INTRODUCTION This study sought to examine medical expenditures among non-institutionalized adults in the United States with one or more chronic conditions. METHOD Using data from the 2010 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) Household Component (HC), we explored total and out-of-pocket medical, hospital, physician office, and prescription drug expenditures for non-institutionalized adults ...

Despite widespread azithromycin use, no audit has targeted this drug to date. Azithromycin was audited in primary military clinics between July 1, 2003 and December 31, 2003 (period 1). Consumption (defined daily doses/1000 visits) and economic expenditure of penicillin V, amoxicillin, erythromycin, and azithromycin were evaluated. An educational intervention was performed (dissemination of loc...

OBJECTIVES To examine trends in out-of-pocket spending and the financial burden of care for persons with diabetes between 2001 and 2009, and to examine whether these trends are consistent with trends in access to prescription drugs and utilization of hospital services. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS Data are from the 2001 to 2009 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS). The sample includes persons ...

BACKGROUND Since 1989 long term oxygen therapy (LTOT) in Scotland has been prescribable only by respiratory physicians, whereas in England and Wales general practitioners can also prescribe this treatment. The effect of this policy has been audited. METHOD Six hundred and thirty patients were prescribed LTOT in Scotland between 1 October 1989 and 30 September 1991, of which 519 case notes wer...

The study was designed to compare antibiotic use, cost and consumption before and after an initiation of an antibiotic-restriction policy in our hospital. The policy was applied in 2003, and the prescription of two groups of antibiotics (intravenously used and expensive antibiotics) was restricted. A prescription for the restricted antibiotics could be obtained with approval by an infectious di...

The chronic nature of many prescription drugs used by Medicare beneficiaries suggests that adverse selection could pose a problem in the market for stand-alone prescription drug plans that were created under the Medicare Modernization Act of 2003. Using panel data on the Medicare population from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey, we find that prescription drug expenditures are less concentra...

Patients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) are seriously ill and often suffer from chronic critical illnesses. Antibiotics are the most frequently prescribed drugs among hospitalized patients especially in intensive care and surgical department. Inadequate antibiotic use can also lead to increased morbidity, mortality, length of hospital stay (LOS) and healthcare expenditures. To study ...

OBJECTIVE Determine incremental increases in healthcare expenditures and utilization associated with allergic rhinitis (AR). METHODS Patients reporting a diagnosis of AR were extracted from the 2007 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey medical conditions file and linked to the consolidated expenditures file. AR patients were then compared to non-AR patients determining differences in healthcare u...

BACKGROUND The extent to which adults with mental health disorders in the United States receive opioids has not been adequately reported. METHODS We performed a cross-sectional study of a nationally representative sample of the noninstitutionalized U.S. adult population from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey. We examined the relationship between mental health (mood and anxiety) disorders a...

Introduction Low back pain (LBP) is among the leading indications for the prescription of opioid analgesics in clinical practice. There is increasing evidence suggesting that these agents may have diminished efficacy in the treatment of LBP. Objectives We evaluated the relationship between depression, the probability of receiving an opioid prescription, and the amount of morphine equivalent a...