High disease burden and healthcare resource usage in patients with acute porphyria-A population-based analysis.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Acute porphyria is a chronic recurrent disease with late diagnosis, heterogeneous clinical presentations and potentially devastating complications. The study aimed at providing real-world evidence on the natural course of acute porphyria, patient characteristics, disease burden, and healthcare utilization before diagnosis. METHODS: This observational study used anonymized claims data covering 8 365 867 persons from German statutory health insurance, spanning 6 years (2015-2020). Patients with at least one diagnosis of acute porphyria during the index period (2019-2020) were classified into three groups by attack frequency. These findings were compared with two age- and sex-adjusted reference groups: the general population and fibromyalgia patients. Prevalence over the index period was calculated for all porphyria patients and those with active acute porphyria. RESULTS: We revealed a prevalence of 79.8 per 1 000 000 for acute porphyria, with 12.9 per 1 000 000 being active cases. Acute porphyria patients, particularly with frequent attacks, demonstrated a higher comorbidity burden compared to the general population. Within the year before the recorded diagnosis, patients with acute porphyria required a median of 23.0 physician visits, significantly higher than the general population's 16.0. Additionally, 33.8% were hospitalized at least once during this period, a notably higher proportion than the general population (19.3%). CONCLUSIONS: This study's findings, collected before the introduction of givosiran, as the first approved preventive therapy for acute porphyria in Europe, highlight the need for healthcare strategies and policies tailored to the complex needs of acute porphyria patients. The significant healthcare demands, heightened comorbidity burden, and increased healthcare system utilization emphasize the urgency of developing a comprehensive support infrastructure for these patients. Also, these acute porphyria real-world findings provide additional insights on disease characteristics in Germany.

Validation of an algorithm to prioritize patients for comprehensive medication management in primary care settings.

BACKGROUND: Comprehensive medication management (CMM) programs optimize the effectiveness and safety of patients' medication regimens, but CMM may be underutilized. Whether healthcare claims data can identify patients appropriate for CMM is not well-studied. AIM: Determine the face validity of a claims-based algorithm to prioritize patients who likely need CMM. METHOD: We used claims data to construct patient-level markers of "regimen complexity" and "high-risk for adverse effects," which were combined to define four categories of claims-based CMM-need (very likely, likely, unlikely, very unlikely) among 180 patient records. Three clinicians independently reviewed each record to assess CMM need. We assessed concordance between the claims-based and clinician-review CMM need by calculating percent agreement as well as kappa statistic. RESULTS: Most records identified as 'very likely' (90%) by claims-based markers were identified by clinician-reviewers as needing CMM. Few records within the 'very unlikely' group (5%) were identified by clinician-reviewers as needing CMM. Interrater agreement between CMM-based algorithm and clinician review was moderate in strength (kappa = 0.6, p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Claims-based pharmacy measures may offer a valid approach to prioritize patients into CMM-need groups. Further testing of this algorithm is needed prior to implementation in clinic settings.

Treatment Patterns, Healthcare Resource Utilization, and Costs of Patients With Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia or Small Lymphocytic Lymphoma in the US.

BACKGROUND: Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is the most common type of leukemia among US adults and has experienced a rapidly evolving treatment landscape; yet current data on treatment patterns in clinical practice and economic burden are limited. This study aimed to provide an up-to-date description of real-world characteristics, treatments, and costs of patients with CLL or small lymphocytic lymphoma (SLL). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Using retrospective data from the Optum Clinformatics DataMart database (January 2013 to December 2021), adults with diagnosis codes for CLL/SLL on two different dates were selected. An adapted algorithm identified lines of therapy (LOT). Treatment patterns were stratified by the index year pre- and post-2018. Healthcare resource utilization and costs were evaluated per patient-years. RESULTS: A total of 18 418 patients with CLL/SLL were identified, 5226 patients (28%) were treated with ≥1 LOT and 1728 (9%) with ≥2 LOT. Among patients diagnosed with CLL in 2014-2017 and ≥1 LOT (N = 2585), 42% used targeted therapy and 30% used chemoimmunotherapy in first line (1L). The corresponding proportions of patients diagnosed with CLL in 2018-2021 (N = 2641) were 54% and 16%, respectively. Total costs were numerically 3.5 times higher and 4.9 times higher compared with baseline costs among patients treated with 1L+ and 3L+, respectively. CONCLUSION: This study documented the real-world change in CLL treatment landscape and the substantial economic burden of patients with CLL/SLL. Specifically, targeted therapies were increasingly used as 1L treatments and they were part of more than half of 1L regimens in recent years (2018-2021).

