Biomedical subjects

Jennifer Elston Lafata

Publications and source records attributed to Jennifer Elston Lafata.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2007

Estimation of the period prevalence of inflammatory bowel disease among nine health plans using computerized diagnoses and outpatient pharmacy dispensings.

BACKGROUND: There are few contemporary estimates of prevalence rates for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in diverse North American communities. METHODS: We estimated the period prevalence of IBD for January 1, 1999, through June 30, 2001, among 1.8 million randomly sampled members of nine integrated healthcare organizations in the US using computerized diagnoses and outpatient pharmaceutical dispensing. We also assessed the positive predictive value (PPV) and sensitivities of 1) the case-finding algorithm, and 2) the 30-month sampling period using medical chart review and linkage to a 78-month dataset, respectively. RESULTS: The PPV of the case-finding algorithm was 81% (95% confidence interval [CI], 78-87) and 84% (95% CI, 79-89) in two different organizations. In both, the sensitivity of the optimal algorithm, compared with the most inclusive, exceeded 90%. The sensitivity of the 30-month sampling period compared with 78 months was 61% (95% CI, 57-64) in one organization. Applying a slightly more sensitive case-finding algorithm, the average period prevalence of IBD across the nine organizations, standardized to the age- and gender-distribution of the US population, 2000 census, was 388 cases (95% CI, 378-397) per 100,000 persons (range 209-784 per 100,000; average follow-up 26 months). The prevalence of Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, and unspecified IBD was 129, 191, and 69 per 100,000, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The observed average prevalence was similar to prevalence proportions reported for other North American populations (369-408 per 100,000). Additional research is needed to understand differences in the occurrence of IBD among diverse populations as well as practice variation in diagnosis and treatment of IBD.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2007

Laboratory monitoring of potassium and creatinine in ambulatory patients receiving angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors and angiotensin receptor blockers.

PURPOSE: Serum potassium and creatinine monitoring is recommended for patients prescribed angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEi) and angiotensin receptor blockers (ARB). Much has been written about hyperkalemia associated with these drugs; little is known about laboratory monitoring patterns. The purpose of this retrospective cohort study was to assess creatinine and potassium monitoring and characteristics associated with monitoring among patients dispensed ACEi or ARB. METHODS: This study was conducted in 10 United States health maintenance organizations. Study patients (n = 52 906) were aged 18 or older with dispensings of ACEi or ARB for at least 1 year. Serum potassium and creatinine monitoring were assessed from administrative data and medical records. RESULTS: More than two-thirds (68.4%) of patients received laboratory monitoring. Likelihood of monitoring increased with age (adjusted odds ratio [OR] 2.10; 95% confidence interval [95%CI] 1.93, 2.28 [individuals >or= 80 compared to <50 years]), >9 outpatient visits (OR 1.46; 95%CI 1.39, 1.54), hospitalization (OR 1.15; 95%CI 1.06, 1.25), concomitant medications (potassium [OR 2.01; 95%CI 1.84, 2.20], diuretics [OR 1.54; 95%CI 1.47, 1.61], digoxin [OR 1.15; 95%CI 1.01, 1.30]), and comorbidities (diabetes [OR 1.68; 95%CI 1.61, 1.75], heart failure [OR 1.73; 95%CI 1.57, 1.90], chronic kidney disease [OR 2.95; 95%CI 2.48. 3.51]). CONCLUSIONS: Nearly one-third of patients dispensed ACEi or ARB did not undergo laboratory monitoring at least yearly. Though patients at increased risk of hyperkalemia were more likely to be monitored, many remained unmonitored.

Adult↗

PubMed2006

Patient-physician colorectal cancer screening discussions and screening use.

