality and cost using aggregated and de-aggregated data displayed on a plurality of dashboards.
In one embodiment, a computerized method of population health management in a captivated healthcare system (a) provides a computer system having at least one memory unit and at least one processing unit communicably coupled to the at least one memory unit, wherein the at least one memory unit stores data in one or more patient profiles or patient population profiles, (b) screens one or more of the patients or patient population for a disease based on one or more established clinical protocols using the computer system, (c) assesses a state of the disease based upon clinical results, and updating the patient profile(s) or patient population profile(s) to include the clinical results of the at least one test and the assessed disease state using the computer system, (d) determines a health management status of the one or more patients or patient population in comparison to the established clinical protocol(s) or a disease criteria, a control patient or the patient population or other comparison mechanism using the computer system, and (e) provides a recommended corrective action plan (CAP) based on the health management status and patient profile(s) or patient population profile(s) using the computer system.
In other aspects or embodiments, the method may include the step of coordinating a delivery of a health care to a plurality of patients using the computer system, wherein the health care comprises an acute and non-acute integrated health care involving at least one of a physical health care, a behavioral health care, or a dental health care. Other steps may include (a) evaluating the delivery of the health care to the plurality of patients using the computer system based on one or more metrics comprising at least one of a patient access to the health care, a quality of the health care, a cost of the health care, a clinical data, a non-clinical data or a financial data, (b) coordinating a follow-up to the delivery of the health care to the plurality of patients using the computer system, or (c) providing one or more health education materials to the plurality of patients using the computer system. The patient profile(s) or patient population profile(s) may include at least one unique identifier such as medical record number, social security number, inmate number, unit number, facility name, region name, or state name. The patient profile(s) or patient population profile(s) may further includes a prior medical record(s) or a history of medical conditions.
In other aspects or embodiments, the screening step may further (a) include performing at least one screening test and including results of the at least one screening test in the patient profile(s) or patient population profile(s), (b) be based on the established clinical protocol and/or disease criteria, or (c) include an evaluation of risk factors in the patient profile(s) or patient population profile(s) relevant to the disease state or condition. The disease may be a first disease, and the steps further include determining a health management status of the patient with respect to a second disease based on the patient profile and a co-morbidity of the first disease with the second disease.
In other aspects or embodiments, the method may include (a) receiving an inquiry or request from a patient for related products, treatment, procedures, tests, education or counseling via the computer system, (b) providing a recommended action and a clinical or non-clinical follow-up via telehealth, (c) providing a recommended action to a recipient on an intranet or internet-based system, (d) displaying a recommended action on a visual enabled device comprising at least one of a computer, a smart phone, or tablet, (e) implementing the recommended corrective action plan (CAP) to address the disease state or condition, (f) providing the one or more metrics and one or more recommendations via one or more devices communicably coupled to the computer system, (g) displaying at least one of the metrics in a dashboard format on the one or more devices, or (h) providing a quality system and risk management program.
In another embodiment, a system of population health management in a captivated healthcare system includes at least one memory unit to store a patient profile or a patient population profile including a patient data and a test results, and at least one processing unit communicably coupled with at least one memory unit. The at least one processing unit (a) screens one or more of the patients or patient population for a disease based on one or more established clinical protocols, (b) assesses a state of the disease based upon clinical results, and updating the patient profile(s) or patient population profile(s) to include the clinical results of the at least one test and the assessed disease state, (c) determines a health management status of the one or more patients or patient population in comparison to the established clinical protocol(s) or a disease criteria, a control patient or the patient population or other comparison mechanism, and (d) provides a recommended corrective action plan (CAP) based on the health management status and patient profile(s) or patient population profile(s). In other aspects or embodiments, the at least one processing unit: can be communicably coupled to one or more internal databases or local devices; can be communicably coupled to one or more remote devices and/or external database(s) via a network; and/or can automatically receive data, transmit data or control medical-related devices. The system may perform other functionality and/or include other components as described above in reference to the method.
The present invention is described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.
The above and further advantages of the invention may be better understood by referring to the following description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:
The current invention now will be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, which illustrate embodiments of the invention. This invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the illustrated embodiments set forth herein. For example, the present invention is not limited to use in a captivated healthcare system. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art.
Embodiments of the current invention provide a method and system that provide population health management in a captivated healthcare system.
