The American journal of managed care
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To replicate and extend a recently published analysis of the drivers of excess costs of opioid abuse. ⋯ Opioid abuse imposes a considerable economic burden on payers. Many abusers have complex healthcare needs and may require care beyond that which is required to treat opioid abuse. These results are robust and consistent across different data sources.
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To quantify how adherence mismeasurement affects the estimated impact of adherence on inpatient costs among patients with serious mental illness (SMI). ⋯ Measurement error due to claims-based adherence measures is worth addressing, alongside other more widely emphasized sources of bias in inference.
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Satisfaction with care is an important patient-centered domain of health system quality. However, satisfaction measures are costly to collect and not directly modifiable. Therefore, we assessed the relationships between veterans' satisfaction and measures of modifiable aspects of Veterans Health Administration (VHA) mental health care programs. ⋯ As the VHA strives to increase access to, and provision of, mental health care, policy makers and program managers should be aware that satisfaction with care, as it is currently measured, may not rise as more patients initiate treatment, unless continuity of care is maintained or enhanced.