TAMI MARK

..Detoxification readmission is common in the public sector. Engaging patients in treatment following detoxification may reduce readmission rates and time to readmission...

..Specifically, the study determined provider and patient opinions of The PACE System and documented evidence as to whether symptom assessment rates increased after this system was implemented...

..This study determined spending on mental health treatment in the United States over time by provider and payer relative to all health spending...

..S. health care spending grew by 8.0 percent. As a result of the slower growth of SA spending compared to that for all health care, SA spending fell as a share of all health spending from 2.1 percent in 1986 to 1.3 percent in 2003...

..This decline was evident in all categories: inpatient, outpatient, and pharmaceutical usage. Substance abuse spending per covered life (in constant dollars) dropped from about $21.16 in 1992 to about $5.58 in 2001 [corrected]..

..Private insurance payment for substance abuse actually dropped in real dollars, increasing the public share of substance abuse spending...

..This study examined dosing and hematologic outcomes with these agents in community oncology clinics...

..Although it is estimated that serious emotional disturbance affects 9 to 13 percent of children and adolescents in the United States, there are few national data on the characteristics of this group...

..On a more encouraging note, many facilities were conducting discharge planning and providing aftercare, although the specifics of these services were not determined...

..SA spending per capita by age was $26 per youth, $98 per mid-age adult, and $28 per older adult...

..The extent to which substance dependence medications will be adopted by physicians and patients, and marketed by industry, remains uncertain...

..The approach should receive additional research and development attention...

..Insurance benefits can have a large effect on whether one is able to access health care services. Mental health and substance abuse (MHSA) insurance coverage has typically been less generous than that of general health services...

..This paper examines physicians' opinions about and use of two alcoholism medications currently approved in the US--disulfiram and naltrexone--and one alcoholism medication--acamprosate--that might be approved...

..In particular, barriers to access may exist for African Americans. Physician access to information about advances in drug therapies also may play a substantial role in the rate of diffusion of new medications...

..e., efficacy, side effects, compliance, price, mode of administration, method of action)...

..g. by reading more journal articles about naltrexone) were more likely to prescribe it. In summary, multiple factors are contributing to the relatively low naltexone prescription rate...

..High copayments may present a barrier to medication adherence among patients with chronic conditions such as hyperlipidemia...

..To our knowledge, no prior study has examined the extent to which psychoactive medications are prescribed for non-psychiatric somatic illnesses or the main types of psychiatric disorders for which psychoactive medications are being used...

..2 percent of total private insurance spending in 1992 to 5.1 percent in 1999. The decline was attributable to a dramatic decrease in inpatient MH/SA treatment--specifically, the probability of admissions and average length-of-stay...

..The authors reviewed studies of Medicaid spending on mental health and substance abuse services...

..To examine the effects of statin cost-sharing (ie, copayments, coinsurance) on adherence to statin medications and the impact of adherence on healthcare utilization and spending...

..For MH, Medicaid is forecasted to fund an increasingly larger share of treatment costs (27 percent), and prescription medications are expected to capture 30 percent of MH spending by 2014...

..Step therapy is not the same as generic substitution...

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..64; CI = 1.27-2.12; p = 0.0002). Schizophrenia is, on average, accompanied by different diagnoses and symptoms in Blacks. Symptom profiles indicate that second-generation antipsychotics may be underprescribed to Black patients...

..The study indicates that medications to treat alcoholism must overcome numerous barriers before becoming widely accepted...

..2 days and the percentage of admissions through the emergency room increased from 35.6% to 40.1%. Detoxification offers an opportunity to link patients with rehabilitation. This analysis indicates that those opportunities may be missed...

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..Estimate the productivity-related cost of depression in an employed population...

..To examine the effects of antihypertensive step therapy on prescription drug utilization and spending, and other medical care utilization and spending...

..Employers may receive a considerable return on the investment of offering SCTs as part of comprehensive insurance benefit for their employees as opposed to a rider...

..CONCLUSION: The leading risk adjustment approaches substantially reduce the incentives for adverse selection but do not eliminate them...

..Several drug administration regimens of epoetin alfa (EPO) and darbepoetin alfa (DARB) are used for the management of anemia in cancer patients in the clinical practice setting...

..However, the characteristic declines in learning and memory seen in AD may erode the patient's ability to adhere to medication regimens with or without caregiver support...

..Age-specific estimates enable policymakers, providers, and researchers to design programs and studies more appropriately tailored to specific age groups...

..These treatment disparities merit further study, because they may impact dual-eligible patients moving into Medicare Part D plans...

..Hopefully the results of this study will inform the policy debate over drug testing by focusing on real data, as opposed to supposition or political considerations that seem to dominate many discussions...

..We propose to collect this information through experts panels and a national survey of physicians specialized in treating substance abuse. ..