Authors

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

Assessing the Accuracy of Computerized Medication Histories

Recombinant Human Erythropoietin Usage in a Large Academic Medical Center

Value and the Medical Home: Effects of Transformed Primary Care

A patient-centered medical home with intensive case management and a payer partner can significantly improve hospital utilization and may decrease total medical costs for a Medicare population.

Prevalence of Osteoporosis in Men in a VA Rehabilitation Center

Men in a VA rehabilitation unit who had osteoporosis were older and thinner, but otherwise similar (metabolic and functional status) to control subjects.

Drug Testing, Chronic Pain, and Financial Conflicts of Interest

Improving Antibiotic Stewardship: A Stepped-Wedge Cluster Randomized Trial

The authors assessed the effect of provider education and clinical decision support (CDS) on antibiotic prescribing for acute sinusitis. Education and CDS improved antibiotic stewardship and changed diagnosis patterns.

Measuring Physician Performance: Enhancing Quality of Care, Reducing Costs

Costs and Spillover Effects of Private Insurers' Coverage of Hepatitis C Treatment

Expanding private-payer coverage of hepatitis C treatment may yield significant long-term cost savings for private payers, reduced costs to Medicare, and increased social value.

Effects of the Tobacco Use Cessation Automated Clinical Practice Guideline

Prevention of the Complications of Diabetes

Battling the Chargemaster: A Simple Remedy to Balance Billing for Unavoidable Out-of-Network Care

The authors propose a simple legal mechanism to combat chargemaster abuses and encourage provider price competition. This solution is superior to prevailing legislative and regulatory responses to surprise out-of-network bills.

Prescriber Compliance With Black Box Warnings in Older Adult Patients

Elderly patients prescribed drugs with a drug-laboratory black box warning (BBW) had lower rates of prescriber BBW compliance than patients prescribed drugs with a drug-disease warning.

COVID-19 Control in the United States: The Case for Masking

In the control of COVID-19, the future perfect of the vaccine should not be the enemy of the present good, which is masking.

Acute Exacerbation of Chronic Bronchitis: A Primary Care Consensus Guideline

Ethnic Disparities in Cervical Cancer Illness Burden and Subsequent Care: A Prospective View

Medicare Star Excludes Diabetes Patients With Poor CVD Risk Factor Control

The Medicare STAR medication adherence measures exclude diabetes patients at high risk for poor cardiovascular outcomes, and underestimate the prevalence of medication nonadherence in diabetes.

Healthcare Costs and Access for Young Adult Cancer Survivors: A Snapshot Post ACA

The Samfund conducted a preliminary investigation into the impact of the Affordable Care Act on young adult cancer survivors’ medical cost burden and access to health care.

Does the Offer of Free Prescriptions Increase Generic Prescribing?

The offer of free medications to low-income Medicare beneficiaries with diabetes enrolled in Part D plans has no impact on generic prescribing rates.

Preconsultation Exchange in the United States: Use, Awareness, and Attitudes

Internists reported frequent use of, and support for, preconsultation exchange to improve access to and efficiency of specialty care.

Potential Impact of Hospital at Home on Postoperative Readmissions

Many postoperative readmissions are amenable to diversion to a hospital at home program for surgical patients, representing an opportunity to generate revenue and improve patient experience.

Active Pharmacovigilance and Healthcare Utilization

This study highlights the potential value of innovative ways of collecting information about adverse drug events directly from patients.