OBJECTIVE To examine changes in the management of patients with diabetes from 1994 to 1999 using the claims-based Diabetes Quality Improvement Project (DQIP) accountability measures. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS Administrative claims from an employer-based health insurance cohort in Maine were used to describe the prevalence of claims-based DQIP accountability measures-HbA(1c) testing, dilated...

The contraceptive implant Implanon (Organon) was introduced in Australia in May 2001, and in the next 18 months was associated with an unprecedented number of adverse incident reports to medical indemnity insurers, including almost 100 unintended pregnancies. The medical indemnity insurer, MDA National, responded to this by applying the Australian and New Zealand Standard for Risk Management (A...

BACKGROUND Some anesthesiologists avoid provision of obstetric analgesia services (OAS) because of low reimbursement rates for the work involved. This study defines the manpower costs of operating an OAS in a tertiary referral center and examines reimbursement for this cost. METHODS The time spent providing OAS in a total of 55 parturients was studied prospectively using a modification of cla...

OBJECTIVE To examine the costs and outcomes of infertility-related services in Massachusetts during a time of expanded use of assisted reproductive technology (ART). DESIGN Cost data were obtained from the Massachusetts Department of Insurance Rate-Setting Commission and 9 large group insurance plans for the period 1986-1993. Utilization and success rates of ART were examined, and the cost pe...