Relaxation Response and Resiliency Training and Its Effect on Healthcare Resource Utilization.

Abstract

BackgroundPoor psychological and physical resilience in response to stress drives a great deal of health care utilization. Mind-body interventions can reduce stress and build resiliency. The rationale for this study is therefore to estimate the effect of mind-body interventions on healthcare utilization.ObjectiveEstimate the effect of mind body training, specifically, the Relaxation Response Resiliency Program (3RP) on healthcare utilization.DesignRetrospective controlled cohort observational study.SettingMajor US Academic Health Network.SampleAll patients receiving 3RP at the MGH Benson-Henry Institute from 1/12/2006 to 7/1/2014 (n = 4452), controls (n = 13149) followed for a median of 4.2 years (.85-8.4 yrs).MeasurementsUtilization as measured by billable encounters/year (be/yr) stratified by encounter type: clinical, imaging, laboratory and procedural, by class of chief complaint: e.g., Cardiovascular, and by site of care delivery, e.g., Emergency Department. Subgroup analysis by propensity score matched pre-intervention utilization rate.ResultsAt one year, total utilization for the intervention group decreased by 43% [53.5 to 30.5 be/yr] (p ConclusionMind body interventions such as 3RP have the potential to substantially reduce healthcare utilization at relatively low cost and thus can serve as key components in any population health and health care delivery system.