This is a summary of the first report in a series of three comprehensive Medicaid program reports based on National Medical Care Utilization and Expenditure Survey data. Preliminary analyses are presented based on data from the first half of 1980 which include the personal characteristics and medical care utilization patterns of noninstitutional Medicaid enrollees and the health insurance cover...

The increasing proportion of immigrants in Spanish society is placing pressure on the National Health Care System to accommodate the needs of this population group while keeping costs under control. In the year 2000, a law was approved in Spain according to which all people, regardless of their nationality, are entitled to use health care services under the same conditions as Spanish citizens, ...

This feature presents highlights from statistics on health care utilization, prices, expenses, employment, and work hours, as well as on national economic activity, with brief analysis of these economic indicators. These statistics provide an early indication of changes occurring in the health care sector and within the general economy. Although most data are for the first quarter of 1999, Amer...

The National Medical Care Expenditure Survey (NMCES) was characterized by a longitudinal survey design, with data collection targeted to five points in time covering the survey year. Field conditions did not allow for all interviews to be conducted over the targeted time periods. A subset of sampled households (holdovers) were not contacted for a particular wave of the survey and data were gath...

We study the drivers of geographic variation in US health care utilization, using an empirical strategy that exploits migration of Medicare patients to separate the role of demand and supply factors. Our approach allows us to account for demand differences driven by both observable and unobservable patient characteristics. Within our sample of over-65 Medicare beneficiaries, we find that 40-50 ...

PURPOSE To assess the predictive validity of frailty and its domains (physical, psychological, and social), as measured by the Tilburg Frailty Indicator (TFI), for the adverse outcomes disability, health care utilization, and quality of life. DESIGN AND METHODS The predictive validity of the TFI was tested in a representative sample of 484 community-dwelling persons aged 75 years and older in...

Background Low socioeconomic position (SEP) tends to be linked to higher use of general practitioners (GPs), while the use of health care specialists is more common in higher SEPs. Despite extensive literature in this area, previous studies have, however, only studied health care use by income or education. The aim of this study is, therefore, to examine inequalities in GP and health care speci...

RATIONALE, AIMS AND OBJECTIVES This paper applies the concepts of 'adaptive leadership', as developed by Ron Heifetz, MD, to the practice of medicine. METHODS Literature review and theory development. RESULTS Patients are complex adaptive systems facing both adaptive and technical health challenges. Technical health challenges are amenable to the simple or complicated expert-mediated techni...

All-payer claims databases are being developed in states across the nation to fill gaps in information about the health care system. The value of such databases is becoming more apparent as these databases mature and are used more frequently to help states better understand their health care utilization and costs.