Jay Bhattacharya, MD, PhD

This instrumental variables analysis estimates that Medicare would realize $362 million in annual savings if all patients with newly diagnosed low back pain were managed conservatively.

Using the most recently available national data, physicians with electronic health record (EHR) access ordered more tests than their non-EHR counterparts, thus contradicting a common rationale for EHR implementation.

Compared with Japan, the United States has substantially less geographic variation in surgical outcomes, but it has higher variation in cost.

The Medicare program’s transition in 2004 to tiered fee-for-service physician reimbursement for dialysis care had the unintended consequence of reducing use of home dialysis.