美国医用耗材采购管理模式及对我国的启示

目的 介绍美国医用耗材采购管理模式的改革过程,为我国医用耗材的采购及医疗保险支付管理提供参考与借鉴.方法 采用文献分析法,从采购组织、采购模式、医疗保险支付标准制定等方面总结分析美国医用耗材采购管理的成功经验.结果 美国通过与医用耗材编码系统相结合、引入市场竞争的方式完善采购模式,成功降低了医用耗材的价格.结论 统一的...     

美国管理式医疗保险模式介绍及对我国基本医疗保险的启示

目的 学习借鉴美国管理式医疗保险模式.方法 系统解析管理式医疗保险模式的相关内容.结果 这种模式改变了既往保险机构和医疗机构相互对立的局面,使二者整合为一个利益整体,可有效降低医疗费用的支出.结论 可借鉴美国管理式医疗保险模式,进一步完善我国基本医疗保险体系.     

日本医疗保险用药价格管理

日本医疗保险用药管理主要体现在药价基准制度，即日本的医疗保险用药目录管理。简单地说，该用药目录规定了医疗保险可以使用的药物品种，也规定了所使用药物的结算价格。具有“品目表功能”。日本药价基准制度规定了药品目录收载的新药及仿制新药的价格，也规定了既收载药品药价改正时的药价定价方法。     

医保药品自付比例政策调整对某院抗菌药物使用情况的影响

目的:研究基本医疗保险药品自付比例调整对某院抗菌药物使用倾向的影响,为医保政策的调整提供建议。方法:采用频度分析方法,分析2008年6月医保药品自付比例政策调整前后某院抗菌药物使用情况。结果:医保政策调整后总的趋势更倾向选择医保医药,特别是自付比例10%的医保乙类药品。结论:医院抗菌药物的选择倾向受医保政策的影响,基本医疗保险药品目录具有引导性作用。     

不同医疗保障制度胆石症患者药物及治疗方式分析

为揭示医疗保险病人费用控制情况,分析了不同医疗保障制度下胆石症患者费用、药品使用和治疗方式.结果表明:由于供方主导性,医疗保险并未很好控制医疗费用,医疗保险患者中甲类药所占比例低,自费药使用较多.提出改革供方支付方式、确定不同级别医院各类药物的合理比例、调整卫生服务价格体系等建议.     

美国医疗保险制度现状与借鉴

由于特有历史、文化和社会的影响，美国的医疗保险是一种不同于其它发达国家的以自由市场型为主导的制度。这种制度以其复杂多样，覆盖不足，保障有限，费用高昂而受到来自国内、外的批评。但是美国医疗保险的管理经验是丰富的，许多具体操作方法是先进的。特别是近十年来探索出医疗供方参与医疗保险，将预防保健与临床医疗连在一起，医疗质量与经济效益相结合，成为了世界关注的一种医疗保险发展方向。本文对美国医疗保险制度的现状进行了较为详细的介绍。     

医院执行国家基本药物政策存在问题与建议

医药费用急剧增长与药品费用增长有密切关系,控制药品费用过快增长已成为相关管理部门的管控重点[1].为此,国家发改委和卫生部等多个部门采取了系列价格管控措施,推行国家基本药物制度,加强抗菌药物临床应用管理等一系列措施.但从2011年中国卫生统计提要和某地区2010年卫生统计年鉴数据可以看出,这些措施的实施并没有将医药费用增长势头压下来.一些学者提出国家基本药物遴选与评价方法存在问题[2-3],医疗保险目录修改也带来一定的影响[4-5].目前对医院药品目录遴选和临床应用国家基本药物存在的问题及对策尚缺乏系统分析,本文将对此方面内容进行探讨.     

药物经济学及其在控制药品费用中的作用

[目的]探讨如何用药物经济学来控制药品费用的过度上涨.[方法]通过对药物经济学的定义、研究方法、实施步骤、药品费用增长因素叙述,用药物经济学分析控制药品费用.[结果]药物经济学从6个方面控制药品费用:指导新药的研制生产;促进药品定价的合理性;制定基本医疗保险药品目录;帮助医院制订医院用药目录:规范医师用药;确定药物的适...     

