Dataset Information

Classifying medical histories in US Medicare beneficiaries using fixed vs all-available look-back approaches.

ABSTRACT: PURPOSE:Evaluate use of fixed and all-available look-backs to identify eligibility criteria and confounders among Medicare beneficiaries. METHODS:We identified outpatient visits (2007-2012) with recently documented (?180 days) cardiovascular risk and classified patients according to whether the exposure (statin) was initiated within 14 days. We selected each beneficiary's first eligible visit (in each treatment group) that met criteria during the respective look-backs: continuous enrollment (1 or 3 years for fixed look-back; 180 days for all-available), no cancer history, and no statin claims. We estimated crude and standardized mortality ratio weighted hazard ratios (HRs) for the effect of statin initiation on incident 6-month cancer (a known null effect) and 2-year mortality, separately, adjusting for covariates assessed by using each look-back. RESULTS:Analyzing short-term cancer, the estimated HR from the all-available approach (HR = 0.90, 95% CI: 0.83, 0.98) was less biased than the 1-year look-back (HR = 0.79, 95% CI: 0.73, 0.84), which included beneficiaries with prevalent cancer. The 3-year look-back (HR = 1.05, 95% CI: 0.90, 1.21) was somewhat less biased than the all-available estimate but less precise due the exclusion of a large proportion of observations without sufficient continuous enrollment (62.0% and 59.9% of initiators and non-initiators, respectively). All approaches produced similar estimates of the effect on all-cause mortality. Alternative look-backs did not differ in their ability to control confounding. CONCLUSIONS:The all-available look-back performed nearly as well as the 3-year fixed, which produced the least biased point estimate. If 3-year look-backs are infeasible (eg, due to power/sample), all-available look-backs may be preferable to short (1-year) fixed look-backs.

SUBMITTER: Conover MM

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6417795 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Classifying medical histories in US Medicare beneficiaries using fixed vs all-available look-back approaches.

Conover Mitchell M MM Stürmer Til T Poole Charles C Glynn Robert J RJ Simpson Ross J RJ Pate Virginia V Jonsson Funk Michele M

Pharmacoepidemiology and drug safety 20180414 7

<h4>Purpose</h4>Evaluate use of fixed and all-available look-backs to identify eligibility criteria and confounders among Medicare beneficiaries.<h4>Methods</h4>We identified outpatient visits (2007-2012) with recently documented (≤180 days) cardiovascular risk and classified patients according to whether the exposure (statin) was initiated within 14 days. We selected each beneficiary's first eligible visit (in each treatment group) that met criteria during the respective look-backs: continuous ...[more]

PMID: 29655187

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Project description:ImportanceRoux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) is associated with significant bone loss and may increase fracture risk, whereas substantial bone loss and increased fracture risk have not been reported after adjustable gastric banding (AGB). Previous studies have had little representation of patients aged 65 years or older, and it is currently unknown how age modifies fracture risk.ObjectiveTo compare fracture risk after RYGB and AGB procedures in a large, nationally representative cohort enriched for older adults.Design, setting, and participantsThis population-based retrospective cohort analysis used Medicare claims data from January 1, 2006, to December 31, 2014, from 42 345 severely obese adults, of whom 29 624 received RYGB and 12 721 received AGB. Data analysis was performed from April 2017 to November 2018.Main outcomes and measuresThe primary outcome was incident nonvertebral (ie, wrist, humerus, pelvis, and hip) fractures after RYGB and AGB surgery defined using a combination of International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Edition and Current Procedural Terminology 4 codes.ResultsOf 42 345 participants, 33 254 (78.5%) were women. With a mean (SD) age of 51 (12) years, recipients of RYGB were younger than AGB recipients (55 [12] years). Both groups had similar comorbidities, medication use, and health care utilization in the 365 days before surgery. Over a mean (SD) follow-up of 3.5 (2.1) years, 658 nonvertebral fractures were documented. The fracture incidence rate was 6.6 (95% CI, 6.0-7.2) after RYGB and 4.6 (95% CI, 3.9-5.3) after AGB, which translated to a hazard ratio (HR) of 1.73 (95% CI, 1.45-2.08) after multivariable adjustment. Site-specific analyses demonstrated an increased fracture risk at the hip (HR, 2.81; 95% CI, 1.82-4.49), wrist (HR, 1.70; 95% CI, 1.33-2.14), and pelvis (HR, 1.48; 95% CI, 1.08-2.07) among RYGB recipients. No significant interactions of fracture risk with age, sex, diabetes status, or race were found. In particular, adults 65 years and older showed similar patterns of fracture risk to younger adults. Sensitivity analyses using propensity score matching showed similar results (nonvertebral fracture: HR 1.75; 95% CI, 1.22-2.52).Conclusions and relevanceThis study of a large, US population-based cohort including a substantial population of older adults found a 73% increased risk of nonvertebral fracture after RYGB compared with AGB, including increased risk of hip, wrist, and pelvis fractures. Fracture risk was consistently increased among RYGB patients vs AGB across different subgroups, and to a similar degree among older and younger adults. Increased fracture risk appears to be an important unintended consequence of RYGB.

