Impact of hormone therapy on Medicare spending in the Women's Health Initiative randomized clinical trials.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Randomized trials can compare economic as well as clinical outcomes, but economic data are difficult to collect. Linking clinical trial data with Medicare claims could provide novel information on health care utilization and cost.

Methods

We linked data from Medicare claims of women ≥65 years old who had Medicare fee-for-service coverage with their clinical data from the Women's Health Initiative trials of conjugated equine estrogens plus medroxyprogesterone acetate (CEE+MPA) versus placebo and of CEE-alone versus placebo. The primary outcome was total Medicare spending during the intervention phase of the trial, and the secondary outcomes were spending on diseases hypothesized a priori to be sensitive to the effects of hormone therapy.

Results

In the CEE+M

SUBMITTER: Shreibati JB 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5901884 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature