[May the family physician be informed about unapproved inpatient treatment?].
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BACKGROUND AND METHODS: The incidence and prognosis of whiplash injury from motor vehicle collisions may be related to eligibility for compensation for pain and suffering. On January 1, 1995, the tort-compensation system for traffic injuries, which included payments for pain and suffering, in Saskatchewan, Canada, was changed to a no-fault system, which did not include such payments. To determine whether this change was associated with a decrease in claims and improved recovery after whiplash injury, we studied a population-based cohort of persons who filed insurance claims for traffic injuries between July 1, 1994, and December 31, 1995. RESULTS: Of 9006 potentially eligible claimants, 7462 (83 percent) met our criteria for whiplash injury. The six-month cumulative incidence of claims was 417 per 100,000 persons in the last six months of the tort system, as compared with 302 and 296 per 100,000, respectively, in the first and second six-month periods of the no-fault system. The incidence of claims was higher for women than for men in each period; the incidence decreased by 43 percent for men and by 15 percent for women between the tort period and the two no-fault periods combined. The median time from the date of injury to the closure of a claim decreased from 433 days (95 percent confidence interval, 409 to 457) to 194 days (95 percent confidence interval, 182 to 206) and 203 days (95 percent confidence interval, 193 to 213), respectively. The intensity of neck pain, the level of physical functioning, and the presence or absence of depressive symptoms were strongly associated with the time to claim closure in both systems. CONCLUSIONS: The elimination of compensation for pain and suffering is associated with a decreased incidence and improved prognosis of whiplash injury.
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STUDY OBJECTIVE: We analyzed 980 emergency department visits for 951 patients with managed care insurance to document gatekeeping interactions and compare ED coding with professional fee billing reimbursements. METHODS: A prospective cohort study was performed at 12 academic and community hospital EDs in 4 states involving consecutive ED patients with managed care insurance. The main outcomes measured were gatekeeper decisions, coding levels, and reimbursement. RESULTS: Preauthorization for payment was required from managed care gatekeepers for 876 (89%) patients. Authorization was granted for 490 (56%) of these visits and denied in 176 (20%) visits; gatekeepers were not available for 210 (24%) visits. Reimbursement was initially denied for 211 (43%) of the ED visits preapproved by managed care gatekeepers. Reimbursement was initially denied for most (634 or 65%) visits, and downcoding occurred in the other 346 (35%) visits. Appeals for 560 (57%) visits resulted in a decrease in the number of unreimbursed ED visits to 193 and an increase in the number of reimbursed ED visits to 787. CONCLUSION: Preauthorization gatekeeping is not predictive of whether managed care third-party payers will initially reimburse ED visits. Overall, almost two thirds of all ED claims were initially denied, and reimbursed claims were uniformly downcoded. On appeal, reimbursement was often reinstated or increased, although billing services only appealed about half of ED visits.
A comparison of premorbid and postinjury MMPI-2 profiles was performed in 23 patients with mild cranial/cervical injuries. All claimants attributed major personality change to their injuries during the course of compensation-related neuropsychological examinations. Their premorbid MMPI-2 profiles were all abnormal and the modal code-type indicated somatoform psychopathology. The post-accident MMPI profiles showed continuous somatization trends, but they unexpectedly showed (a) increased defensiveness and (b) a general decrease in global psychopathology. The findings did not support an 'eggshell plaintiff' theory of chronic postconcussive complaints. The view that chronic postconcussive complaints require a wider focus on non-neuropsychological factors is enhanced.
This study is an analysis of fixed partial dentures (FPDs), 8 units or more, that failed or suffered severe complications within the first 2 years after cementation. The material consists of claims to the Swedish Guarantee Insurance for Fixed Prosthodontics. Claim reports, radiographs, etc. were available. Over a 6-month period, 36 FPDs were sampled, 34 of which were made by general practitioners. The sampling resulted in 41 complications in 26 maxillary and 10 mandibular FPDs, 29 of which were made in metal-ceramics. The mean extension was 10.9 units, with an abutment/pontic ratio of 1.4; 40.6% of the abutments were root-canal treated and supplied with root posts. The complications were: metal framework fractures 41%, loss of retention 24%, porcelain fractures 17%, tooth/root fractures 10%, and miscellaneous 7%. The high proportion of metal framework fractures is not in accordance with other studies of FPD complications. No factor that could explain this high frequency could be identified. The fact that the selection of FPD complications applied to the first 2 years only, that the FPDs had been constructed by general practitioners, and that there were many root-canal-treated abutments and distal extension cantilever pontics, might be factors of importance.
