Alcohol and drug treatment among HMO patients
. . Many alcohol and drug treatment programs have been merged since the early 1990s.. Yet a study has found that alcohol-only and alcohol-and-other-drug dependent clients appear to have different treatment needs and risk factors for developing drug-related problems.. Those with an alcohol-and-other-drug dependency were more likely to be younger, male, less educated, African American, and have gr...Medicare HMOs fail to control costs of colon surgery in elderly patients
Tampa, FL (Dec. 20, 2004) -- The costs of caring for elderly Florida patients hospitalized for colon surgery are not reduced by Medicare HMOs, report University of South Florida researchers in the December issue of the ....... Despite significantly shorter hospital stays, Medicare HMO beneficiaries who underwent colon resections -- surgery to remove a diseased section of the large intestines --...Hmong face high rates of some cancers
(SACRAMENTO, Calif.) -- Many of the 15,000 Hmong immigrants arriving in the United States this year will confront an illness that has no name in the Hmong language -- cancer. According to research presented today at the 5th Asian American Cancer Control Academy, the Hmong in California face rates of nasopharyngeal, cervical, stomach and liver cancer that are up to 16 times higher than for non-His...Medicare+Choice bills may stop exodus of plans, but are not likely to expand enrollment in HMOs
BETHESDA, MD - As Congress considers legislative proposals aimed at saving Medicare+Choice, a new study published today on the Health Affairs Web site shows that under the best-case scenario, enrollment in the troubled managed care program would stabilize at about 5 million beneficiaries.... Under the worst case of the four policy proposals to boost sluggish M+C reimbursement, enrollment would s...Largest study of Hmong shamanism prompts new patient care guidelines
MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL--In the largest study of its kind, researchers from the University of Minnesota, Creative Theatre Unlimited and UCare Minnesota (UCare) have found that Hmong cultural attitudes and behaviors influence how, why and with whom Hmong Americans access health care in Minnesota. As a result, researchers hope to put in place a new set of guidelines that will enhance cross-cultural...HMO patients more likely to get health counseling, preventive services
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. Patients of health maintenance organizations that pay their doctors a fixed amount for each "covered life" are more likely to get health counseling and preventive services, according to a Wake Forest University School of Medicine study published in the April issue of The American Journal of Managed Care. ... The Wake Forest researchers also found that these patients spend...Patient trust is not harmed when HMOs pay doctors a bonus for holding down costs
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Contrary to popular belief, patient trust of health maintenance organizations (HMOs) increases when patients are told that their physicians are rewarded for saving money, according to a Wake Forest University study reported in the March issue of Health Affairs. ... "The findings are based on a controlled study that observes the real-world impact on trust of telling HMO mem...Doctors steer sick patients away from capitated HMOs
... ...Many doctors unwittingly are helping managed care plans cherry pick healthier patients, while sicker patients are being steered toward safety-net providers, according to a new study.... ...In a national survey of 787 physicians, 40 percent reported encouraging patients who are sicker or who have more complex illnesses to avoid capitated managed care plans, in which doctors receive a flat....Physicians who work in health maintenance organizations are generally less satisfied with their jobs and more likely to leave their practices than are physicians in other settings, a national survey of more than 2,300 physicians revealed.. .The survey also found that time pressure was a major source of dissatisfaction among all physicians, but that HMO physicians were most likely to want additi...CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- North Carolina fails to protect the interests of state residents enrolled in health maintenance organizations .nearly as well as it should, chiefly because the organizations have grown so fast that laws and regulations have not kept up, .according to a new University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill study. . for Health Services Research in association with the N.C. Institu...