BACKGROUND: Little is known about patient-physician colorectal cancer (CRC) screening discussions or how discussion content affects screening use. Analyses conducted in 2004-2005 of patient-physician CRC screening discussion content and its association with screening use are described. METHODS: A mailed survey and retrospective claims data were used to compile information on insured, primary care patients aged 50 to 70 years (n = 4966). The survey collected information on patient-physician CRC screening discussion content (including the 5A's: assess, advise, agree, assist, and arrange). Survey responses were linked with 5-year retrospective claims data (ending December 31, 2003) on CRC screening use. Among patients reporting screening discussions, generalized estimating equation approaches were used to estimate the association of discussion content with screening use. RESULTS: Among those reporting discussion information (n = 2463), 80% reported discussing CRC screening with their physician. The content of these discussions varied, and only 54% used CRC screening. Multivariable model results indicated that the likelihood of screening was greater among patients reporting help scheduling an appointment (assist) (odds ratio [OR] = 2.69, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.95-3.72) and those reporting a discussion of results or follow-up (arrange) (OR = 1.63, 95% CI = 1.18-2.24), and lower among patients offered a choice among screening modalities (agree) (OR = 0.57, 95% CI = 0.37-0.86) as well as among those who wanted more screening information (OR = 0.65, 95% CI = 0.43-0.97). CONCLUSIONS: Not all patient-physician CRC screening discussions result in CRC screening use. It is important to understand which aspects of shared decision making and discussion content are likely to increase informed and value-concordant decisions to participate in recommended evidence-based CRC screening.

Aged↗

PubMed2006

Frequency of serum creatinine monitoring during allopurinol therapy in ambulatory patients.

BACKGROUND: Allopurinol dosage reduction is recommended in patients with renal dysfunction because drug toxicity risk is increased. Little information is available about serum creatinine (SCr) monitoring in ambulatory patients taking allopurinol. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate SCr monitoring among patients prescribed allopurinol, identify associated factors, and evaluate administrative data in assessing monitoring. METHODS: Information for this retrospective cohort study was drawn from a dataset of 2 020 037 individuals; approximately 200 000 members from each of 10 organizations. Study patients had received at least one year of ongoing allopurinol prescription dispensings. Patient variables analyzed included age, gender, chronic diseases, outpatient visits, hospitalizations, gout diagnosis, and SCr monitoring. A random sample of medical records was reviewed to assess the accuracy of the automated data. Statistical analysis included descriptive and logistic regression techniques. RESULTS: Overall, 1139 (26%) of 4357 patients did not have SCr monitoring. For individuals without recent hospitalization, factors protective against lack of monitoring were increasing age (OR 0.77 per 10 y; 95% CI 0.74 to 0.79), more chronic diseases (OR 0.81; 95% CI 0.78 to 0.83), more outpatient visits (OR 0.87 per 5 visits; 95% CI 0.83 to 0.91), and gout diagnosis (OR 0.74; 95% CI 0.65 to 0.85). The sensitivity and specificity of administrative data compared with medical records for SCr monitoring were 92% and 65%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: More than one-fourth of patients dispensed allopurinol did not have SCr monitoring during one year of therapy. Lack of monitoring and lack of subsequent possible dosage adjustment put patients at increased risk of allopurinol toxicity.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2006

Frequency of high-risk use of QT-prolonging medications.

PURPOSE: Prolongation of the QT interval has been associated with increased risk of torsades de pointes and death. Concurrent use of more than one QT-prolonging drug or a QT-prolonging drug with a drug that alters its pharmacokinetic profile is an important risk factor for adverse outcomes. METHODS: Using a representative sample of 2 million health plan members from 10 health maintenance organizations with pharmacy benefits between January 1999 and July 2001, we identified potential drug interactions involving QT-prolonging medications. Prescription claims overlapping by at least 7 days for either 2 or more QT-prolonging drugs or a QT-prolonging drug with a drug that alters its clearance were considered potential drug interactions. We determined the number of drug interactions overall and the number of these interactions involving patients with other risk factors for torsades de pointes. RESULTS: A total of 48 465 potential drug interactions were identified in 10 415 (4.6%) of the 228 550 patients with at least one prescription for a QT-prolonging drug. Amitriptyline was involved in 37 859 (78.1%) of the drug interactions. Of all potential drug interactions, 43 689 (90.1%) occurred in patients with at least one other risk factor for torsades de pointes, and 1053 (2.2%) were listed as a contraindicated combination in product labeling. CONCLUSION: Potential drug interactions involving currently marketed QT-prolonging drugs occurred in 4.6% of patients who had a prescription for a QT-prolonging medication. The findings suggest several areas for targeted interventions to decrease the potential risk from QT-prolonging medications.

