New Diabetes Research Study Findings Have Been Reported by Investigators at Duquesne University (Impacts of High-deductible Health Plans On Patients With Diabetes: a Systematic Review of the Literature): Diabetes – Diabetes Research

2022 FEB 18 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Daily News -- Researchers detail new data in Diabetes - Diabetes Research. According to news reporting originating in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, by NewsRx journalists, research stated, “High-deductible health plans (HDHPs) as a type of consumer-directed health insurance plan aim to control unnecessary service utilization and share the responsibility in payments and care with the patient. Our objective was to systematically pool the medical and non-medical impacts of HDHPs on patients with diabetes.”

The news reporters obtained a quote from the research from Duquesne University, “We searched databases, including PubMed, Scopus, Embase, and Wiley, to identify relevant published studies. We outlined the eligibility criteria based on the study population, intervention, comparison, outcome, and types of studies (PICOT). We included peer-reviewed quantitative studies published in English, including quasi-experimental, observational, and cross-sectional studies in this review. We used the narrative data synthesis method to categorize and interpret the results. Initial search yielded 149 results. After removing duplicates and screening for relevant titles and abstracts, and reviewing full texts, 11 studies met eligibility criteria. Overall, diabetic patients with HDHP were less likely to adhere to treatment and prescription refills, utilize fewer healthcare services and medications, and more likely to have acute emergency visits than their counterparts enrolled in low deductible plans. However, the results on overall healthcare costs and the final health outcome were unclear. It appears that HDHPs negatively impact low-income diabetic patients by leading them to forgo preventive and primary care services and experience excessive preventable emergency department visits.”

According to the news reporters, the research concluded: “The socioeconomic characteristics of patients must be considered when developing HDHP policies, and adjustments should be made to HDHPs accordingly.”

This research has been peer-reviewed.

For more information on this research see: Impacts of High-deductible Health Plans On Patients With Diabetes: a Systematic Review of the Literature. Primary Care Diabetes, 2021;15(6):948-957. Primary Care Diabetes can be contacted at: Elsevier Sci Ltd, The Boulevard, Langford Lane, Kidlington, Oxford OX5 1GB, Oxon, England. (Elsevier - www.elsevier.com; Primary Care Diabetes - http://www.journals.elsevier.com/primary-care-diabetes/)

Our news correspondents report that additional information may be obtained by contacting Ahmad Khanijahani, Duquesne University, John G Rangos Sch Hlth Sci, Dept Hlth Adm & Publ Hlth, 600 Forbes Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15282, United States. Additional authors for this research include Dreux Priore, Nesli Akinci and Shabnam Iezadi.

The direct object identifier (DOI) for that additional information is: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pcd.2021.07.015. This DOI is a link to an online electronic document that is either free or for purchase, and can be your direct source for a journal article and its citation.

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