The American journal of managed care
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Observational Study
Treatment patterns for patients with advanced/metastatic cancers by site of care.
To compare treatments, overall survival (OS), and total costs among patients receiving anticancer therapy in hospital outpatient vs physician office settings. ⋯ Although patients received similar care in hospital outpatient and physician office settings, the differences in duration of treatment and costs warrant further evaluation.
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This report aimed to determine whether transitional care management (TCM) services, provided by Inspira Care Connect, LLC (ICC), a Track 1 Medicare Shared Savings Program accountable care organization, were effective in reducing 30-day readmission rates, observation stay days, and emergency department visits, along with mortality rates, total costs, and frequency of primary care physician (PCP) visits among Medicare beneficiaries served by ICC. ⋯ The services provided to ICC Medicare patients through the TCM model may have enhanced the ability to identify problems at an earlier stage, resulting in the prevention of complications and unnecessary utilization of costly health care services.
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To determine whether having a usual provider of care (UPC) outside the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) and whether having highly fragmented care (regardless of the providers' health system affiliations) increased the risk of hospitalization among veterans with diabetes. ⋯ Among veterans with diabetes enrolled in both VHA and Medicare, having both a UPC outside the VHA and highly fragmented care was associated with higher odds of hospitalization than either of these ambulatory patterns alone.
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To assess the evolving landscape of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol-lowering therapies (LLTs) and quantify their effect on cardiovascular disease (CVD)-related mortality and morbidity. ⋯ LLTs have yielded significant societal value, and the majority of this value has accrued to patients.
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Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is an underdiagnosed genetic disorder, resulting from mutations in sarcomeric proteins. It has a highly variable clinical presentation, with some individuals remaining asymptomatic and others having significant limitation of functional status. The disorder is typically characterized by left ventricular hypertrophy that is not explained by another cause. ⋯ To-date, there are no pharmacologic therapies that alter the natural history of the disease. Therapeutic approaches have instead focused on symptom relief and prevention of sudden cardiac death. Newer therapies under investigation represent potential means to improve limiting symptoms.