Age Factors↗

PubMed2006

FDA drug prescribing warnings: is the black box half empty or half full?

PURPOSE: Black box warnings (BBWs) are the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) strongest labeling requirements for high-risk medicines. It is unknown how frequently physicians prescribe BBW drugs and whether they do so in compliance with the warnings. The purpose of the present study was to assess the frequency of use of BBW medications in ambulatory care and prescribing compliance with BBW recommendations. METHODS: This retrospective study used automated claims data of 929 958 enrollees in 10 geographically diverse health plans in the United States to estimate frequency of use in ambulatory care of 216 BBW drugs/drug groups between 1/1/99 and 31/6/01. We assessed dispensing compliance with the BBW requirements for selected drugs. RESULTS: During a 30-month period, more than 40% of enrollees received at least one medication that carried a BBW that could potentially apply to them. We found few instances of prescribing during pregnancy of BBW drugs absolutely contra-indicated in pregnancy. There was almost no co-prescribing of contra-indicated drugs with the two QT-interval-prolonging BBW drugs evaluated. Most non-compliance occurred with recommendations for baseline laboratory monitoring (49.6% of all therapy initiations that should have been accompanied by baseline laboratory monitoring were not). CONCLUSIONS: Many individuals receive drugs considered to carry the potential for serious risk. For some of these drugs, use is largely consistent with their BBW, while for others it is not. Since it will not be possible to avoid certain drug- associated risks, it will be important to develop effective methods to use BBWs and other methods to minimize risks.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2006

Potential drug-drug interactions in the outpatient setting.

BACKGROUND: Although medication safety research has tended to focus on inpatients, the safety of drug use among outpatients is also a concern. OBJECTIVE: We estimate the frequency of potentially interacting concomitant medication dispensing among outpatients. RESEARCH DESIGN: We report the number and percent of patients annually dispensed an object drug of interest (ie, warfarin, digoxin, cyclosporine, or lovastatin/simvastatin) with a potentially interacting drug among a random sample of insured adults receiving care from 10 integrated delivery systems. We use 2 definitions of concomitant dispensing: medications dispensed: 1) during the time period for which the patient had the other medication available ('days supply') and 2) on the same day. We also estimate the number of insured U.S. population codispensed these medication pairs. RESULTS: Among patients dispensed a drug of interest, between 17.8% (95% confidence interval [CI]=17.1-18.6%) and 28.0% (95% CI=24.0-32.1%) were concomitantly dispensed a potentially interacting drug using the "days supply" definition, and between 7.1% (95% CI=6.6-7.7%) and 17.7% (95% CI=14.4-21.1%) using the "same day" definition. Extrapolating to the insured U.S. population, between 1.29 (95% CI=1.25-1.33; same day) and 2.67 (95% CI=2.62-2.72; days supply) million insured adults are dispensed 1 of these 4 potentially interacting pairs. CONCLUSIONS: We found evidence of potentially interacting concomitant medication dispensing among outpatients. An opportunity exists to better understand how such dispensing translates into adverse events and ultimately to improved medication safety.

Aged↗

PubMed2006

Use of guideline recommended follow-up care in cancer survivors: routine or diagnostic indications?

BACKGROUND: After potentially curative cancer treatment, patients may receive procedures for routine monitoring for recurrence or for evaluation of symptoms or signs. OBJECTIVE: We sought to characterize surveillance care guideline-recommended and other procedures performed in cancer survivors according to routine versus diagnostic indications. METHODS: This was a retrospective cohort study of paper and electronic medical records between 1990 and 2000 from a large midwestern U.S. integrated health care delivery system of 500 patients who received curative treatment of breast, colorectal, endometrial, lung, or prostate cancer. Our measures were the indications for potential surveillance procedures as recommended by clinical practice guidelines or otherwise. RESULTS: Among 14,670 procedures of interest received, 82.0% were performed for routine surveillance, whereas 10.6% were performed for diagnostic indications and 7.3% had indeterminate indications. Office visits most were often delivered for routine indications (91.6%), followed by guideline recommended tests for local recurrence (range 74.1-98.4%, depending on the specific test and cancer). In general, tests that were not recommended in established guidelines were for the purposes of detection of metastatic recurrence and were less often delivered for routine indications (overall frequency 59.2%, P<0.0001 compared with recommended testing). CONCLUSION: Office visits and testing for local recurrence of cancer generally are performed for routine surveillance, regardless of recommendation by practice guidelines. Because procedures not recommended by practice guidelines were more often for diagnostic purposes, classification of patients as undergoing intensive surveillance may be misleading and may require record review to confirm.

