The TELEMACO project successfully used telemedicine to establish a healthcare continuity from hospital to territory in remote areas of the Lombardy region of Italy.
The authors describe a novel training program for death certifiers in Pennsylvania, which has been designed to specifically focus on some of the main challenges in the death certification process and resulted in a useful model that can potentially be adopted by other states or municipalities.
A 5-aminosalicylic acid (5-ASA) drug switch program switching from 5-ASA to sulfasalazine was instituted for insured patients with ulcerative colitis. Unanticipated barriers limited the number of patients who switched, but significant cost savings were still obtained.
This study examines the relationship between Medicaid managed care penetration within a state and spending on pharmaceuticals for patients with serious mental illnesses.
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.
Value-based insurance design for prescription drug coverage increases drug adherence in patients with chronic disease, though their effect on clinical outcomes and health spending remain uncertain.
Community-based persons with Alzheimer’s disease have a higher risk of fractures, hospitalization, and various comorbidities than persons without the disease.
Addressing tobacco use is an important health system role. This process evaluation discusses facilitators and barriers to implementing systems changes to improve tobacco treatment delivery.
New statin prescriptions at the Veterans Health Administration were reviewed using a cross-sectional study design. Statins were frequently prescribed outside of guideline recommendations.
Associations between out-of-pocket costs and prescription reversals, as well as impact of reversals on rehospitalizations and healthcare costs, were examined among patients prescribed oral linezolid.
Stereotactic body radiation therapy for low- to intermediate-risk prostate cancer has potential cost savings and may improve access to radiation, increase convenience, and boost quality of life.
An estimated 30 million Americans are living with diabetes. Additionally, 84 million have prediabetes, a condition that will result in type 2 diabetes within 5 years if not properly treated. Long regarded as one of the most prevalent chronic diseases in United States, diabetes is also a leading cause of disability and the seventh-leading cause of death. Less discussed is one of the most common complications of diabetes: diabetic foot ulcers. If not properly treated with standard and adjunctive care, these chronic wounds can lead to permanent disability and premature death.
Health-related quality-of-life data are often collected during routine clinical care. We present a method to create nationally representative benchmarks for clinical subspecialties.
This analysis of antiosteoporosis therapy shows that 75% of patients have inadequate drug coverage and that adherence is strongly associated with age and administration regimen.
HMOs in California, particularly Kaiser, have developed approaches to end-of-life care that allow them to use far fewer inpatient resources than fee-for-service providers.
This study critically assessed the published clinical and economic evidence supporting oncology orphan drugs marketed in the United States.
A meta-analysis of 9 RCTs found little benefit in self-monitoring of blood glucose levels on A1C outcomes in patients with diabetes mellitus not taking insulin.
The development and deployment of an autopend functionality within an existing health maintenance system took more than 3 years and cost $201,500 (2013 US$).
We offer recommendations for the development and design of clinical pathways in an effort to establish a set of normative criteria that creates trust and transparency.