The American journal of managed care
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To determine if the type of insurance arrangement, specifically health maintenance organization (HMO) vs fee-for-service (FFS), affects cancer outcomes for Medicare beneficiaries with disabilities. ⋯ When diagnosed as having breast cancer or non-small cell lung cancer, some Medicare beneficiaries with disabilities fare better with managed care compared with FFS insurance plans.
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To measure possible racial/ethnic differences in a Florida disease management (DM) program on utilization of selected healthcare services for 4 chronic illnesses. ⋯ Disease management has a similar effect across different racial/ethnic groups but may not ameliorate important baseline disparities. Evaluations of DM programs should account for baseline disparities in utilization and examine whether those disparities can be reduced through DM.
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To examine how primary care providers (PCPs) prioritize management of chronic pain in patients with multiple chronic conditions and to determine PCP perspectives on chronic pain management and pain treatment resources. ⋯ Additional training opportunities for PCPs and more effective use of ancillary services may be needed for further improvements in care for chronic pain patients.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Do diabetes group visits lead to lower medical care charges?
To evaluate whether attending diabetes group visits (GVs) leads to lower medical care charges for inadequately insured patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM). ⋯ After controlling for endogeneity via estimation of a treatment effect model, GVs statistically significantly reduced outpatient visit charges. Estimation of a separate treatment effect model of specialty care visits indicated that GVs likely substitute for more expensive specialty care visits.
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Review Comparative Study
Comparison of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol reduction after switching patients on other statins to rosuvastatin or simvastatin in a real-world clinical practice setting.
The study compared low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) reduction obtained after switching patients on a statin therapy to rosuvastatin or simvastatin in real-world clinical practice. ⋯ Rosuvastatin achieves greater percent LDL-C reduction than simvastatin as a switch therapy in a real-world clinical practice setting. This highlights the need to select the statin to switch to based on additional needed percent LDL-C reduction to meet individual patient targets. Availability of simvastatin (generic statin) and rosuvastatin (branded statin) as treatment options would facilitate efficient and effective management of patients with dyslipidemia.