Cohort Studies↗

PubMed2006

Time to pharmacotherapy change in response to elevated HbA1c test results.

OBJECTIVE: This study describes the clinical management of type 2 diabetes among a cohort of patients receiving oral antidiabetic monotherapy. STUDY DESIGN AND SETTING: A retrospective study was conducted within an integrated Midwestern health system that included all individuals receiving oral antidiabetic monotherapy during the period June 1, 1999 to November 30, 2002 (n = 9335). Among patients with elevated hemoglobin A(1c) (HbA(1c)) test result(s), Kaplan-Meier estimates of median time until pharmacotherapy change were calculated. RESULTS: Among the 8068 patients who had > or = 1 HbA(1c) measurement during the study period, 21.4% were at goal (i.e. HbA(1c) < 7%). Among patients with at least one elevated test result (> or = 7%), the median time to pharmacotherapy change following an HbA(1c) test result of between 7-10% was just over 1 year (372 days, 95% confidence interval [CI] 358-393 days) and 160 days for patients with HbA(1c) > 10%. Among patients with at least two elevated tests, the median time to pharmacotherapy change was 275 days from the second test result of between 7-10%, and 70 days among patients with a second HbA(1c) > 10%. The median time between HbA(1c) testing was 166 days overall, and 154 days among patients with at least one elevated result. CONCLUSION: Despite the known benefits of glycemic control among patients with diabetes, the time between elevated HbA(1c) results and pharmacotherapy change exceeds 12 months for those with HbA(1c) test results between 7-10% and 9 months for those with results over 10%.

Adult↗

PubMed2006

Monitoring of drugs with a narrow therapeutic range in ambulatory care.

OBJECTIVES: To describe the proportion of patients receiving drugs with a narrow therapeutic range who lacked serum drug concentration monitoring during a 1-year period of therapy and to identify patient characteristics associated with lack of monitoring. STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective cohort. METHODS: Ambulatory patients (n = 17,748) at 10 health maintenance organizations who were receiving ongoing continuous drug therapy with digoxin, carbamazepine, divalproex sodium, lithium carbonate, lithium citrate, phenobarbital sodium, phenytoin, phenytoin sodium, primidone, quinidine gluconate, quinidine sulfate, procainamide hydrochloride, theophylline, theophylline sodium glycinate, tacrolimus, or cyclosporine for at least 12 months between January 1, 1999, and June 30, 2001, were identified. Serum drug concentration monitoring was assessed from administrative data and from medical record data. RESULTS: Fifty percent or more of patients receiving digoxin, theophylline, procainamide, quinidine, or primidone were not monitored, and 25% to 50% of patients receiving divalproex, carbamazepine, phenobarbital, phenytoin, or tacrolimus were not monitored. Younger age was associated with lack of monitoring for patients prescribed digoxin (adjusted odds ratio, 1.86; 95% confidence interval, 1.39-2.48) and theophylline (adjusted odds ratio, 1.58; 95% confidence interval, 1.23-2.04), while older age was associated with lack of monitoring for patients prescribed carbamazepine (adjusted odds ratio, 0.59; 95% confidence interval, 0.44-0.80) and divalproex (adjusted odds ratio, 0.50; 95% confidence interval, 0.38-0.66). Patients with fewer outpatient visits were also less likely to be monitored (P < .001). CONCLUSIONS: A substantial proportion of ambulatory patients receiving drugs with narrow intervals between doses resulting in beneficial and adverse effects did not have serum drug concentration monitoring during 1 year of use. Clinical implications of this finding need to be evaluated.

