RAND study finds evidence disease managemen...(uate whether the benefits of disease man...)

Another factor is that disease management itself is not well-defined, Mattke said. The types of interventions can vary from congestive heart failure specialists at a local hospital hiring a nurse to educate patients about preventive care to large-scale programs reaching thousands of patients. Some programs may be better than others, but there has not been enough research to properly assess which ones are the most effective or what characteristics are associated with more successful programs.

Just because one type of intervention can benefit one disease, that doesnt mean it will work the same way for another disease, Mattke said. Most of the evidence for disease management comes from small provider-centered programs at academic medical centers or multi-specialty groups.

The study, Evidence for the Effect of Disease Management: Is $1 Billion a Year a Good Investment" will appear in the December issue of The American Journal of Managed Care. The other authors of the study are Michael Seid of Cincinnati Childrens Hospital, and Sai Ma of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

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