Project description:Importance:The United States spends more money on medications than any other country. Most extended-release drugs have not consistently shown therapeutic or adherence superiority, and switching these medications to less expensive, generic, immediate-release formulations may offer an opportunity to reduce health care spending. Objective:To evaluate Medicare Part D and Medicaid spending on extended-release drug formulations and the potential savings associated with switching to generic immediate-release formulations. Design, Setting, and Participants:This cross-sectional study used the 2012 to 2017 Medicare Part D Drug Event and Medicaid Spending and Utilization data sets to analyze 20 extended-release drugs with 37 Medicare formulations and 36 Medicaid formulations. Only cardiovascular, diabetes, neurologic, and psychiatric extended-release drugs saving at most 1 additional daily dose compared with their immediate-release counterparts were included. Extended-release drugs with therapeutic superiority were excluded. Analyses were conducted from January to December 2019. Main Outcomes and Measures:Estimated Medicare Part D and Medicaid savings from switching extended-release to immediate-release drug formulations between 2012 and 2017. Results:Of the 6252 drugs screened for eligibility from the 2017 Medicaid Drug Utilization database and the 2017 Medicare Part D database, 67 drugs with extended-release formulations that were identified in the Medicare data set (20 distinct drugs with 37 formulations [19 brand, 18 generic]) were included in the analysis. In 2017, Medicare Part D spent $2.2 billion and Medicaid spent $952 million (a combined $3.1 billion) on 20 extended-release drugs. Between 2012 and 2017, Medicare Part D and Medicaid spent $12 billion and $5.9 billion, respectively, on extended-release formulations. Switching from brand-name to generic extended-release formulations was estimated to be associated with a $247 million reduction in Medicare spending and $299 million reduction in Medicaid spending in 2017, whereas switching all brand-name and generic extended-release formulations to immediate-release formulations in both Medicare and Medicaid was estimated to reduce spending by $2.6 billion ($1.8 billion for Medicare and $836 million for Medicaid) in 2017. During the study period, the estimated spending reduction associated with switching all patients receiving extended-release formulations (brand name extended-release and generic extended-release) to generic immediate-release formulations was $13.7 billion ($8.5 billion from Medicare and $5.2 billion from Medicaid). Conclusions and Relevance:The findings suggest that switching from extended-release drug formulations to therapeutically equivalent immediate-release formulations when available represents a potential option to reduce Medicare and Medicaid spending.

Project description:Use of opioids during and shortly after an acute hospitalization is warranted in some clinical settings. However, given the potential of opioids for short-term adverse events and long-term physiologic tolerance, it is important to understand the frequency of opioid prescribing at hospital discharge, hospital variation, and patient and hospital factors associated with opioid prescribing, which is currently unknown in the United States.To estimate the frequency of opioid prescribing at hospital discharge among Medicare beneficiaries without an opioid prescription claim 60 days prior to hospitalization; to document hospital variation in prescribing; and to analyze patient and hospital factors associated with prescribing, including hospital average performance on pain-related Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) measures.Analysis of pharmacy claims of a 20% random sample of Medicare beneficiaries hospitalized in 2011 without an opioid prescription claim in the 60 days before hospitalization.Our main outcome was a new opioid claim within 7 days of hospital discharge. We estimated a multivariable linear probability model of patient factors associated with new opioid use and described hospital variation in adjusted rates of new opioid use. In multivariable linear regression analysis, we also analyzed hospital factors associated with average adjusted new opioid use at the hospital level, including the percentage of each hospital's patients who reported that their pain during hospitalization was always well controlled in the 2011 HCAHPS surveys.Among 623?957 hospitalizations, 92?882 (14.9%) were associated with a new opioid claim. Among those hospitalizations with an associated opioid claim within 7 days of hospital discharge, 32?731 (42.5%) of 77?092 were associated with an opioid claim after 90 days postdischarge. Across 2512 hospitals, the average adjusted rate of new opioid use within 7 days of hospitalization was 15.1% (interquartile range, 12.3%-17.4%; interdecile range, 10.5%-20.0%). A hospital's adjusted rate of new opioid use was modestly positively associated with the percentage of its inpatients reporting that their pain was always well managed (increase from 25th to the 75th percentile in the HCAHPS measure was associated with an absolute increase in new opioid use of 0.89 percentage points or a relative increase of 6.0%; P?<?.001).New opioid use after hospitalization is common among Medicare beneficiaries, with substantial variation across hospitals and a large proportion of patients using a prescription opioid 90 days after hospitalization. The degree to which observed hospital variation in short- and longer-term opioid use reflects variation in inappropriate prescribing at hospital discharge is unknown.

