Authors

Baseline and Postfusion Opioid Burden for Patients With Low Back Pain

Patients with low back pain have a high opioid burden, which increases following spinal fusion surgery; 27% of fusion patients filled opioid prescriptions at least 12 months post surgery.

Efficacy, Insurance Coverage Drive Alopecia Areata Treatment Preferences

New research suggests people with alopecia areata view hair regrowth efficacy as the most important factor when choosing a therapy, regardless of their disease severity.

It Is Time to Ask Patients What Outcomes Are Important to Them

Patients with abdominal or back pain identified 21 outcomes important to them, but the reported outcomes are quite different from the symptom and function outcomes studied by researchers.

The Impact of Managed Care on Continuing Medical Education

Transformation

Journal of Oncology Practice (JOP) and The American Journal of Managed Care (AJMC) join efforts to highlight work focusing on issues affecting payers and providers.

No Longer a Unicorn: Improving Health Through Accountable Care Organizations

Accountable care organizations can play a key role in building a Culture of Health in which every person in America can have the healthiest life possible.

Relationship of Diabetes Complications Severity to Healthcare Utilization and Costs Among Medicare Advantage Beneficiaries

This retrospective cohort study in a Medicare Advantage population posits that type 2 diabetes mellitus complications pose an excess burden on healthcare resource use and related costs.

Assessing the Accuracy of Computerized Medication Histories

Health Plan Switching and Satisfaction in a Medicaid MLTSS Program

Health plan dissatisfaction was higher among Medicaid managed long-term services and supports (MLTSS) beneficiaries who did not follow through with an intention to change health plans.

Managed Care Patients' Preferences, Physician Recommendations, and Colon Cancer Screening

CRC screening rates in a large managed care organization were low. Among those screened, use was associated more with physicians' recommendations than with patient preferences.

Hospitalized Patients' and Family Members' Preferences for Real-Time, Transparent Access to Their Hospital Records

This mixed-methods study evaluated hospitalized patients’ and family members’ perceived communications mismatches and their calls for transparent real-time information and potential 21st-century solutions.

A Natural Experiment in Mass Media Modulated Pharmacokinetics After a Change in Tablet Formulation

Sporadic, unsubstantiated side effects were reported in the mass media after a formulation change of levothyroxine tablets induced patients to monitor thyroid-stimulating hormone levels and to unnecessarily stop taking medication.

A Retrospective Real-World Study of Dapagliflozin Versus Other Oral Antidiabetic Drugs Added to Metformin in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes

Effects of a Population-Based Diabetes Management Program in Singapore

Patients utilizing Medisave for a diabetes management program in Singapore were more compliant with care processes, but reductions in hospitalization and costs were not sustained.

Pharmacoeconomic Analysis of Selected Antibiotics in Lower Respiratory Tract Infection

The Cost of Medicaid-Covered Services Provided to Disabled Adults with Neurologic Disorders: Implications for Managed Care

Preventing Myocardial Infarction and Stroke With a Simplified Bundle of Cardioprotective Medications

Bundled cardioprotective medications with simplified delivery reduced the risk of hospitalization for myocardial infarction or stroke among patients at high risk.

Referring Wisely: Orthopedic Referral Guidelines at an Academic Institution

The authors used the modified Delphi method to develop local orthopedic referral guidelines, enabling detailed decision support and non—face-to-face consultation at the point of referral.

The Role of the AHCPR in Clinical Guidelines Development

Establishing the Basis for Successful Disease Management Contracting

Characteristics of Residential Care Communities That Use Electronic Health Records

Select organizational characteristics and geographic locations were independently associated with the use of any electronic health record system among residential care communities.

A Telephone-Based Intervention for Increasing the Use of Osteoporosis Medication: A Randomized Controlled Trial

In this randomized controlled trial, women receiving monthly telephone calls had significantly higher use of osteoporosis medication at 1 year versus women receiving usual care.

Comparative Effectiveness Research: Challenges for Medical Journals

In order to encourage dissemination, this commentary is freely available in PLoS Medicine, and will also be published in Medical Decision Making, Croatian Medical Journal, The Cochrane Library, Trials, and Journal of Clinical Epidemiology.

Employer-Led Efforts to Improve the Value of Health Spending

Findings from a systematic review show that employer-led efforts to date have produced few promising strategies for improving the value of health spending.

Cost of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder vs Major Depressive Disorder Among Patients Covered by Medicaid or Private Insurance

Post-traumatic stress disorder was associated with 4.2% to 9.3% higher annual per-patient healthcare costs compared with MDD among patients covered by Medicaid or private insurance.

Initial Results of a Lung Cancer Screening Demonstration Project: A Local Program Evaluation

Results, lessons, and challenges of a local lung cancer screening program within a national demonstration project.

Enduring CE Webinar: Glucose Regulation in the Body: New Understandings for Management

The Case for Cost Sharing for Biologic Therapies

Evaluating Dose Ratio of Subcutaneous to Intravenous Immunoglobulin Therapy Among Patients With Primary Immunodeficiency Disease Switching to 20% Subcutaneous Immunoglobulin Therapy

Introduction