Search

BackgroundElectronic patient portals may enhance effective interaction between the patient and the health care provider. To grasp the full potential of patient portals, health care providers need more knowledge on which patient groups prefer electronic services and how patients should be served through this channel. ObjectiveThe objective of this study was to assess how chronically ill patients’ state of health, comorbidities, and previous care are associated with their adoption and use of a patient portal. MethodsA total of 222 chronically ill patients, who were offered access to a patient portal with their health records and secure messaging with care professionals, were included in the study. Differences in the characteristics of non-users, viewers, and interactive users of the patient portal were analyzed before access to the portal. Patients’ age, gender, diagnoses, levels of the relevant physiological measurements, health care contacts, and received physiological measurements were collected from the care provider’s electronic health record. In addition, patient-reported health and patient activation were assessed by a survey. ResultsDespite the broad range of measures used to indicate the patients’ state of health, the portal user groups differed only in their recorded diagnosis for hypertension, which was most common in the non-user group. However, there were significant differences in the amount of care received during the year before access to the portal. The non-user group had more nurse visits and more measurements of relevant physiological outcomes than viewers and interactive users. They also had fewer referrals to specialized care during the year before access to the portal than the two other groups. The viewers and the interactive users differed from each other significantly in the number of nurse calls received, the interactive users having more calls than the viewers. No significant differences in age, gender, or patient activation were detected between the user groups. ConclusionsPrevious care received by the patient is an important predictor for the use of a patient portal. In a group of patients with a similar disease burden, demand for different types of health services and preferences related to the service channel seem to contribute to the choice to use the patient portal. Further research on patient portal functionalities and their potential to meet patient needs by complementing or substituting for traditional health care services is suggested.

BackgroundIt has been suggested that providing patients with access to their medical records and secure messaging with health care professionals improves health outcomes in chronic care by encouraging and activating patients to manage their own condition. ObjectivesThe aim was to evaluate the effect of access to a patient portal on patient activation among chronically ill patients. Further, the relationship between temporal proximity of a severe diagnosis and patient activation were assessed. MethodsA total of 876 chronically ill patients from public primary care were allocated to either an intervention group receiving immediate access to a patient portal that included their medical records, care plan, and secure messaging with a care team, or to a control group receiving usual care. Patient Activation Measure (PAM) at baseline and at 6-month follow-up was obtained from 80 patients in the intervention group and 57 patients in the control group; thus, a total of 137 patients were included in the final analysis. ResultsNo significant effect of access to patient portal on patient activation was detected in this study (F1,133=1.87, P=.17, η2=0.01). Patients starting at a lower level of activation demonstrated greater positive change in activation compared to patients starting at higher levels of activation in both the intervention and control groups. Further, patients diagnosed with a severe diagnosis during the intervention showed greater positive change in patient activation compared to patients whose last severe diagnosis was made more than 2 years ago. The results also suggest that the intervention had greatest effect on patients starting at the highest level of patient activation (difference in change of patient activation=4.82, P=.13), and among patients diagnosed within a year of the intervention (difference in change of patient activation=7.65, P=.12). ConclusionsTime since last severe diagnosis and patient activation at baseline may affect changes in patient activation, suggesting that these should be considered in evaluation of activating chronic care interventions and in the specification of possible target groups for these interventions. This may be relevant in designing services for a heterogeneous group of patients with a distinct medical history and level of activation.

Background: Little is known how individual time-in-therapeutic-range (TTR) impacts the effectiveness and safety of warfarin therapy compared to direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF). Objective: To compare the effectiveness and safety of standard dose DOACs to warfarin in patients with AF, while categorizing warfarin treated patients into quartiles based on their individual TTR. Materials and methods: We conducted a nationwide study including all patients with new-onset AF between 2011 and 2018 in Finland. Hazard ratios (HR) were calculated using Cox regression analysis with the inverse probability of treatment weighted method to assess the risks of ischaemic stroke (IS), intracranial haemorrhage (ICH) and mortality for users of apixaban (n = 12,426), dabigatran (n = 4545), rivaroxaban (n = 12,950) and warfarin (n = 43,548). Results: The median TTR for warfarin users was 72%. Compared to the second best TTR quartile (reference), the risk of IS was higher in the two poorest TTR quartiles, and lower in the best TTR quartile and on rivaroxaban [2.35 (95% confidence interval, 1.85-2.85), 1.44 (1.18-1.75), 0.60 (0.47-0.77) and 0.72 (0.56-0.92)]. These differences were non-significant for apixaban and dabigatran. HR of ICH was 6.38 (4.88-8.35) and 1.87 (1.41-2.49) in the two poorest TTR groups, 1.44 (1.02-1.93) on rivaroxaban, and 0.58 (0.40-0.85) in the best TTR group compared to the reference group. Mortality was higher in the two poorest TTR groups and lowest in the best TTR group. Conclusions: The outcome was unsatisfactory in the two lowest TTR quartiles - in half of the patients treated with warfarin. The differences between the high TTR groups and standard dose DOACs were absent or modest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: Rural–urban disparities have been reported in the outcomes of cardiovascular diseases. We assessed whether rural–urban or other geographical disparities exist in the risk of ischemic stroke (IS) and death in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) in Finland. Methods: The registry-based FinACAF cohort study covers all patients with AF from all levels of care in Finland from 2007 to 2018. Patients were divided into rural–urban categories and into hospital districts (HDs) based on their municipality of residence. Results: We identified 222,051 patients (50.1% female; mean age 72.8 years; mean follow-up 3.9 years) with new-onset AF, of whom 15,567 (7.0%) patients suffered IS and 72,565 (32.7%) died during follow-up. The crude IS rate was similar between rural and urban areas, whereas the mortality rate was lower in urban areas (incidence rate ratios (IRRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) 0.97 (0.93–1.00) and 0.92 (0.91–0.93), respectively). However, after adjustments, urban residence was associated with slightly higher IS and mortality rates (IRRs with 95% CIs 1.05 (1.01–1.08) and 1.06 (1.04–1.07), respectively). The highest crude IS rate was in the East Savo HD and the lowest in Åland, whereas the highest crude mortality rate was in the Länsi-Pohja HD and the lowest in the North Ostrobothnia HD (IRRs with 95% CIs compared to Helsinki and Uusimaa HD for IS 1.46 (1.28–1.67) and 0.79 (0.62–1.01), and mortality 1.24 (1.16–1.32) and 0.97 (0.93–1.00), respectively. Conclusions: Rural–urban differences in prognosis of AF in Finland appear minimal, whereas considerable disparities exist between HDs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims Atrial fibrillation (AF) patients frequently require active rhythm control therapy to maintain sinus rhythm and reduce symptom burden. Our study assessed whether antiarrhythmic therapies (AATs) are used disproportionately between men and women after new-onset AF. Methods and results The nationwide Finnish anticoagulation in AF registry-based linkage study covers all patients with new-onset AF in Finland during 2007–2018. Study outcomes included initiation of AATs in the form of antiarrhythmic drugs (AADs), cardioversion, or catheter ablation. The study population constituted of 229 565 patients (50% females). Women were older than men (76.6 ± 11.8 vs. 68.9 ± 13.4 years) and had higher prevalence of hypertension or hyperthyroidism, but lower prevalence of vascular disease, diabetes, renal disease, and cardiomyopathies than men. Overall, 17.6% of women and 25.1% of men were treated with any AAT. Women were treated with AADs more often than men in all age groups [adjusted subdistribution hazard ratio (aSHR) 1.223, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.187–1.261]. Cardioversions were also performed less often on women than on men aged <65 years (aSHR 0.722, 95% CI 0.695–0.749), more often in patients ≥ 75 years (aSHR 1.166, 95% CI 1.108–1.227), while no difference between the sexes existed in patients aged 65–74 years. Ablations were performed less often in women aged <65 years (aSHR 0.908, 95% CI 0.826–0.998) and ≥75 years (aSHR 0.521, 95% CI 0.354–0.766), whereas there was no difference in patients aged 65–74 years. Conclusion Women used more AAD than men in all age groups but underwent fewer cardioversion and ablation procedures when aged <65 years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: The Finnish dental care market operates as a dual system, divided between a regulated, affordable public sector and a less regulated, more expensive private sector that receives public subsidies. In 2015 and 2016, two policy interventions were introduced to reduce these subsidies for private dental services. