Complex Patients with Comorbid Disease

Our team has shown that patients with multiple chronic illnesses, that is, with a high burden of comorbidity, are driving a significant portion of health care costs. In our studies, a comorbidity index which assigns weights to specific chronic diseases was used to assess the burden of comorbid disease.

Current Research

Reducing Costs in Patients with High Comorbidity

Dr. Charlson is developing a project to develop and validate models of the drivers of cost variability among patients with a high burden of comorbidity in order to identify patients most likely to benefit from a medical home. We will evaluate a total of 15,000 patients with different burdens of comorbidity who have at least two continuous years of enrollment in the Generations+/Northern Manhattan Health Network (Gen+), a member of the NYC Health and Hospitals Corporation. The project will evaluate the predictors of cost variability in patients with a comorbidity score of three or more through a telephone survey of approximately 1000 patients. The project will document demographic, clinical psychosocial, behavioral, and functional determinants of cost variability.

Clinical Epidemiology and Evaluative Sciences Research

Mary E. Charlson, M.D., Chief

338 East 66th Street
Tel: (646) 962-5060
Fax: (646) 962-0620

Stephen Hunt, Administrator
Tel: (646) 962-4042
sjh2004@med.cornell.edu

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