Managed-care programs for elderly dementia patients may assist nursing homes in providing appropriate, quality and cost-effective care near the end of life, according to a study published in JAMA Internal Medicine.
Researchers compared care received by patients enrolled in Medicare managed-care and patients with traditional fee-for-service Medicare.
They found that while patients in both groups had similar survival, comfort and treatment outcomes, patients enrolled in the managed-care program were more likely to have do-not-hospitalize orders, were less likely to be transferred to the hospital for acute illness, had more primary care visits and had more nurse practitioner visits.
Researchers concluded that managed-care programs have the potential to provide affordable care near the end of life.
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