Medical care costs according to the stage and subtype of breast cancer in a municipal setting: a case study of Hachioji City, Japan.

BACKGROUND: It is important to assess whether the early detection of breast cancer affects medical care costs. However, research remains scant on the actual medical care costs associated with breast cancer treatment in Japan. This study aimed to determine the medical care costs of breast cancer treatment based on its stage using national health insurance claims data. METHODS: This was an observational study including patients with breast cancer who had undergone breast cancer treatment, as defined by the disease name and related treatment codes. Between August 2013 and June 2016, patients who underwent surgical treatment without axillary lymph node dissection and other radical treatment were classified as the curable group, while those who underwent palliative treatment were classified as the non-curable group. Patients were further stratified by subtype. The total and treatment-specific medical care costs for the five years were calculated using the national health insurance claims data of Hachioji City between August 2013 and May 2021. RESULTS: The mean total medical care costs for the curable and non-curable groups for the 5 years were JPY 3958 thousand (standard deviation 2664) and JPY 8289 thousand (8482), respectively. The mean medical care costs for specific breast cancer treatment for the curable and non-curable groups were JPY 1142 (728) thousand and JPY 3651 thousand (5337), respectively. Further, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 + , Hormone + patients had the highest mean cost over the 5 years. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that the early detection of breast cancer may reduce medical care costs at the patient level.

Association Between Reduced Posterior Occlusal Contact and Alzheimer's Disease Onset in Older Japanese Adults: Results from the LIFE Study.

BACKGROUND: An association between poor oral health and cognitive decline has been reported. Most of these studies have considered the number of teeth as a criterion, only a few studies have analyzed the relationship between occlusal status and Alzheimer's disease (AD). OBJECTIVE: To elucidate whether posterior occlusal contact is associated with AD, focusing on the Eichner classification, among an older population aged 65 years or older in Japan. METHODS: This study used monthly claims data of National Health Insurance in Japan from April 2017 to March 2020. The outcome was newly diagnosed AD defined according to ICD-10 code G30. The number of teeth was estimated by dental code data, and occlusal contact was divided into three categories, namely A, B, and C, according to the Eichner classification. Multivariate Cox proportional hazards models were used to analyze the association between a new diagnosis of AD and the Eichner classification. RESULTS: A total of 22,687 participants were included, 560 of whom had newly diagnosed AD during a mean follow-up period of 12.2 months. The AD participants had a lower proportion of Eichner A and a higher proportion of Eichner C. After adjusting for covariates, hazard ratios (95% confidence intervals) with Eichner B and C were 1.34 (1.01-1.77) and 1.54 (1.03-2.30), respectively. CONCLUSION: In older people aged≥65 years old, reduced posterior occlusal contact as well as tooth loss have an impact on AD. This study emphasizes the importance of paying attention to occlusal contacts to reduce the risk of AD.

Association between spatial access and hospitalization for ambulatory care sensitive conditions: A retrospective cohort study using claims data.

Background: Hospitalization for ambulatory care sensitive conditions (ACSCs) is potentially preventable with timely and effective primary care but may increase owing to poor access. Spatial access inequalities exist between Japan and other countries. This retrospective cohort study examined the association between admission for ACSC and spatial accessibility to primary care. Methods: We used claims data and spatial data of 50-74 years-old beneficiaries of the National Health Insurance program in a large city in Japan from April 2013-March 2014 and followed them until March 2015. We used a multilevel Poisson regression model to assess the association between the number of ACSC admissions, the distance to the nearest clinic, and the number of physicians in a given area, adjusting for age, gender, comorbidities, number of visits, and household income. Results: Among 126,666 eligible beneficiaries (mean age 65.8 years, 54% were women), 1,793 (1.4%) were hospitalized for ACSCs. The ACSC admission rate was significantly higher in those with a distance to the nearest clinic of >1 km than in those with <0.3 km (incident rate ratio [IRR] 1.32, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.03-1.69). In the stratified analyses, a longer distance to the nearest clinic was associated with higher ACSC admission rates among women (≥0.3 km and <0.5 km: IRR 1.48, 95% CI 1.01-2.17; ≥0.5 km and <1 km: IRR 1.74, 95% CI 1.19-2.56; >1 km: IRR 1.98, 95% CI 1.29-3.03, respectively) and those aged ≥65 years (≥0.3 km and <0.5 km: IRR 1.38, 95% CI 1.07-1.79; ≥0.5 km and <1 km: IRR 1.38, 95% CI 1.06-1.80; >1 km: IRR 1.48, 95% CI 1.10-1.98). Conclusion: Unfavorable spatial access was associated with ACSC admissions, particularly among women and older adults.