Ambulatory Care↗

PubMed2005

Colorectal carcinoma screening procedure use among primary care patients.

BACKGROUND: Despite evidence-based recommendations for colorectal carcinoma screening, population-based surveys report low screening rates. To the authors' knowledge, the extent to which screening procedures are used by patients seen in primary care is not as clear. The authors estimated the annual and 5-year colorectal carcinoma screening procedure use among a cohort of primary care patients and evaluated the correlation between patient characteristics and the use of screening procedures. METHODS: The authors identified a cohort of patients (n = 21,833 patients) ages 55-70 years who had a primary care visit in 2003 and who were enrolled in a health plan for the 5-year period ending December 31, 2003. Using automated data for the 5-year period ending December 31, 2003, information on patient sociodemographic characteristics, primary care and health maintenance examination (HME) visits, comorbid diagnoses, income, and screening receipt was compiled. The latter included barium enema, colonoscopy, fecal occult blood testing (FOBT), and flexible sigmoidoscopy use. RESULTS: Approximately one-half of insured, primary care patients (54%) received recommended colorectal carcinoma screening procedures over the 5-year observation period. Among individuals who received screening, colonoscopy was used most frequently (39.9%), followed by flexible sigmoidoscopy testing alone (28.3%) or in combination with FOBT (4.3%). Annual screening rates increased by 3.1% between 1999 and 2003. Among individuals who did not receive recommended colorectal carcinoma screening, 64% had at least 3 HME visits, and 41% received at least 1 FOBT. Increasing HME visits and other primary care visit frequency, along with increasing age, income, male gender, and African-American race, were associated with screening receipt. CONCLUSIONS: Significant opportunities exist to increase colorectal carcinoma screening among primary care patients.

Adenocarcinoma↗

PubMed2005

Creating standard cost measures across integrated health care delivery systems.

BACKGROUND: Economic analyses are increasingly important in medical research. Accuracy often requires that they include large, diverse populations, which requires data from multiple sources. The difficulty is in making the data comparable across different settings. This article focuses on how to create comparable measures of health care resource use and cost using data from seven health plans and delivery systems participating in the Cancer Research Network's HMOs Investigating Tobacco study. METHODS: We used a data inventory to identify variation in data capture across sites and used data dictionaries to develop algorithms for assigning standardized cost to the three major components of health care use: outpatient, inpatient, and pharmacy. RESULTS: The plans included in this study varied from fully integrated, closed-panel models to plans and delivery systems that include network or independent physician association components. Information derived from the data inventory and data dictionary instruments demonstrated a substantial variation in both the content and capture of data across all sites and across all components of usage. The methods we employed for cost allocation varied by usage component and were based on our ability to leverage the data points available to best reflect actual resource use. CONCLUSIONS: The importance of this article is the method of ascertaining, cataloging, and addressing the within- and between-plan differences in health care resource use. Second, the decisions we made to address the differences between health plans provide other researchers a starting point when creating a cost algorithm for multisite retrospective research.

Adult↗

PubMed2005

Routine surveillance care after cancer treatment with curative intent.

BACKGROUND: Many consensus guidelines recommend routine surveillance to detect recurrent disease among cancer survivors. We compare surveillance care receipt to guideline recommendations. METHODS: Cohorts of patients aged 30 years or older diagnosed with breast, colorectal, endometrial, lung, or prostate cancer between 1990 and 1995 and treated with curative intent were identified (n = 100 per site). Receipt and indications for examinations and procedures were abstracted from medical records for as long as 5 years after treatment. Kaplan-Meier product estimates were used to estimate time to initial and subsequent service receipt. RESULTS: Most cancer patients received the recommended minimum number of physical examinations after treatment. In fact, a sizable number of cancer survivors received physical examinations at a frequency in excess of what is currently recommended. Similarly, most of these cancer survivors received recommended testing for local recurrence. Yet, less than two thirds of colorectal cancer patients received recommended colon examinations in the initial year after treatment. Among colorectal, lung, and prostate cancer patients who received recommended initial local recurrence testing, repeat testing tended to occur more frequently than what is currently recommended. The use of testing for metastatic disease that is not recommended in guidelines is also commonplace among these cancer survivors. CONCLUSIONS: Among cohorts of cancer patients, we found wide variation in the use of surveillance care, including patterns of care receipt reflective of both underuse and overuse relative to guideline recommendations. Clinical reasons for these variations and the cost and health implications deserve further study.

