JAMA internal medicine
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JAMA internal medicine · Dec 2017
Comparative StudyComparison of Hospital Resource Use and Outcomes Among Hospitalists, Primary Care Physicians, and Other Generalists.
A physician's prior experience caring for a patient may be associated with patient outcomes and care patterns during and after hospitalization. ⋯ A PCP's prior experience with a patient may be associated with inpatient use of resources and patient outcomes. Patients cared for by their own PCP had slightly longer lengths of stay and were more likely to be discharged home but also were less likely to die within 30 days compared with those cared for by hospitalists or other generalists.
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JAMA internal medicine · Nov 2017
ReviewDeterminants of Market Exclusivity for Prescription Drugs in the United States.
The high prices of brand-name prescription drugs are a growing source of controversy in the United States. Manufacturers of brand-name drugs can command high prices because they are protected from generic competition by two types of government-granted monopoly rights. The first are patents on the drugs that generally define the basic period of brand-name-only sales. ⋯ We reviewed the peer-reviewed medical and health policy literature to identify studies that described the different types of patent protection and regulatory exclusivities that shield brand-name prescription drugs from competition and thus help to sustain high drug prices. We also identified potential policy reforms intended to modify exclusivity periods to address public health needs by balancing drug affordability and industry revenue. The goal of policy in this area should be to ensure that drug market exclusivity periods provide for fair return on investment but do not indefinitely block availability of lower-cost generic drugs.
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JAMA internal medicine · Nov 2017
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Participation and Health Care Expenditures Among Low-Income Adults.
Food insecurity is associated with high health care expenditures, but the effectiveness of food insecurity interventions on health care costs is unknown. ⋯ SNAP enrollment is associated with reduced health care spending among low-income American adults, a finding consistent across several analytic approaches. Encouraging SNAP enrollment among eligible adults may help reduce health care costs in the United States.
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JAMA internal medicine · Nov 2017
Malignant Neoplasms in Patients With Rheumatoid Arthritis Treated With Tumor Necrosis Factor Inhibitors, Tocilizumab, Abatacept, or Rituximab in Clinical Practice: A Nationwide Cohort Study From Sweden.
Considering the widespread and increasing use of biological immunomodulators (biological disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs [bDMARDs]) to treat chronic inflammatory conditions, and the concern that immunomodulation may alter cancer risk and progression, the limited available data on use of these therapies as used in clinical practice and cancer risks are a concern. ⋯ The overall risk of cancer among patients with RA initiating TNFi as first or second bDMARD, tocilizumab, abatacept, or rituximab does not differ substantially from that of biologic drug-naive, csDMARD-treated patients with RA, although altered risks for specific cancer types, or those with longer latency, cannot be excluded.
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JAMA internal medicine · Nov 2017
Randomized Controlled TrialEffect of a Game-Based Intervention Designed to Enhance Social Incentives to Increase Physical Activity Among Families: The BE FIT Randomized Clinical Trial.
Gamification, the application of game design elements such as points and levels in nongame contexts, is often used in digital health interventions, but evidence on its effectiveness is limited. ⋯ Gamification designed to leverage insights from behavioral economics to enhance social incentives significantly increased physical activity among families in the community.