Characterizing patients hospitalized without an acute care indication: A retrospective cohort study.

Background: Hospitalizations by patients who do not meet acute inpatient criteria are common and overburden healthcare systems. Studies have characterized these alternate levels of care (ALC) but have not delineated prolonged (pALC) versus short ALC (sALC) stays.

Objective: To descriptively compare pALC and sALC hospitalizations-groups we hypothesize have unique needs.

The impact of Medicare prescription drug coverage on the use of antidementia drugs.

Background: Cholinesterase inhibitors and memantine are prescribed to slow the progression dementia. Although the efficacy of these drugs has been demonstrated, their effectiveness, from the perspective of patients and caregivers, has been questioned. Little is known about whether the demand for cholinesterase inhibitors and memantine are sensitive to out-of-pocket cost.

Subjective memory complaints and concurrent memory performance in older patients of primary care providers.

Subjective memory complaints (SMCs) are known to be inconsistently related to current memory impairment in older adults but this association has not been well investigated in primary care provider (PCP) settings. To characterize the complexity of the relationship between SMCs and objective memory in older outpatients of PCPs, we collected neuropsychological, subjective memory, depression and medical chart data from outpatients aged 65 and older, without documented dementia diagnoses, in eleven PCP offices in and around the Pittsburgh metropolitan area. Results indicated that self-estimates of current memory ability were most strongly associated with objective memory performance; in contrast, perception of worsening memory over the past year showed no association; and specific memory-related activities were only weakly associated.

Discrepancies in information provided to primary care physicians by patients with and without dementia: the Steel Valley Seniors Survey.

Objective: The objective of this study was to examine associations between discrepancies in health information provided to primary care providers and severity of impairment in older patients with and without dementia.

Methods: This study included brief assessment and medical record review of 1,107 patients with a mean (standard deviation) age of 76.3 (6.

Use of lipid-lowering drugs in older adults with and without dementia: a community-based epidemiological study.

Objectives: To compare the use of lipid-lowering drugs in community-dwelling older adults with and without dementia.

Design: Comparison of lipid-lowering drug use by demented cases and nondemented controls based on secondary analysis of data from a longitudinal epidemiologic study.

Setting: Longitudinal study of a largely rural, low- socioeconomic-status, community-based cohort of older persons residing in the mid-Monongahela Valley of South-west Pennsylvania (the Monongahela Valley Independent Elders Survey).