Browsing by Author "Zamorano, Paula"

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    Cost analysis of chronic pain due to musculoskeletal disorders in Chile
    (2022) Espinoza, Manuel A.; Bilbeny, Norberto; Abbott, Tomas; Carcamo, Cesar; Zitko, Pedro; Zamorano, Paula; Balmaceda, Carlos
    The magnitude of the cost of chronic pain has been a matter of concern in many countries worldwide. The high prevalence, the cost it implies for the health system, productivity, and absenteeism need to be addressed urgently. Studies have begun describing this problem in Chile, but there is still a debt in highlighting its importance and urgency on contributing to chronic pain financial coverage. This study objective is to estimate the expected cost of chronic pain and its related musculoskeletal diseases in the Chilean adult population. We conducted a mathematical decision model exercise, Markov Model, to estimate costs and consequences. Patients were classified into severe, moderate, and mild pain groups, restricted to five diseases: knee osteoarthritis, hip osteoarthritis, lower back pain, shoulder pain, and fibromyalgia. Data analysis considered a set of transition probabilities to estimate the total cost, sick leave payment, and productivity losses. Results show that the total annual cost for chronic pain in Chile is USD 943,413,490, corresponding an 80% to the five diseases studied. The highest costs are related to therapeutic management, followed by productivity losses and sick leave days. Low back pain and fibromyalgia are both the costlier chronic pain-related musculoskeletal diseases. We can conclude that the magnitude of the cost in our country's approach to chronic pain is related to increased productivity losses and sick leave payments. Incorporating actions to ensure access and financial coverage and new care strategies that reorganize care delivery to more integrated and comprehensive care could potentially impact costs in both patients and the health system. Finally, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic will probably deepen even more this problem.
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    Cost-Effectiveness of Mepolizumab Add-On in the Treatment of Severe Eosinophilic Asthma in Chile
    (2023) Abbott, Tomas; Balmaceda, Carlos; Zamorano, Paula; Giglio, Andres; Espinoza, Manuel
    Objective: Asthma is one of the 4 leading causes of death worldwide. Severe asthma is associated with poor quality of life, decreased life expectancy, and higher health resources consumption such as the use of oral corticosteroids (OCSs). This study aimed to assess the cost-effectiveness of mepolizumab as an add-on compared with the standard care of the Chilean public health system (combined inhaled corticosteroid therapy and a long-acting beta-agonist, short-acting beta-agonist, and OCS).Materials and Methods: A Markov model was adapted to represent the day-to-day of patients with severe asthma over a lifetime horizon. Deterministic and probabilistic sensitivity analyses were performed to account for the second-order uncertainty of the model. In addition, a risk subgroup analysis was conducted to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of mepolizumab across different risk populations. Results: Mepolizumab produces more benefits than standard of care alone (1 additional quality-adjusted life-year, a decrease of OCS usage, an approximated 11 avoided exacerbations) but it cannot be considered cost-effective in the light of the Chilean threshold (incremental cost-effectiveness ratio: US dollars [USD] 105 967/quality-adjusted life-year vs USD 14896). Despite this, cost-effectiveness increases in specific subgroups, with an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of USD 44 819 in patients with eosinophil count $ 300 cell/mcL and exacerbation history of at least 4 exacerbations in the past year.Conclusion: Mepolizumab cannot be considered a cost-effective strategy for the Chilean health system. Nevertheless, price discount in specific subgroups improves its cost-effectiveness profile significantly and may offer opportunities for access to specific subgroups.
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    Effect of COVID-19 pandemic on the implementation of a multimorbidity person-centered care model: A qualitative study from health teams' perspective
    (2022) Zamorano, Paula; Tellez, Alvaro; Munoz, Paulina; Sapag, Jaime C.; Martinez, Mayra
    The COVID-19 pandemic has abruptly changed care priority and delivery, delaying others like the multimorbidity approach. The Centro de Innovacio ' n en Salud ANCORA UC, the Health National Fund, and the Servicio de Salud Metropolitano Sur Oriente implemented a Multimorbidity Patient-Centered Care Model as a pilot study in the public health network from 2017 to 2020. Its objective was to reorganize the single diagnosis standard care into a new one based on multimorbidity integrated care. It included incorporating new roles, services, and activities according to each patient's risk stratification. This study aims to describe the perception of the health care teams regarding the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on four main topics: how the COVID-19 pandemic affected the MCPM implementation, how participants adapted it, lessons learned, and recommendations for sustainability. We conducted a qualitative study with 35 semi-structured interviews between October and December 2020. Data analysis was codified, triangulated, and consolidated using MAXQDA 2020. Results showed that the pandemic paused the total of the implementation practically. Positive effects were the improvement of remote health care services, the activation of selfmanagement, and the cohesion of the teamwork. In contrast, frequent abrupt changes and reorganization forced by pandemic evolution were negative effects. This study revealed the magnitude of the pandemic in the cancelation of health services and identified the urgent need to restart chronic services incorporating patient-centered care in our system.