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of these policy changes on the dental care market. Methods: This study was a realist evaluation. Context‐Intervention‐Mechanism‐Outcome‐configurations were applied to elicit an initial program theory (IPT) for the policy interventions. The IPT allowed a complicated system to be reduced to the main components, allowing for better understanding of the underlying mechanisms and the chain of events started by the interventions. The resulting hypotheses about the chain of events and outcomes were tested against a dataset collected from the Social Insurance Institution of Finland (SII) registries on public and private dental visits in the cities of Espoo, Helsinki and Oulu during the years 2010–2016. The used dataset consisted of N = 17 111 625 dental procedures or N = 8 139 990 individual visits (which can include several procedures) at a public (n = 9 097 407 procedures, n = 4 083 475 visits) or a private (n = 8 014 218 procedures or n = 4 056 515 visits) dental clinic. The system was studied during three time periods related to the two interventions in 2015 and in 2016. Changes were evaluated by statistically analysing changes in several key metrics: mean subsidy, mean out‐of‐pocket price, mean (non‐subsidized) price, number of patients treated, number of professionals, procedures per professional, Case‐Mix adjusted procedures per professional, patient‐to‐professional ratio, total procedures. Results: The 2015 and 2016 reductions to the subsidization of private dental care reduced the average subsidies paid to the private dental sector by 49% [−49.1, −38.8]. A 26% [25.2, 26.7] increase in the out‐of‐pocket price paid in the private sector was observed. Over the 2 years, 12.2% of patients left the private sector and an increase of 13% was observed in the number of patients treated in the public sector. The public sector increased its number of dental care professionals by 2.3% and the patient‐to‐professional ratio increased by 9.9% over the 2 years, while the private sector lost 4.6% of its dental care professionals and increased its prices by 4.0% [3.5, 4.5]. Conclusions: The policy changes had tangible effects on both the private and public sectors of the Finnish dental care market. By reducing subsidies, the private sector became more expensive for patients, causing many to transition to the public sector for their dental needs. While the public sector increased its capacity to accommodate the rise in patients, the demand still outpaced the growth in professionals, hinting at capacity or resource constraints in the public sector. The results also show initial evidence that contrary to the objectives, the policy changes increased the cost to the public sector as subsidized patient cared for in the private sector costs less to the government than treating that same patient in the public sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims Elective cardioversion (ECV) is routinely used in atrial fibrillation (AF) to restore sinus rhythm. However, it includes a risk of thromboembolism even during adequate oral anticoagulation treatment. The aim of this study was to evaluate the risk of thromboembolic and bleeding complications after ECV in a real-life setting utilizing data from a large AF population. Methods and results This nationwide register-based study included all (n = 9625) Finnish AF patients undergoing their first-ever ECV between 2012 and 2018. The thromboembolic and bleeding complications within 30 days after ECV were analysed. The mean age of the patients was 67.7 ± 9.9 years, 61.2% were men, and the mean CHA2DS2-VASc score was 2.6 ± 1.6. Warfarin was used in 6245 (64.9%) and non-vitamin K oral anticoagulants (NOACs) in 3380 (35.1%) cardioversions. Fifty-two (0.5%) thromboembolic complications occurred, of which 62% were ischaemic strokes, 25% transient ischaemic attacks, and 13% other systemic embolisms. Thromboembolic events occurred in 14 (0.4%) NOAC-treated patients and in 38 (0.6%) warfarin-treated patients (odds ratio 0.77; confidence interval: 0.42–1.39). The median time from ECV to the thromboembolic event was 2 days, and 78% of the events occurred within 10 days. Age and alcohol abuse were significant predictors of thromboembolic events. Among warfarin users, thromboembolic complications were more common with international normalized ratio (INR) <2.5 than INR ≥2.5 (0.9% vs. 0.4%, P = 0.026). Overall, 27 (0.3%) bleeding events occurred. Conclusion The rate of thromboembolic and bleeding complications related to ECV was low without significant difference between NOAC- and warfarin-treated patients. With warfarin, INR ≥2.5 at the time of cardioversion reduced the risk of thromboembolic complications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: To investigate sex‐specific temporal trends in the initiation of oral anticoagulant (OAC) therapy among patients diagnosed with atrial fibrillation (AF) in Finland between 2007 and 2018. Methods: The registry‐linkage Finnish AntiCoagulation in Atrial Fibrillation (FinACAF) Study included all patients with incident AF in Finland from 2007 to 2018. The primary outcome was the initiation of any OAC therapy. Results: We identified 229,565 patients with new‐onset AF (50.0% women; mean age 72.7 years). The initiation of OAC therapy increased continuously during the observation period. While women were more likely to receive OAC therapy overall, after adjusting for age, stroke risk factors and other confounding factors, female sex was associated with a marginally lower initiation of OACs (unadjusted and adjusted hazard ratios comparing women to men: 1.08 (1.07–1.10) and 0.97 (0.96–0.98), respectively). Importantly, the gender disparities in OAC use attenuated and reached parity by the end of the observation period. Furthermore, when only patients eligible for OAC therapy according to the contemporary guidelines were included in the analyses, the gender inequalities in OAC initiation appeared minimal. Implementation of direct OACs for stroke prevention was slightly slower among women. Conclusion: This nationwide retrospective cohort study covering all patients with incident AF in Finland from 2007 to 2018 observed that although female sex was initially associated with a lower initiation of OAC therapy, the sex‐related disparities resolved over the course of the study period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]