直接抗病毒药物治疗丙型肝炎的预算影响分析

目的从医疗保险支付方角度出发,预测将直接抗病毒药物纳入基本医疗保险药品目录之后3年对医疗保险基金支出可能产生的影响,为药品目录的遴选、谈判与医疗保险支付标准制定等决策提供科学依据。方法运用文献资料、专家咨询和数据,构建预算影响分析模型,测算盐酸达拉他韦联合阿舒瑞韦软胶囊、奥比帕利联合达塞布韦钠和索磷布韦3种直接抗病毒治疗纳入医疗保险报销对医疗保险基金的预期影响。结果若将3种直接抗病毒药物纳入国家基本医疗保险药品乙类目录,将患者现有抗病毒药物治疗方案划分为聚乙二醇化干扰素联合利巴韦林和普通干扰素方案,则预计2018—2020年郑州、杭州和青岛市将分别增加丙型肝炎患者治愈数394例、183例和439例左右,分别增加医疗保险基金支出0.40亿元、0.20亿元和0.38亿元左右,相应地,平均每多治愈1例患者需要增加10.17万元、10.88万元和8.64万元的医疗保险药品支出。结论丙肝直接抗病毒药物纳入医疗保险后可以通过增加较低水平的医疗保险基金支出预算,获得较大的患者健康获益。敏感性分析结果显示,将现有治疗方案划分为聚乙二醇干扰素联合利巴韦林和普通干扰素联合利巴韦林方案的情形下,测算的丙型肝炎患者治愈数和医疗保险药品预算结果稳定。     

加拿大医疗保险体制的历史沿革及现状

加拿大的医疗保险模式是西方国家中较成功的，其比较优势在于全民覆盖基础上(不同于美国有限的覆盖面)相对低的社会支出费用。加拿大和美国医疗保险模式的相同之处是强调个人动议和个人机会，不同之处是加拿大由联邦政府资助和管理的覆盖全体人口的内容详细的医疗保险计划，而美国的医疗保险是以企业为基础的利益享受不均等的计划，联邦政府只对老年人和穷人实施医疗保险。     

Cost-Effectiveness Analysis of a Pharmacist-Led Medication Therapy Management Program: Hypertension Management

ObjectivesUncontrolled hypertension is a common cause of cardiovascular disease, which is the deadliest and costliest chronic disease in the United States. Pharmacists are an accessible community healthcare resource and are equipped with clinical skills to improve the management of hypertension through medication therapy management (MTM). Nevertheless, current reimbursement models do not incentivize pharmacists to provide clinical services. We aim to investigate the cost-effectiveness of a pharmacist-led comprehensive MTM clinic compared with no clinic for 10-year primary prevention of stroke and cardiovascular disease events in patients with hypertension.MethodsWe built a semi-Markov model to evaluate the clinical and economic consequences of an MTM clinic compared with no MTM clinic, from the payer perspective. The model was populated with data from a recently published controlled observational study investigating the effectiveness of an MTM clinic. Methodology was guided using recommendations from the Second Panel on Cost-Effectiveness in Health and Medicine, including appropriate sensitivity analyses.ResultsCompared with no MTM clinic, the MTM clinic was cost-effective with an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of $38 798 per quality-adjusted life year (QALY) gained. The incremental net monetary benefit was $993 294 considering a willingness-to-pay threshold of $100 000 per QALY. Health-benefit benchmarks at $100 000 per QALY and $150 000 per QALY translate to a 95% and 170% increase from current reimbursement rates for MTM services.ConclusionsOur model shows current reimbursement rates for pharmacist-led MTM services may undervalue the benefit realized by US payers. New reimbursement models are needed to allow pharmacists to offer cost-effective clinical services.     

A Randomized,Controlled Pragmatic Trial of Telephonic Medication Therapy Management to Reduce Hospitalization in Home Health Patients

Objective

To evaluate the effectiveness of a telephonic medication therapy management (MTM) service on reducing hospitalizations among home health patients.

Setting

Forty randomly selected, geographically diverse home health care centers in the United States.

Design

Two-stage, randomized, controlled trial with 60-day follow-up. All Medicare- insured home health care patients were eligible to participate. Twenty-eight consecutive patients within each care center were recruited and randomized to usual care or MTM intervention. The MTM intervention consisted of the following: (1) initial phone call by a pharmacy technician to verify active medications; (2) pharmacist-provided medication regimen review by telephone; and (3) follow-up pharmacist phone calls at day seven and as needed for 30 days. The primary outcome was 60-day all-cause hospitalization.

