Table 4.
Measures of Healthcare Dependency
| All Subjects (n = 94) | CHF (n = 58) | COPD (n = 36) |
P-value CHF vs COPD |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hospitalizations (all causes) during the yr prior inclusion per subject (n) | 3.2 ± 1.7 (2–10) | 3.1±1.5 (2–10) | 3.4±1.8 (2–9) | n.s. |
| Hospitalizations (all causes) during the study period per subject (n) | 0.9 ± 1.4 (0–7) | 0.8 ± 1.3 (0–7) | 1.2 ± 1.5 (0–6) | n.s. |
| HBHC; use of P.R.N. medication per subject (n) | 128.4 ± 235.3 (0–1329) | 97.2 ± 178.6 (0–910) | 178.6 ± 301.5 (0–1329) | n.s. |
| HBHC; changed prescriptions per subject (n) | 8.5 ± 7.0 (0–39) | 6.9 ± 4.3 (0–17) | 10.9 ± 9.6 (0–39) | <0.01 |
| HBHC; home care visits per subject (n) | ||||
| By physician per subject | 9.2 ± 6.2 (1–32) | 8.0 ± 4.5 (1–18) | 11.2 ± 7.9 (1–32) | <0.01 |
| By nurse per subject | 33.7 ± 34.7 (2–251) | 28.8 ± 18.8 (2–87) | 41.6 ± 49.4 (2–251) | n.s. |
| By physiotherapist per subject | 2.5 ± 2.6 (0–12) | 2.3 ± 2.2 (0–9) | 2.7 ± 3.2 (0–12) | n.s. |
| By dietician per subject | 0.3 ± 0.7 (0–4) | 0.2 ± 0.7 (0–4) | 0.5 ± 0.8 (0–3) | n.s. |
| By curator per subject | 0.4 ± 1.4 (0–9) | 0.0 ± 0.1 (0–1) | 0.9 ± 2.1 (0–9) | n.s. |
| HBHC; total home care contacts (home visits & phone calls) per subject (n) | 77.7 ± 61.9 (3–334) | 67.4 ± 38.0 (5–187) | 94.4 ± 84.4 (3–334) | <0.05 |
| Other healthcare contacts per subject (n) | ||||
| Emergency care | 0.9 ± 1.4 (0–7) | 0.8 ± 0.9 (0–4) | 1.2 ± 1.9 (0–7) | n.s. |
| Primary care | 10.4 ± 14.6 (0–85) | 13.0 ± 15.6 (0–85) | 6.4 ± 11.9 (0–46) | <0.05 |
| Other outpatient care | 4.7 ± 5.2 (0–22) | 4.1 ± 4.6 (0–21) | 5.6 ± 6.0 (0–22) | n.s. |
| HBHC; number of serious SMS alarms per subject (n) | ||||
| Alarms; patient-reported values were outside predetermined limits | 18.0 ± 29.1 (0–198) | 10.7 ± 16.1 (0–80) | 29.8 ± 40.0 (0–198) | <0.01 |
| Alarms; all SMS | 35.4 ± 38.2 (0–242) | 27.7 ± 25.1 (0–98) | 47.7 ± 50.9 (0–242) | <0.05 |
| Healthcare costs per subject (€) | ||||
| HBHC | 15,534 ± 13,200 (246–76,994) | 13,122 ± 8034 (993–36,774) | 19,420 ± 18,240 (246–76,994) | <0.05 |
| Hospitalizations | 7003 ± 14,217 (0–76,376) | 4823 ± 9802 (0–41,068) | 10,516 ± 18,974 (0–76,376) | n.s. |
| Emergency care | 488 ± 753 (0–3944) | 410 ± 495 (0–1949) | 615 ± 1039 (0–3944) | n.s. |
| Primary care | 1315 ± 1892 (0–9971) | 1707 ± 2188 (0–9971) | 683 ± 1024 (0–4636) | <0.05 |
| Other outpatient care | 1903 ± 2494 (0–12,181) | 1453 ± 1977 (0–8914) | 2627 ± 3049 (0–12,181) | <0.05 |
| Total costs | 26,244 ± 22,459 (246–123,482) | 21,515 ± 14,753 (1848–58,566) | 33,862 ± 29,818 (246–123,482) | <0.01 |
Notes: Results are presented as means ± 1 S.D. (range) and p-values are from Student’s t-test.
Abbreviations: CHF, chronic heart failure; COPD, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, HBHC, specialized hospital-based home care; P.R.N., as-needed; N.s., not significant (p-value ≥ 0.05).