Antihypertensive Medication Classes Used among Medicare Beneficiaries Initiating Treatment in 2007–2010

Background After the 2003 publication of the Seventh Report of the Joint National Committee on Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure (JNC 7) guidelines, there was a 5–10% increase in patients initiating antihypertensive medication with a thiazide-type diuretic, but most patients still did not initiate treatment with this class. There are few contemporary published data on antihypertensive medication classes filled by patients initiating treatment. Methods and Findings We used the 5% random Medicare sample to study the initiation of antihypertensive medication between 2007 and 2010. Initiation was defined by the first antihypertensive medication fill preceded by 365 days with no antihypertensive medication fills. We restricted our analysis to beneficiaries ≥65 years who had two or more outpatient visits with a hypertension diagnosis and full Medicare fee-for-service coverage for the 365 days prior to initiation of antihypertensive medication. Between 2007 and 2010, 32,142 beneficiaries in the 5% Medicare sample initiated antihypertensive medication. Initiation with a thiazide-type diuretic decreased from 19.2% in 2007 to 17.9% in 2010. No other changes in medication classes initiated occurred over this period. Among those initiating antihypertensive medication in 2010, 31.3% filled angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACE-Is), 26.9% filled beta blockers, 17.2% filled calcium channel blockers, and 14.4% filled angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs). Initiation with %#62;1 antihypertensive medication class decreased from 25.6% in 2007 to 24.1% in 2010. Patients initiated >1 antihypertensive medication class most commonly with a thiazide-type diuretic and either an ACE-I or ARB. Conclusion These results suggest that JNC 7 had a limited long-term impact on the choice of antihypertensive medication class and provide baseline data prior to the publication of the 2014 Evidence-Based Guideline for the Management of High Blood Pressure in Adults from the Panel Members Appointed to the Eighth Joint National Committee (JNC 8)

Adverse Selection in the Children’s Health Insurance Program

This study investigates whether new enrollees in the Alabama Children’s Health Insurance Program have different claims experience from renewing enrollees who do not have a lapse in coverage and from continuing enrollees. The analysis compared health services utilization in the first month of enrollment for new enrollees (who had not been in the program for at least 12 months) with utilization among continuing enrollees. A second analysis compared first-month utilization of those who renew immediately with those who waited at least 2 months to renew. A 2-part model estimated the probability of usage and then the extent of usage conditional on any utilization. Claims data for 826 866 child-years over the period from 1999 to 2012 were used. New enrollees annually constituted a stable 40% share of participants. Among those enrolled in the program, 13.5% renewed on time and 86.5% of enrollees were late to renew their enrollment. In the multivariate 2-part models, controlling for age, gender, race, income eligibility category, and year, new enrollees had overall first-month claims experience that was nearly $29 less than continuing enrollees. This was driven by lower ambulatory use. Late renewals had overall first-month claims experience that was$10 less than immediate renewals. However, controlling for the presence of chronic health conditions, there was no statistically meaningful difference in the first-month claims experience of late and early renewals. Thus, differences in claims experience between new and continuing enrollees and between early and late renewals are small, with greater spending found among continuing and early renewing participants. Higher claims experience by early renewals is attributable to having chronic health conditions

Cost-effectiveness of a chronic pain intervention for people living with HIV (PLWH)

Background: Chronic pain is a common, disabling, and costly comorbidity, particularly in people living with HIV (PLWH). This study developed and pilot tested a pain self-management intervention for chronic pain tailored to PLWH called Skills TO Manage Pain (STOMP). Objectives: Given the additional resources needed to deliver STOMP in HIV clinical settings, an important objective of the pilot study was to assess not only STOMP’s preliminary efficacy, but also its cost-effectiveness. Research design and subjects: The present study draws from a 44-participant, 2-arm randomized pilot trial of the STOMP intervention vs usual care among PLWH and at least moderate chronic pain (Clinicaltrials.gov: NCT02824562). Cost-effectiveness is presented as the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER). Costs were considered from the clinic perspective over a 1-year time horizon using real costs from the pilot trial. It was conservatively assumed there would be no costs savings. The Standard Gamble (SG) method was used to directly measure utilities. Results: Thirty-six participants met inclusion criteria for the present analyses. Mean age was 52 years; 61% were female and 86% were black. The total cost of STOMP was $483.83 per person. Using the SG method, the change in QALYs was 0.15, corresponding to an ICER of$3,225. Conclusions: STOMP’s cost/QALY is substantially lower than the $50,000 to$100,000/QALY benchmark often used to indicate cost-effectiveness. Although based on a pilot trial and, therefore, preliminary, these findings are promising, and suggest the importance of cost analyses in future STOMP trials

Tort Law and Medical Malpractice Insurance Premiums

This paper estimated the effects of tort law and insurer investment returns on physician malpractice insurance premiums. Data were collected on tort law from 1991 through 2004, and multivariate regression models, including fixed effects for state and year, were used to estimate the effect of changes in tort law on medical malpractice premiums. The premium consequences of national policy changes were simulated. The analysis found that the introduction of a new damage cap lowered malpractice premiums for internal medicine, general surgery, and obstetrics/gynecology by 17.3%, 20.7%, and 25.5%, respectively. Lowering damage caps by $100,000 reduced premiums by 4$250,000 on awards for noneconomic damages in all states would imply premium savings of $16.9 billion. Extending a$250,000 cap to all states that do not currently have them would save $1.4 billion annually, or about 8% of the total. A negative effect on malpractice premiums was found for the Dow Jones industrial average, but not for bond prices; effects of the Nasdaq index were not significant for internal medicine, but were marginally significant for surgery and obstetrics premiums

