Health care utilization by patients with temporomandibular joint disorders.

The claims data base of a large New England managed care organization was used to compare the health care utilization patterns of patients with TMJ disorders to non-TMJ subjects. Inpatient, outpatient and psychiatric claims data were examined over a wide range of diagnostic categories. Age and sex adjusted results showed that, overall, patients with TMJ disorders were greater utilizers of health care services and had higher associated costs than non-TMJ subjects.

Medical claims profiles of subjects with temporomandibular joint disorders.

The primary goal of this study was to evaluate the claims profiles of subjects with TMJ disorders relative to a control group without the disorders and to provide a characterization of the type of healthcare services received and the associated costs of healthcare for patients with TMJ disorders. The administrative data base of a major medical insurer was used to compare the claims history of 1,819 patients diagnosed with TMJ disorders to matched controls. The analysis was based only on medical claims.

Taxol commercial supply strategy.

Evidence of Taxol's safety and efficacy for treatment of refractory ovarian cancer convinced the National Cancer Institute (NCI) to seek a pharmaceutical partner and approval. After an open competition, NCI entered a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement with Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (BMS) to obtain approval of a New Drug Application (NDA) so that Taxol could be marketed as well as to provide supplies for clinical trials and compassionate use. To assure a successful commercialization of Taxol, BMS developed a strategic plan for expanding drug supplies.

Controlling disenrollment in health maintenance organizations.

With increasing competition, health maintenance organizations (HMOs) are struggling to maintain their enrollment levels. As a result, growing interest has emerged in studies of disenrollment, including factors associated with disenrollment and its implications for the HMO manager, as well as approaches for measuring and monitoring disenrollment.