Background. This article compares national estimates of utilization of and expenditures for dental care and office-based medical care. The comparison includes respondents in several socioeconomic and demographic categ...
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Background. This article compares national estimates of utilization of and expenditures for dental care and office-based medical care. The comparison includes respondents in several socioeconomic and demographic categories. Methods. The focus of the analyses is on dental care and office-based medical care utilization during 1987. Specifically, the authors provide national estimates for numbers of dental and office-based medical visits made, expenditures for and sources of payment for each of several socioeconomic and demographic categories using household survey data from the 1987 National Medical Expenditure Survey, or NMES. Results. Data show that out-of-pocket expenditures are greater for dental care than for office-based medical care;that few Medicaid dollars are spent on dental care;that insurance is an important component of dental and office-based medical care;and that dentists provide greater amounts of unreimbursed care than do their office-based physician counterparts. Conclusions. NMES data show that dental care expenditures are considerable, almost as large as expenditures for office-based medical care, and are a significant component of all nonhospital health care expenditures for noninstitutionalized Americans. Practice Implications. U.S. dentists provide a significant amount of care. By understanding these analyses, practitioners will be better positioned to provide care and to better meet the dental needs of all Americans.
Transplant professionals have the dual responsibility of achieving acceptable clinical outcomes and controlling costs. One approach transplant centers have used to control transplant-related costs has been to decrease...
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Transplant professionals have the dual responsibility of achieving acceptable clinical outcomes and controlling costs. One approach transplant centers have used to control transplant-related costs has been to decrease patients' length of stay, and thus it has decreased significantly in the last 6 years. This reduction in resource consumption has been accomplished by increased efficiency in providing transplantation services, expanding the number of outpatient services available, and integrating new technologies. Future cost containment measures by payers, especially Medicare, will continue to require that transplant centers manage resources and meet financial objectives while achieving acceptable clinical outcomes. Daclizumab, a new immunosuppressive drug, is used as an example in this article, which assesses its value in helping meet resource management and financial goals.
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