Limited access to liver transplantation and TIPS despite high mortality, healthcare resource use and costs of cirrhosis in Germany.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Data on number of patients with cirrhosis in Germany are limited. We therefore aimed to estimate prevalence, comorbidities, mortality, utilization of healthcare resources and costs of patients with cirrhosis and incidence of decompensation of cirrhosis in Germany. METHODS: This longitudinal observational study was based on an anonymized representative claims database including 4.9 million persons insured by a statutory health insurance (SHI) between 2015-2020. Patients with decompensated and compensated cirrhosis were selected via diagnostic ICD codes and followed for 2 years. RESULTS: Prevalence of cirrhosis in 2015 was 250/100 000, resulting in 201 747 (95% CI: 197 540-206 040) patients extrapolated to the German population. Out of all patients with compensated cirrhosis in 2015 who did not deceased, 16.0% developed a decompensation within 3 years. Overall, 978 patients (Ø-age: 68 years; 60% male) were included in the decompensated, and 5135 patients (Ø-age: 66 years; 59% male) in the compensated cirrhosis cohort. Patients with decompensated cirrhosis had a higher burden of comorbidities (Charlson Comorbidity Index 7.3 vs. 4.4) and 3 times higher costs per quarter (7172 € vs. 2213 €) than patients with compensated cirrhosis. 1-year mortality after decompensation was 51% compared to 8% in compensated cirrhosis. Of note, only few patients with decompensated cirrhosis received a liver transplantation or transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunts (TIPS) (1% and 5%). CONCLUSION: Patients with cirrhosis have a high healthcare burden in especially decompensated stage. Accordingly, 1-year mortality of decompensated cirrhosis in Germany is high. Despite high health resource utilization, only few patients have access to liver transplantation or TIPS.

Analysis of Healthcare Utilization for Primary Dysmenorrhea in Korea: A Retrospective, Cross-Sectional Study.

Purpose: This study is a retrospective, cross-sectional study aiming to present basic data on the treatment modalities and cost of care for primary dysmenorrhea (PD) by analyzing healthcare utilization and patient distributions using the 2010 to 2018 Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service (HIRA) data. Patients and Methods: We used the HIRA-National Patient Sample (NPS) data to analyze medical service utilization for PD (ICD-10 code: N94.4, N94.6) in Western medicine (WM) or Korean medicine (KM) care between January 2010 and December 2018. Results: There were 41,139 patients diagnosed with PD who utilized Western medicine (WM) or Korean medicine (KM) care at least once during the study period. The number of claims and patients steadily rose over the years from 7430 claims for 3989 patients in 2010 to 11,523 claims for 6226 patients in 2018. The predominant age group was 15 to 24 years. Regarding the frequency of service categories for PD in the claims, consultation was the most common and costly service category in WM (72,120 cases, 47.89%; 631,912 USD, 69.74%), while injection and analogous treatments was the most common and costly service category in KM (97,157 cases, 72.41%; 314,696 USD, 55.86%). Regarding the drug prescriptions, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) (26,617 cases, 40.47%) were the most frequently prescribed drug for PD in pharmacies and hospitals. Conclusion: The result shows an annual increase in healthcare utilization for PD with the fastest rate in individuals aged 15 to 24 years. This study provides data on the current utilization of WM and KM care for PD for policymakers. Furthermore, we analyzed the frequency and cost of common treatment modalities in WM and KM, which would be useful data for clinicians and researchers.

Diagnosis and treatment of influenza based on health insurance claims between the 2010-2011 and 2019-2020 influenza seasons in Japan.

