Abstracts by key term: Multimorbidity
MedicalContact AG's Casaplus geriatric training program has been offering telephone health coaching for multimorbid geriatric patients since 2007, and approximately 30,000 patients have already benefited from it. The critical success factors for such a program are the risk-based identification of suitable candidates, participant recruitment, and individualized support from specially trained medical professionals. Since 2017, the Casaplus program has been further developed in collaboration with the VIACTIV health insurance company and DCC Risikoanalytik GmbH to include AI-based components for both the prediction of modifiable risks during the identification process and the use of risk-adjusted propensity scores during the evaluation of smartCasaplus coaching. The current evaluation results from the VIACTIV health insurance company show that, taking into account allocation effects and program costs, an average return on investment of 1.7 was achieved over the first four program years.
02.02.2024
The number of people in Germany who suffer from obesity - i.e. have a body mass index (BMI) of over 30 kg/m2 - has been increasing continuously for years. Almost a quarter of the adult population now suffers from obesity (Mensink et al. 2013). Obesity is defined as an excessive increase in body fat. The body mass index (BMI) is used to assess whether obesity is present. One speaks of obesity when the BMI is at least 30 kg/m². The growing number of people who are overweight - sometimes significantly - is widely recognized as one of the greatest challenges for the health systems of industrialized countries. With regard to Germany, Konnopka and colleagues (2009) estimated the direct and indirect costs of overweight and obesity in 2002 at a total of 9.87 billion euros. In a recently published update of this study for 2008, medical costs of 16.80 billion euros (12.24 billion of which were only for obesity) were estimated (Lehnert et al. 2015).
24.07.2017
The aging of our population is now accepted as an important issue at a political level - especially at a health policy level. The great burden on social systems is due, among other things, to the fact that older patients are known to be sicker than younger ones [an 80-year-old has on average just over three relevant diagnoses (van den Akker et al. 1998)], each of which is treated according to the applicable guidelines become. This results in so-called polypharmacy (at least five drugs): In the USA, men over 65 years old take five or more drugs in 44% cases, women in 57% cases, and even ten or more drugs in 12% cases (Kaufman et al. 2001). In Germany, a third of patients over 62 receive more than five medications daily (Barmer GEK Drug Regulation Report 2013). Drug side effects – particularly, of course, in these polypharmacy patients – are now the fourth most common cause of death in the United States (Light 2010).
03.04.2017
Individual lifestyles, living conditions, coping potential, adequate medical and social care, prevention and rehabilitation influence both the state of health, quality of life and well-being in old age as well as the costs incurred in the medical and nursing sectors. Geriatric patients have a higher risk of hospitalization and usually suffer not only from a chronic illness, but from other (co-)morbidities. Cross-indication, preventative geriatric case management is a promising approach to improving the quality of life and self-management skills of those affected and at the same time reducing hospital expenses.