Adult↗

PubMed2005

Laboratory monitoring of drugs at initiation of therapy in ambulatory care.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Product labeling and published guidelines reflect the importance of monitoring laboratory parameters for drugs with a risk of organ system toxicity or electrolyte imbalance. Limited information exists about adherence to laboratory monitoring recommendations. The objective of this study was to describe laboratory monitoring among ambulatory patients dispensed medications for which laboratory testing is recommended at therapy initiation. DESIGN AND SUBJECTS: We conducted a retrospective cross-sectional analysis of patients in 10 geographically distributed health maintenance organizations who were newly prescribed medications with recommended laboratory test monitoring. The main outcome measure was the proportion of initial drug dispensing without recommended baseline laboratory monitoring for 35 newly initiated drugs or drug classes. RESULTS: One hundred seven thousand, seven hundred sixty-three of 279,354 (39%) initial drug dispensings occurred without recommended laboratory monitoring. Patients without monitoring were younger than patients who had monitoring (median 57 vs 61 years, P<.001). Thirty-two percent of dispensings where a serum creatinine was indicated did not have it evaluated (range across drugs, 12% to 61%); 39% did not have liver function testing (range 10% to 75%); 32% did not have hematologic monitoring (range 9% to 51%); and 34% did not have electrolyte monitoring (range 20% to 62%) (P<.001). CONCLUSIONS: Substantial opportunity exists to improve laboratory monitoring of drugs for which such monitoring is recommended. This study emphasizes the need for research to identify the clinical implications of not conducting recommended laboratory monitoring, existing barriers to monitoring, and methods to improve practice.

Ambulatory Care↗

PubMed2005

Baseline laboratory monitoring of cardiovascular medications in elderly health maintenance organization enrollees.

OBJECTIVES: To identify correlates of laboratory monitoring errors in elderly health maintenance organization (HMO) members at the initiation of therapy with cardiovascular medications. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study in 10 HMOs. SETTING: United States. PARTICIPANTS: From a 2 million-member sample, individuals aged 65 and older who received one of seven cardiovascular medications (angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors, angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs), amiodarone, digoxin, diuretics, potassium supplements, and statins) and did not have recommended baseline monitoring performed during the 180 days before or 14 days after the index dispensing. MEASUREMENTS: The proportion of members receiving each drug for whom recommended laboratory monitoring was not performed. Laboratory monitoring error rates stratified by sex, age group, chronic disease score, and HMO site were examined, and logistic regression was used to identify predictors of laboratory monitoring errors. RESULTS: Error rates varied by medication class, ranging from 23% of patients receiving potassium supplementation without serum potassium and serum creatinine monitoring to 58% of patients receiving amiodarone who did not have recommended monitoring for thyroid and liver function. Highest error rates occurred in the youngest elderly for ACE inhibitors, ARBs, digoxin, diuretics, and potassium supplements, although in patients receiving amiodarone and statins, errors were most frequent in the oldest elderly. Errors occurred more frequently in patients with less comorbidity. CONCLUSION: Laboratory monitoring errors occurred frequently in elderly HMO members at the initiation of therapy with cardiovascular medications. Further study must examine the association between these errors and adverse outcomes.

Aged↗

PubMed2005

Potentially inappropriate medication use by elderly persons in U.S. Health Maintenance Organizations, 2000-2001.

