Although care coordination did not decrease overall acute health services use, coordination improved clinical documentation of patients’ memory impairment. ED visits may have begun to decrease among patients. Finally, stress levels may have fallen among caregivers.
Conclusions: Although care coordination did not decrease overall acute health services use, coordination improved clinical documentation of patients’ memory impairment. ED visits may have begun to decrease among patients. Finally, stress levels may have fallen among caregivers.
Effect of Care Coordination on Patients With Alzheimer Disease and Their Caregivers
November 3, 2020
Brian Chen, JD, PhD , Xi Cheng, MPH , Blaiz Streetman-Loy, PhD, MSW , Matthew F. Hudson, PhD, MPH , Dakshu Jindal, MA , Nicole Hair, PhD
Volume 26, Issue 11
Takeaway Points
Care coordination and caregiver support remain the primary intervention to meet the growing challenge of caring for patients with Alzheimer disease and related dementias (ADRD). Few studies, however, assessed their impact on objective measures of health care utilization. We studied patients and caregivers enrolled in the Memory Program in Greenville, South Carolina, and found strong evidence that the program led to better documentation of patients’ AD diagnosis. We also found evidence suggestive of a reduction in emergency department (ED) utilization among patients with AD and a potential reduction in urgent medical utilization for depression among caregivers.
- Existing literature on ADRD interventions often focused on feasibility and self-reported outcomes.
- Our studies assessed the impact of the Memory Program on objective measures of health care utilization for patients with AD.
- The immediate impact may be better clinical documentation of AD even when patients seek care for other medical conditions.
- There is suggestive evidence that the intervention reduced ED utilization among patients and acute medical service use for depressive symptoms among caregivers.
