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| Nutrition
Therapy |
Introduction
Nutrition services provided by a
registered dietitian can save money for Medicare and improve health care
outcomes for patients according to this study.
While studies show nutrition care improves health
care outcomes for many diseases, including diabetes and cardiovascular disease,
there is little information about the cost of providing these services.
Nutrition therapy was not significantly
associated with reduced use of hospital outpatient services. Nutrition therapy
for kidney patients was not associated with any significant change in use of
any of these health services. With just over 3,000 patients, this group may
have been to small for accurate projections.
Existing Data Base Used for Study
Researchers analyzed data from the Group Health Cooperative of Puget Sound
(GHC). GHC is a health maintenance organization (HMO) that covers about 53,000
Medicare enrollees.
Access to nutrition services at GHC is similar to
the services that patients would receive under the Medical Nutrition Therapy
Act, and therefore can serve as an estimate of providing this service to the
entire Medicare population.
Persons 55 years and older with kidney
disease (n=3,328), diabetes (n 12,308) or cardiovascular disease (n=10,895) who
were covered under GHC were selected for the study. This group included
Medicare beneficiaries.
Cost Benefits Researchers looked at significant
changes in physician visits, hospital admissions and hospital outpatient
visits. They found that persons with diabetes had 9.5% fewer hospital
admissions and 23.5% fewer visits to their physician's office. Patients with
cardiovascular disease had 8.6% fewer hospital admissions and 16.9% fewer
visits to their physician.
Nutrition therapy was not significantly
associated with reduced use of hospital outpatient services. Nutrition therapy
for kidney patients was not associated with any significant change in use of
any of these health services. With just over 3,000 patients, this group may
have been to small for accurate projections.
Researchers estimate the
cost of providing nutrition services to be $2.7 billion, which would be offset
by and estimated savings of $2.3 billion and a resulting net cost of $369.7
billion between 1998 and 2004. When breaking down the cost compared to savings
on a year-by-year basis, the program would actually yield savings after the
third year and continue through 2004 and beyond.
Relevance for Health Care
Consumers
This
study provides background information that consumers and Medicare patients can
use to advocate for nutrition services as part of Medicare.
Patients and who have access to nutrition services
provided by a registered dietitian or other qualified nutrition professional,
can benefit in improved health outcomes and therefore, a higher quality of
life. Individuals with diseases that respond to nutrition therapy, should make
sure they receive appropriate nutrition counseling from a registered dietitian
or other qualified nutrition professional. |
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