Patient journey in erosive oesophagitis: real-world perspectives from US physicians and patients.

OBJECTIVE: Management of erosive oesophagitis (EE) remains suboptimal, with many patients experiencing incomplete healing, ongoing symptoms, and relapse despite proton pump inhibitor (PPI) treatment. The Study of Acid-Related Disorders investigated patient burden of individuals with EE in a real-world setting. DESIGN: US gastroenterologists (GIs) or family physicians (FPs)/general practitioners (GPs) treating patients with EE completed a physician survey and enrolled up to four patients with EE for a patient survey, with prespecified data extracted from medical records. RESULTS: 102 GIs and 149 FPs/GPs completed the survey; data were available for 73 patients (mean age at diagnosis, 45.4 years). Omeprazole was healthcare professional (HCP)-preferred first-line treatment (60.8% GIs; 56.4% FPs/GPs), and pantoprazole preferred second line (29.4% and 32.9%, respectively). Price and insurance coverage (both 55.5% HCPs) and familiarity (47.9%) key drivers for omeprazole; insurance coverage (52.0%), price (50.0%), familiarity (48.0%), initial symptom relief (46.0%), and safety (44.0%) key drivers for pantoprazole. Only 49.3% patients took medication as instructed all the time; 56.8% independently increased medication frequency some of the time. Despite treatment, 57.5% patients experienced heartburn and 30.1% regurgitation; heartburn was the most bothersome symptom. 58.9% patients believed that their symptoms could be better controlled; only 28.3% HCPs were very satisfied with current treatment options. 83.6% patients wanted long-lasting treatment options. Fast symptom relief for patients was a top priority for 66.1% HCPs, while 56.6% would welcome alternatives to PPIs. CONCLUSION: This real-world multicentre study highlights the need for new, rapidly acting treatments in EE that reduce symptom burden, offer durable healing and provide symptom control.

Life-years gained resulting from screening colonoscopy compared with follow-up colonoscopy after a positive stool-based colorectal screening test.

Screening colonoscopies for colorectal cancer (CRC) are typically covered without patient cost-sharing, whereas follow-up colonoscopies for positive stool-based screening tests often incur patient costs. The objective of this analysis was to estimate and compare the life-years gained (LYG) per average-risk screening colonoscopy and follow-up colonoscopy after a positive stool-based test to better inform CRC coverage policy and reimbursement decisions. CRC outcomes from screening and follow-up colonoscopies versus no screening were estimated using CRC-AIM in a simulated population of average-risk individuals screened between ages 45-75 years. The LYG/colonoscopy per 1000 individuals was 0.09 for screening colonoscopy and 0.29 for follow-up colonoscopy. 0.01 and 0.04 CRC cases and 0.01 and 0.02 CRC deaths were averted per screening and follow-up colonoscopies, respectively. Coverage policies should be revised to encourage individuals to complete recommended screening processes.

Spillover Effects From A Consumer-Based Intervention To Increase High-Value Preventive Care.

Increasing the use of high-value medical services and reducing the use of services with little or no clinical value are key goals for efficient health systems. Yet encouraging the use of high-value services may unintentionally affect the use of low-value services. We examined the likelihood of high- and low-value service use in the first two years after an insurance benefit change in 2011 for one state's employees that promoted use of high-value preventive services. In the intervention group, compared to a control sample with stable benefit plans, in year 1 the likelihood of high-value service use increased 11.0 percentage points, and the likelihood of low-value service use increased 7.9 percentage points. For that year we associated 74 percent of the increase in high-value services and 57 percent of the increase in low-value services with greater use of preventive visits. Our results imply that interventions aimed at increasing receipt of high-value preventive services can cause spillovers to low-value services and should include deterrents to low-value care as implemented in later years of this program.

The effect of bundled payment on emergency department use: alternative quality contract effects after year one.

OBJECTIVES: The objective was to identify the effect of the Alternative Quality Contract (AQC), a global payment system implemented by Blue Cross Blue Shield (BCBS) of Massachusetts in 2009, on emergency department (ED) presentations. METHODS: Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts claims from 2006 through 2009 for 332,624 enrollees whose primary care physicians (PCPs) enrolled in the AQC, and 1,296,399 whose PCPs were not enrolled in the AQC, were evaluated. A pre-post, intervention-control, propensity-scored difference-in-difference approach was used to isolate the AQC effect on ED visits. The analysis adjusted for age, sex, health status, and secular trends to compare ED use between the treatment and control groups. RESULTS: Overall, secular trends showed that the number of ED visits decreased slightly for both treatment and control groups. The adjusted analysis of the AQC group showed decreases from 0.131 to 0.127 visits per member/quarter, and the control group decreased from 0.157 to 0.152 visits per member/quarter. The difference-in-difference analysis showed the AQC had no statistically significant effect on total ED use compared to the control group. CONCLUSIONS: In the first year of this AQC, we did not find evidence of change in aggregate ED use. Similar global budget programs may not alter ED use in the initial implementation period.

Completion of colorectal cancer screening in women attending screening mammography.

RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVES: The American Cancer Society (ACS) and the United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommend colorectal cancer (CRC) screening to begin at age 50 in individuals at average risk for CRC. To estimate rate at which women eligible for CRC screening at the time of screening mammography attendance later completed in CRC screening, we retrospectively evaluated CRC screening utilization in women who underwent screening mammography at our institution. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We retrospectively identified 3357 women between the ages of 50 to 75 who received screening mammography in 1998 at a single academic medical center using the institution's Radiology Information System (RIS). Additional information collected from the institution's Health System Data Warehouse and the Radiology department's mammography quality assurance data included mammography results, Breast Imaging Reporting and Database System (BI-RADS) classification of mammography findings, recommendation for screening mammography follow-up, insurance status, and CRC screening utilization after screening mammography. After excluding women who were current with CRC screening at the time of mammography, we determined the proportion of eligible women who completed CRC screening after mammography. Age, insurance type, BI-RADS code, and recommendation code were evaluated as potential predictors of CRC screening completion in eligible women. RESULTS: Of the 3357 women between the ages of 50 and 75 who received screening mammography in 1998, only 414 (12.3%) were current with CRC screening at the time of screening mammography. Of the remaining 2943 women who were eligible for CRC screening at the time of screening mammography, 142 (4.8%) subsequently completed CRC screening. Average time to completion of CRC screening after screening mammography is 35.4 months (range, 0.27-64.9). Managed care insurance was the only significant predictor of CRC screening completion after screening mammography in eligible women after adjusting for other variables (adjusted OR 1.73, 95% CI 1.21-2.47, P < .0001). Neither BI-RADS classification nor postmammography recommendations were significantly associated with CRC screening completion. CONCLUSIONS: Prevalence studies have demonstrated that women who were compliant with screening mammography were more compliant with CRC screening. Our data suggest that despite this increased compliance, overall incidence of CRC screening is low in the screening mammography population.