Impact of a migraine management program on improving health outcomes

The goals of this program were to evaluate the effectiveness of migraine disease management techniques in improving patient satisfaction with migraine care, decreasing the frequency and severity of headaches and migraine-associated disability, increasing the effectiveness of migraine treatment and work productivity, improving physician diagnosis and treatment of migraine, and ultimately determining the program's impact on healthcare resource utilization. A prospective observational study was undertaken. This prospective Migraine Management Program (MMP) used active patient and healthcare physician-based disease management resources, tools, and techniques. Members were identified using administrative and medical claims databases indicating an ICD-9 diagnosis code (346.XX) for migraine during the previous twelve months. All identified patients received the Migraine Therapy Assessment Questionnaire (MTAQ) to assess their level of migraine control for pre/post measurement. Of the 2,134 patients responding to the initial MTAQ, 789 completed both a baseline and follow-up and 1,345 completed only a baseline questionnaire. For those patients completing both, there was a statistically significant reduction in all identified management issues: poor symptom control, high attack frequency, knowledge/behavior barriers, economic burden, and dissatisfaction with treatment. Comparing the former group to those completing only the baseline MTAQ, the latter were significantly more likely to report problems with three migraine management issues; poorer symptom control, greater economic burden, and dissatisfaction with their treatment. The use of appropriate patient and physician educational interventions, such as Aetna's MMP incorporating disease management principles and the MTAQ questionnaire, can have a significant impact on patient-centered outcomes and satisfaction with their migraine treatment.