Medical care
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Comparative Study
Evaluation of the Washington State Workers' Compensation Managed Care Pilot Project II: medical and disability costs.
This study examined the effect of managed care on medical and disability costs as part of an evaluation of the Washington State Workers' Compensation Managed Care Pilot (MCP). ⋯ The results from the MCP suggest that substantial savings in workers' compensation medical and disability costs may be realized using the type of managed care intervention designed for this study. Delivering occupational health services through managed care arrangements whose design is based on an integrated, occupational health-centered delivery model may offer a viable approach for improving delivery systems, reducing costs and encouraging greater attention to disability prevention.
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Comparative Study
Effects of a behavioral health carve-out on inpatient-related quality indicators for major depression treatment.
To analyze the effects of the 1993 Massachusetts behavioral health carve-out for state employees on readmissions and follow-up treatment after hospitalization for major depressive disorder (MDD). ⋯ Under this behavioral health carve-out, follow-up treatment was more likely, and estimated risk of readmission did not change significantly for a seriously ill subgroup of enrollees. This was true even when controlling for patient variables and using data for extended time "at risk" for each indicator. Future research on carveouts should move toward direct clinical quality measurement.