Comparing Patient-Reported Outcomes Among Anti-TNF Experienced Patients With Ulcerative Colitis Initiating Vedolizumab Versus Tofacitinib.

Background: Primary and secondary nonresponse to anti-tumor necrosis factor (TNF) therapy is common in patients with ulcerative colitis (UC), yet limited research has compared the effectiveness of subsequent biological therapy.

Objective: We sought to compare the effectiveness of vedolizumab and tofacitinib in anti-TNF experienced patients with UC, focusing on patient-prioritized patient-reported outcomes (PROs).

Methods: We conducted a prospective cohort study nested within the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation's IBD Partners and SPARC IBD initiatives.

The Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Network Antibiotics and Childhood Growth Study: Implementing Patient Data Linkage.

PCORnet, the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Network, is comprised of health systems and health plans that transform electronic health records (EHRs) and claims data to a common data model (CDM) to facilitate real-world clinical research. Because patients receive health care in multiple care delivery settings, linking health records across systems and health plan claims would provide a more comprehensive and accurate picture of health care for patients. The current study expanded on a PCORnet Antibiotics and Childhood Growth (ABX) study to (1) identify and implement a privacy-preserving patient linkage solution among a clinical data research network and a health plan network within the ABX Study, and (2) assess overlap in prescribed and dispensed antibiotics and additional data gained from claims among the linked patients.

Iatrogenic disease management: moderating medication errors and risks in a pharmacy benefit management environment.

Disease Management (DM) programs have advanced to address costly chronic disease patterns in populations. This is in part due to the programs' significant clinical and economical value, coupled with interest by pharmaceutical manufacturers, managed care organizations, and pharmacy benefit management firms. While cost containment realizations for many such interventions have been less than anticipated, this article explores potentials in marrying Medication Error Risk Reduction into DM programs within managed care environments.

Impact of a migraine management program on improving health outcomes.

The goals of this program were to evaluate the effectiveness of migraine disease management techniques in improving patient satisfaction with migraine care, decreasing the frequency and severity of headaches and migraine-associated disability, increasing the effectiveness of migraine treatment and work productivity, improving physician diagnosis and treatment of migraine, and ultimately determining the program's impact on healthcare resource utilization. A prospective observational study was undertaken. This prospective Migraine Management Program (MMP) used active patient and healthcare physician-based disease management resources, tools, and techniques.

An ongoing six-year innovative osteoporosis disease management program: challenges and success in an IPA physician group environment.

The goal of this ongoing comprehensive osteoporosis disease management initiative is to provide the adult primary care physicians' (PCPs) offices with a program enabling them to systematically identify and manage their population for osteoporosis. For over six years, Hill Physicians Medical Group (Hill Physicians) has implemented multiple strategies to develop a best practice for identifying and treating members who were candidates for osteoporosis therapy. Numerous tools were used to support this disease management effort, including: evidence-based clinical practice guidelines, patient education sessions, the Simple Calculated Osteoporosis Risk Estimation (SCORE) questionnaire tool, member specific reports for PCPs, targeted member mailings, office-based Peripheral Instantaneous X-ray Imaging (PIXI) test and counseling, dual x-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) scan guidelines, and web-based Electronic Simple Calculated Osteoporosis Risk Estimation (eSCORE) questionnaire tools.

Clinical and economic outcomes in thrombolytic treatment of peripheral arterial occlusive disease and deep venous thrombosis.

Purpose: Over the past 2 decades the use of thrombolytic therapy in the management of peripheral occlusive diseases, most notably peripheral arterial occlusion (PAO) and deep venous thrombosis (DVT), has become an accepted and potentially preferable alternative to surgery. We examined the period when urokinase was in short supply and subsequently unavailable, to explore potential differences in clinical outcome and economic effect between urokinase and recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (rt-PA).

Material And Methods: Data were obtained from the Premier Perspective Database, a broad clinical database that contains information on inpatient medical practices and resource use.

Epidural steroids, epidural morphine and epidural steroids combined with morphine in the treatment of post-laminectomy syndrome.

Epidural morphine injection followed by a steroid has been reported to be effective for the post-laminectomy pain ('failed back') syndrome. This double-blind, parallel study was undertaken to evaluate that mode of therapy. Twenty-two patients who had undergone at least one prior laminectomy, who were still symptomatic, were randomized to receive 50 mg of lidocaine epidurally with: (a) 75 mg triamcinolone diacetate (TR); or (b) 8 mg of preservative-free morphine (MP); or (c) both (TR and MP), at 1 month intervals for 3 consecutive months.