Now referring to
Referring now to
Once the captivated population unit requests the appointment through the EMR in block 212 via blocks 204 or 206, the clinical provider schedules the patient's appointment based on clinical indications from the dashboard or patient initiated requested sick call process in block 214. Once the appointment has been scheduled in block 214, the patient is notified of the appointment schedule in block 216. At this point, if the medical provider is located at the same physical location as the patient as indicated in block 218, the patient receives clinical care via on-premises staff in block 220. If the required medical provider is not located at the same physical location as the patient, telehealth is utilized to conduct a remote medical visit with a medical provider located in a different physical location than the patient in block 208. The remotely conducted medical encounter via telehealth may direct on-premises staff to deliver clinical care to the patient in block 220. If the remotely conducted medical encounter indicates that the patient needs to be further evaluated or examined by the remotely located specialist, the patient, via EMR care coordination and communication, can utilize the ancillary services such as ambulatory transport to be moved off-site to another physical location for further healthcare related services in block 222. All clinical monitoring and interaction during the on-premises staff 220 and the off-site medical encounter 222 are documented and becomes part of the longitudinal patient records embodied in the current invention in block 224. The clinical provider order patient disposition for follow-up and corrective action plan (CAP) development as appropriate in block 210.
Now referring to
In a preferred embodiment of the current invention, the patient and patient population data can be aggregated for assessment and comparison of larger populations. Patient level data includes, but is not limited to: patient results related to disease prevention and management, disease states and criteria, patient process, lifestyle improvement opportunities, etc. Unit level data includes, but is not limited to: patient lists (patients that make up a unit) related to disease prevention and management, patient and unit identifiers and criteria, unit process improvement opportunities, etc. Facility level data includes, but is not limited to: unit lists related to disease prevention and management, unit and facility identifiers and criteria, facility process improvement opportunities, etc. Regional level data includes, but not limited to: facility lists related to disease prevention and management, facility identifiers and criteria, facility process improvement opportunities, etc. In a further preferred embodiment of the current invention, more complex data aggregation and de-aggregation is provided, allowing greater sorting for disease prevention and management data based on geographical identifiers.
In a preferred embodiment of the current invention, all dashboards and reports are arranged around a plurality of glossaries. Examples of these glossaries are provided below, which include, but are not limited to: Disease Management Glossaries, Access to Care Glossaries, etc. Each glossary is typically comprised of Measure, Target Goal, Definition, Methodology, Corrective Action Threshold, and the HEDIS 2013 Corrective Action Target (Medicaid Standard). The outputs of the dashboard and related spreadsheets and reports are a direct result of the definitions and methodologies used to generate each measure against the target. Disease states include, but are not limited to, the following: Diabetes (HbA1c, LDL, Blood Pressure, nephropathy screening), Hypertension (BP), Coronary artery Disease (LDL), Asthma (prescribed appropriate treatment), etc.
An example of a Disease Management section of the Disease Management Glossary is shown below.
An example of a Staffing section of the Disease Management Glossary is shown below.
An example of a Specialty and Hospital Services section of the Disease Management Glossary is shown below.
An example of a Pharmacy section of the Disease Management Glossary is shown below.
An example of an Access section of the Access to Care Glossary is shown below.
Referring now to
Iterate diagnoses to be measured from the diagnosis set {D, count of D} in block 402. Filter and reduce to total set of patients with diagnosis dn from all offenders an at prison unit un where A=↔∀x(x∈A→x∈D) in block 404. Filter and reduce to total set of patients in A that meet all criteria in C to be included in the measure group (Cohort) where A=↔∀x(x∈A→x∈C) in block 406. Iterate patients meeting criteria to be included in measure group and compare with Key Performance Indicators (KPI) value to determine patient is meeting target goal or not where h(x): {A, count of A} in block 408. If the target goal is not met, as determined in decision block 410, save to persistent storage as non-compliant patient fact in block 412. If, however, the target goal is met, as determined in decision block 410, increment count of patients meeting target goals where M=M+1 in block 414 and save to persistent storage as compliant patient fact in block 416. Thereafter, calculate percentage of patients meeting target goals at the unit where X=M/A in block 418 and save to persistent storage as KPI fact in block 420. Thereafter, aggregate to region level using sum of numerators over sum of denominators for region R where R=ΣM/ΣA in block 422. Finally, aggregate organizational level using sum of numerators of sum of denominators for region R where O=ΣM/ΣA in block 424.
To measure Key Performance Indicators (KPI) for varying and disparate diagnoses, treatment regimens, lab results and other clinical data, a custom-built Online Analytical Processing (OLAP) persistent data store was built to support Multidimensional Analytical (MDA) queries and data mining in dashboard format. Data is stored in the persistent data store as numeric clinical facts categorized by dimensions. Two Facts were defined for Health performance metrics in the captivated healthcare system: a KPI Fact (
In another preferred embodiment of the current invention, non-clinical metrics are collected, assessed, compared, and reported in a plurality of dashboard formats. Non-clinical metrics include, but are not limited to: Access to Care (timeliness), Medical Provider Type, Specialty and Hospital Services (specialty referral volume, telehealth clinic volume, community hospital admissions, community ER visits), Staffing (vacancies by discipline, use of agency staffing, overtime), Pharmacy (formulary and non-formulary volume, prescriptions per patient, reclamation dollars), etc.
