Reducing Emergency Department Visits Among Dual Eligible Patients via a Comprehensive Wellness Assessment.

The objective was to assess whether a Comprehensive Wellness Assessment (CWA) is associated with reduced emergency department (ED) visits for Special Needs Program (SNP) enrollees with diabetes. This retrospective panel study used a Medicare Advantage plan's administrative claims data for 2010-2017 and pooled member-month observations. Multivariate regression and individual fixed-effects regression models were estimated.

The Effectiveness of a Comprehensive Wellness Assessment on Medication Adherence in a Medicare Advantage Plan Diabetic Population.

The issue of medication nonadherence has generated significant interest because of its complexity from both cost and outcomes perspectives. Of the 3.2 billion prescriptions written annually in the United States, estimates indicate that half are not taken as prescribed, especially among patients with asymptomatic chronic conditions.

Chronic Conditions and Self-Reported Health in a Medicare Advantage Plan Population.

Self-reported changes in physical and mental health by members are an important dimension by which the quality of a Medicare Advantage (MA) plan is rated by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. To better target their interventions, MA plans need a better understanding of what observed characteristics-including clinical health conditions-predict self-reported changes in physical and mental health. This study explored how one MA plan's survey of participants' responses regarding changes in physical and mental health is associated with a set of chronic conditions as well as sociodemographic characteristics.

Improvement in Oral Diabetes Medication Adherence after a Comprehensive Wellness Assessment in a Dual Eligible Population.

Medication adherence is often lower among disadvantaged patients. Drivers of medication adherence may include the quality of communications between patient and medical caregiver. The research objective is to assess whether an annual Comprehensive Wellness Assessment (CWA) is associated with improved medication adherence.

The Influence of Respondent Characteristics on the Validity of Self-Reported Survey Responses.

Objective: To examine concordance between member self-reports and the organization's administrative claims data for two key health factors: number of chronic conditions, and number of prescription drugs.

Data: Medicare Advantage plan claims data and member survey data from 2011 to 2012.

Design: Mailed surveys to 15,000 members, enrolled minimum 6 months, drawn from a random sample of primary care physician practices with at least 200 members.