The American journal of managed care
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Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has challenged us to incorporate technology into engaging, interacting with, and caring for patients, using televisits and video conferencing in ways that have previously been resisted or derided.
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Our hospital is a primary hospital in Chengdu, China. Since February 5, our hospital has been listed as the primary designated medical unit for treating new patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Jinniu District. In this letter, we share our COVID-19 experience with readers.
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Determining appropriate capitated payments has important access implications for dual-eligible Medicare Advantage (MA) members. In 2017, MA plans began receiving higher capitated payments for beneficiaries with full vs partial Medicaid when payments started being risk adjusted for level of Medicaid benefits instead of any Medicaid participation. This approach could favor MA plans in states with more generous Medicaid programs where more beneficiaries qualify for full Medicaid and thus a higher capitated payment. To understand this issue, we examined adjusted Medicare spending for dual-eligible beneficiaries across states with differing Medicaid eligibility criteria. ⋯ Distinguishing between partial and full Medicaid in MA payments may disproportionately increase MA payments in states that have more full Medicaid beneficiaries due to more generous Medicaid eligibility.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study
Impact of primary care intensive management on medication adherence and adjustments.
The Veterans Health Administration implemented a pilot program for primary care intensive management (PIM) for patients at high risk for hospitalization. We examined the impact of the program on medication adherence and adjustments for patients with chronic conditions. ⋯ Medication adherence improved for DPP-4 inhibitors, and more hyperlipidemia drugs were prescribed for PIM patients. Overall impacts of PIM were modest.
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Observational Study
Psoriatic arthritis treatment patterns and costs among pharmacologic treatment-naïve patients.
Pharmacologic treatment for psoriatic arthritis (PsA) includes traditional oral small molecules (OSMs), tumor necrosis factor inhibitors (TNFis), and newer oral therapies such as a phosphodiesterase-4 (PDE4) inhibitor and a Janus kinase inhibitor. We aimed to describe treatment patterns and health care costs for treatment-naïve patients with active PsA initiating pharmacologic treatment. ⋯ Although patients using OSMs had generally lower total health care costs, they also had the highest rates of treatment modifications such as low persistence and medication gaps of at least 60 days.