Long-term Outcomes in Use of Opioids, Nonpharmacologic Pain Interventions, and Total Costs of Spinal Cord Stimulators Compared With Conventional Medical Therapy for Chronic Pain.

Importance: Spinal cord stimulators (SCSs) are increasingly used for the treatment of chronic pain. There is a need for studies with long-term follow-up.

Objective: To determine the comparative effectiveness and costs of SCSs compared with conventional medical management (CMM) in a large cohort of patients with chronic pain.

Adverse events among chronic myelogenous leukemia patients treated with tyrosine kinase inhibitors: a real-world analysis of health plan enrollees.

With tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) therapy, chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) is now a chronic disease. CML patients treated with TKIs ( = 1200) were identified from the OptumLabs Data Warehouse (de-identified claims and electronic health records) between 2000 and 2016 and compared with a non-cancer cohort ( = 7635). The 5-year cumulative incidence of all organ system outcomes was significantly greater for the TKI versus non-cancer group.

Health Care Cost Associated With Contemporary Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia Therapy Compared With That of Other Hematologic Malignancies.

Purpose: Given the widespread introduction of tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs), we evaluated the cost associated with chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) care compared with the cost of care for patients with hematologic malignancies (HEM) and for patients without cancer (GEN), to aid with resource allocation and clinical decision making.

Methods: A retrospective cohort was constructed from the OptumLabs Data Warehouse using claims from 2000 to 2016. Eligible patients had ≥ 2 CML claims and were enrolled continuously for ≥ 6 months before diagnosis and ≥ 1 year afterward (n = 1,909).

Medication Adherence, Health Care Utilization, and Spending Among Privately Insured Adults With Chronic Conditions in the United States, 2010-2016.

Background: Chronic conditions are common and costly for older Americans and for the health system. Adherence to daily maintenance medications may improve patient health and lead to lower health care spending.

Methods: To identify predictors of adherence and to quantify associations with health care utilization and spending among older adults with chronic conditions, we conducted a longitudinal retrospective analysis using the OptumLabs Data Warehouse.

Costs and Trends in Utilization of Low-value Services Among Older Adults With Commercial Insurance or Medicare Advantage.

Background: Overutilization of low-value services (unnecessary or minimally beneficial tests or procedures) has been cited as a large contributor to the high costs of health care in the United States.

Objectives: To analyze trends in utilization of low-value services from 2009 to 2014 among commercial and Medicare Advantage (MA) enrollees 50 and older.

Research Design: A retrospective analysis of deidentified claims obtained from the OptumLab Data Warehouse.

Osteoporosis-Related Health Services Utilization Following First Hip Fracture Among a Cohort of Privately-Insured Women in the United States, 2008-2014: An Observational Study.

Timely identification and treatment of osteoporosis following hip fracture is recommended to mitigate future fracture risk, yet prior work has demonstrated a disconnect between evidence-based recommendations and real-world implementation. We sought to describe contemporary patterns of osteoporosis screening and initiation of pharmacotherapy following hip fracture based on medical and pharmacy claims in the OptumLabs™ Data Warehouse. From a national sample, we identified 8349 women aged 50+ years enrolled in private commercial or Medicare Advantage plans with no prior history of osteoporosis diagnosis, osteoporosis pharmacotherapy, or hip fracture who experienced a hip fracture between 2008 and 2013.

Trends and Disparities in Osteoporosis Screening Among Women in the United States, 2008-2014.

Background: The United States Preventive Services Task Force recommends universal osteoporosis screening among women ages 65+ and targeted screening of younger women, but historically, adherence to these evidence-based recommendations has been suboptimal.

Methods: To describe contemporary patterns of osteoporosis screening, we conducted a retrospective analysis using the OptumLabs Data Warehouse, a database of de-identified administrative claims, which includes medical and eligibility information for over 100 million Medicare Advantage and commercial enrollees. Study participants included 1,638,454 women ages 50+ with no prior history of osteoporosis diagnosis, osteoporosis drug use, or hip fracture.

Observation Status or Inpatient Admission: Impact of Patient Disposition on Outcomes and Utilization Among Emergency Department Patients With Chest Pain.

Objectives: to compare healthcare utilization including coronary angiography, percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), rehospitalization, and rate of subsequent acute myocardial infarction (AMI) within 30 days, among patients presenting to the emergency department (ED) with chest pain admitted as short-term inpatient (≤2 days) versus observation (in-ED observation units combined with in-hospital observation).

Methods: We identified adults diagnosed with acute chest pain in the ED from 2010 to 2014 using administrative claims from privately insured and Medicare Advantage. Patients having AMI during the index visit were excluded.