Medical care
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Comparative Study
Psychometric comparison of the standard EQ-5D to a 5 level version in cancer patients.
The objectives of this study were: 1) to determine whether expanding the number of levels (ie, response categories) on the standard 3 level EQ-5D (EQ-5D-3L) to 5-levels (EQ-5D-5L) would improve the descriptive richness and ability of the measure to discriminate among different levels of health, and 2) to examine the psychometric properties of each EQ-5D version in patients with cancer. ⋯ Evidence supported the validity of both EQ-5D-3L and EQ-5D-5L in cancer. However, results suggest a 5-level classifier system has less ceiling effect and greater discriminative ability with potentially more power to detect differences between groups compared with EQ-5D-3L.
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We examined the impact of access to care characteristics on health care use patterns among those veterans dually eligible for Medicare and Veterans Affairs (VA) services. ⋯ VA health care provides an important safety net for vulnerable populations. Targeted approaches that carefully consider the simultaneous impacts of VA and Medicare policy changes on minority and high-risk populations are essential to ensure veterans have access to needed health care.