The American journal of managed care
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To examine how primary care practices use the Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS) survey and its patient-centered medical home (PCMH) items during their PCMH transition. ⋯ CAHPS surveys were considered actionable for PCMH transformation and used in standardizing and coordinating care. The CAHPS PCMH items were considered integral to the continuous QI needed for moving beyond formal PCMH recognition and maximizing transformation. This supports the National Committee for Quality Assurance's recommendation to administer the CAHPS or CAHPS PCMH survey for PCMH transformation.
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To compare Medicare Advantage (MA) and traditional Medicare (TM) performance on quality, health, and cost outcomes in peer-reviewed literature published since 2010. ⋯ More than half of recent analyses comparing MA and TM find that MA delivers significantly better quality of care, better health outcomes, and lower costs compared with TM.
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Patients with chronic respiratory failure resulting from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD-CRF) have limited treatment options and poor health outcomes. We examined the effect of noninvasive ventilation at home (NIVH) treatment on all-cause mortality, hospitalizations, and emergency department (ED) visits. ⋯ Patients with COPD-CRF who received NIVH had statistically significant reductions in hospitalizations and ED visits compared with patients not treated with NIVH. Further research is needed to examine the effect of NIVH on mortality.
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To evaluate the cost savings outcomes, from the payer's perspective, of deploying vibration-controlled transient elastography/controlled attenuation parameter (VCTE/CAP) machines for detecting and monitoring fatty liver disease (FLD). ⋯ We conclude that deploying VCTE/CAP devices is a financially advantageous solution to address the epidemic of FLD.
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High-sensitivity troponin T (hsTnT) testing was approved in the United States to better facilitate diagnosis of acute coronary syndrome (ACS). Although hsTnT has been widely studied internationally, the impact of hsTnT on discharge diagnoses and health care utilization within the United States is less known. We sought to evaluate the effects of implementing hsTnT on diagnosis patterns and stress testing utilization. ⋯ Variations in discharge diagnosis patterns and increases in stress test utilization were observed following hsTnT implementation. Hospitals can expect similar changes, which may have long-term implications on health care utilization, cost, and hospital reimbursement.