Reports Outline Dizziness Study Findings from University of Minnesota (Geographic Variation in Use of Vestibular Testing among Medicare Beneficiaries)

Insurance Weekly News

By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Weekly News -- Research findings on Sensation Diseases and Conditions - Dizziness are discussed in a new report. According to news originating from Minneapolis, Minnesota, by VerticalNews correspondents, research stated, "Objective There is a lack of consensus regarding the indications for vestibular testing in the evaluation of dizziness and balance disorders. Geographic variation in health services utilization is associated with lack of consensus."

Our news journalists obtained a quote from the research from the University of Minnesota, "To understand the variation in current practice, we investigated the patterns of use of vestibular testing and diagnosis codes for dizziness and balance disorders among individuals greater than or equal to65 years of age across different regions of the United States. Cross-sectional study. Medicare administrative claims data. Using the Summarized Denominator file, a sample of the US population linked to the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER)-Medicare files (years 2000-2010), we identified persons who were greater than or equal to65 years of age. We used multivariable analyses to determine the factors associated with vestibular testing and diagnoses. Of the 231,984 eligible Medicare beneficiaries, 27% were diagnosed with dizziness and balance disorders. Patterns of use of vestibular tests (eye movement recording for spontaneous nystagmus, caloric testing, and rotary chair testing) varied significantly by geographic region. Rotary chair test utilization varied most. We found significant geographic variation in vestibular testing and diagnoses after controlling for age, sex, race, Medicaid participation, and rurality. There may be opportunities to improve the consistency and efficiency of care for dizziness and balance disorders. It will be important to define appropriate levels of vestibular diagnostic testing and which tests add sufficient value to justify the costs."

According to the news editors, the research concluded: "Further work is needed to better characterize the causes and consequences of variation in vestibular test utilization."

For more information on this research see: Geographic Variation in Use of Vestibular Testing among Medicare Beneficiaries. Otolaryngology--head and Neck Surgery, 2016;156(2):312-320.

The news correspondents report that additional information may be obtained from M.E. Adams, 1 Dept. of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. Additional authors for this research include S. Marmor, B. Yueh and R.L Kane.

Keywords for this news article include: Medicare, Minnesota, Dizziness, Minneapolis, Epidemiology, United States, Health Policy, Sensation Disorders, North and Central America, Diagnostics and Screening, Neurologic Manifestations, Sensation Diseases and Conditions.