View clinical trials related to Health Expenditures.
Filter by:Inappropriate prescribing exposes patients to health risks and results in wasteful public expenditures. This study will evaluate an approach to fighting abusive prescription: sending letters to suspected potentially inappropriate prescribers warning them that they are outliers compared to their peers and have been flagged for review. The study will target high prescribers of opioids in the Schedule II controlled substances class. Two types of letters will be tested: one focusing on the health consequences of inappropriate prescribing for patients, and the other focusing on the consequences for prescribers including e.g. potential administrative actions. Using claims data, the investigators will assess the effect of the letters on prescribing of opioids, receipt of opioids by patients, substitution behavior by prescribers and patients, and health outcomes of patients.
Abusive prescribing exposes patients to unnecessary health risks and results in wasteful public expenditures. This study will evaluate an innovative approach to fighting abusive prescription: sending letters to suspected inappropriate prescribers warning them that they are outliers compared to their peers and have been flagged for review. The study will target high prescribers of Seroquel (Quetiapine), an atypical antipsychotic. Using claims data, the investigators will assess the effect of the letters on prescribing of Seroquel, receipt of Seroquel by patients, substitution behavior by prescribers and patients, and health outcomes of patients.
Fraud and waste is estimated to cost the American health care system nearly $200 billion each year, and the public Medicare and Medicaid programs about $60 billion each year. This study will evaluate a new method for fighting fraud: mailing informative letters to outlier providers to notify them of their aberrant behavior. These letters are targeted at high prescribers of schedule II controlled substances in Medicare Part D. The investigators will look at the effects of these letters on the behavior of providers and their patients. These effects are of substantial policy interest as they suggest how to best design anti-fraud policies. They are also of academic interest, shedding light on the behavior of physicians and their patients.