Study Results from Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health Update Understanding of Psychosocial (Identifying Consistent High-cost…

Study Results from Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health Update Understanding of Psychosocial (Identifying Consistent High-cost Users in a Health Plan Comparison of Alternative Prediction Models)

By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Weekly News -- New research on Psychosocial is the subject of a report. According to news reporting originating in Baltimore, Maryland, by VerticalNews journalists, research stated, "High-cost users in a period may not incur high-cost utilization in the next period. Consistent high-cost users (CHUs) may be better targets for cost-saving interventions."

The news reporters obtained a quote from the research from the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, "To compare the characteristics of CHUs (patients with plan-specific top 20% medical costs in all 4 half-year periods across 2008 and 2009) and point high-cost users (PHUs) (top users in 2008 alone), and to build claims-based models to identify CHUs. This is a retrospective cohort study. Logistic regression was used to predict being CHUs. Independent variables were derived from 2007 claims; 5 models with different sets of independent variables (prior costs, medications, diagnoses, medications and diagnoses, medications and diagnoses and prior costs) were constructed. Three-year continuous enrollees aged from 18 to 62 years old from a large administrative database with $100 or more yearly costs (N = 1,721,992). Correlation, overlap, and characteristics of top risk scorers derived from 5 CHUs models were presented. C-statistics, sensitivity, and positive predictive value were calculated. CHUs were characterized by having increasing total and pharmacy costs over 2007-2009, and more baseline chronic and psychosocial conditions than PHUs. Individuals' risk scores derived from CHUs models were moderately correlated (similar to 0.6). The medication-only model performed better than the diagnosis-only model and the prior-cost model. Five models identified different individuals as potential CHUs. The recurrent medication utilization and a high prevalence of chronic and psychosocial conditions are important in differentiating CHUs from PHUs."

According to the news reporters, the research concluded: "For cost-saving interventions with long-term impacts or focusing on medication, CHUs may be better targets."

For more information on this research see: Identifying Consistent High-cost Users in a Health Plan Comparison of Alternative Prediction Models. Medical Care, 2016;54(9):852-859. Medical Care can be contacted at: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, Two Commerce Sq, 2001 Market St, Philadelphia, PA 19103, USA. (Lippincott Williams and Wilkins - www.lww.com; Medical Care - journals.lww.com/lww-medicalcare/pages/default.aspx)

Our news correspondents report that additional information may be obtained by contacting Hopkins Bloomberg Sch Public Hlth, Center Drug Safety & Effectiveness, Baltimore, MD, United States. Additional authors for this research include C.M. Boyd, B. Leff, K.W. Lemke, D.P. Bodycombe and J.P. Weiner.

Keywords for this news article include: Baltimore, Maryland, United States, North and Central America, Managed Care, Psychosocial, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Our reports deliver fact-based news of research and discoveries from around the world. Copyright 2016, NewsRx LLC