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Stuart, B. (PI),
Simoni-Wastila, L. (Co-I), Zuckerman, I.H.
(Co-I) "Benchmarking the Quality of Medication
Use by Medicare Beneficiaries," The Commonwealth
Fund, #20050634 (8/1/2005 - 1/31/2007).
Description
Benchmarking the Quality of
Medication Use by Medicare Beneficiaries
Project Officer: Stuart Gutterman, PHD
The
impending implementation of Part D drug coverage for
Medicare beneficiaries has generated considerable
interest within the health policy and clinical
communities in gaining a better understanding of
beneficiary drug utilization patterns and how they
might be impacted by the new law. Of particular
concern is how the quality of medication use can be
assured under the complex Part D benefit structure.
Several features of the MMA focus on ways to improve
quality (and reduce cost) of medication use through
chronic care improvement demonstration projects (now
known as Medicare Health Support), mandated
medication therapy management programs, and new
authority for Medicare Quality Improvement
Organizations. However, for these efforts to
succeed there needs to be a recognized set of
benchmarks against which progress can be measured.
At present these benchmarks do not exist. Although
there have been significant developments in
evidence-based clinical guidelines for treating many
of the chronic diseases prevalent in the Medicare
population, there is no systematic published
research on the most basic question of all; namely,
what drugs are Medicare beneficiaries currently
taking for which disease states? Until that
question is answered, it is difficult if not
impossible to assess the effort that will be
required to bring utilization patterns in line with
accepted standards of care.
The project has 2
obectives: (1) to describe the pharmacotherapeutic
profiles of a nationally representative sample of
Medicare beneficiaries classified by disease state.
For this task we focus on the 10 priority conditions
identified by DHHS for research under Medicare
Modernization Act, and (2) to analyze specific
factors associated with areas of concern. Our
preliminary work suggests that three factors deserve
in-depth attention: disease burden or "polymorbidity,"
residence in long-term care settings, and
disparities by race and other beneficiary
characteristics.
Publications
None at this time.
Presentations
None at this time. |