The current invention provides a Quality Systems and Risk Management program to ensure data integrity, data accuracy, date timeliness. In a preferred embodiment of the current invention, the Quality Systems and Risk Management program employs Lean-Six-Sigma Green Belt and/or Black Belt certified staff to provide quality assessments included, but not limited to: Facility Quality Improvement/Quality Management, Support Services Quality Improvement/Quality Management, Peer Review, Morbidity/Mortality Review, Clinical Quality Review, Pharmacy and Therapeutic Review, Incident Reports, Corrective Action, Root Cause Analysis, etc.
For example,
Prevention and Disease Management goals include a Corrective Action Threshold (CAT). Any unit that drops below the CAT on a Dashboard Report is required to initiate a Corrective Action Process that includes the following: a Quality Improvement/Quality Management meeting to discuss corrective actions, a Corrective Action Plan prepared by Unit Managers and approved by Regional Managers, Follow Up Tracking for six (6) months.
At the end of the Follow Up Tracking period, if a unit is still below the CAT, the unit must repeat the process: conduct a Quality Improvement/Quality Management Meeting to discuss corrective actions, submit a second Corrective Action Plan approved by Regional Managers, submit to a further six (6) months of Follow Up Tracking at the end of the second Follow Up Tracking period, if a unit is still below the CAT, the unit is referred to the Executive Quality Council for action.
A non-limiting example of the system will now be described. A Diboll Facility patient is feeling dizzy and decides to request sick call at his unit location. The patient's sick call request is documented using the process and interfaces provided in
After the patient's appointment has been scheduled, an onsite medical provider performs the clinical encounter with the patient. The local medical provider is not specialized in the area of diabetes mellitus and informs the patient that he will need to be seen by a specialist via telehealth. An offsite specialist provides the patient telehealth specialty care consultation. The specialist utilizes the established diabetes mellitus clinical protocol provided in
The test results and medication, along with other clinical and non-clinical information become part of the patient's longitudinal patient record within the electronic medical record (EMR). The data is presented in a plurality of dashboards outlined and demonstrated in the current invention.
The clinical and non-clinical data collected and reported on the individual patient basis, can be aggregated to other dashboards to better and more accurately demonstrate the assessment of a larger health population such as a unit, facility, region, or state.
In
The clinical and non-clinical data collected and reported on the individual patient basis, can be aggregated to other dashboards to better and more accurately demonstrate the assessment of a larger health population such as a unit, facility, region, or state.
In addition, the method may include the step of coordinating a delivery of a health care to a plurality of patients using the computer system, wherein the health care comprises an acute and non-acute integrated health care involving at least one of a physical health care, a behavioral health care, or a dental health care. Other steps may include (a) evaluating the delivery of the health care to the plurality of patients using the computer system based on one or more metrics comprising at least one of a patient access to the health care, a quality of the health care, a cost of the health care, a clinical data, a non-clinical data or a financial data, (b) coordinating a follow-up to the delivery of the health care to the plurality of patients using the computer system, or (c) providing one or more health education materials to the plurality of patients using the computer system. The patient profile(s) or patient population profile(s) may include at least one unique identifier such as medical record number, social security number, inmate number, unit number, facility name, region name, or state name. The patient profile(s) or patient population profile(s) may further includes a prior medical record(s) or a history of medical conditions.
The screening step may further (a) include performing at least one screening test and including results of the at least one screening test in the patient profile(s) or patient population profile(s), (b) be based on the established clinical protocol and/or disease criteria, or (c) include an evaluation of risk factors in the patient profile(s) or patient population profile(s) relevant to the disease state or condition. The disease may be a first disease, and the steps further include determining a health management status of the patient with respect to a second disease based on the patient profile and a co-morbidity of the first disease with the second disease.
Other steps may include (a) receiving an inquiry or request from a patient for related products, treatment, procedures, tests, education or counseling via the computer system, (b) providing a recommended action and a clinical or non-clinical follow-up via telehealth, (c) providing a recommended action to a recipient on an intranet or internet-based system, (d) displaying a recommended action on a visual enabled device comprising at least one of a computer, a smart phone, or tablet, (e) implementing the recommended corrective action plan (CAP) to address the disease state or condition, (f) providing the one or more metrics and one or more recommendations via one or more devices communicably coupled to the computer system, (g) displaying at least one of the metrics in a dashboard format on the one or more devices, or (h) providing a quality system and risk management program.
