James E. Smeeding

Functional Dyspepsia Impacts Absenteeism and Direct and Indirect Costs

BACKGROUND & AIMS Functional dyspepsia (FD) is a common morbid condition but data are limited on the direct and indirect costs for employees with FD or on its impact on productivity. Few data on absenteeism and no objective information are available. This study aimed to assess the impact of FD on costs and effects on absenteeism and work output (productivity). METHODS We performed a retrospective analysis of payroll data and adjudicated health insurance medical and prescription claims collected over a 4-year study period (January 1, 2001 to December 31, 2004) from more than 300,000 employees. Data from employees with and without (controls) FD were compared using 2-part regression techniques. Outcome measures included medical (total and by place of service) and prescription costs, absenteeism, and objectively measured productivity output. RESULTS Employees with FD (N = 1669) had greater average annual medical and prescription drug costs and indirect costs (owing to sick leave and short- and long-term disability absences) than controls (N = 274,206). Compared with controls, the FD employees incurred costs that were

Chronic gout: epidemiology, disease progression, treatment and disease burden

5138 greater and had greater costs for each place of service (all P < .0001). The employees with FD had an additional 0.83 absence days per year and produced 12% fewer units per hour than controls (both P < .05). CONCLUSIONS Employees with FD have greater costs at all places of service and lower productivity than employees without FD.

Lost time, absence costs, and reduced productivity output for employees with bipolar disorder.

Abstract Background: Gout is a painful and disabling inflammatory arthritis of increasing prevalence associated with hyperuricemia and the deposition of monosodium urate crystals in soft tissues and joints. Diagnosed gout cases have been estimated at 2.13% of the 2009 US population. The highest incidence occurs in the 65+ year age group, with males more than twice as likely to be afflicted as females. Objective: To present the epidemiology of chronic gout and to discuss its disease burden. Methods: This commentary is based on expert opinion and supplemented with published/presented information identified through PubMed and rheumatology associations. Results: The steady rise of diagnosed gout cases can generally be linked to an aging population with multiple comorbidities, the use of certain prescription medications, and changes in diet and lifestyle. Progression to chronic gout has numerous causes such as poor compliance with, ineffectiveness of, or inability to tolerate prescribed regimens. Despite the availability of urate-lowering therapies (ULT), patients may either have contraindications to them or may not adequately respond. Patients with high flare frequency, tophi, and the inability to maintain serum urate levels below 6 mg/dL with ULT can be categorized as having chronic gout that is refractory, with a substantial disease burden. Based on lack of therapeutic options for urate-lowering for patients with chronic gout refractory to conventional therapy, the economic burden of this small but substantial population contributes disproportionately to the overall economic burden of chronic gout. Recent availability of gout-specific ICD-9-CM codes capturing the cost intense and impactful aspects of the disease – flares and tophi – is likely contribute to understanding the full health economic burden in gout. Conclusion: The impact of chronic gout, especially if refractory to treatment, on functionality, productivity, quality of life and health care costs can be substantial and is deserving of future research.

Costs of physical and mental comorbidities among employees: a comparison of those with and without bipolar disorder.

Objective:We sought to evaluate the incremental health-related lost work time and at-work productivity loss for employees with bipolar disorder (BPD). Methods:Health-related absence and real productivity output of employees with BPD were compared with that of non-BPD and other employee cohorts from a large employer database using multivariate regression to control for cohort differences. Results:After adjusting for confounding factors, employees with BPD had significantly higher absence costs (

Good Research Practices for Measuring Drug Costs in Cost-Effectiveness Analyses: A Managed Care Perspective: The ISPOR Drug Cost Task Force Report—Part III

1219) and 11.5 additional lost days (P < 0.05) per year than those without BPD. Adjusted annual productivity output was 20% lower for the BPD group (P < 0.05). Conclusions:Employees with BPD are less likely to be present for work. When present, their productivity level is similar to that of other employees, but over the course of a year, their absence rates result in significant productivity losses.

Add-back therapy use and its impact on LA persistence in patients with endometriosis

ABSTRACT Objective: To compare the cost and utilization of health care services for various comorbid conditions among employees with bipolar disorder (BPD) and two other population cohorts: employees without BPD and employees with other mental disorders (OMD). Methods: Retrospective database analysis on a 2‐year study period, from January 1, 2001, through December 31, 2002 using adjudicated health insurance medical claims on more than 230 000 employees plus their eligible dependents. Study comparisons were performed among employees with BPD (cohort BPD), employees without BPD (cohort NBD), and employees with OMD (cohort OMD). Outcome measures included the cost and utilization of health services for various comorbid conditions as defined by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ); using 261 specific categories (SCs) and the 17 Major Diagnostic Categories (MDCs). Results: Employees in cohort BPD ( n = 761) had greater average annual medical and prescription drug costs than the two other employee cohorts. Costs for cohort BPD were significantly greater ( p ≤ 0.05) than for cohort NBD ( n = 229 145) for six of the 17 MDCs, including the categories of mental disorders (

Costs and absence of HCV-infected employees by disease stage

2036 vs.

A Cost Minimization Comparison of Two Surfactants—Beractant and Poractant alfa—Based Upon Prospectively Designed, Comparative Clinical Trial Data

65), injury and poisoning (

The role of sevelamer in achieving the kidney disease outcomes quality initiative (K/DOQI) guidelines for hyperphosphatemia

544 vs.

Exploratory economic evaluation of patients with COPD on a combination product versus individual components (ipratropium bromide and albuterol)

162), musculoskeletal/connective tissue (