After Discharge Management of Low Income Frail Elderly

This randomized trial will test the effectiveness of improved clinical practice through comprehensive care management in elderly patients with chronic illness and functional impairment discharged from an acute care hospital. For the intervention group, patient care will be coordinated by a nurse care manager who will perform a comprehensive in home assessment and provide patient education and self management support. The care manager will work with an interdisciplinary team (IT) to develop and implement a plan of care. Evidence based care plans will be implemented in collaboration with the patient, the primary care physician (PCP), the local Area Agency on Aging (AAoA), and other community social agencies. The care manager will provide frequent patient follow up across all providers to ensure integration of medical and social issues. Control patients will be referred to the local AAoA with no IT follow up. Although control patients will receive, through the AAoA, referrals for care and psychosocial support, the absence of a care manager and IT will, we expect, result in functional decline, lower quality of life, and higher health care costs. The intervention (n=265) and control (n=265) groups will be compared at 1 year on a profile of health and well being using a multiple endpoint global hypothesis testing strategy. The global measure will be comprised of the following 5 domains: function, institutionalization, quality of life, quality of medical management, and quality of self management. Priority populations identified by AHRQ who are targeted in this study include the elderly, patients with chronic illnesses, low income (dual eligible), and patients with disabilities. This study also includes minorities, women, and patients who live in the inner city. Future economic analyses of benefits (for which alternative funding is currently being sought) will inform policy makers about funding care management in AHRQ priority populations.