Improving osteoporosis care in high-risk home health patients through a high-intensity intervention

PURPOSE: We developed and tested a multi-modal intervention, delivered in the home health care setting, aimed at increasing osteoporosis treatment rates to prevent fractures. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The intervention focused on home health nurses. Key components included: nursing education; development of a nursing care plan; patient teaching materials and creation of physician materials. Nursing education consisted of a lecture covering osteoporosis, fracture risks and prevention, and the effectiveness of anti-osteoporosis treatment options. Patients received education materials concerning osteoporosis and anti-osteoporosis medications. A pocket-sized treatment algorithm card and standardized order sets were prepared for physicians. Focus groups of physicians and nurses were conducted to obtain feedback on the materials and methods to facilitate effective nurse-physician communication. Successful application required nurses to identify patients with a fracture history, initiate the care plan, prompt physicians on risk status, and provide patient education. The intervention was piloted in one field office. RESULTS: In the year prior to the intervention, home health patients (n=92) with a fracture history were identified in the pilot field office and only 20 (22%) received osteoporosis prescription therapy. In the three months following the intervention, 21 newly enrolled patients were identified and 9 (43%) had received osteoporosis prescription medications. CONCLUSIONS: Home health care provides a venue where patients and physicians can be informed by nurses about osteoporosis and fracture risks and, consequently, initiate appropriate therapy. This multi-modal intervention is easily transportable to other home health agencies and adaptable to other medical conditions and settings

Men Lacking a Caregiver Have Greater Risk of Long‐Term Nursing Home Placement After Stroke

Background/Objectives: Social support can prevent or delay long‐term nursing home placement (NHP ). The purpose of our study was to understand how the availability of a caregiver can affect NHP after ischemic stroke and how this affects different subgroups differently. Design: Nested cohort study. Setting: Nationally based RE asons for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke (REGARDS ) study. Participants: Stroke survivors aged 65 to 100 (256 men, 304 women). Measurements: Data were from Medicare claims from January 2003 to December 2013 and REGARDS baseline interviews conducted from January 2003 to October 2007. Caregiver support was measured by asking, “If you had a serious illness or became disabled, do you have someone who would be able to provide care for you on an on‐going basis?” Diagnosis of ischemic stroke was derived from inpatient claims. NHP was determined using a validated claims algorithm for stays of 100 days and longer. Risk was estimated using Cox regression. Results: Within 5 years of stroke, 119 (21.3%) participants had been placed in a nursing home. Risk of NHP was greater in those lacking available caregivers (log‐rank P = .006). After adjustment for covariates, lacking an available caregiver increased the risk of NHP after stroke within 1 year by 70% (hazard ratio (HR ) = 1.70, 95% confidence interval (CI ) = 0.97–2.99) and within 5 years by 68% (HR = 1.68, 95% CI = 1.10–2.58). The effect of caregiver availability on NHP within 5 years was limited to men (HR = 3.15, 95% CI = 1.49–6.67). Conclusion: In men aged 65 and older who have survived an ischemic stroke, the lack of an available caregiver is associated with triple the risk of NHP within 5 years

Multimodal intervention to improve osteoporosis care in home health settings: results from a cluster randomized trial

We conducted a cluster randomized trial testing the effectiveness of an intervention to increase the use of osteoporosis medications in high-risk patients receiving home health care. The trial did not find a significant difference in medication use in the intervention arm. INTRODUCTION: This study aims to test an evidence implementation intervention to improve the quality of care in the home health care setting for patients at high risk for fractures. METHODS: We conducted a cluster randomized trial of a multimodal intervention targeted at home care for high-risk patients (prior fracture or physician-diagnosed osteoporosis) receiving care in a statewide home health agency in Alabama. Offices throughout the state were randomized to receive the intervention or to usual care. The primary outcome was the proportion of high-risk home health patients treated with osteoporosis medications. A t test of difference in proportions was conducted between intervention and control arms and constituted the primary analysis. Secondary analyses included logistic regression estimating the effect of individual patients being treated in an intervention arm office on the likelihood of a patient receiving osteoporosis medications. A follow-on analysis examined the effect of an automated alert built into the electronic medical record that prompted the home health care nurses to deploy the intervention for high-risk patients using a pre-post design. RESULTS: There were 11 offices randomized to each of the treatment and control arms; these offices treated 337 and 330 eligible patients, respectively. Among the offices in the intervention arm, the average proportion of eligible patients receiving osteoporosis medications post-intervention was 19.1 %, compared with 15.7 % in the usual care arm (difference in proportions 3.4 %, 95 % CI, -2.6 to 9.5 %). The overall rates of osteoporosis medication use increased from 14.8 % prior to activation of the automated alert to 17.6 % afterward, a nonsignificant difference. CONCLUSIONS: The home health intervention did not result in a significant improvement in use of osteoporosis medications in high-risk patients