Development and validation of a one year predictive model for secondary fractures in osteoporosis.

The number of osteoporosis-related fractures in the United States is no longer declining. Existing risk-based assessment tools focus on long-term risk. Payers and prescribers need additional tools to identify patients at risk for imminent fracture.

Medical chart validation of an algorithm for identifying multiple sclerosis relapse in healthcare claims.

Objective: Relapse is a common measure of disease activity in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (MS). The objective of this study was to test the content validity of an operational algorithm for detecting relapse in claims data.

Methods: A claims-based relapse detection algorithm was tested by comparing its detection rate over a 1-year period with relapses identified based on medical chart review.

Health care costs among individuals with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease within several large, multi-state employers.

Objective: To estimate chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)-attributable medical resource utilization and health care costs among employed individuals and their covered dependents with COPD.

Method: Retrospective health care claims analysis. Employees and dependents 40 to 63 years old with a diagnosis of COPD between January 1, 2001 and December 31, 2002 were matched to two separate control cohorts.