Landmark Study Finds MDVIP Reduces Hospital Utilization
For patients hoping a better relationship with their primary care doctor will make them healthier and keep them out of the hospital, the evidence is in. A landmark new study of personalized, preventive primary care medicine finds that a model like MDVIP can significantly reduce hospital visits and costs. Patients say it even improves their quality of life.
The two-year study explored preventive healthcare’s ability to improve outcomes by creating a closer, personalized physician-patient relationship and focusing on disease prevention for Medicare Advantage.
It’s long been known that patients of MDVIP (Value In Prevention) -affiliated physicians often enjoy improved care at greater savings to the healthcare system. This includes heightened attention to heart disease, diabetes, COPD, obesity and other chronic illnesses.
When compared to their counterparts in traditional primary care practices, the 2,300 MDVIP patients studied enjoyed a host of tangible, life-changing and financial benefits. In the first year alone, there was a 20% reduction in emergency room visits for MDVIP members, as compared to non-members. The second year of the study saw a reduction of 24%. The study also found a 19% decrease in the number of inpatient admissions for MDVIP members over the course of two years, when compared to their counterparts in traditional primary care practices.
This study proves that the MDVIP model alone can achieve remarkable outcomes. Layer in the physician component, and the results are even greater.
The MDVIP model also was shown to have saved some $3.7 million in reduced medical utilization for the 2,300 MDVIP Medicare Advantage patients over two years. Savings were $86.68 per patient per month in year one, and $47.03 per patient per month in year two, compared with patients who did not join an MDVIP practice.
The implications for older populations are clear, says Dr. Andrea Klemes, the Chief Medical Officer of MDVIP, who helped conduct the peer-reviewed study.
“As more and more people enter into Medicare and Medicare Advantage plans, MDVIP is a great option for patients,” reports Dr. Klemes, who worked with fellow researchers Shirley Musich, PhD; Michael Kubica, MBA, MS; Sara Wang, PhD; and Kevin Hawkins, PhD. “We have proven that we identify early health risk, utilize more preventive services and have better patient outcomes than conventional medicine.”
The new research, conducted by UnitedHealth Group division OptumInsight and appearing in the August 2014 issue of American Journal of Managed Care, is consistent with other published findings.
“MDVIP physicians have demonstrated significant cost savings versus a control group of conventional practices,” the Journal previously noted in 2012.
The study showed that patients who transitioned with their physicians into an MDVIP model capped at 600 patients, as opposed to the 3,000 patients of the average physician, received better-managed and more preventive care, especially for chronic diseases. They also enjoyed greater healthcare savings.