Geographic Variation In Effective Contraceptive Use Among Medicaid Recipients In 2018.

Medicaid is the largest payer for publicly funded contraception, serving millions of women across the United States. However, relatively little is known about the extent to which effective contraceptive services vary geographically for Medicaid recipients. This study used national Medicaid claims to assess county-level variation in rates of provision of the most or moderately effective methods of contraception and provision of long-acting reversible contraception (LARC) across forty states and Washington, D.C., in 2018. County-level rates of most or moderately effective contraceptive use varied almost fourfold across states, from a low of 10.8 percent to a high of 44.4 percent. Rates of LARC provision varied almost tenfold, from a low of 1.0 percent to a high of 9.6 percent. Despite the fact that contraception is a core benefit within Medicaid, access and use vary substantially across and within states. Medicaid agencies have a variety of options to ensure that people have access to a choice of the full range of contraceptive methods, including removing or loosening utilization controls, incorporating quality metrics or value-based payments into contraceptive services, and adjusting reimbursement to remove barriers to the clinical provision of LARC.

Disparities in diabetes management among medicaid recipients with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD): Evidence from five U.S. states.

BACKGROUND: Diabetes is one of the most common chronic conditions among adults. Little is known about the quality of diabetes care received by adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). OBJECTIVE: To determine the extent to which the diabetes care needs are met for a population with both IDD and diabetes who are solely insured by Medicaid in five states (Iowa, Massachusetts, New York, Oregon and South Carolina). METHODS: Medicaid administrative data in 2012 were used to identify Medicaid members (excluding dual eligibles) with diabetes and IDD in five states. Four diabetes care measures were compared between members with and without IDD using bivariate analyses. For those with diabetes and IDD, a logistic regression model was fitted for each state with the following predictors: age, sex, IDD subgroup, and occurrence of a specialist visit in the current or past year. A meta-analysis was then conducted to synthesize cross-state results. RESULTS: Across the five states, 6229 (2%) of the 308,804 non-dual adult Medicaid members 18-64 years old with diabetes in 2012 also had IDD. Comparing those with IDD to their non-IDD peers on receipt of all four diabetes care measures showed differences by state, but state rates of overall adherence were very low, ranging from 16.6% to 28.5% of the population. CONCLUSIONS: Meta-analysis results identified specialist visits as a strong predictor of adults with diabetes and IDD receiving all four components of diabetes care. This important information should be considered in efforts to improve quality care for this population.

Are embrasure wires better than arch bars for intermaxillary fixation?

PURPOSE: To compare the outcomes of mandible fractures treated with open reduction and internal fixation versus adjunctive intermaxillary fixation (IMF) using 2 different techniques. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We performed a retrospective medical record review. The medical records of consecutive patients with mandible fractures treated surgically with adjunctive use of IMF (embrasure wires vs arch bars) were reviewed for demographic data, etiology, fracture location, antibiotic use, and interval to repair. Specifically, the complications, including infection, malunion or nonunion, hardware failure, and wound dehiscence, were recorded. The data were analyzed using Student's t test and the chi-square test or Fisher's exact test, as appropriate. Statistical significance was set at P < .05. A descriptive cost analysis was also performed and compared with those from previously published studies. RESULTS: The data from 86 subjects were included in the present study. Of the 86 subjects, 33 were in the embrasure wire group and 53 in the arch bar group. Of the patients in the arch bar group, 26% had complications compared with 15% in the embrasure wire IMF group. No statistically significant difference between the groups in terms of infection (P = .63), hardware failure (P = .75), malocclusion (P = .85), and nonunion (P = 1.0). However, the cost of arch bar placement and removal was approximately $2,672 more than the placement of embrasure wires. CONCLUSIONS: Patients treated with embrasure wire IMF had slightly better clinical outcomes compared with those treated with arch bar IMF. Also, the cost reduction for patients treated with embrasure wire IMF was significant.

Outcomes of mandible fracture treatment at an academic tertiary hospital: a 5-year analysis.

PURPOSE: To analyze the outcomes of mandible fractures treated using open reduction and internal fixation. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We performed a retrospective chart review of the medical records from patients with mandibular fractures treated surgically during a 5-year period for demographics, systemic illness, history of substance abuse, etiology, fracture location, any associated facial injury, type and timing of repair, antibiotic treatment, and interval to repair. The development of complications such as infection, malunion or nonunion, hardware failure, and wound dehiscence were recorded. RESULTS: Of the 560 patients, adequate data were collected for 363 patients. Of the patients, 60% were white. The male/female ratio was 7.4:1. Systemic illness was noted in 10.5% of the cohort. More than 80% of the subjects had sustained their injury because of assault. The mandible angle was the most common site of fracture (56%). Most (64%) of the patients had sustained multiple fractures. When multiple sites were involved, the angle and body were more commonly involved. The overall complication rate was 26.45%. Hardware failure (15.4%) was the most common complication, followed by infection (15.15%). The revision rate was 8.1% in this cohort. Antibiotic usage and the infection rate were not statistically associated with each other. A greater complication rate was noted among smokers (P = .0072) and patients with systemic illness (P = .0495). CONCLUSIONS: A greater rate of hardware failure was noted in our study. The use of antibiotics did not decrease the incidence of infections. Smokers and patients with systemic medical conditions had a greater risk of complications. Finally, a slight delay in surgical repair was not related to an increased complication rate.

Utility and effectiveness of computer-aided diagnosis of dental caries.

Digital radiography has created a growing opportunity for computer-aided diagnostic (CAD) tools. The Logicon Caries Detector (LCD), with upgraded CAD software based on user feedback, was re-evaluated for its effectiveness via a retrospective clinical study. Using the upgraded LCD software, 12 dentists (evaluators) blindly assessed 17 radiographs taken by another (attending) dentist, who restored 28 proximal surfaces. The attending dentist confirmed the presence of early dentinal caries, as well as identifying 48 surfaces as caries-free or with enamel caries only subject to noninvasive treatment. The radiographs, imported into the software using a digital imaging and communications in medicine (DICOM) reader, were visually assessed under typical operatory lighting conditions, then with the aid of the software's density analysis tool. The effectiveness of the evaluators was gauged by calculating two measures of performance, sensitivity and specificity, for the detection and classification of dentinal caries. Sensitivity among all evaluator dentists was 30% with the initial image; 34% with the brightness and contrast adjusted image; 39% when the image was sharpened; and 69% when the density analysis tool was utilized. Specificity was found to be 97% with the initial image; 95% with the brightness and contrast adjusted image; 93% with the sharpened image; and 94% when the density analysis tool was used. Compared to the unaided eye, the LCD can significantly improve dentists' ability to detect and classify caries. Dentists may be able to find twice as much early dentinal caries requiring restoration (or at least aggressive noninvasive treatment) than previously, while not unnecessarily restoring additional healthy teeth. The LCD enables dentists to obtain more information from dental digital radiography than is possible with the unaided eye, leading to improved patient care.