Medical practices for influenza virus infection vary among countries. In Japan, treatment with anti-influenza drugs is recommended for patients diagnosed with influenza. This health claims database study provides quantitative information aimed at describing the actual medical practices, including diagnostic testing and medication use, for managing influenza in Japan. Most patients diagnosed with influenza underwent diagnostic tests and were prescribed anti-influenza drugs. Meanwhile, the majority of patients prescribed anti-influenza drugs had undergone diagnostic testing. However, an increase in the percentage of anti-influenza prescriptions without diagnostic testing was observed during the 2019-2020 influenza season, which may be associated with the COVID-19 pandemic.

Characteristics and Healthcare Costs in the Aging Hepatitis B Population of Japan: A Nationwide Real-World Analysis.

INTRODUCTION: Advancing age, comorbidity, and financial burden have been observed in chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients globally. As Japan is leading the world in aging demographics, similar real-world data are urgently needed for its CHB population to inform all stakeholders. METHODS: This cross-sectional study characterized the demographics, comorbidities, and healthcare costs of a large Japanese real-world adult (≥18 years) CHB patient (ICD-10: B18.1) population from the Medical Data Vision database from January 01, 2012, to December 31, 2016. Comorbidities were identified by ICD-10 codes, and the annual point prevalence and Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI) score were calculated. Annual mean and median all-cause healthcare utilization and costs per patient were calculated. Comparison tests were conducted for CCI scores, prevalence of comorbidities, and healthcare resource utilization and costs. RESULTS: We identified 11,125 CHB patients. Between 2012 and 2016, the mean age increased from 62.0 to 65.2 years, and the percentage of those aged ≥65 years increased from 45.6% to 60.7%. The prevalence of cirrhosis remained similar (5.8% in 2012 and 5.6% in 2016, p = 0.69) while hepatocellular carcinoma decreased from 6.3% to 4.5% (p < 0.01). The prevalence of nonliver comorbidities increased (40.9-52.0% for cancer [p < 0.01], 12.1-17.7% for osteoporosis [p < 0.01], and 10.7-15.0% for renal impairment [p < 0.01]). Healthcare resource utilization and costs also increased, with a 119.3% increase in median total healthcare costs from JPY 229,143 in 2012 to 502,467 in 2016 (p < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: The CHB population of Japan is predominantly elderly and carry a high nonliver comorbidity burden, while incurring increasing healthcare costs.

Measuring Substance-Related Disorders Using Canadian Administrative Health Databanks: Interprovincial Comparisons of Recorded Diagnostic Rates, Incidence Proportions and Mortality Rate Ratios.

CONTEXT: Assessing temporal changes in the recorded diagnostic rates, incidence proportions, and health outcomes of substance-related disorders (SRD) can inform public health policymakers in reducing harms associated with alcohol and other drugs. OBJECTIVE: To report the annual and cumulative recorded diagnostic rates and incidence proportions of SRD, as well as mortality rate ratios (MRRs) by cause of death among this group in Canada, according to their province of residence. METHODS: Analyses were performed on linked administrative health databases (AHD; physician claims, hospitalizations, and vital statistics) in five Canadian provinces (Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario, Québec, and Nova Scotia). Canadians 12 years and older and registered for their provincial healthcare coverage were included. The International Classification of Diseases (ICD-9 or ICD-10 codes) was used for case identification of SRD from April 2001 to March 2018. RESULTS: During the study period, the annual recorded SRD diagnostic rates increased in Alberta (2001-2002: 8.0‰; 2017-2018: 12.8‰), Ontario (2001-2002: 11.5‰; 2017-2018: 14.4‰), and Nova Scotia (2001-2002: 6.4‰; 2017-2018: 12.7‰), but remained stable in Manitoba (2001-2002: 5.5‰; 2017-2018: 5.4‰) and Québec (2001-2002 and 2017-2018: 7.5‰). Cumulative recorded SRD diagnostic rates increased steadily for all provinces. Recorded incidence proportions increased significantly in Alberta (2001-2002: 4.5‰; 2017-2018: 5.0‰) and Nova Scotia (2001-2002: 3.3‰; 2017-2018: 3.8‰), but significantly decreased in Ontario (2001-2002: 6.2‰; 2017-2018: 4.7‰), Québec (2001-2002: 4.1‰; 2017-2018: 3.2‰) and Manitoba (2001-2002: 2.7‰; 2017-2018: 2.0‰). For almost all causes of death, a higher MRR was found among individuals with recorded SRD than in the general population. The causes of death in 2015-2016 with the highest MRR for SRD individuals were SRD, suicide, and non-suicide trauma in Alberta, Ontario, Manitoba, and Québec. DISCUSSION: Linked AHD covering almost the entire population can be useful to monitor the medical service trends of SRD and, therefore, guide health services planning in Canadian provinces.

