The Relationship between Local Economic Conditions and Acute Myocardial Infarction Hospital Utilization by Adults and Seniors in the United States, 1995-2011.

Objective: To assess the association between aggregate unemployment and hospital discharges for acute myocardial infarction (AMI) among adults and seniors, 1995-2011.

Data Sources/study Setting: Community hospital discharge data from states collected for the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP) State Inpatient Databases (SID) and economic data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 1995-2011.

Study Design: Quarterly time series study of unemployment and aggregate hospital discharges in local areas using fixed effects to control for differences between local areas.

The relationship between 11 health risks and medical and productivity costs for a large employer.

Objective: To evaluate the relationship between modifiable health risks, and health and productivity related expenditures and predict cost savings from improvements in the health risk profile of a large US employer.

Methods: Information was collected on 11 modifiable health risks for active employees who completed a health assessment and enrolled in a noncapitated health plan. These risks were related to employer medical care costs and employee productivity.

The impact of weight gain or loss on health care costs for employees at the Johnson & Johnson Family of Companies.

Objective: To quantify the impact of weight gain or weight loss on health care costs.

Methods: Employees completing at least two health risk assessments during 2002 to 2008 were classified as adding, losing, or staying at high/low risk for each of the nine health risks including overweight and obesity. Models for each risk were used to compare cost trends by controlling for employee characteristics.

Cost burden of treatment resistance in patients with depression.

Objective: To develop a claims-based scale for treatment-resistant depression (TRD) and estimate the associated direct cost burden.

Study Design: Retrospective, observational study of patients receiving antidepressant therapy between January 2000 and June 2007 (N = 78,477).

Methods: The Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) clinical staging method for treatment resistance (assigning points for adequate trials of antidepressant medication, upward dose titration, extended duration, augmentation, and electroconvulsive therapy) was applied to claims data from the MarketScan Research Databases over a 24-month time period.

A four-system comparison of patients with chronic illness: the Military Health System, Veterans Health Administration, Medicaid, and commercial plans.

We compared chronic care utilization in four major health systems in the U.S.: the military health system (TRICARE), the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Medicaid, and employer-sponsored commercial plans.

Long-term medical costs and resource utilization in systemic lupus erythematosus and lupus nephritis: a five-year analysis of a large medicaid population.

Objective: To estimate the long-term direct medical costs and health care utilization for patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and a subset of SLE patients with nephritis.

Methods: Patients with newly active SLE were found in the MarketScan Medicaid Database (1999-2005), which includes all inpatient, outpatient, emergency department, and pharmaceutical claims for more than 10 million Medicaid beneficiaries. The date a patient became newly active was defined as the earliest observed SLE diagnosis code, with a 6-month clean period prior to the diagnosis.

The relationship between modifiable health risk factors and medical expenditures, absenteeism, short-term disability, and presenteeism among employees at novartis.

Objective: To quantify the impact of health risks on medical care and productivity costs in an employed population.

Methods: Health risk, medical care, and productivity data were obtained for 5875 Novartis employees in 2005-2006. Factor analysis was performed to identify relationships among health risks.

What are the total costs of surgical treatment for uterine fibroids?

Objective: To investigate the direct and indirect costs of uterine fibroid (UF) surgery.

Methods: Data were obtained from the MarketScan Commercial Claims and Encounters databases for 1999-2004. Our sample included 22,860 women with insurance coverage who were treated surgically for UF and 14,214 women who were treated nonsurgically for UF.

The direct and indirect cost burden of clinically significant and symptomatic uterine fibroids.

Objective: To estimate direct medical costs and indirect (productivity related) for women age 25 to 54 who had clinically significant and symptomatic uterine fibroids (UF).

Methods: We compared direct medical expenditures among 30,659 women who had clinically significant and symptomatic UF to expenditures among an equal number of matched controls who did not. We also compared indirect costs for a sub-sample of 910 employed women in each group.