Ophthalmology
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study
Association of Rare Predicted Loss-of-Function Variants in Cellular Pathways with Sub-Phenotypes in Age-Related Macular Degeneration.
To investigate the association of rare predicted loss-of-function (pLoF) variants within age-related macular degeneration (AMD) risk loci and AMD sub-phenotypes. ⋯ Rare pLoF variants are associated with disease progression. Variants in the complement pathway modify the clinical course of AMD and increase the risk of developing specific sub-phenotypes.
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Brand Medications and Medicare Part D: How Eye Care Providers' Prescribing Patterns Influence Costs.
To quantify costs of eye care providers' Medicare Part D prescribing patterns for ophthalmic medications and to estimate the potential savings of generic or therapeutic drug substitutions and price negotiation. ⋯ Eye care providers prescribe more brand medications by volume than any other provider group. Efforts to reduce prescription expenditures by eye care providers should focus on increasing the use of generic medications, primarily through therapeutic substitutions. Policy changes enabling Medicare to negotiate prescription drug prices could decrease costs to Medicare.