Browsing by Author "Harker, Matthew"

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    Establishing a regional, multisite database for quality improvement and service planning in community-based palliative care and hospice.
    (J Palliat Med, 2010-08) Bull, Janet; Zafar, S Yousuf; Wheeler, Jane L; Harker, Matthew; Gblokpor, Agbessi; Hanson, Laura; Hulihan, Deirdre; Nugent, Rikki; Morris, John; Abernethy, Amy P
    BACKGROUND: Outpatient palliative care, an evolving delivery model, seeks to improve continuity of care across settings and to increase access to services in hospice and palliative medicine (HPM). It can provide a critical bridge between inpatient palliative care and hospice, filling the gap in community-based supportive care for patients with advanced life-limiting illness. Low capacities for data collection and quantitative research in HPM have impeded assessment of the impact of outpatient palliative care. APPROACH: In North Carolina, a regional database for community-based palliative care has been created through a unique partnership between a HPM organization and academic medical center. This database flexibly uses information technology to collect patient data, entered at the point of care (e.g., home, inpatient hospice, assisted living facility, nursing home). HPM physicians and nurse practitioners collect data; data are transferred to an academic site that assists with analyses and data management. Reports to community-based sites, based on data they provide, create a better understanding of local care quality. CURRENT STATUS: The data system was developed and implemented over a 2-year period, starting with one community-based HPM site and expanding to four. Data collection methods were collaboratively created and refined. The database continues to grow. Analyses presented herein examine data from one site and encompass 2572 visits from 970 new patients, characterizing the population, symptom profiles, and change in symptoms after intervention. CONCLUSION: A collaborative regional approach to HPM data can support evaluation and improvement of palliative care quality at the local, aggregated, and statewide levels.
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    Feasibility of Cancer Clinical Trial Enrollment Goals Based on Cancer Incidence.
    (JCO clinical cancer informatics, 2020-01) Tran, George; Harker, Matthew; Chiswell, Karen; Unger, Joseph M; Fleury, Mark E; Hirsch, Bradford; Miller, Kimberly; d'Almada, Philip; Tibbs, Sheri; Zafar, S Yousuf

    Purpose

    More than 20% of US clinical trials fail to accrue sufficiently. Our purpose was to provide a benchmark for better understanding clinical trial enrollment feasibility and to assess relative levels of competition for patients by cancer diagnosis.

    Methods

    The Database for Aggregate Analysis of ClinicalTrials.gov, up to date as of September 3, 2017, was used to identify actively recruiting, interventional oncology trials with US sites. Observational studies were excluded because not all are registered. Trials were categorized through Medical Subject Headings or free-text condition terms and sorted by cancer diagnosis. Trials that included more than one cancer diagnosis were included in the overall cohort but excluded when evaluating enrollment by cancer type. Trial enrollment slot availability was estimated between September 1, 2017, and August 31, 2018. Availability was estimated from total anticipated enrollment and duration, assuming a constant recruitment rate. Estimates for studies with both foreign and domestic sites were then prorated to calculate available enrollment in the United States alone. Ratios of the number of newly diagnosed patients in the United States available per trial slot were estimated using the American Cancer Society cancer incidence estimates for 2017.

    Results

    A total of 4,598 interventional oncology trials were identified. Overall, the estimated ratio of newly diagnosed patients available per trial slot was 12.6. Estimated ratios of patients per trial slot for six cancer diagnoses with the highest potential of 12-month US enrollment were as follows: colorectal, 24.7; lung and bronchus, 20.1; prostate, 17.6; breast (female), 13.8; leukemia, 11.6; and brain and other nervous system, 6.0.

    Conclusion

    For all cancers, successfully accruing trials currently open would require that more than one in every 13 recently diagnosed patients (7.9%) enroll. This ratio and relative difficulty of accrual varies among cancers examined.
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    Provision and Utilization of Team- and Community-Based Operative Care for Patients With Cleft Lip/Palate in North Carolina.
    (The Cleft palate-craniofacial journal : official publication of the American Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Association, 2020-11) Le, Elliot; Shrader, Peter; Bosworth, Hayden; Hurst, Jillian; Goldstein, Benjamin; Drake, Amelia; Wood, Jeyhan; David, Lisa R; Runyan, Christopher M; Vissoci, Joao Ricardo Nickenig; Harker, Matthew; Allori, Alexander C

    Objective

    To characterize operative care for cleft lip and/or palate (CL/P) based on location (ie, from American Cleft Palate Craniofacial Association [ACPA]-approved multidisciplinary teams or from community providers).

    Design

    Cross-sectional analysis of Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project State Inpatient Database and State Ambulatory Surgery & Services Database databases for North Carolina from 2012 to 2015.

    Setting/patients and main outcome measures

    Clinical encounters for children with CL/P undergoing operative procedures were identified, classified by location as "Team" versus "Community," and characterized by demographic, geographic, clinical, and procedural factors. A secondary evaluation reviewed concordance of team and community practices with an ACPA guideline related to coordination of care.

    Results

    Three teams and 39 community providers performed a total of 3010 cleft-related procedures across 2070 encounters. Teams performed 69.7% of total volume and performed the majority of cleft procedures, including cleft lip repair, palate repair, alveolar bone grafting, and correction of velopharyngeal insufficiency. Community locations principally offered myringotomy and rhinoplasty. Team care was associated with higher guideline concordance.

    Conclusions

    American Cleft Palate Craniofacial Association -approved team-based care accounts for the majority of cleft-related care in North Carolina; however, a substantial volume of cleft-related procedures was provided by community providers, with 3 providers accounting for the vast majority of community cases.