Effects of an Alzheimer's and Dementia Care Co-management Program on Quality, Clinical Outcomes, and Utilization.

BACKGROUND: The quality of care provided to persons living with dementia (PLWD) and their care partners (CPs) is low, clinical outcomes are poor, and costs are high. Co-management of dementia care by Advance Practice Providers (APPs) has the potential to improve all of these metrics.

METHOD: The UCLA Alzheimer's and Dementia Care (ADC) Program is a health system-based co-management model of APP Specialists (DCSs) working with primary care and specialty physicians that is designed to meet dementia care needs. DCSs approach the PLWD and CP as a dyad, providing support, including community-based resources, to both; behavioral and medication management; and care coordination. The program has provided dementia care for over 3400 PLWD and has a current census of over 750 PLWD who are cared for by 4 nurse practitioner DCSs.

RESULT: Quality of care based on established dementia quality indicators assessed by medical record review was 92%. Based on an analysis of the first 1091 PLWD and their CPs, prior to entering our program, many caregivers were poorly informed about dementia caregiving and felt they were fighting this battle alone. One-third had high stress and more than 10 percent were depressed. By the end of a year in the program, confidence in handling problems and complications of Alzheimer's disease and dementia improved by 72 percent. CP strain (Modified Caregiver Strain Index), distress (Neuropsychological Inventory-Distress), and depression (PHQ-9) were reduced (all P<0.001). Moreover, the program reduced emergency department visits by 20%, days spent in the hospital by 26%, admissions to nursing homes for long-term care by 40%, (all P<0.05) and overall Medicare costs by $2404 per person/year. The ADC Program has been disseminated to 18 sites nationwide and more than 5000 PLWD and their CPs have received ADC care.

CONCLUSION: Dementia co-management with APPs can improve quality and clinical outcomes and reduce health care utilization and costs. The ADC Program can be implemented in diverse health systems indicating the potential for widespread dissemination.