Resource Use and Costs Associated to the Initial Phase of Treatment for Patients with Colorectal Cancer Receiving Post-Surgery Chemotherapy: A Cost Analysis from a Healthcare Perspective.

Background: To estimate the resource use and costs associated to the initial phase of treatment for colorectal cancer in Iran.

Methods: A retrospective study was conducted using routinely collected data within Electronic Health Records System (SEPAS), a national database representing public hospitals in Iran between March 20, 2016 and March 19, 2017. Primary end points included healthcare resource use, direct medical and non-medical costs of care in the 12-month study period.

Drivers of Cost Differences Between Nurse Practitioner and Physician Attributed Medicare Beneficiaries.

Background: Although recent research suggests that primary care provided by nurse practitioners costs less than primary care provided by physicians, little is known about underlying drivers of these cost differences.

Research Objective: Identify the drivers of cost differences between Medicare beneficiaries attributed to primary care nurse practitioners (PCNPs) and primary care physicians (PCMDs).

Study Design: Cross-sectional cost decomposition analysis using 2009-2010 Medicare administrative claims for beneficiaries attributed to PCNPs and PCMDs with risk stratification to control for beneficiary severity.

Health insurance benefit package in Iran: a qualitative policy process analysis.

Background: Insufficient transparency in prioritization of health services, multiple health insurance organizations with various and not-aligned policies, plus limited resources to provide comprehensive health coverage are among the challenges to design appropriate Health Insurance Benefit Package (HIBP) in Iran. This study aims to analyze Policy Process of Health Insurance Benefit Package in Iran.

Method: Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 25 experts, plus document analysis and observation, from February 2014 until October 2016.

The impact of provider payment reforms and associated care delivery models on cost and quality in cancer care: A systematic literature review.

Objectives: To investigate the impact of provider payment reforms and associated care delivery models on cost and quality in cancer care.

Methods: Data sources/study setting: Review of English-language literature published in PubMed, Embase and Cochrane library (2007-2019). Study design: We performed a systematic literature review (SLR) to identify the impact of cancer care reforms.

Use of Transnational Services to Prevent Treatment Interruption in Tuberculosis-Infected Persons Who Leave the United States.

A major problem resulting from interrupted tuberculosis (TB) treatment is the development of drug-resistant TB, including multidrug-resistant TB (MDR TB), a more deadly and costly-to-treat form of the disease. Global health systems are not equipped to diagnose and treat the current burden of MDR TB. TB-infected foreign visitors and temporary US residents who leave the country during treatment can experience treatment interruption and, thus, are at greater risk for drug-resistant TB.

An assessment of emergency department use among Mississippi's Medicaid population.

Background: National trends in Emergency Department (ED) use suggest Medicaid recipients visit the ED more frequently and make more non-emergent ED visits than those uninsured and privately insured. Given the absence of data on Medicaid beneficiaries in Mississippi, it is important to explore their ED utilization, particularly frequent and non-emergent ED visits.

Method: Medicaid claims data were used to calculate ED visit rates and identify common diagnoses within the Mississippi Medicaid population.

Effects of lifestyle modification programs on cardiac risk factors.

Medicare conducted a payment demonstration to evaluate the effectiveness of two intensive lifestyle modification programs in patients with symptomatic coronary artery disease: the Dr. Dean Ornish Program for Reversing Heart Disease (Ornish) and Cardiac Wellness Program of the Benson-Henry Mind Body Institute. This report describes the changes in cardiac risk factors achieved by each program during the active intervention year and subsequent year of follow-up.

Postoperative Staphylococcus aureus infections in Medicare beneficiaries.

Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) infections are important because of their increasing frequency, resistance to antibiotics, and high associated rates of disabilities and deaths. We examined the incidence and correlates of S.

Competition in liver transplantation: helpful or harmful?

Improved outcomes of liver transplantation have led to increases in the numbers of US transplant centers and candidates on the list. The resultant and ever-expanding organ shortage has created competition among centers, especially in regions with multiple liver transplant programs. Multiple reports now document that competition among the country's transplant centers has led to the listing of increasingly high-risk patients and the utilization of more marginal liver allografts.

Benefits and costs of intensive lifestyle modification programs for symptomatic coronary disease in Medicare beneficiaries.

Background: This study reports outcomes of a Medicare-sponsored demonstration of two intensive lifestyle modification programs (LMPs) in patients with symptomatic coronary heart disease: the Cardiac Wellness Program of the Benson-Henry Mind Body Institute (MBMI) and the Dr Dean Ornish Program for Reversing Heart Disease® (Ornish).

Methods: This multisite demonstration, conducted between 2000 and 2008, enrolled Medicare beneficiaries who had had an acute myocardial infarction or a cardiac procedure within the preceding 12 months or had stable angina pectoris. Health and economic outcomes are compared with matched controls who had received either traditional or no cardiac rehabilitation following similar cardiac events.

Effects of routine monitoring of delirium in a surgical/trauma intensive care unit.

Background: Delirium is prevalent in surgical and trauma intensive care units (ICUs) and carries substantial morbidity. This study tested the hypothesis that daily administration of a diagnostic instrument for delirium in a surgical/trauma ICU decreases the time of institution of pharmacologic therapy and improves related outcomes.

Methods: Controlled trial of two concurrent groups.

Clinical benefits of the Boston Ocular Surface Prosthesis.

Purpose: To evaluate the effects of the Boston Ocular Surface Prosthesis (Boston Foundation for Sight, Needham, Massachusetts, USA) on visual acuity (VA) and visual functioning in patients with severe corneal ectasia, irregular astigmatism, or ocular surface disease.

Design: Prospective, interventional case series.

Methods: The study examined the effects of this prosthesis on VA and visual functioning in consecutive patients with corneal ectasia, irregular astigmatism, or ocular surface disease who had failed conventional therapies and were seen at the Boston Foundation for Sight between January 1 and June 30, 2006.

Economic appraisal of the Boston Ocular Surface Prosthesis.

Purpose: To perform an economic appraisal of the Boston Ocular Surface Prosthesis in patients with corneal ectasia, irregular astigmatism, or ocular surface disease.

Design: Cost, incremental cost-effectiveness, and benefit-cost analyses in a prospective observational study.

Methods: The effects of this scleral lens on visual functioning were measured in 69 patients who received the prosthesis in 2006 and were reassessed 6 months after fitting the prosthesis.