Integrated care reduces hospital visits for adults with disabilities
· News-MedicalPublished in Disability and Health Journal, their study found that adults with developmental disabilities may be better served using integrated care health centers that co-locate physical and mental health services
The retrospective cross-sectional study looked at inpatient and outpatient encounters of 6,706 adults with developmental disabilities from 2022 to 2023 who were patients at two healthcare models offered at the University of Cincinnati and its affiliated academic health system, UC Health.
Researchers found that adults with developmental disabilities who were engaged in an integrated psychiatric and primary care model had 50% lower odds of presenting to an emergency department and 38% lower odds of requiring hospitalization for all causes. Odds of the patients being referred to psychiatric emergency department use were 72% lower for patients using the integrated care model, according to the study.
"We are trying to find a better and more effective way to provide care for adults with disabilities, many of whom are transitioning from the pediatric healthcare system," explains Corey Keeton, associate professor in the Department of Family and Community Medicine and also in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences. "The adult healthcare system is very different from the pediatric system and is much more limited in terms of resources."
"Our vision with the Freeman Center is to build an environment that provides adults with disabilities the support they need to address their mental and physical health. We aspire to build a true level of integrated services that meets the unique needs of the community," says Keeton.
"We want patients to feel supported within and outside the four walls of our office. Our team works to provide wrap-around services for our patients, including primary care, psychiatric medication management, psychologic testing, behavioral health care management, counseling, behavioral intervention support, and community navigation.
"Hopefully more places will think about using integrated care models to serve adults with disabilities," says Keeton. "We want the Freeman Center to serve as an example of how things could be and want to support those working within more traditional models, which is essential to improving access to care."
"These findings are exciting and suggest the potential of integrated care to support the physical and mental health of adults with developmental disabilities," says Gilmore. "However, the study was cross-sectional, and much work remains to more thoroughly understand relationships between integrated care and service utilization."
Other study co-authors include Emily Johnson, MD; Aurora Rivendale, MD, assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioral neuroscience at UC; Lauren Wing, MD, associate professor of family medicine at UC and medical director of the Timothy Freeman Center.
Additional co-authors include Susan Havercamp, PhD, professor of psychiatry and behavioral health at Ohio State University; Lindy Weaver, PhD, associate professor of occupational therapy at Ohio State University; Ingrid Adams, professor of medical dietrics at Ohio State University; and Brittany Hand, PhD, associate professor of internal medicine at Ohio State University.
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