OBJECTIVE This study evaluates the impact that a Medicaid managed care program had on avoidable hospitalization, a form of health care misuse that we hypothesize can be reduced by improved access to and quality of primary care in the context of a managed care program. Ambulatory care sensitive (ACS) hospitalizations, a previously defined categorization of hospitalization, as well as all pediatr...

Background. There is little information regarding depression treatment patterns among adults with MS and depression in ambulatory settings at national level in the United States (US). Objectives. The objectives of this study were to identify patterns and predictors of depression treatment in ambulatory settings in US among adults with MS and depression. Methods. A cross-sectional study was cond...

For some considerable time now the interface between ambulatory and hospital care has been mooted as a cause of inefficiencies in the German health system and there have been calls for a softening of the strict separation between the two sectors. This debate emphasizes the need for detailed empirical information on the interdependence between the two sectors. Using extensive administrative data...

BACKGROUND There have been efforts to understand the epidemiology of iatrogenic harm in hospitals and primary care and to improve the safety of care provision. There has in contrast been very limited progress in relation to the safety of ambulatory dental care. OBJECTIVES To provide a comprehensive overview of the range and frequencies of existing evidence on patient safety incidents and adve...

Accurate diagnosis of hypertension and prognosis for future cardiovascular events can be enhanced through the use of 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure monitoring. It has been suggested that the use of ambulatory monitoring as a secondary screening for hypertension might be cost-effective. Many needed studies that are related to the calculation of cost-effectiveness for ambulatory monitoring hav...

Healthcare is primarily delivered in the ambulatory care setting. The high variability in service delivery encountered in this environment negatively impacts efficiency, quality of care, costs, patient satisfaction and safety. Care coordination, a process to manage dependencies between clinicians who provide care to a patient, has been proposed as a critical and challenging step in improving ca...

OBJECTIVES The goals were to estimate the prevalence of food allergy and to describe trends in food allergy prevalence and health care use among US children. METHODS A cross-sectional survey of data on food allergy among children <18 years of age, as reported in the 1997-2007 National Health Interview Survey, 2005-2006 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 1993-2006 National Hospi...

BACKGROUND International care guidelines for Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) were published in 2010, but compliance in clinical practice is unknown. OBJECTIVE The objective of our study was to compare real-world DMD care in Germany, Italy, the UK, and the US with the clinical recommendations. METHODS DMD patients from Germany, Italy, the UK, and the US were identified through Translationa...

To describe the number and treatment of skin and soft tissue infections likely caused by Staphylococcus aureus in the United States, we analyzed data from the 1992-1994 and 2001-2003 National Ambulatory Medical Care Surveys and National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Surveys. Each year, data were reported by an average of 1,400 physicians, 230 outpatient departments, and 390 emergency departm...