The American journal of managed care
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This activity is designed for healthcare providers making formulary decisions for managed care organizations. ⋯ 1. List general considerations for establishing a pediatric drug formulary. 2. Understand the importance of growth and development when selecting drug therapy for pediatric patients. 3. Discuss potential difficulties with administering medications during school hours. 4. Identify specific medications within the drug classes of antibiotics, asthma medications, endocrine, and gastrointestinal agents that should be available on a pediatric drug formulary.
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Comparative Study
The cost of inpatient endometriosis treatment: an analysis based on the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project Nationwide Inpatient Sample.
To determine the prevalence and cost of endometriosis-related hospitalizations based on the Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS) from the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP-3). ⋯ Endometriosis-related hospitalization is a major burden on healthcare systems.
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Our hypothesis was that a program designed to identify the causes of discharge delays would reduce the length of stay in our neonatal intensive care unit. We reviewed every admission from January, 1994, to December, 1995. A discharge delay was defined as any delay not related to illness after the infant was cleared for release. ⋯ For 1995, discharge delays cost $41,553 ($233/day) for a total cost of $262,431. Total savings in 1995 versus 1994 was $184,745 ($516/day). Despite the low birth weight and relatively severe illnesses of the infants, we believe that a focused team approach and monitoring for potential discharge delays can result in considerable reduction in hospital stay and cost.
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Coronary heart disease (CHD) has high prevalence in the United States and is associated with significant mortality as well as costs to society. Hyperlipidemia is a major and common modifiable risk factor for CHD. ⋯ Cost-effectiveness data have established that clinical and economic benefits are gained by instituting early and aggressive lipid-lowering therapy. We present new evidence for the clinical benefits and cost effectiveness of aggressive lipid-lowering therapy as primary or secondary prevention of CHD and describe strategies that managed care organizations can take to benefit from a lipid management program.
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Federal law requires the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to regulate the promotional claims of prescription drugs and certain devices. Standards of evidence for claims of safety and therapeutic efficacy are rigorous because inappropriate product use may place human life at risk. However, equally demanding criteria for claims of cost-effectiveness of marketed technologies seem to be unnecessary because the consequence of error is principally a bad buy rather than patient harm. ⋯ The FDA should moderate its role in regulating cost-effectiveness claims of drugs and devices. This would foster information flow to healthcare providers and insurers and protect the FDA concern regarding false or misleading claims of effectiveness. Although the issues are applicable to both devices and drugs, we draw mainly from the field of pharmacoeconomics because this is where most of the policy has developed.