Abstract
Introduction:The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has reported downward trends in life expectancy and racial/ethnic differences between 2014 and 2017.Objective:To determine the life expectancy of the Kaiser Permanente Mid-Atlantic States (KPMAS) insured population as compared to the CDC National Vital Statistics data from 2014 to 2017. We also aimed to highlight the utilization of membership data to inform population statistical estimates such as life expectancy. We examine whether national trends in life expectancy are reflected in an insured population with relatively uniform access to care.Methods:This retrospective, data only study examined life expectancy between 2014 and 2017. Data from electronic medical records and the National Death Index were combined to construct complete life tables by race and sex for the KPMAS population, which was compared to the CDC National Vital Statistics data.Results:From 2014 to 2017, the overall KPMAS population life expectancy at birth varied between 84.6 and 85.2 years compared to the CDC reported national average of 78.6-78.9 years (p < 0.001). While the CDC dataset reported a 3.5- to 3.7-year life expectancy gap between non-Hispanic White and non-Hispanic Black populations, in the KPMAS population, this gap was significantly smaller (0.0-0.9 years). The gap in life expectancy between males and females was consistent across KPMAS and the CDC data; however, overall KPMAS male and female patient life expectancy was extended in comparison.Conclusion:Among members who disclosed their race/ethnicity, KPMAS Hispanic, non-Hispanic Black, and non-Hispanic White members had significantly higher life expectancies than the CDC dataset in all years reported.
Highlights
The patient-centered medical home model stresses the importance of team-based care as a foundation to improving care, costs, and patient experience
Enhancing Medical assistants (MAs) training and competencies is widely recognized as an important part of advancing team-based care
New programs like the National Institute for Medical Assistant Advancement38 are creating partnerships between education and practice to enhance training and skills. It is largely incumbent on individual health care organizations to train MAs to have a more impactful role in the clinic if they want to deliver on the benefits of team-based care
Summary
The patient-centered medical home model stresses the importance of team-based care as a foundation to improving care, costs, and patient experience. Emerging evidence indicates that teams can bolster access to care and more effective engagement of practice members in continuous quality improvement (QI).17 Bringing these promising outcomes to fruition requires substantive work for practices that are not organized in this way.. Life expectancy has long been used as a population-based indicator of health as it reflects improvements and changes in public health, health care, economic conditions, and social factors.. The complexity of chronic non-cancer pain in the setting of regulatory efforts to curb opioid usage presents a novel challenge for the medical community Much of this burden falls on primary care clinics. Case presentation: We describe a 66-year-old woman with a significant past medical history of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and asthma who presented with hypoxia after completing radiotherapy for breast cancer. Despite the mounting evidence on fasting, little is known on its physiological effects in humans as most of the studies on physiological effects are done in animals
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