Adults 20 years or older were surveyed regarding advance directives (ADs); one third had completed an AD. Subjects were comfortable with provider initiation of the topic.
This study of claims among adults covered by employer-sponsored plans revealed substantial variations in out-of-network cost-sharing payments. The growth of cost sharing for nonemergent hospitalizations is concerning.
This drug-utilization study in a prescription database of more than 50,000 patients analyzed compliance, persistence, and switching behavior for ACE inhibitors and ARBs.
Substantial outreach efforts are needed in addition to offering subsidies or incentives in engaging primary care providers to adopt electronic health records.
We find that under current regulatory and market conditions, demand for hospital-based emergency services is highly inelastic with respect to price, giving hospitals substantial pricing power over out-of-network emergency services.
Charges for oncology services vary widely across hospitals and impose financial burdens. Further legislation is needed to address disparities in access to high-quality cancer care.
Scores on a new medication adherence scale maintained a strong graded association with antihypertensive drug pharmacy fill adherence among community-dwelling seniors in a managed care organization.
Generic prescribing was associated with improved medication adherence in 2 of 5 study conditions, but $0 copayments were associated with improved adherence across all conditions.
The promise of high-quality, affordable care aligning with the individual needs of patients remains elusive. Increasingly, the missing ingredient seems obvious: trust.
A primary care redesign program embedding care coordinators into practices slightly improves the patient experience and does not disrupt team dynamics.
This review demonstrates the long-term (≥12 months) efficacy of preoperative smoking cessation programs, providing further support for incorporation of smoking cessation programs into presurgical clinics.
The Guest Editors set the context for this special collection of oncology-focused articles.
Initiation of fluticasone propionate–salmeterol after a COPD-related hospitalization or ED visit decreased the risk of a recurrent event and reduced COPD-related medical costs.
Automated telephone reminders resulted in a small but significant increase in adherence to inhaled corticosteroids among adult asthma patients in a large managed care organization.
Approximately 5% of non-elderly adults have a community acquired pneumonia (CAP) annually, with an annual total of $10.6 billion in direct and indirect costs.
Health systems are important in driving electronic health record adoption in ambulatory clinics, although the uptake of key functionalities varies across systems.
Hackensack Alliance ACO integrates pharmacists and adopts new technology as it joins in the bold experiment to lower costs and improve quality under health reform.