Cancer Treatment Before and After Physician-Pharmacy Integration.

Importance: Integration of pharmacies with physician practices, also known as medically integrated dispensing, is increasing in oncology. However, little is known about how this integration affects drug use, expenditures, medication adherence, or time to treatment initiation.

Objective: To examine the association of physician-pharmacy integration with oral oncology drug expenditures, use, and patient-centered measures.

Trends in low-value cancer care during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Objective: To assess the association between the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and change in low-value cancer services.

Study Design: In this retrospective cohort study, we used administrative claims from the HealthCore Integrated Research Environment, a repository of medical and pharmacy data from US health plans representing more than 80 million members, between January 1, 2016, and March 31, 2021.

Methods: We used linear probability models to investigate the relation between the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and 4 guideline-based metrics of low-value cancer care: (1) conventional fractionation radiotherapy instead of hypofractionated radiotherapy for early-stage breast cancer; (2) non-guideline-based antiemetic use for minimal-, low-, or moderate- to high-risk chemotherapies; (3) off-pathway systemic therapy; and (4) aggressive end-of-life care.

Alcohol-Attributable Medical Costs in Commercially Insured and Medicaid Populations.

Introduction: Despite its social acceptance, excessive alcohol use remains among the top causes of preventable deaths in the U.S. Although there is a recognition of alcohol-related health and social costs, there are no current studies quantifying the medical costs incurred under health plans.

The U.S. COVID-19 County Policy Database: a novel resource to support pandemic-related research.

Background: It is increasingly recognized that policies have played a role in both alleviating and exacerbating the health and economic consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. There has been limited systematic evaluation of variation in U.S.

Association Between Mobile App Use and Caregivers' Support System, Time Spent on Caregiving, and Perceived Well-being: Survey Study From a Large Employer.

Background: Mobile technology to address caregiver needs has been on the rise. There is limited evidence of effectiveness of such technologies on caregiver experiences.

Objective: This study evaluates the effectiveness of ianacare, a mobile app, among employees of a large employer.

Effects of a Multi-site Expansion of Group Prenatal Care on Birth Outcomes.

Objectives Perinatal Quality Collaboratives across the United States are initiating projects to improve health and healthcare for women and infants. We compared an evidence-based group prenatal care model to usual individual prenatal care on birth outcomes in a multi-site expansion of group prenatal care supported by a state-wide multidisciplinary Perinatal Quality Collaborative. Methods We analyzed 15,330 pregnant women aged 14-48 across 13 healthcare practices in South Carolina (2013-2017) using a preferential-within cluster matching propensity score method and logistic regression.