Does medication adherence lower Medicare spending among beneficiaries with diabetes?

ABSTRACT:

Objective

To measure 3-year medication possession ratios (MPRs) for renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS) inhibitors and statins for Medicare beneficiaries with diabetes, and to assess whether better adherence is associated with lower spending on traditional Medicare services controlling for biases common to previous adherence studies.

Data source

Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey data from 1997 to 2005.

Study design

Longitudinal study of RAAS-inhibitor and statin utilization over 3 years.

Data collection

The relationship between MPR and Medicare costs was tested in multivariate models with extensive behavioral variables to control for indication bias and healthy adherer bias.

Principal findings

Over 3 years, median MPR values were 0.88 for RAAS-

SUBMITTER: Stuart B 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3130847 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature