T L Mark

....

..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...

..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...

....

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

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

..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...

..2 billion (24%), medical care US$5.0 billion (23%), and social welfare US$0.1 billion (0.5%). The large economic burden resulting from heroin addiction highlights the importance of investment in prevention and treatment...

..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...

..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...

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

..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...

..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...

..This article evaluates the effect of nine strategies to facilitate physician involvement and integration into the hospital on hospital financial performance...

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

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

..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...

..To review the availability of data sources to study health plan competition in the United States...

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

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

....

..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...

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

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

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

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

..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]..

..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...

..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...

..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...

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

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

..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...

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