Data Collection

Data were collected from in-home nursing assessments using the OASIS-C. Multivariate logistic regression modeled the effect of the MTM intervention on the probability of hospitalization while adjusting for patients’ baseline risk of hospitalization, number of medications taken daily, and other OASIS-C data elements.

Principal Findings

A total of 895 patients (intervention n = 415, control n = 480) were block-randomized to the intervention or usual care. There was no significant difference in the 60-day probability of hospitalization between the MTM intervention and control groups (Adjusted OR: 1.26, 95 percent CI: 0.89–1.77, p = .19). For patients within the lowest baseline risk quartile (n = 232), the intervention group was three times more likely to remain out of the hospital at 60 days (Adjusted OR: 3.79, 95 percent CI: 1.35–10.57, p = .01) compared to the usual care group.

Conclusions

This MTM intervention may not be effective for all home health patients; however, for those patients with the lowest-risk profile, the MTM intervention prevented patients from being hospitalized at 60 days.     

Cost-Effectiveness of Medication Therapy Management Program Across Racial and Ethnic Groups Among Medicare Beneficiaries

ObjectivesEquity and effectiveness of the medication therapy management (MTM) program in Medicare has been a policy focus since its inception. The objective of this study was to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of the Medicare MTM program in improving medication utilization quality across racial and ethnic groups.MethodsThis study analyzed 2017 Medicare data linked to the Area Health Recourses File. A propensity score was used to match MTM enrollees and nonenrollees, and an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio between the 2 groups was calculated. Effectiveness was measured as the proportion of appropriate medication utilization based on medication utilization measures developed by Pharmacy Quality Alliance. Net monetary benefits were compared across racial and ethnic groups at various societal willingness-to-pay (WTP) thresholds. The 95% confidence intervals were obtained by nonparametric bootstrapping.ResultsMTM dominated non-MTM among the total sample (N = 699 992), as MTM enrollees had lower healthcare costs ($31 135.89 vs $32 696.69) and higher proportions of appropriate medication utilization (87.47% vs 85.31%) than nonenrollees. MTM enrollees had both lower medication costs ($10 681.21 vs $11 003.08) and medical costs ($20 454.68 vs $21 693.61) compared with nonenrollees. The cost-effectiveness of MTM was higher among Black patients than White patients across the WTP thresholds. For instance, at a WTP of $3006 per percentage point increase in effectiveness, the net monetary benefit for Black patients was greater than White patients by $2334.57 (95% confidence interval $1606.53-$3028.85).ConclusionsMTM is cost-effective in improving medication utilization quality among Medicare beneficiaries and can potentially reduce disparities between Black and White patients. Expansion of the current MTM program could maximize these benefits.     

Trends in Medicare Part D Medication Therapy Management Eligibility Criteria

Background

To increase the enrollment rate of medication therapy management (MTM) programs in Medicare Part D plans, the US Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) lowered the allowable eligibility thresholds based on the number of chronic diseases and Part D drugs for Medicare Part D plans for 2010 and after. However, an increase in MTM enrollment rates has not been realized.

Objectives

To describe trends in MTM eligibility thresholds used by Medicare Part D plans and to identify patterns that may hinder enrollment in MTM programs.

Methods

This study analyzed data extracted from the Medicare Part D MTM Programs Fact Sheets (2008–2014). The annual percentages of utilizing each threshold value of the number of chronic diseases and Part D drugs, as well as other aspects of MTM enrollment practices, were analyzed among Medicare MTM programs that were established by Medicare Part D plans.

Results

For 2010 and after, increased proportions of Medicare Part D plans set their eligibility thresholds at the maximum numbers allowable. For example, in 2008, 48.7% of Medicare Part D plans (N = 347:712) opened MTM enrollment to Medicare beneficiaries with only 2 chronic disease states (specific diseases varied between plans), whereas the other half restricted enrollment to patients with a minimum of 3 to 5 chronic disease states. After 2010, only approximately 20% of plans opened their MTM enrollment to patients with 2 chronic disease states, with the remaining 80% restricting enrollment to patients with 3 or more chronic diseases.

