| Geographic variation in the use of medications: is uniformity good news or bad? | |
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MedLine Citation:
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PMID: 11900083 Owner: NLM Status: MEDLINE |
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
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Studies have repeatedly found much geographic variation in use of surgical and diagnostic procedures. This study of the variability of medication use for specific conditions in eleven California regions finds surprisingly few differences among regions. The difference between the highest- and lowest-use areas was far less than we anticipated and amounted to only 30-40 percent for many drugs. We explore five potential explanations for low geographic variability: financial incentives, impact of managed care, study design elements, characteristics of California, and pharmaceutical marketing and education efforts. To determine whether these findings represent good or bad news will require further study. |
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Authors:
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Robert W Dubois; Elaine Batchlor; Sally Wade |
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Publication Detail:
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Type: Comparative Study; Journal Article |
Journal Detail:
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Title: Health affairs (Project Hope) Volume: 21 ISSN: 0278-2715 ISO Abbreviation: Health Aff (Millwood) Publication Date: 2002 Jan-Feb |
Date Detail:
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Created Date: 2002-03-19 Completed Date: 2002-08-26 Revised Date: 2007-11-15 |
Medline Journal Info:
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Nlm Unique ID: 8303128 Medline TA: Health Aff (Millwood) Country: United States |
Other Details:
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Languages: eng Pagination: 240-50 Citation Subset: IM |
Affiliation:
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Zynx Health, Beverly Hills, California, USA. |
Export Citation:
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APA/MLA Format Download EndNote Download BibTex |
| MeSH Terms | |
Descriptor/Qualifier:
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Adult Arthritis / drug therapy Asthma / drug therapy California Depressive Disorder / drug therapy Drug Utilization / statistics & numerical data* Female Geography Health Services Research Heart Failure / drug therapy Humans Male Middle Aged Physician's Practice Patterns / statistics & numerical data* Respiratory Tract Infections / drug therapy Small-Area Analysis* |
From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine
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