To facilitate the understanding of this invention, a number of terms are defined below. Terms defined herein have meanings as commonly understood by a person of ordinary skill in the areas relevant to the present invention. Note that these terms may be used interchangeable without limiting the scope of the present invention. Terms such as “a”, “an” and “the” are not intended to refer to only a singular entity, but include the general class of which a specific example may be used for illustration. The terminology herein is used to describe specific embodiments of the invention, but their usage does not delimit the invention, except as outlined in the claims.
It will be understood that particular embodiments described herein are shown by way of illustration and not as limitations of the invention. The principal features of this invention can be employed in various embodiments without departing from the scope of the invention. Those skilled in the art will recognize, or be able to ascertain using no more than routine experimentation, numerous equivalents to the specific procedures described herein. Such equivalents are considered to be within the scope of this invention and are covered by the claims.
All publications and patent applications mentioned in the specification are indicative of the level of skill of those skilled in the art to which this invention pertains. All publications and patent applications are herein incorporated by reference to the same extent as if each individual publication or patent application was specifically and individually indicated to be incorporated by reference.
The use of the word “a” or “an” when used in conjunction with the term “comprising” in the claims and/or the specification may mean “one,” but it is also consistent with the meaning of “one or more,” “at least one,” and “one or more than one.” The use of the term “or” in the claims is used to mean “and/or” unless explicitly indicated to refer to alternatives only or the alternatives are mutually exclusive, although the disclosure supports a definition that refers to only alternatives and “and/or.” Throughout this application, the term “about” is used to indicate that a value includes the inherent variation of error for the device, the method being employed to determine the value, or the variation that exists among the study subjects.
As used in this specification and claim(s), the words “comprising” (and any form of comprising, such as “comprise” and “comprises”), “having” (and any form of having, such as “have” and “has”), “including” (and any form of including, such as “includes” and “include”) or “containing” (and any form of containing, such as “contains” and “contain”) are inclusive or open-ended and do not exclude additional, unrecited elements or method steps.
The term “or combinations thereof” as used herein refers to all permutations and combinations of the listed items preceding the term. For example, “A, B, C, or combinations thereof” is intended to include at least one of: A, B, C, AB, AC, BC, or ABC, and if order is important in a particular context, also BA, CA, CB, CBA, BCA, ACB, BAC, or CAB. Continuing with this example, expressly included are combinations that contain repeats of one or more item or term, such as BB, AAA, AB, BBC, AAABCCCC, CBBAAA, CABABB, and so forth. The skilled artisan will understand that typically there is no limit on the number of items or terms in any combination, unless otherwise apparent from the context.
It will be understood by those of skill in the art that information and signals may be represented using any of a variety of different technologies and techniques (e.g., data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips may be represented by voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles, optical fields or particles, or any combination thereof). Likewise, the various illustrative logical blocks, modules, circuits, and algorithm steps described herein may be implemented as electronic hardware, computer software, or combinations of both, depending on the application and functionality. Moreover, the various logical blocks, modules, and circuits described herein may be implemented or performed with a general purpose processor (e.g., microprocessor, conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, state machine or combination of computing devices), a digital signal processor (“DSP”), an application specific integrated circuit (“ASIC”), a field programmable gate array (“FPGA”) or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. Similarly, steps of a method or process described herein may be embodied directly in hardware, in a software module executed by a processor, or in a combination of the two. A software module may reside in RAM memory, flash memory, ROM memory, EPROM memory, EEPROM memory, registers, hard disk, a removable disk, a CD-ROM, or any other form of storage medium known in the art.
All of the systems, devices, computer programs, compositions and/or methods disclosed and claimed herein can be made and executed without undue experimentation in light of the present disclosure. While the systems, devices, computer programs, compositions and methods of this invention have been described in terms of preferred embodiments, it will be apparent to those of skill in the art that variations may be applied to the systems, devices, computer programs, compositions and/or methods and in the steps or in the sequence of steps of the method described herein without departing from the concept, spirit and scope of the invention. All such similar substitutes and modifications apparent to those skilled in the art are deemed to be within the spirit, scope and concept of the invention as defined by the appended claims.
This patent application claims priority to U.S. provisional patent application Ser. No. 62/402,493 filed on Sep. 30, 2016 entitled “Method and System for Population Health Management in a Captivated Healthcare System”, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62402493 | Sep 2016 | US |
