The American journal of managed care
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To estimate payments for the treatment of COVID-19 compared with that of influenza or viral pneumonia (IP), from the perspective of the US payer. ⋯ Payments associated with severe/critical COVID-19 significantly exceeded those associated with IP. For Medicare, IP was more expensive than mild or moderate COVID-19. For commercial payers, IP was less expensive than moderate COVID-19 but more expensive than mild COVID-19.
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To examine guideline-concordant care (GCC) for ovarian cancer, identify its predictors, and evaluate the associations between GCC and survival, health care expenditures, and utilization. ⋯ Non-GCC was associated with worsened survival, higher health care utilization, and increased expenditures. It is important to highlight that women who received GCC were associated with better survival likely due to favorable prognostic clinical factors.
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Evaluate the clinical utility of a precision-guided dosing test for infliximab (IFX) and its impact on treatment decision-making for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). ⋯ PredictrPK IFX enables earlier and more precise dose optimization of IFX in patients with IBD, exerting a substantial impact on treatment decisions that may result in improved health outcomes and overall cost savings.
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To quantify the impact of 1-star reviews across multiple physician rating websites (PRWs) on new patient volume. ⋯ Given the limited yet longitudinal negative impact of 1-star reviews and the growing influence of PRWs, physicians should consider the magnitude of the effect as they consider responding to bad reviews.
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Dry eye disease (DED) is a common condition in which tear film abnormalities result in a damaging cycle of tear hyperosmolarity, desiccating stress, inflammation, and ocular surface injury. In a healthy tear film, meibum produced by the meibomian glands forms a lipid layer that stabilizes the tear film and protects against aqueous tear evaporation. Excessive tear evaporation due to a deficient lipid layer is believed to be the most common cause of DED, and most evaporative DED is associated with meibomian gland dysfunction (MGD); this highlights the pathophysiologic importance of the dysfunctional tear lipid layer. ⋯ Perfluorohexyloctane (PFHO) ophthalmic solution (MIEBO™; Bausch + Lomb) is a preservative-free eye drop that has demonstrated the ability to form a long-lasting barrier that inhibits evaporation in preclinical studies. FDA approval of PFHO was based on results from 2 pivotal clinical trials (GOBI [NCT04139798] and MOJAVE [NCT04567329]) in patients with DED and clinical signs of MGD which demonstrated consistent improvements in both signs and symptoms of disease, with a safety profile similar to that of saline eye drops. PFHO is the first and only FDA-approved eye drop that directly targets tear evaporation in patients with DED, thereby promoting ocular surface healing and providing symptomatic relief.