Assessing the postdeployment quality of treatment for substance use disorders among Army enlisted soldiers in the Military Health System.

Little is known about the rates and predictors of substance use treatment received in the Military Health System among Army soldiers diagnosed with a postdeployment substance use disorder (SUD). We used data from the Substance Use and Psychological Injury Combat study to determine the proportion of active duty (n = 338,708) and National Guard/Reserve (n = 178,801) enlisted soldiers returning from an Afghanistan/Iraq deployment in fiscal years 2008 to 2011 who had an SUD diagnosis in the first 150 days postdeployment. Among soldiers diagnosed with an SUD, we examined the rates and predictors of substance use treatment initiation and engagement according to the Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set criteria. In the first 150 days postdeployment 3.3% of active duty soldiers and 1.0% of National Guard/Reserve soldiers were diagnosed with an SUD. Active duty soldiers were more likely to initiate and engage in substance use treatment than National Guard/Reserve soldiers, yet overall, engagement rates were low (25.0% and 15.7%, respectively). Soldiers were more likely to engage in treatment if they received their index diagnosis in a specialty behavioral health setting. Efforts to improve substance use treatment in the Military Health System should include initiatives to more accurately identify soldiers with undiagnosed SUD. Suggestions to improve substance use treatment engagement in the Military Health System will be discussed.

A Tale of Two Databases: The DoD and VA Infrastructure for Clinical Intelligence (DaVINCI).

The Department of Defense (DoD) and Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Infrastructure for Clinical Intelligence (DaVINCI) creates an electronic network between the two United States federal agencies that provides a consolidated view of electronic medical record data for both service members and Veterans. This inter-agency collaboration has created new opportunities for supporting transitions in clinical care, reporting to Congress, and longitudinal research.

Army and Navy ECHO Pain Telementoring Improves Clinician Opioid Prescribing for Military Patients: an Observational Cohort Study.

BACKGROUND: Opioid overdose deaths occur in civilian and military populations and are the leading cause of accidental death in the USA. OBJECTIVE: To determine whether ECHO Pain telementoring regarding best practices in pain management and safe opioid prescribing yielded significant declines in opioid prescribing. DESIGN: A 4-year observational cohort study at military medical treatment facilities worldwide. PARTICIPANTS: Patients included 54.6% females and 46.4% males whose primary care clinicians (PCCs) opted to participate in ECHO Pain; the comparison group included 39.9% females and 60.1% males whose PCCs opted not to participate in ECHO Pain. INTERVENTION: PCCs attended 2-h weekly Chronic Pain and Opioid Management TeleECHO Clinic (ECHO Pain), which included pain and addiction didactics, case-based learning, and evidence-based recommendations. ECHO Pain sessions were offered 46 weeks per year. Attendance ranged from 1 to 3 sessions (47.7%), 4-19 (32.1%, or > 20 (20.2%). MAIN MEASURES: This study assessed whether clinician participation in Army and Navy Chronic Pain and Opioid Management TeleECHO Clinic (ECHO Pain) resulted in decreased prescription rates of opioid analgesics and co-prescribing of opioids and benzodiazepines. Measures included opioid prescriptions, morphine milligram equivalents (MME), and days of opioid and benzodiazepine co-prescribing per patient per year. KEY RESULTS: PCCs participating in ECHO Pain had greater percent declines than the comparison group in (a) annual opioid prescriptions per patient (- 23% vs. - 9%, P < 0.001), (b) average MME prescribed per patient/year (-28% vs. -7%, p < .02), (c) days of co-prescribed opioid and benzodiazepine per opioid user per year (-53% vs. -1%, p < .001), and (d) the number of opioid users (-20.2% vs. -8%, p < .001). Propensity scoring transformation-adjusted results were consistent with the opioid prescribing and MME results. CONCLUSIONS: Patients treated by PCCs who opted to participate in ECHO Pain had greater declines in opioid-related prescriptions than patients whose PCCs opted not to participate.

Costs for Breast Cancer Care in the Military Health System: An Analysis by Benefit Type and Care Source.

Introduction: Breast cancer care imposes a significant financial burden to U.S. healthcare systems. Health services factors, such as insurance benefit type and care source, may impact costs to the health system. Beneficiaries in the U.S. Military Health System (MHS) have universal healthcare coverage and access to a network of military facilities (direct care) and private practices (purchased care). This study aims to quantify and compare breast cancer care costs to the MHS by insurance benefit type and care source. Materials and Methods: We conducted a retrospective analysis of data linked between the MHS data repository administrative claims and central cancer registry databases. The institutional review boards of the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, the Defense Health Agency, and the National Institutes of Health Office of Human Subjects Research reviewed and approved the data linkage. We used the linked data to identify records for women aged 40-64 yr who were diagnosed with breast cancer between 2003 and 2007 and to extract information on insurance benefit type, care source, and cost to the MHS for breast cancer treatment. We estimated per capita costs for breast cancer care by benefit type and care source in 2008 USD using generalized linear models, adjusted for demographic, pathologic, and treatment characteristics. Results: The average per capita (n = 2,666) total cost for breast cancer care was $66,300 [standard error (SE) $9,200] over 3.31 (1.48) years of follow-up. Total costs were similar between benefit types, but varied by care source. The average per capita cost was $34,500 ($3,000) for direct care (n = 924), $96,800 ($4,800) for purchased care (n = 622), and $60,700 ($3,900) for both care sources (n = 1,120), respectively. Care source differences remained by tumor stage and for chemotherapy, radiation, and hormone therapy treatment types. Conclusions: Per capita costs to the MHS for breast cancer care were similar by benefit type and lower for direct care compared with purchased care. Further research is needed in breast and other tumor sites to determine patterns and determinants of cancer care costs between benefit types and care sources within the MHS.

