Medicare News and Research

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Focussing on performance measures may lead to inappropriate antibiotic use

Patients with suspected pneumonia may receive antibiotics unnecessarily as a result of hospital and physician efforts to meet certain performance measures.

10 Jul 2006

Women receive lower-quality heart attack care than men

A new study shows that a puzzling gap between the sexes persists in hospital care for heart attack patients, despite specific efforts by hospitals to improve the way they treat all patients immediately after a heart attack.

10 Jul 2006

Hospital quality measures do not fully account for the variation in hospital death rates for heart attack patients

Hospital quality measures do not fully account for the variation in hospital death rates for heart attack patients, according to a study in the July 5 issue of Journal of the American Medical Association.

4 Jul 2006

Terminally ill cancer patients continue to receive aggressive treatment at end of life

The increasing use of chemotherapy and intensive hospital treatment for cancer patients in their last two weeks of life continued at least into the late 1990s despite the growth of the hospice movement that emphasizes comforting personal bonds and controlling pain and discomfort

9 Jun 2006

Factors influencing the route of administration for Epoetin treatment among hemodialysis patients in the U.S.

A forthcoming article to be published in the July 2006 issue of the American Journal of Kidney Diseases finds that physician decision-making for the delivery of epoetin therapy is primarily influenced by the type of ownership and financial incentives associated with dialysis centers.

6 Jun 2006

MRI cost-effective for some women at high-risk of breast cancer

A computer model simulation suggests that adding breast MRI screening may be cost-effective for women of certain ages who carry BRCA1 and BRCA2 gene mutations.

23 May 2006

Benefits of screening colonoscopy in very elderly

Even though the prevalence of colon tumors increases with age, screening colonoscopy in patients over 80 years of age results in smaller gains in life expectancy, compared to younger patients.

23 May 2006

Study identified characteristics of caregivers that may increase symptoms in dementia patients

Troublesome symptoms that accompany dementia - including wandering, hallucinations and restlessness - may increase if the patients' caregivers are young, less educated, over-burdened or depressed.

23 May 2006

A review of percutaneous kyphoplasty

A procedure that fills in fractured vertebrae with injected cement has not been shown to improve a person's back pain or quality of life, according to a new analysis of studies.

16 May 2006

Lilly to extend patient assistance programs for Medicare patients

Eli Lilly and Company has announced that it will be extending its existing patient assistance program, LillyAnswers, through the end of this year to qualifying patients currently participating in the program, to help bridge the gap in coverage for people who need Lilly medicines, but are not yet enrolled in Medicare Part D.

11 May 2006

Impact of optional regulations on heart attack treatment

People who have heart attacks are about 15 percent less likely to be treated with bypass surgery or angioplasty within the first few days of the incident in states with certificate of need (CON) regulatory programs.

10 May 2006

Completion of therapy by Medicare patients with stage III colon cance

Physical frailty, treatment complications, and lack of social and psychological support may explain why elderly stage III colon cancer patients do not complete a course of chemotherapy after surgery

3 May 2006

Breast cancer survivors turning their backs on recommended mammograms

A new study finds use of annual mammography among breast cancer survivors, who are at increased risk of a recurrence or a new malignancy in the other breast, dropped off after a few years. During the five year study period, only one in three women in this high-risk population had received regular annual mammograms.

24 Apr 2006

Convictions in $45 million illegal blood diversion scheme

Florida pharmaceutical wholesale distributor, convicted on March 29, 2006, of more than two hundred and forty-seven criminal counts as the result of an extensive OCI investigation of an illegal medical products diversion scheme which defrauded the Medicaid and Medicare programs of more than $45,000,000.

19 Apr 2006

Only 43 percent of older people with diabetes receive medicines that could protect their heart and kidneys

...despite the fact that virtually all of them could benefit from those drugs, a new University of Michigan study finds. And even among those with the most to gain from the medicines, the rate of use barely reaches 53 percent.

18 Apr 2006

Approval of integrated insulin pump and continuous glucose system a significant step towards artificial pancreas technology

The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) has said that the federal government's approval of an insulin pump that also provides real-time, continuous glucose monitoring is a significant step on the path to the development of an artificial pancreas, with the potential to significantly improve diabetes care and lower the risk of complications.

13 Apr 2006

New Medicare drug benefit is meeting or exceeding expectations

According to a new survey released by AARP, nearly eight-in-ten, (78 percent) of those enrolled in a Medicare prescription drug plan say they are satisfied.

13 Apr 2006

Usage and outcomes of primary androgen deprivation therapy for localized prostate cancer

In the online March 2006 version of Cancer, Dr. Kawakami and associates report from the CaPSURE database that primary androgen deprivation therapy (PADT) is used in 14% of prostate cancer (CaP) patients with reasonable outcomes at approximately 5 years follow-up.

11 Apr 2006

Study assesses formularies across Medicare drug plans

Medicare's new private stand-alone drug plans vary significantly - in terms of covered drugs, out-of-pocket costs for specific medications, and restrictions placed on the use of certain drugs - according to a new analysis released today by the Kaiser Family Foundation.

11 Apr 2006

Mammography rates better with shared care

If follow-up mammography is an indicator of quality breast cancer care, then older survivors who receive shared care--provided by both a primary care physician and a cancer specialist--are better cared for than those who don't.

21 Mar 2006

Medicare News and Research

Focussing on performance measures may lead to inappropriate antibiotic use

Women receive lower-quality heart attack care than men

Hospital quality measures do not fully account for the variation in hospital death rates for heart attack patients

Terminally ill cancer patients continue to receive aggressive treatment at end of life

Factors influencing the route of administration for Epoetin treatment among hemodialysis patients in the U.S.

MRI cost-effective for some women at high-risk of breast cancer

Benefits of screening colonoscopy in very elderly

Study identified characteristics of caregivers that may increase symptoms in dementia patients

A review of percutaneous kyphoplasty

Lilly to extend patient assistance programs for Medicare patients

Impact of optional regulations on heart attack treatment

Completion of therapy by Medicare patients with stage III colon cance

Breast cancer survivors turning their backs on recommended mammograms

Convictions in $45 million illegal blood diversion scheme

Only 43 percent of older people with diabetes receive medicines that could protect their heart and kidneys

Approval of integrated insulin pump and continuous glucose system a significant step towards artificial pancreas technology

New Medicare drug benefit is meeting or exceeding expectations

Usage and outcomes of primary androgen deprivation therapy for localized prostate cancer

Study assesses formularies across Medicare drug plans

Mammography rates better with shared care

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