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    Evaluation of a Transitional Care Strategy Implemented in Adults With High-Risk and Multimorbidity in Chile
    (2023) Varela, Teresita; Zamorano, Paula; Munoz, Paulina; Espinoza, Manuel; Tellez, Alvaro; Irazoqui, Esteban; Suarez, Francisco
    Objectives: Fragmentation of continuity of care impacts the health system's efficiency and increases inequity. It severely affects high-risk patients with multimorbidity, requiring coordinated care to avoid preventable complications. The Centro de Fund, implemented a transitional care strategy for high-risk adults with multimorbidity at 3 hospitals in the southeast of Santiago. The study aimed to evaluate the impact on length of hospital stay, consultations with primary care physicians and contacts after discharge, and also to describe the implementation process of the transition nurse activities.Methods: A cohort study was performed between 2017 and 2019, with 137 hospitalizations from exposed patients and 167 hospitalizations from unexposed patients. The results of the study showed a significant decrease in the length of hospital stays and an increase in consultations with physicians.Results: The results of the implementation process showed that the transition nurse followed-up in a mean of 24 hospitalizations monthly, and 91% of the discharged patients were contacted via the telephone within 7 days. The implementation process showed that the transition nurse's tasks merged with the daily clinical activities in which training on case management, transition care, and continuous support were key aspects of success.Conclusion: We conclude that transitional care intervention has a strong potential in addressing fragmentation of care and is feasible to install and sustain over time in the Chilean context. Finally, this study provides a detailed description of the intervention strategy contributing to its spread and scale-up.
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    Evaluation of patients´ perspective on a multimorbidity patient-centered care model piloted in the chilean public health system
    (2023) Sapag Muñoz de la Peña, Jaime; Martínez Pérez, Mayra Alicia; Zamorano, Paula; Varela, Teresita; Téllez, Álvaro; Irazoqui Soto, Esteban; Muñoz C., Paulina
    Background The progressive multimorbidity explosion has challenged Chile’s health systems and worldwide. The Centro de Innovación en Salud ANCORA UC implemented a new Multimorbidity Patient-Centered Care Model in Chile. Objective Evaluate the perspective of high-risk patients about the core elements of the model. Methodology We conducted a cross sectional telephone-based survey that considered the application of a 13 items questionnaire. Of them, nine were Likert scale questions with scores from 1 to 7, one dichotomic question, and three open-ended questions. 231 high-risk patients who received care through the model at primary care centers participated in the study. Quantitative data were encoded, consolidated, and analyzed with the SPSS software. We performed descriptive and analytic statistics techniques to assess different variables and their potential associations. Thematic analysis was conducted for qualitative data. Results The overall score was 5.84 (range: 1 to 7), with a standard deviation of 1.25. Questions with the best scores were those related with personalized care and the primary care teams. The lowest scored was for the item regarding the continuity of care between primary nurses and inpatient care at the hospital. There was a difference in patient outcomes depending on their health center. Regarding sociodemographic characteristics, age did not significantly affect the results. Conclusions The study reveals the perceptions about a complex multimorbidity intervention from the patient’s perspective. It complements the impact on health services utilization evaluation that supports decision-makers currently scaling up a similar strategy in our country and could be considered in other countries dealing with non-communicable diseases.