Project description: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. aureus infections following 219,958 major surgical procedures in a 5% random sample of fee-for-service Medicare beneficiaries from 2004-2007. Of these surgical patients, 0.3% had S. aureus infections during the hospitalizations when index surgical procedures were performed; and 1.7% and 2.3%, respectively, were hospitalized with infections within 60 days or 180 days following admissions for index surgeries. S. aureus infections occurred within 180 days in 1.9% of patients following coronary artery bypass graft surgery, 2.3% following hip surgery, and 5.9% following gastric or esophageal surgery. Of patients first hospitalized with any major infection reported during the first 180 days after index surgery, 15% of infections were due to S. aureus, 18% to other documented organisms, and no specific organism was reported on claim forms in 67%. Patient-level predictors of S. aureus infections included transfer from skilled nursing facilities or chronic hospitals and comorbid conditions (e.g., diabetes, congestive heart failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and chronic renal disease). In a logarithmic regression, elective index admissions with S. aureus infection stayed 130% longer than comparable patients without that infection. Within 180 days of the index surgery, 23.9% of patients with S. aureus infection and 10.6% of patients without this infection had died. In a multivariate logistic regression of death within 180 days of admission for the index surgery with adjustment for demographics, co-morbidities, and other risks, S. aureus was associated with a 42% excess risk of death. Due to incomplete documentation of organisms in Medicare claims, these statistics may underestimate the magnitude of S. aureus infection. Nevertheless, this study generated a higher rate of S. aureus infections than previous studies.

Project description:BackgroundHospitals are increasingly at risk for post-acute care outcomes and spending, such as those in skilled nursing facilities (SNFs). While hospitalists are thought to improve patient outcomes of acute care, whether these effects extend to the post-acute setting in SNFs is unknown.ObjectiveTo compare longer term outcomes of patients discharged to SNFs who were treated by hospitalists vs. non-hospitalists during their hospitalization.DesignThis was a retrospective cohort study.ParticipantsParticipants are Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries over 66 years of age who were hospitalized and discharged to a SNF in 2012-2014 (N?=?2,839,779).Main measuresWe estimated the effect of being treated by a hospitalist on 30-day rehospitalization and mortality, 60-day episode Medicare payments (Parts A and B), and successful discharge to community. Patients discharged to the community within 100 days of SNF admission who remained alive and not readmitted to a hospital or SNF for at least 30 days were considered successfully discharged. All outcomes were adjusted for demographics and clinical characteristics. To account for heterogeneity across facilities, we included hospital fixed effects.Key resultsThe 30-day rehospitalization rate was 17.59% for hospitalists' vs. 17.31% for non-hospitalists' patients (adjusted difference, 0.28%; 95% CI, 0.13 to 0.44). Sixty-day payments were $26,301 for hospitalists' vs. $25,996 for non-hospitalists' patients (adjusted difference, $305; 95% CI, $243 to $367). There was a non-significant trend toward lower successful discharge to the community rate (adjusted difference, -?0.26%; 95% CI, -?0.48 to -?0.04) and lower mortality for patients of hospitalists (adjusted difference, -?0.12%; 95% CI, -?0.22 to -?0.02).ConclusionsAmong hospitalized Medicare beneficiaries who were discharged to SNFs, readmissions and Medicare costs were slightly higher for stays under the care of hospitalists compared with those of non-hospitalist generalist physicians, but there was a non-significant trend toward lower mortality.

Dataset Information

Classifying medical histories in US Medicare beneficiaries using fixed vs all-available look-back approaches.

Publications

Classifying medical histories in US Medicare beneficiaries using fixed vs all-available look-back approaches.

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