Harnessing Health IT for Self-Management Support and Medication Activation in a Medicaid Health Plan

A measure of patients' functional status is ascertained by asking patients the following question: "In the last 30 days, how many days did health problems keep you in bed for all or most of the day?" Number of days may range from 0 to 30, with lower number of days indicating better functional status. Because a negative binomial model was used to analyze the data for number of days spent in bed due to illness, log means are reported. A log mean is the natural (base e) logarithm of the mean (in this context specifically, the mean number of days spent in bed due to illness). To calculate the mean, one raises e by the number given as the log mean. Lower log means indicate better functional status.

A measure of diabetes interference on patients is ascertained by asking patients the following question: "In the last 6 months, how often has your diabetes kept you from doing your normal daily activities, such as going to work, grocery shopping, and taking care of yourself and others?" Responses consist of 6 possible options: "Always", "Almost Always", "Often", "Sometimes", "Almost Never", and "Never". These responses are grouped into 2 categories, with one category consisting of "Always", "Almost Always", and "Often" responses while the other category consists of the remaining responses. The proportion of patients reporting diabetes interference is the number of patients in the first category divided by the number of patients in the 2 categories combined.

The Summary of Diabetes Self-Care Activities (SDSCA) Measure is a brief self-report questionnaire on diabetes self-management behaviors. The questionnaire assesses the frequency with which a patient followed a diabetes routine over the prior 7 days in five domains: diet, exercise, blood-glucose testing, foot care, and medication adherence. Based on SDSCA measure's author's recommendations, two separate scores are derived: a Diabetes Self-management Behaviors score and a Self-reported Medication Adherence score. For the Diabetes Self-management Behaviors score, all items pertaining to diet, exercise, blood glucose testing, and foot care are averaged. For the Self-reported Medication Adherence score, all items pertaining to medication use are averaged. For both scores, the result is an average score between 0 and 7 with higher score indicating better diabetes self-management behavior or better medication adherence. Change is calculated as 6-month score minus baseline score.

The Summary of Diabetes Self-Care Activities (SDSCA) Measure is a brief self-report questionnaire on diabetes self-management behaviors. The questionnaire assesses the frequency with which a patient followed a diabetes routine over the prior 7 days in five domains: diet, exercise, blood-glucose testing, foot care, and medication adherence. Based on SDSCA measure's author's recommendations, two separate scores are derived: a Diabetes Self-management Behaviors score and a Self-reported Medication Adherence score. For the Diabetes Self-management Behaviors score, all items pertaining to diet, exercise, blood glucose testing, and foot care are averaged. For the Self-reported Medication Adherence score, all items pertaining to medication use are averaged. For both scores, the result is an average score between 0 and 7 with higher score indicating better diabetes self-management behavior or better medication adherence. Change is calculated as 6-month score minus baseline score.

The Patient Self-Management Scale was derived from a questionnaire used in the Diabetes Quality Improvement Project. The scale is designed to reflect patients' assessment of their ability to manage aspects of diabetes self-care in 5 separate areas (medication, diet, exercise, blood glucose monitoring, and foot care). Respondents are asked how difficult over the past 6 months has it been to follow exactly as their doctor who takes care of their diabetes suggested. Possible scores for each scale item range from 0 to 100 with higher score indicating more self-efficacy. Total scale score is calculated as the average across all items. Change is calculated as 6-month score minus baseline score.

The Patient Assessment of Chronic Illness Care (PACIC) is a 20-item patient report instrument that measures patients' perspectives on the structure of their care and collects patient reports on the extent to which they have received specific clinical services and actions during the past 6 months that are aligned with the Chronic Care Model. The scale is intended to assess the receipt of care that is patient-centered, proactive, planned and includes collaborative goal setting, problem-solving and follow-up support. Each instrument item is scored on a 5-point scale ranging from 1 to 5 with higher score indicating better care. Scores are transformed to a 100-point scale (0-100) and averaged across all items to create a total scale score. Higher transformed and total scale scores indicate better care. Change is calculated as 6-month score minus baseline score.

The Interpersonal Processes of Care (IPC) is an 18-item patient report instrument that measures patients' perspectives on the structure of their care and collects patient reports on providers' communication over the prior 6 months. The scale is intended to measure patients' assessment of providers' communication within 3 broad domains: communication (e.g., lack of clarity), decision making (e.g., patient-centered decision making), and interpersonal style (e.g., friendliness). Each instrument item is scored on a 5-point scale ranging from 1 to 5. Scores are transformed to a 100-point scale and averaged across all items to create a total scale score. Higher total scores indicate better communication. Change is calculated as 6-month score minus baseline score.

Hemoglobin A1c is a form of hemoglobin that is measured primarily to identify the average plasma glucose concentration over prolonged periods of time. As the average amount of plasma glucose increases, the fraction of hemoglobin A1c increases in a predictable way. This serves as a marker for average blood glucose levels over the previous months prior to the measurement. Higher amounts of hemoglobin A1c indicate poorer control of blood glucose levels and have been associated with cardiovascular disease. Change is calculated as 6-month level minus baseline level.

Systolic blood pressure is the pressure exerted on arteries and vessels by the heart when it contracts and pushes blood through the arteries to the rest of the body. Change is calculated as 6-month pressure minus baseline pressure.

Diastolic blood pressure is the pressure exerted on the walls of the arteries and vessels in between heart beats, when the heart is relaxed and dilated, filling with blood. Change is calculated as 6-month pressure minus baseline pressure.