Effects of piperacillin/tazobactam or cefepime on folinate dose in patients receiving high-dose methotrexate: A retrospective cohort study using Japanese administrative claims data.

INTRODUCTION: Delayed methotrexate (MTX) clearance with the co-administration of piperacillin/tazobactam (PIPC/TAZ) has been reported. Penicillins have been associated with reduced MTX clearance but the evidence is limited. There are no cases described with cefepime but penicillins are listed as interacting with MTX. We aimed to reveal whether the co-administration of PIPC/TAZ or CFPM affects MTX clearance using data from an administrative database. METHODS: We used data from the JMDC database, a large insurance claims database constructed in Japan. We included patients who were prescribed PIPC/TAZ or CFPM between days 1 and 3 in high-dose MTX (HD-MTX). We compared one co-administration episode (with PIPC/TAZ or CFPM) to one control episode (without), as a match-control study of two different episodes in the same patient. The primary outcomes were the duration and cumulative dose of leucovorin (LV) as a surrogate indicator of delayed MTX clearance. RESULTS: Three patients who were co-administered PIPC/TAZ and 16 patients who were co-administered CFPM with HD-MTX were included. In the PIPC/TAZ group, the duration and the cumulative doses of LV were similar in co-administration and control episode (median 3.0 vs. 3.0 days and 288.0 vs. 219.0 mg). In the CFPM group, the duration and the cumulative doses of LV were not significantly different in co-administration and control episode (3.0 vs. 4.0 days and 169.5 vs. 258.0 mg). CONCLUSIONS: Our findings revealed that PIPC/TAZ did not necessarily cause a delay in MTX clearance during HD-MTX therapy. Moreover, the co-administration of CFPM with HD-MTX did not affect MTX clearance.

Medical Care and Long-Term Care Expenditures Attributable to Alzheimer's Disease Onset: Results from the LIFE Study.

BACKGROUND: Alzheimer's disease (AD) can increase both medical care and long-term care (LTC) costs, but the latter are frequently neglected in estimates of AD's economic burden. OBJECTIVE: To elucidate the economic burden of new AD cases in Japan by estimating patient-level medical care and LTC expenditures over 3 years using a longitudinal database. METHODS: The study was performed using monthly claims data from residents of 6 municipalities in Japan. We identified patients with new AD diagnoses between April 2015 and March 2016 with 3 years of follow-up data. Medical care and LTC expenditures were estimated from 1 year before onset until 3 years after onset. To quantify the additional AD-attributable expenditures, AD patients were matched with non-AD controls using propensity scores, and their differences in expenditures were calculated. RESULTS: After propensity score matching, the AD group and non-AD group each comprised 1748 individuals for analysis (AD group: mean age±standard deviation, 81.9±7.6 years; women, 66.0%). The total additional expenditures peaked at $1398 in the first month, followed by $1192 and $1031 in the second and third months, respectively. The additional LTC expenditures increased substantially 3 months after AD onset ($227), and gradually increased thereafter. These additional LTC expenditures eventually exceeded the additional medical care expenditures in the second year after AD onset. CONCLUSION: Although total AD-attributable expenditures peaked just after disease onset, the impact of LTC on these expenditures rose over time. Failure to include LTC expenditures would severely underestimate the economic burden of AD.

Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor use patterns among commercially insured US pregnancies (2005-2014).

The goal of this study was to describe patterns of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) use during pregnancy in a US cohort (2005-2014) of > 1 million commercially insured women using administrative claims. We used international classification of disease (ICD-9) diagnosis and procedure and current procedural terminology codes in the OptumLabs® Data Warehouse to identify deliveries (including losses) among US women aged 15-45 (n = 1,061,023). SSRI dispensings that overlapped with the timing of pregnancy were identified using national drug codes in linked pharmacy claims. Demographic characteristics were imputed based on residential location, census data, and consumer information. We investigated patterns by trimester, agent, and demographic subgroups. A total of 46,087 of women (4.34%) were dispensed SSRIs during the estimated pregnancy period. Sertraline was the most common overall and had the highest initial use after trimester 1, including women who switched from another SSRI, although dispensing for > 1 SSRI during pregnancy was uncommon. Use of vilazodone was rare and had the highest discontinuation after trimester 1, followed by paroxetine. SSRI use was more common among women who were older, White, college-educated, higher income (≥ $100,000), or resided in the Midwest. Paroxetine and dispensings for > 1 SSRI were more common in lower education subgroups. White women had the highest proportion of use in all trimesters of pregnancy, whereas Hispanic women had the lowest. Among commercially insured US women, SSRI use during pregnancy differed by agent and demographics. More research is needed to understand whether these differences are due to symptom reporting, cultural beliefs, and/or physician preferences.

