Can oral cancer screening reduce late-stage diagnosis, treatment delay and mortality? A population-based study in Taiwan.

Objective: This study evaluates the effectiveness of Taiwan's nationwide oral cancer screening programme in reducing late-stage diagnosis, treatment delays and mortality.

Design: A retrospective cohort study was conducted.

Setting: The study utilized Nationally representative datasets, including the Cancer Registry, Oral Mucosal Screening and National Health Insurance databases in Taiwan.

Correlates of Transitioning from In-Person to Telemedicine Outpatient Neurology Clinic Visits.

The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated telemedicine adoption, impacting appointment no-show rates. This study examines neurology appointment preferences among individuals with previous no-shows. We analyzed transitions between in-person and telemedicine modalities at the Tulane Center for Clinical Neurosciences from August 2020 to February 2021 by race, sex, and insurance type.

Building a Culture of Health Through the Built Environment: Impact of a Cluster Randomized Trial Remediating Vacant and Abandoned Property on Health Mindsets.

Changing built environment conditions to impact health mindsets and health equity may be a promising target for public health interventions. The present study was a cluster randomized controlled trial to test the impact of remediating vacant and abandoned properties on factors related to health mindset-including well-being, health interconnectedness, social capital markers, neighborhood disorder and worry-as well as direct and indirect violence experiences and the moderating role of racial and income segregation on outcomes. A residential cohort of 405 participants from 194 randomly assigned geographic clusters were surveyed over five waves from 2019 to 2023.

Comparing prospectively assigned trial and real-world lung cancer patients.

To evaluate the comparability of a probable clinical trial (CT) cohort derived from electronic medical records (EMR) data with a real-world cohort treated with the same therapy and identified using the same inclusion and exclusion criteria to emulate an external control. We utilized de-identified patient-level structured data sourced from EMRs. We then compared patterns of overall survival (OS) between probable CT patients with those drawn from non-contemporaneous real-world data (RWD) using a two-sided log-rank test, hazard ratios (HRs) using a Cox proportional-hazards model and Kaplan-Meier (KM) survival curves.

Disparities in access to appointments for contraceptive services among Black, Hispanic, White, and recently incarcerated women in Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi.

Objective: To measure differences in access to contraceptive services based on history of incarceration and its intersections with race/ethnicity and insurance status.

Data Sources And Study Setting: Primary data were collected from telephone calls to physician offices in Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi in 2021.

Study Design: We deployed a field experiment.

Improving Real-World Mortality Data Quality in Oncology Research: Augmenting Electronic Medical Records With Obituary, Social Security Death Index, and Commercial Claims Data.

Purpose: This study evaluated the relative improvements in mortality data capture of adding different external data to enriched electronic medical records (EMRs) for patients with melanoma.

Methods: An enriched EMR database, containing structured and unstructured data, was used to evaluate the incremental mortality data capture of the following external data sources: Social Security Administration (SSA), public obituary, and an administrative open-claims database for the claims data set. Overall survival (OS) was assessed for each data set and the composite data set using the Kaplan-Meier method.

Predictors of Telehealth Utilization and Subsequent Inpatient Stays and Emergency Visits During the COVID-19 Pandemic Among Patients with Type 2 Diabetes: Evidence from Louisiana.

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Telemedicine Use by Age in Louisiana Medicaid During COVID-19: Claims-Based Longitudinal Analysis.

Background: Limited availability of in-person health care services and fear of contracting COVID-19 during the pandemic promoted an increased reliance on telemedicine. However, long-standing inequities in telemedicine due to unequal levels of digital literacy and internet connectivity among different age groups raise concerns about whether the uptake of telemedicine has exacerbated or alleviated those inequities.

Objective: The aim of this study is to examine changes in telemedicine and in-person health service use during the COVID-19 pandemic across age groups for Medicaid beneficiaries in the state of Louisiana.

Disparities in Access to Primary Care Appointments Among Asian American Subgroups, and the Impact of Concordance.

While Asian Americans experience disparate access to health services, little is known about the extent to which providers discriminate against Asian American patients. Further, research on Asian American health disparities tends to group Asian American ethnicities together, overlooking potential within-group differences. We deployed a field experiment to assess whether Asian American ethnic sub-groups experience discrimination in appointment scheduling.

Telehealth and Medicare Type 2 Diabetes Care Outcomes: Evidence From Louisiana.

Background: At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services broadened access to telehealth. This provided an opportunity to test whether diabetes, a risk factor for COVID-19 severity, can be managed with telehealth services.

Objective: The objective of this study was to examine the impacts of telehealth on diabetes control.

Disparities in Telemedicine Use Among Louisiana Medicaid Beneficiaries During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic led to an increased reliance on telemedicine. Whether this exacerbated existing disparities within vulnerable populations is not yet known.