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The primary goal of this study was to evaluate the claims profiles of subjects with TMJ disorders relative to a control group without the disorders and to provide a characterization of the type of healthcare services received and the associated costs of healthcare for patients with TMJ disorders. The administrative data base of a major medical insurer was used to compare the claims history of 1,819 patients diagnosed with TMJ disorders to matched controls. The analysis was based only on medical claims. The study found that total medical claim payments for the patients with TMJ disorders were double that of the subjects without TMJ disorders, and similarly, the utilization of institutional and professional care services was found to be approximately twice as high, though not uniformly distributed across all Major Diagnostic Categories, physician specialties or types of service. The level and nature of the differences in the quantity and costs of healthcare between subjects with and without TMJ disorders were unexpectedly large. The majority of these differences were attributed to conditions that were not usually considered related to TMJ disorders. These utilization and cost differences extended, in varying degrees, over a wide range of diagnostic and healthcare provider categories.
Spinal cord injury is a relatively infrequent but often catastrophic injury. As such, it presents special challenges for the individuals affected and the clinicians who care for them. Claims for reimbursement of acute care, rehabilitation, and long-term care are often denied, requiring patients and clinicians to exhaust every effort to ensure coverage for therapeutic interventions, preventive care, and durable medical equipment. Ethical dilemmas are presented within the framework of the US healthcare system, and practical strategies are discussed.
OBJECTIVE: Concerns have emerged from two west coast communities that health maintenance organizations (HMOs) may deter their members from calling 911. One means of influence is retrospective denial of emergency department (ED) or emergency medical services (EMS) claims. The study objective was to systematically assess legal action taken to contest HMO denial of claims. METHODS: Telephone survey of all state insurance commissioners (SICs). The specific question asked was: "What actions, if any, have been taken by the Office of Insurance Commissioner since 1990 against HMOs for denying claims for emergency department care or care provided by paramedics after a person has called 911?" Each office was contacted at least three times. RESULTS: Representatives from 49 states were interviewed. Three states (6%, Oregon, Texas, and Virginia) have taken formal action since 1990. Oregon fined two HMOs a total of $25,000 for inappropriate systematic claim denial of ED care. Texas fined one HMO $1,000,000 for similar practices. Virginia, with no authority to fine, has issued citations. No action had been taken for denying EMS claims. Thirty-eight states (78%) reported no formal actions. Eight (16%) state SICs could not easily retrieve these data and did not report. Fourteen (29%) representatives reported receiving these complaints. Most of these complaints were resolved without formal SIC action. CONCLUSIONS: Three health plans in two states received financial penalties for systematic denial of ED claims. A fourth was cited. This may underrepresent the true incidence of appealed ED and EMS claim denials. While complaints occurred in 29% of states, recent actions by SICs are relatively rare (6% of states). These results speak more to the extent systematic claim denials are discovered by SICs than to the true incidence of this practice.
OBJECTIVE: This article describes an innovative method to identify infertility interventions from drug reimbursement data, which did not contain diagnoses. METHODS: An algorithm of usual infertility care steps was designed and information on drug prescriptions were retrieved from the Drug Reimbursement Register and linked to a register covering examinations and interventions in private health care. The data were compared to in vitro fertilization (IVF) statistics and the Birth Register. RESULTS: Despite the novelty of the idea, the complexity of the pharmacological details, the use of administrative registers not commonly used for research, and the involvement of two institutions, the identification of the exposed cohorts went well. An estimated 16 work-weeks were used. The numbers of started IVF-cycles with fresh embryos were similar to those in statistics, but our data had more transfers of frozen embryos. The linkage to the Birth Register gave further support that our algorithm worked well. Classification into different IVF-classes was not accurate. CONCLUSION: Even though diagnoses were not recorded in the Finnish drug reimbursement data, the algorithm approach allowed exposure identification.
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