Suitability of administrative claims databases for bariatric surgery research - is the glass half-full or half-empty?

BACKGROUND: Claims databases are generally considered inadequate for obesity research due to suboptimal capture of body mass index (BMI) measurements. This might not be true for bariatric surgery because of reimbursement requirements and changes in coding systems. We assessed the availability and validity of claims-based weight-related diagnosis codes among bariatric surgery patients. METHODS: We identified three nested retrospective cohorts of adult bariatric surgery patients who underwent adjusted gastric banding, Roux-en-Y gastric bypass, or sleeve gastrectomy between January 1, 2011 and June 30, 2018 using different components of OptumLabs® Data Warehouse, which contains linked de-identified claims and electronic health records (EHRs). We measured the availability of claims-based weight-related diagnosis codes in the 6-month preoperative and 1-year postoperative periods in the main cohort identified in the claims data. We created two claims-based algorithms to classify the presence of severe obesity (a commonly used cohort selection criterion) and categorize BMI (a commonly used baseline confounder or postoperative outcome). We evaluated their performance by estimating sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, and weighted kappa in two sub-cohorts using EHR-based BMI measurements as the reference. RESULTS: Among the 29,357 eligible patients identified using claims only, 28,828 (98.2%) had preoperative weight-related diagnosis codes, either granular indicating BMI ranges or nonspecific denoting obesity status. Among the 27,407 patients with granular preoperative codes, 12,346 (45.0%) had granular codes and 9355 (34.1%) had nonspecific codes in the 1-year postoperative period. Among the 3045 patients with both preoperative claims-based diagnosis codes and EHR-based BMI measurements, the severe obesity classification algorithm had a sensitivity 100%, specificity 71%, positive predictive value 100%, and negative predictive value 78%. The BMI categorization algorithm had good validity categorizing the last available preoperative or postoperative BMI measurements (weighted kappa [95% confidence interval]: preoperative 0.78, [0.76, 0.79]; postoperative 0.84, [0.80, 0.87]). CONCLUSIONS: Claims-based weight-related diagnosis codes had excellent validity before and after bariatric surgical operation but suboptimal availability after operation. Claims databases can be used for bariatric surgery studies of non-weight-related effectiveness and safety outcomes that are well-captured.

Measuring Frailty in Health Care Databases for Clinical Care and Research.

Considering the increasing burden and serious consequences of frailty in aging populations, there is increasing interest in measuring frailty in health care databases for clinical care and research. This review synthesizes the latest research on the development and application of 21 frailty measures for health care databases. Frailty measures varied widely in terms of target population (16 ambulatory, 1 long-term care, and 4 inpatient), data source (16 claims-based and 5 electronic health records [EHR]-based measures), assessment period (6 months to 36 months), data types (diagnosis codes required for 17 measures, health service codes for 7 measures, pharmacy data for 4 measures, and other information for 9 measures), and outcomes for validation (clinical frailty for 7 measures, disability for 7 measures, and mortality for 16 measures). These frailty measures may be useful to facilitate frailty screening in clinical care and quantify frailty for large database research in which clinical assessment is not feasible.

Healthcare use and costs in adult cancer patients with anxiety and depression.

OBJECTIVE: Anxiety and depression are common in individuals with cancer and may impact healthcare service use and costs in this population. This study examined the effects of anxiety alone, depression alone, and comorbid anxiety and depressive disorder on healthcare use and costs among patients with cancer. METHOD: This was a retrospective cohort analysis of administrative data of patients aged 18 or older with an International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision diagnosis of cancer. Key outcomes were any visit to emergency department (ED), any inpatient hospitalization, length of hospital stays, and annual healthcare costs 1 year from cancer diagnosis. RESULTS: A total of 13,426 patients were included. Relative to patients with neither anxiety nor depression, those with anxiety alone, depression alone, or comorbid anxiety and depression were more likely to experience an ED visit and be hospitalized. Length of hospital stays were also longer and annual healthcare costs were significantly higher in all three clinical groups. CONCLUSIONS: Cancer patients with anxiety and depression were at greater risk for ED visits and hospitalizations, experienced longer hospital stays, and accrued higher healthcare costs. Future researchers should determine whether screening and treating comorbid anxiety and depression may decrease healthcare utilization and improve turnover wellbeing among cancer patients.