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    Evaluation of the Health Technology Assessment Process of the Financial Protection System for High-Cost Diagnoses and Treatments in Chile (Ricarte Soto Law)
    (2022) Armijo, Nicolas; Espinoza, Manuel; Zamorano, Paula; Lahoz, Daniela; Yanez, Tamara; Balmaceda, Carlos
    Objectives: In Chile, Ricarte Soto Law defines a financial protection system for high-cost health technologies through a process of prioritization and evaluation of health technologies (ETESA). This study aims to evaluate the ETESA process in terms of its technical content and its coherence with the Chilean regulatory framework. Methodology: This is a documentary review of 34 reports prepared by the Ministry of Health. A data extraction matrix was applied to evaluate the elements in content and process. The analysis evaluated technical errors, process inconsistencies, and disagreements in interpreting results.Results: From 98 technologies, 59 were considered favorable, and 25 received coverage. A total of 20 inconsistencies were identified in the evaluation process, and 39 disagreements were documented on interpreting the results and technical errors. In the prioritization stage, we identified controversies in 44 technologies.Conclusion: The ETESA process of the Ricarte Soto Law is generally consistent with the regulations. Nevertheless, weaknesses persist in both technical and procedural terms. It is expected that the regulatory entity can use these results to implement the necessary improvements
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    Impact evaluation of an interdisciplinary approach to patients with chronic non-cancer pain in Chilean primary care
    (2025) Zamorano, Paula; Varela Yuraszeck, Teresita Ines; Salvatierra Matzner, Isidora; Tellez, Álvaro; Espinoza Sepúlveda, Manuel Antonio; Torres Riveros, Gustavo Andrés; Rodríguez, Victoria; Figueroa, María José; Rodríguez, Alejandro; Figueroa, Denisse; Silva, Leonardo; Salazar, Sheila; Lucero, Víctor; Suarez, Francisco
    Introduction Chronic non-cancer pain affects one-third of the global population. In Chile, its prevalence is estimated at 34%, surpassing the prevalence of diabetes mellitus and hypertension. Its high costs reveal that clinical treatment causes the greatest economic impact, followed by days of work absenteeism. Objective This study aims to evaluate the impact on resource consumption, quality of life, and pain perception in patients with CNCP, an interdisciplinary approach implemented in Chilean primary care public health. Methods A concurrent cohort study was conducted with patients aged 25 to 64 with chronic non-cancer musculoskeletal pain. The population studied was 698 patients receiving primary health services in centers with similar size and territorial proximity. The clinical intervention introduced patient-centered care, psychotherapy and physiotherapy from the perspective of the neuroscience of pain. The impact analysis was conducted using negative binomial regression models, generalized linear models, and ordered logistic regressions. Results Results show that the patients who were intervened increased the number of physician consultations at primary care (IRR: 1.56; 95% CI 1.30–1.87) and increased medication consumption (coef 2.38; 95% CI 2.10–2.67) compared to control patients. Intervened patients improved their quality of life (COEF 0.14; 95% CI 0.09–0.19), and pain perception was statistically significant. Despite the health system’s structural, cultural, and organizational barriers, the intervention was implemented and consolidated in daily operation, providing learnings for a further scale-up. Conclusion The study demonstrates that an interdisciplinary approach to chronic non-cancer pain management in Chilean primary care improves quality of life and pain perception while increasing healthcare resource use. Despite system barriers, the intervention was successfully implemented and sustained within patient-centered care. These findings highlight the need for resource reallocation to ensure long-term sustainability and scalability through the public health system.
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    Impact of a high-risk multimorbidity integrated care implemented at the public health system in Chile
    (2022) Zamorano, Paula; Munoz, Paulina; Espinoza, Manuel; Tellez, Alvaro; Varela, Teresita; Suarez, Francisco; Fernandez, Maria Jose
    During recent years, multimorbidity has taken relevance because of the impact of causes in the system, people, and their families, which has been a priority in the health care plan. Interventions strategies and their implementation are still an emerging topic. In this context, Centro de Innovacion en Salud ANCORA UC, together with Servicio de Salud Metropolitano Sur Oriente, implemented as a pilot study High-Risk Multimorbidity Integrated Care strategy. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of this strategy in terms of health services utilization and mortality. A cohort study was conducted with high-risk patients with multimorbidity, stratified by ACG (R), intervened between April 2017 and December 2019. The studied population was 3,933 patients who belonged to similar size and location primary care centers. The impact analysis was performed used generalized linear models. Results showed that intervened patients had a significantly lower incidence in mortality (OR 0.56; 95% CI 0.40-0.77), hospital admissions, length of stay, and the number of hospital emergency consultancies. With the proper barriers and facilitators of a real context intervention, the implementation process allowed the systematization and consolidation of the intervention provided in this study. The training for new roles and the constant implementation support from the Centro de Innovacion en Salud ANCORA UC team were essential in the progress and success of the intervention. A complete description of the high-risk intervention strategy is provided to contribute to this emerging topic and facilitate its scale-up. We can conclude that this complex intervention was feasible to be implemented in a real context. The Ministry of Health has taken the systematization and consolidation of the conditions for the national scale-up.
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    Integrating Comprehensive Rehabilitation Care to Multimorbidity Approach: A Challenge for the Chilean Public Health System
    (2024) Zamorano, Paula; Calvo Sánchez, María Fernanda; Banda Rabah, Ricardo Sebastián; Fuentes Cimma, Javiera Carolina; Molina Cerna, Clara Inés; Medina, Elena; González Madrid, Marcela Carolina
    The multimorbidity approach involves promotional and preventive strategies. The demand for rehabilitation services has grown exponentially in recent years, leading to the urgency of rethinking care delivery. In Chile, there are laws, programs, and guidelines that, from their theoretical basis, include a person-centered care focus. But in real practice, multiple barriers trigger important fragmentation of care. In response, a new strategy has been proposed to answer whether comprehensive rehabilitation care based on multimorbidity positively impacts the health system performance, people’s functionality, and quality of life, which will be implemented as a pilot study with a national scale-up focus