Effect of a Billing Code to Reimburse Nurse‐Supported Rheumatology Care on Health Care Costs and Access: An Interrupted Time Series Analysis
Authors' conclusion
The introduction of the MCA code was associated with a negligible increase in the RA-related costs and an improvement in access to ongoing care for patients.
Study context
- Population
- All people treated by rheumatologists in British Columbia, April 1, 2006, to March 31, 2020; 48-month period (24 months before and after index date)
- Participants
- 46 rheumatologists
- Exposure
- Rheumatologists billing the Multidisciplinary Care Assessment (MCA) code vs never-billers
- Outcome
- Cost outcomes (RA-related costs; total health care costs) and access outcomes (rheumatology-related visits per rheumatologist; days between rheumatology visits for patients with RA)
Methodological detailspopulation-based, linked health administrative databases, controlled (ever-billers vs never-billers)
- Population-based
- Linked health administrative databases
- Controlled (ever-billers vs never-billers)
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
RA-related costs, net absolute change · 2 years
Small but significant increase in RA-related costs, net absolute change per patient per month
$9.66
Net absolute reduction in median days between rheumatologist visits for patients with RA at 2 years
6.3 days
Observational data: associations, not effects.
Parts of this Brief are withheld: the automatic checks could not confirm them against the abstract.
Original publication
Effect of a Billing Code to Reimburse Nurse‐Supported Rheumatology Care on Health Care Costs and Access: An Interrupted Time Series Analysis. Arthritis Care Res (Hoboken). Published 27 March 2024. doi:10.
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