Conducting and Reporting a Clinical Research Using Korean Healthcare Claims Database.

An increasing number of studies are using healthcare claims databases to assess healthcare intervention utilization patterns or outcomes in real-world clinical settings. However, methodological issues affecting study design or data analysis can make conducting and reporting these types of studies difficult. This review presents an overview of the types of information contained in claims data, describes some advantages and limitations of using claims data for research purposes, and outlines steps for utilizing the Korea Health Insurance Review and Assessment and National Health Insurance Service databases. The study also reviews epidemiological approaches utilizing healthcare claims databases (including cross-sectional, case-control, case-crossover, and cohort designs) with respect to protocol development, analysis, and reporting of results, and introduces relevant guidelines and checklists, including the Guidelines for Good Pharmacoepidemiology Practices, the Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology checklist, and the Risk of Bias in Nonrandomized Studies of Interventions tool.

Current treatment patterns and medical costs for multiple myeloma in Japan: a cross-sectional analysis of a health insurance claims database.

Aims: Various drugs have recently been launched for the treatment of multiple myeloma (MM). This increase in the number of treatment options has potentially changed treatment patterns and medical costs for patients with MM. Japanese public health insurance claims were analyzed to examine the change in the treatment patterns of MM drugs and medical costs per patient.Materials and methods: A claims database provided by Medical Data Vision was used, which includes data from ∼20 million patients from >300 acute care hospitals across Japan. The type of MM drugs prescribed and medical costs for patients with MM between April 2008 and December 2016 were examined using monthly cross-sectional analyses. Patients with an International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision (ICD-10) diagnosis code of C90.0 were classified as having MM. MM drugs were defined by generic names.Results: In total, 19,137 patients with MM (average age at first diagnosis: 69.6 years; percentage of women: 47.9%) were identified from the database. The percentage of patients prescribed each MM drug changed substantially as novel drugs were launched. Total medical costs increased until 2010, then stabilized. MM drug costs increased from approximately 2010, but costs for other care decreased, particularly for hospitalization (including surgery).Limitations: The database contained data from large, acute care hospitals, which may have caused bias in terms of patients' clinical history and disease severity.Conclusions: Total medical costs for MM have remained stable since 2010. MM drug costs increased, but costs for other care decreased after the launch of lenalidomide in 2010 and other drugs in 2015 and later. More detailed research is required to confirm whether the launch of novel drugs caused the changes in medical costs.

Outcomes of vascular access in hemodialysis patients: Analysis based on the Korean National Health Insurance Database from 2008 to 2016.

BACKGROUND: Controversies exist whether arteriovenous fistula (AVF) placement is preferred over arteriovenous graft (AVG) for elderly patients. Current guidelines did not offer specific recommendations. Thus, this study was conducted to analyze the all-cause mortality and primary patency associated with various vascular access (VA) types according to age group. METHODS: This retrospective observational study investigated the Korean insurance claims data of chronic kidney disease patients who began hemodialysis between January 2008 and December 2016. We investigated all-cause mortality associated with initial VA in incident hemodialysis patients and primary patency between AVF and AVG according to age group. RESULTS: The proportion of patients with a tunneled dialysis catheter (TDC) that was first placed for VA increased from 18.4% in 2008 to 52.3% in 2016. Incident hemodialysis patients with a TDC or AVG for the initial VA had significantly higher mortality risk than patients with an AVF, except for patients over 85 years, who showed no significant difference in all-cause mortality regardless of VA type. In the patency analysis on initial AV access, AVG had significantly poorer primary patency than AVF in all age groups. CONCLUSION: AVF had better patency than AVG in all age groups; however, the benefit of AVF attenuated in the older age groups. The mortality rate between AVF and AVG was not significantly different in patients over 85 years. Therefore, a "patient-first" approach should be emphasized over a "fistula-first" approach in AV access creation for incident hemodialysis patients older than 85 years.