Breast Cancer Treatment and Survival Among Department of Defense Beneficiaries: An Analysis by Benefit Type and Care Source.

Background: Use of treatment for breast cancer is dependent on the patient's cancer characteristics and willingness to undergo treatment and provider treatment recommendations. Receipt of breast cancer treatment varies by insurance status and type. It is not clear whether different benefit types and care sources differ in breast cancer treatment and outcomes among Department of Defense beneficiaries. Methods: The objectives of this study are to assess whether receipt of breast cancer treatment varied by benefit type (TRICARE Prime vs non-Prime) or care source (direct care, purchased care, and both) and to examine whether survival and recurrence differed by benefit type and/or care source among female Department of Defense beneficiaries with the disease. Study subjects were women aged 40-64 yr, diagnosed with malignant breast cancer between 2003 and 2007. Multivariable logistic regression analyses were conducted to assess the likelihood of receiving treatment by benefit type or care source. Multivariable Cox proportional hazard models were used to investigate differences in survival and recurrence by benefit type or care source. Findings: A total of 2,668 women were included in this study. Those with Prime were more likely to have chemotherapy, radiation, hormone therapy, breast-conserving surgery, surveillance mammography, and recurrence than women with non-Prime. Survival was high, with 94.86% of those with Prime and 92.58% with non-Prime alive at the end of the study period. Women aged 50-59 yr with non-Prime benefit type had better survival than women with Prime of the same age. No survival differences were seen by care source. In regard to recurrence, women aged 60-64 yr with TRICARE Prime were more likely to have recurrent breast cancer than women with non-Prime. Additionally, women aged 50-59 yr who used purchased care were less likely to have a recurrence than women who used direct care only. Discussion/Impact/Recommendations: To our knowledge, this is the first study to examine breast cancer treatment and survival by care source and benefit type in the Military Health System. In this equal access health care system, no differences in treatment, except mastectomy, by benefit type, were observed. There were no overall differences in survival, although patients with non-Prime tended to have better survival in the age group of 50-59 yr. In regard to care source, women who utilized mostly purchased care or utilized both direct and purchased care were more likely to receive certain types of treatment, such as chemotherapy and radiation, as compared with women who used direct care only. However, survival did not differ between different care sources. Future research is warranted to further investigate variations in breast cancer treatment and its survival gains by benefit type and care source among Department of Defense beneficiaries.

Benefit Type and Care Source in Relation to Mammography Screening and Breast Cancer Stage at Diagnosis Among DoD Beneficiaries.

BACKGROUND: Type of insurance and out-of-pocket costs influence the use of medical care. Specifically, type of insurance can impact an individual's likelihood of receiving a screening mammogram. Additionally, variation in tumor stage at diagnosis exists for patients with different types of insurance. It is not clear whether different benefit types and care sources differ in breast cancer care and outcomes among Department of Defense (DoD) beneficiaries. METHODS: The objective of this study was to examine differences in screening mammography and tumor stage at diagnosis between different benefit types (TRICARE Prime vs. non-Prime) and among different care sources (direct care, purchased care, and both) in the DoD Military Health System. Study subjects were women 40 to 64 years of age, diagnosed with malignant breast cancer between 2003 and 2007. Multivariable logistic regression analyses were conducted to assess differences by benefit type and care source in receipt of screening mammography before diagnosis and tumor stage at diagnosis. FINDINGS: A total of 2,668 women were included in this study. Patients with Prime were more likely to receive a screening mammography and have an earlier tumor stage than those with non-Prime. Women with direct care were more likely to have an earlier tumor stage but less likely to receive a screening mammogram than those with purchased care. DISCUSSION: In an equal access health care system, the use of mammography screening and tumor stage at diagnosis may differ by benefit type and care source among DoD beneficiaries. To our knowledge, this was the first study to assess mammography screening and tumor stage differences by benefit type and care source in the Military Health System. Although underlying reasons for the differences are not clear, they may be related to out-of-pocket costs, distance from medical treatment facilities, and frequency of doctor visits for other medical problems. Further research is needed to assess these differences and related factors among DoD beneficiaries.

Rationale and methods of the Substance Use and Psychological Injury Combat Study (SUPIC): a longitudinal study of Army service members returning from deployment in FY2008-2011.

The Substance Use and Psychological Injury Combat Study (SUPIC) will examine whether early detection and intervention for post-deployment problems among Army Active Duty and National Guard/Reservists returning from Iraq or Afghanistan are associated with improved long-term substance use and psychological outcomes. This paper describes the rationale and significance of SUPIC, and presents demographic and deployment characteristics of the study sample (N = 643,205), and self-reported alcohol use and health problems from the subsample with matched post-deployment health assessments (N = 487,600). This longitudinal study aims to provide new insight into the long-term post-deployment outcomes of Army members by combining service member data from the Military Health System and Veterans Health Administration.