Aspects of Multicomponent Integrated Care Promote Sustained Improvement in Surrogate Clinical Outcomes: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

OBJECTIVE The implementation of the Chronic Care Model (CCM) improves health care quality. We examined the sustained effectiveness of multicomponent integrated care in type 2 diabetes. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS We searched PubMed and Ovid MEDLINE (January 2000-August 2016) and identified randomized controlled trials comprising two or more quality improvement strategies from two or more domains (health system, health care providers, or patients) lasting >= 12 months with one or more clinical outcomes. Two reviewers extracted data and appraised the reporting quality. RESULTS In a meta-analysis of 181 trials (N = 135,112), random-effects modeling revealed pooled mean differences in HbA(1c) of -0.28%(95% CI-0.35 to -0.21) (-3.1mmol/mol [-3.9 to -2.3]), in systolic blood pressure (SBP) of -2.3 mmHg (-3.1 to -1.4), in diastolic blood pressure (DBP) of -1.1 mmHg (-1.5 to -0.6), and in LDL cholesterol (LDL-C) of -0.14 mmol/L (-0.21 to -0.07), with greater effects in patients with LDL-C >= 3.4 mmol/L (-0.31 vs. -0.10 mmol/L for <3.4 mmol/L; P-difference = 0.013), studies from Asia (HbA(1c) -0.51% vs. -0.23% for North America [-5.5 vs. -2.5 mmol/mol]; P-difference = 0.046), and studies lasting >12 months (SBP -3.4 vs. -1.4 mmHg, P-difference = 0.034; DBP -1.7 vs. -0.7 mmHg, P-difference = 0.047; LDL-C -0.21 vs. -0.07 mmol/L for 12-month studies, P-difference = 0.049). Patients with median age <60 years had greater HbA(1c) reduction (-0.35% vs. -0.18% for 60 years[-3.8 vs. -2.0 mmol/mol]; P-difference = 0.029). Team change, patient education/self-management, and improved patient-provider communication had the largest effect sizes (0.28-0.36% [3.0-3.9 mmol/mol]). CONCLUSIONS Despite the small effect size of multicomponent integrated care (in part attenuated by good background care), team-based care with better information flow may improve patient-provider communication and self-management in patients who are young, with suboptimal control, and in low-resource settings.