A new stroke care delivery model developed by researchers at the Stanford Clinical Excellence Research Center could lower US healthcare costs by as much as $1.6 billion per year, according to a study published in Stroke.
A new stroke care delivery model developed by researchers at the Stanford Clinical Excellence Research Center (CERC) could lower US healthcare costs by as much as $1.6 billion per year, according to a study published in Stroke. Strokes cost the US $20.6 billion in direct healthcare spending annually.
The new model employs evidence-based strategies that improve outcomes for stroke patients while lowered healthcare costs.
“Our nation needs to find ways to safely treat more patients for less money,” Arnold Milstein, MD, the center’s director, said in a statement. “Our center’s innovative care models provide clinicians and administrators with a road map to improving patient outcomes while simultaneously responding to this national imperative.”
The main components of the model include:
However, the team at the CERC have learned important lessons from a Finnish team, which has the time from when a patient comes through the front door to when they administer the tissue-plasminogen activator down to a median of just 23 minutes. In comparison, the median is 67 minutes in the US.
After more than 10 years of refining stroke-care processes, the team in Helsinki determined that doing as much as possible before the patient arrives is key to rapid stroke treatment. They initiate all paperwork, test setups, and drug orders as soon as an ambulance team calls in a probable stroke.
“Every 15 minutes that we cut from the initiation of treatment, an average patient will gain one month of disability-free life,” Atte Meretoja, MD, one of the architects of the Helsinki stroke care model, said.
Joanne Mizell: Lifestyle Modification Programs Take Holistic Aim at Metabolic Disease
May 1st 2024Joanne Mizell shares insurer strategies in addressing the escalating rates of metabolic diseases, highlighting the importance of holistic treatment methods like lifestyle modification programs, which integrate nutrition, physical activity, and community engagement.
Read More
Tackling Health Inequality: The Power of Education and Experience
April 30th 2024To help celebrate and recognize National Minority Health Month, we are bringing you a special month-long podcast series with our Strategic Alliance Partner, UPMC Health Plan. Welcome to our final episode of this limited series and our conversation with Janine Jelks-Seale, MSPPM, director of health equity at UPMC Health Plan.
Listen
Examining Low-Value Cancer Care Trends Amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic
April 25th 2024On this episode of Managed Care Cast, we're talking with the authors of a study published in the April 2024 issue of The American Journal of Managed Care® about their findings on the rates of low-value cancer care services throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
Listen
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued letters to 10 companies to warn them that certain drug patents were improperly listed; the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) will begin testing ground beef for bird flu particles; rural Americans are more likely to die early from 1 of the 5 leading causes of death than those who live in urban areas.
Read More