Objectives: Characterize changes in outpatient telemedicine evaluation and management (E&M) services for Louisiana Medicaid beneficiaries by race, ethnicity, and rurality during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Associations Between State and Local Government Spending and Pregnancy-Related Mortality in the U.S.

Introduction: There is limited evidence on how government spending is associated with maternal death. This study investigates the associations between state and local government spending on social and healthcare services and pregnancy-related mortality among the total, non-Hispanic Black, Hispanic, and non-Hispanic White populations.

Methods: State-specific total population and race/ethnicity-specific 5-year (2015-2019) pregnancy-related mortality ratios were estimated from annual natality and mortality files provided by the National Center for Health Statistics.

Practice radiation patterns among oncologists in the Oncology Care Model.

Objectives: CMS created the Oncology Care Model (OCM) to increase the delivery of cost-efficient cancer care, but in linking medical oncologist compensation to total costs of care, the model also prompted concerns about reductions in radiation therapy utilization. We compare practices that participated in the model with those that did not through its launch to estimate whether radiation therapy utilization was reduced under the OCM.

Study Design: Retrospective analysis of a secondary claims-based data set.

Louisiana Medicaid Expansion and Pent-Up Demand.

Background: Nearly half a million newly eligible people enrolled in Louisiana Medicaid following its expansion.

Objectives: To evaluate postexpansion utilization trends in Louisiana Medicaid.

Research Design: We plotted utilization trends for expansion and traditional Medicaid beneficiaries and conducted regression analyses to evaluate differences in monthly trends for over 2 years following expansion.

Opioid prescribing restrictions and opioid use among the Louisiana Medicaid population.

Background: Most states in the U.S. have enacted prescription opioid quantity limits to curb long-term opioid dependency.

Practice patterns among oncologists participating in the oncology care model after three years.

Background: The Oncology Care Model (OCM) incentivized care coordination and cost-efficiency and has been associated with short-term care reductions, but its multi-year associations are less well-studied.

Methods: We used monthly provider-level claims data spanning nearly five years between July 1 st, 2014 and May 30th, 2019 from a large community oncology practice network where roughly half of the practices participated in the OCM. The key outcome measures were monthly mean office visits, costs, and buy-and-bill drug costs among prostate, colon, breast, and lung cancers.

Pre-COVID-19 Disparities in Telemedicine Use Among Louisiana Medicaid Beneficiaries.

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COVID-19 and Routine Childhood and Adolescent Immunizations: Evidence from Louisiana Medicaid.

The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted routine vaccinations for children and adolescents. However, it remains unclear whether the impact has been different for children and adolescents from low-income families. To address this, we compared monthly routine vaccination use per 1000 vaccine-eligible children and adolescents enrolled in Louisiana Medicaid in the years before (2017-2019) and during the COVID-19 pandemic (2020).

Does alma mater matter? An audit study of labour market outcomes of Canadian Bachelor's Degree recipients.

In many parts of the world, the rewards attached to a university degree vary significantly according to the name of the institution one attends, particularly in countries with highly stratified postsecondary systems. Because the Canadian higher education system is relatively homogenous and non-hierarchical, it has been generally accepted that Canadian graduates enter the labour market on equal footing regardless of where they matriculate. We test this assumption through an experimental audit study that compares employers' responses to fictitious matched job applications from equally qualified bachelor's degree recipients from three Ontario universities: Brock, Queen's, and Waterloo.

Medicaid Expansion and Medical Debt: Evidence From Louisiana, 2014-2019.

To identify the association between Medicaid eligibility expansion and medical debt. We used difference-in-differences design to compare changes in medical debt for those gaining coverage through Louisiana's Medicaid expansion with those in nonexpansion states. We matched individuals gaining Medicaid coverage because of Louisiana's Medicaid expansion (n = 196 556) to credit report data on medical debt and compared them with randomly selected credit reports of those living in Southern nonexpansion state zip codes with high rates of uninsurance (n = 973 674).

Mediators of Discrimination in Primary Care Appointment Access.

We examine how differences in questions asked and information provided by physicians' offices contribute to differences in new-patient appointment offers. Data is from a 2013-16 field experiment involving calls to a random sample of US primary care physicians on behalf of simulated new patients differentiated by race/ethnicity (Black, Hispanic, White), sex, and insurance. We find that the rates and stated reasons for denial of appointment offers differ substantially across patient groups.

Medicaid Expansion Reduced Uncompensated Care Costs At Louisiana Hospitals; May Be A Model For Other States.

We examined changes in hospital uncompensated care costs in the context of Louisiana's Medicaid expansion. Louisiana remains the only state in the Deep South to have expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act and can serve as a model for states that have not adopted expansion, many of which are located in the South census region. We found that Medicaid expansion was associated with a 33 percent reduction in the share of total operating expenses attributable to uncompensated care costs for general medical and surgical hospitals in Louisiana in the first three years after expansion.