Conclusion

The policy change by CMS for 2010 and after is associated with increased proportions of plans setting their MTM eligibility thresholds at the maximum numbers allowable. Changes to the eligibility thresholds by Medicare Part D plans might have acted as a barrier for increased MTM enrollment. Thus, CMS may need to identify alternative strategies to increase MTM enrollment in Medicare plans.     

Polypharmacy in older adults: the role of the multidisciplinary team

ABSTRACT

Patients over the age 65 are a quickly expanding segment of the US population and represent a large percentage of patients requiring inpatient care. Older adults are more likely to experience polypharmacy and adverse drug effects. This review explains the risks of polypharmacy and potentially inappropriate medications in the elderly. Specific classes of medications frequently used in older adults in acute care settings are examined, including anticholinergic, sedative hypnotics, and antipsychotic medications. We discuss strategies aimed at addressing polypharmacy in this population including a drug regimen review (which is distinct from medication reconciliation), screening tools, pharmacist-led interventions, and computer-based strategies in the context of current literature and research findings. We provide a summary of general guidelines that may be helpful for geriatricians and hospitalists in improving patient care and clinical outcomes.     

Dietary and exercise assessment in general practice

BACKGROUND: Diet and physical activity are important in many conditionsmanaged in primary care. Dietary and physical activity assessmentis complex, has inherent inaccuracies related to self-reporting,and is only a small part of a larger context of developing effectiveintervention in primary care. However, for personalized assessmentin routine clinical care, and for the assessment of differentintervention strategies in a general practice research setting,validated life-style assessment tools are needed. OBJECTIVE: We aimed to discuss the requirements for assessment tools andto identify feasible validated assessment instruments for usein primary care. METHODS: Potential tools were identified from a Medline search, UK ResearchIntelligence, and contact with groups known to be working inthe area. RESULTS: Several brief instruments assess mainly fat in the US diet butthe limited range of foods covered and the setting of studieslimits their generalizability. Only one tool developed for UKuse—‘DINE’, which scores total fat, fibreand unsaturated fat—was identified which is both feasibleand has documented reasonable validated characteristics. Evenfor this tool there are doubts about the validation ‘standard’.No diet or physical activity validation studies have used bothsubjects and health professionals from general practice settings. CONCLUSION: There are very few feasible and validated dietary or physicalactivity assessment tools for use in clinical care or researchin general practice, and doubts about the design and settingsof published validation studies. Further research is neededto validate and develop a range of feasible life-style assessmenttools with specified time and training requirements for usein primary care. Keywords. Nutrition assessment, primary health care, exercises.     

Heart failure patients¿ experiences with continuity of care and its relation to medication adherence: a cross-sectional study

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: A growing number of health care providers are nowadays involved in heart failure care. This could lead to discontinuity and fragmentation of care, thus reducing trust and hence poorer medication adherence. This study aims to explore heart failure patients' experiences with continuity of care, and its relation to medication adherence. METHODS: We collected data from 327 primary care patients with chronic heart failure. Experienced continuity of care was measured using a patient questionnaire and by reviewing patients' medical records. Continuity of care was defined as a multidimensional concept including personal continuity (seeing the same doctor every time), team continuity (collaboration between care providers in general practice) and cross-boundary continuity (collaboration between general practice and hospital). Medication adherence was measured using a validated patient questionnaire. The relation between continuity of care and medication adherence was analysed by using chi-square tests. RESULTS: In total, 53% of patients stated not seeing any care provider in general practice in the last year concerning their heart failure. Of the patients who did contact a care provider in general practice, 46% contacted two or more care providers. Respectively 38% and 51% of patients experienced the highest levels of team and cross-boundary continuity. In total, 14% experienced low levels of team continuity and 11% experienced low levels of cross-boundary continuity. Higher scores on personal continuity were significantly related to better medication adherence (p < 0.01). No clear relation was found between team- or cross-boundary continuity and medication adherence. CONCLUSIONS: A small majority of patients that contacted a care provider in general practice for their heart failure, contacted only one care provider. Most heart failure patients experienced high levels of collaboration between care providers in general practice and between GP and cardiologist. However, in a considerable number of patients, continuity of care could still be improved. Efforts to improve personal continuity may lead to better medication adherence.