Search PubMed⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

J A Gricar

Publications and source records attributed to J A Gricar.

7 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1999

Upper respiratory tract infections.

The routine, easiest-to-treat URI PTEs utilized 1.1 office visits during the course of a PTE. This patient group also received 0.05 tests, 0.66 laboratory and pathology services, and 0.05 medical/surgical procedures during the course of a PTE averaging 9.6 days in length. The major cost driver for URI PTEs was physician visits. Approximately 62% of URI PTEs produced a claim for prescription drug therapy. Overall, URI patients were treated with 1.3 prescriptions per PTE. Thirty-two percent of all PTEs received one-drug group and 17.5% received two-drug group treatments. Amoxicillin was the most commonly used drug for these patients.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

Glaucoma.

The routine, easiest-to-treat adult patients with glaucoma utilize 1.80 office visits, 3.34 prescriptions, and 2.02 medical/surgical procedures during the course of a year. Based on data from the PTE-Registry database, this patient group did not receive any hospital admissions or professional inpatient services. Eye surgery was performed at an average rate of 0.08 times per PTE. About 53.5% of all PTEs were treated without the use of prescription drugs. When a drug was prescribed, beta blockers were used most often. In fact, 74.1% of all PTEs treated with a single drug group used a beta blocker.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1998

Hemorrhoids.

The patients with routine, easiest-to-treat hemorrhoids average 1.25 office visits, 0.80 prescriptions, and 1.38 medical/surgical procedures during the course of a year. About 63.9% of all PTEs were treated without the use of prescription drugs. This patient group did not receive any hospital admissions or professional inpatient services. Hemorrhoid surgery was performed at an average rate of 1.37 times per PTE on an out-patient basis. Seventy-two percent of the overall medical charges for hemorrhoid treatment are direct surgical charges. Of the PTEs treated with a single drug group, only 1.5% are treated with a prescription laxative. However, the use of OTC stool softeners and laxatives were not measured in this analysis. Thus, an exact measurement of cost savings associated with appropriate use of softeners/laxatives for the prevention of recurrent hemorrhoids could not be determined. Considering the potential cost savings of using laxatives for prevention of hemorrhoids, further investigation of the prescribing patterns of this specialty may prove useful.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1998

Urinary tract infections.

Women between the ages of 18 years and 64 years with the easiest-to-treat UTIs average 1.07 office visits, 2.36 prescriptions, and 2.34 laboratory and pathology services per PTE. Laboratory services were performed an average of 2.27 times per PTE on an outpatient basis. This patient group did not receive a significant amount of hospital admissions or professional inpatient services. Approximately 71% of all PTEs were treated with pharmaceutical therapy. Of the overall charges for UTIs, 31% were for prescription drug therapy. Of those patients treated with a single drug group, almost 33% were treated with trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole and 13.2% were treated with a fluoroquinolone. Considering the potential cost savings of encouraging adherence to clinical prescribing guidelines, further investigation of physician prescribing patterns for uncomplicated UTIs may prove valuable to health plans.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1998

Cataracts.

Explore the source record for details and available documents.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1998

Pediatric otitis media.

The pediatric patients with routine, easiest-to-treat otitis media utilize 2.1 office visits during the course of a PTE. This patient group also received 0.13 tests, 0.14 laboratory and pathology services, and 0.05 medical/surgical procedures during the course of a PTE. Though 29.2% of these patients did not produce a claim for prescription drug therapy, this patient group received at least 1.53 prescriptions per PTEs. One prescription drug group was used in 39.8% of all PTEs. Of the PTEs treated with a single drug group, at least 56.4% were treated with amoxicillin. Two prescription drug groups were used in 18.1% of the PTEs. The prescribing patterns of physicians using two drug groups demonstrate a wide variety of switching patterns, some of which may have cost-of-care implications. Though surgical procedures are seldom utilized in SOI-1, approximately one-half of SOI-2 PTEs undergo some type of surgical procedure. The most common surgical procedure was myringotomy with the PE-TM tubes, which represents 82% of procedures performed on SOI-2 patients. The major cost drivers in the treatment of otitis media are clinical visits and antimicrobial drugs.

Adolescent↗