Evaluation of an educational program on deciphering heterogeneity for medical coverage decisions

Area of Science:

• Health Services Research
• Pharmacoeconomics
• Medical Education

Background:

• Understanding variation in treatment response is vital for population health management.
• Decision-makers in healthcare need to grasp heterogeneity of treatment effect (HTE).
• Shifting focus from individual to population care necessitates understanding HTE.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate an educational program's effectiveness on HTE for healthcare managers.
• To assess changes in knowledge, attitudes, and self-efficacy regarding HTE.
• To determine the impact of training on the application of HTE in managed care.

Main Methods:

• Live educational sessions were delivered to managed care professionals.
• A retrospective pretest-posttest design assessed participants' understanding.
• Rasch rating scale models analyzed knowledge and attitude changes.
• A 6-month follow-up evaluated sustained impact.

Main Results:

• Immediate post-program, knowledge and attitudes towards HTE significantly improved (P < 0.01).
• Prior to the program, awareness of HTE and individualized treatment effect was limited.
• Participants were more likely to consider HTE in coverage decisions post-training.
• Sustained knowledge was observed at 6 months, but attitude changes were not significant.

Conclusions:

• The educational program effectively enhanced immediate knowledge and attitudes on HTE.
• Managed care professionals indicated HTE would influence prior authorization and necessity determinations.
• Training interventions can improve understanding of HTE among healthcare decision-makers.