OBJECTIVES: To determine rates of potentially inappropriate medication use in elderly persons in managed care plans in the United States in 2000-2001. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study using automated medication-dispensing data. SETTING: Ten geographically distributed health maintenance organizations (HMOs). PARTICIPANTS: One hundred fifty-seven thousand five hundred seventeen members aged 65 years and older enrolled in one of the HMOs. MEASUREMENTS: Prevalence of use of 33 potentially inappropriate medications from January 1, 2000 through June 30, 2001. RESULTS: In 2000-2001, 28.8% (95% confidence interval=28.6-29.1) of elderly individuals received at least one of 33 potentially inappropriate medications. This rate ranged from 23.0% to 36.5% across the 10 HMOs. Approximately 5% of elderly patients received at least one of the 11 medications classified by an expert panel as "always avoid," 13% received at least one of the eight medications that would rarely be considered appropriate, and 17% received at least one of the 14 medications that have some indications but are often misused. Overall, rates of use of these medications were greater in women (32.4%) than in men (24.2%). At least 1% of elderly members received belladonna alkaloids (2.3%), dicyclomine (1.1%), or hyoscyamine (1.2%), each of which multiple expert panels have classified as always inappropriate in patients aged 65 years and older. Seven percent of elderly members received propoxyphene, an analgesic medication considered rarely appropriate in the elderly and a drug that has a long history of limited efficacy and potential for toxicity. CONCLUSION: Recent rates of potentially inappropriate medication use by elderly HMO members were at least as great as in a 1996 national sample. This study highlights the need to understand more fully the rationale behind the continued use of these medications.

Age Distribution↗

PubMed2005

The impact of diabetes on employment and work productivity.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to longitudinally examine the effect of diabetes on labor market outcomes. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: Using secondary data from the first two waves (1992 and 1994) of the Health and Retirement Study, we identified 7,055 employed respondents (51-61 years of age), 490 of whom reported having diabetes in wave 1. We estimated the effect of diabetes in wave 1 on the probability of working in wave 2 using probit regression. For those working in wave 2, we modeled the relationships between diabetic status in wave 1 and the change in hours worked and work-loss days using ordinary least-squares regressions and modeled the presence of health-related work limitations using probit regression. All models control for health status and job characteristics and are estimated separately by sex. RESULTS: Among individuals with diabetes, the absolute probability of working was 4.4 percentage points less for women and 7.1 percentage points less for men relative to that of their counterparts without diabetes. Change in weekly hours worked was not statistically significantly associated with diabetes. Women with diabetes had 2 more work-loss days per year compared with women without diabetes. Compared with individuals without diabetes, men and women with diabetes were 5.4 and 6 percentage points (absolute increase), respectively, more likely to have work limitations. CONCLUSIONS: This article provides evidence that diabetes affects patients, employers, and society not only by reducing employment but also by contributing to work loss and health-related work limitations for those who remain employed.

Diabetes Mellitus↗

PubMed2004

Relationship between adherence to inhaled corticosteroids and poor outcomes among adults with asthma.

BACKGROUND: Regular use of inhaled corticosteroids (ICSs) can improve asthma symptoms and prevent exacerbations. However, overall adherence is poor among patients with asthma. Objective To estimate the proportion of poor asthma-related outcomes attributable to ICS nonadherence. METHODS: We retrospectively identified 405 adults age 18 to 50 years who had asthma and were members of a large health maintenance organization in southeast Michigan between January 1, 1999, and December 31, 2001. Adherence indices were calculated by using medical records and pharmacy claims. The main outcomes were the number of asthma-related outpatient visits, emergency department visits, and hospitalizations, as well as the frequency of oral steroid use. RESULTS: Overall adherence to ICS was approximately 50%. Adherence to ICS was significantly and negatively correlated with the number of emergency department visits (correlation coefficient [ R ] = -0.159), the number of fills of an oral steroid ( R = -0.179), and the total days' supply of oral steroid ( R = -0.154). After adjusting for potential confounders, including the prescribed amount of ICS, each 25% increase in the proportion of time without ICS medication resulted in a doubling of the rate of asthma-related hospitalization (relative rate, 2.01; 95% CI, 1.06-3.79). During the study period, there were 80 asthma-related hospitalizations; an estimated 32 hospitalizations would have occurred were there no gaps in medication use (60% reduction). CONCLUSIONS: Adherence to ICS is poor among adult patients with asthma and is correlated with several poor asthma-related outcomes. Less than perfect adherence to ICS appears to account for the majority of asthma-related hospitalizations.

Administration, Inhalation↗