Evidence map›Paper›PMID 25615002›Full record

ArticleJournal of managed care & specialty pharmacy2015

Quality process measures for rheumatoid arthritis: performance from members enrolled in a national health plan.

Joseph Tkacz, Lorie A Ellis, Roxanne Meyer, Susan C Bolge, Brenna L Brady, Charles Ruetsch

Abstract read
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Article in Journal of managed care & specialty pharmacy, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

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0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

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2 · The registry

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3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed.

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Joseph TkaczHealth Analytics, 9200 Rumsey Rd., Ste. 215, Columbia, MD 21045. joseph.tkacz@healthanalytic.com.
Lorie A Ellis
Roxanne Meyer
Susan C Bolge
Brenna L Brady
Charles Ruetsch

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundHealth care quality problems are reflected in the underuse, overuse, and misuse of health care services. There is evidence suggesting that the quality of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patient care is suboptimal, which has spurred the development of a number of systematic quality improvement metrics.

objectiveTo investigate a quality process measurement set in a sample of commercially insured RA patients.

methodsMedical, pharmacy, and laboratory claims for members with an RA diagnosis (ICD-9-CM 714.x) during calendar years 2008 through 2012 were extracted from the Optum Clinformatics Data Mart database. Eight process quality measures focused on RA patient response and tolerance to therapy were examined in the claims database. Measures were calculated for individual calendar years from 2009 to 2012, inclusive.

resultsThe majority of adult RA patients received at least 1 prescription for a disease-modifying antirheumatic drug (DMARD) across the 4 measurement years: range = 78.5%-81.6%. Erythrocyte sedimentation rate and C-reactive protein testing were also evident in the majority of the sample, with 67.1%-72.2% of newly diagnosed RA patients receiving baseline testing, and 56.0%-58.7% of existing RA patients receiving annual testing. Among methotrexate users, liver function tests were performed in 74.5%-75.7% of treated patients, serum creatinine tests in 70.1%-72.6% of patients, and complete blood count tests in 74.5%-76.0% of patients. Additionally, most patients initiating a new DMARD had a claim for a baseline serum creatinine test (68.0%-70.3%) and baseline liver function test (69.3%-71.0%).

conclusionsFindings suggest that a majority of RA patients are attaining patient quality process measures, although a considerable proportion of patients (approximately 25%) may be receiving suboptimal care. Further studies are warranted to understand whether attainment of these measures translates into better outcomes.

Indexed as

Process Assessment, Health CareQuality of Health CareAdultAgedArthritis, RheumatoidBlood SedimentationC-Reactive ProteinFemaleHumansMaleMethotrexateMiddle AgedC-Reactive ProteinMethotrexate

Identifiers

PMID25615002
PMCPMC10398110

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