The diffusion of health care fraud: A bipartite network analysis.

Many studies have examined the diffusion of health care innovation but less is known about the diffusion of health care fraud. In this paper, we consider the diffusion of potentially fraudulent Medicare home health care billing in the United States during 2002-16, with a focus on the 21 hospital referral regions (HRRs) covered by local Department of Justice (DOJ) anti-fraud "strike force" offices. We hypothesize that patient-sharing across home health care agencies (HHAs) provides a mechanism for the rapid diffusion of fraudulent strategies.

Use of Medicare services by elderly residents of Puerto Rico.

Objectives: We describe hospitalization rates among Medicare beneficiaries resident in Puerto Rico compared to beneficiaries in the mainland U.S., in 1999.

Prostate biopsies in men with limited life expectancy.

Context: Authorities discourage prostate screening in men who are likely to die from causes other than prostate cancer.

Practice Pattern Examined: Use of prostate biopsy-a proxy for screening-in men aged 65 and older with limited life expectancy (i.e.