This paper assesses the role that pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) could play in facilitating improved Medicare beneficiary access to pharmaceutical care (which includes access to pharmaceuticals as well as disease management coverage). Based on a literature review and original survey results,...

Many health plans and providers rely on return on investment (ROI) to determine the value of a disease management programme. ROI, however, is not the most meaningful measure of the true value of a programme. Depending on the methods used to calculate costs and determine the size of the...

Parent training can be an effective strategy for assisting children and their families to cope with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), particularly when it is used as part of a multimodal approach in combination with stimulant medication. The benefits of parent training include:...

Stroke is a heterogeneous cerebrovascular disorder that is a major cause of death and disability in the industrialised world. Anecdotal clinical evidence and expert opinion has suggested that organised stroke care results in better patient outcomes compared with care provided in general medical...

Health plans have generally elected to build their own disease management programmes using their own resources. In addition to the widespread belief among health plans that their mission includes active management of chronically ill members despite their lack of background in that area, the...

Introduction: Men are less likely to use preventive services than women, perhaps because of a perceived lack of timely access to healthcare. This paper reports the results of the Men's Health Screening Program offered by Lockheed Martin Aeronautical Systems in Marietta, Georgia, USA. Methods:...

Patient education is an essential component of a comprehensive disease state management programme. Proper planning for the patient education component will increase its effectiveness and lead to the building of a virtual bridge between the provider and the patient. A multidisciplinary team...

Background: Heart failure (HF) is as common in Hispanic as it is in non-Hispanic populations. However, there do not appear to be any published reports of HF disease management programs which include Hispanic populations. Objective: To test the effectiveness of a standardized telephonic disease...

Cystic fibrosis (CF) is an autosomal recessive genetic disorder; it is most common in the Caucasian populations, with a prevalence of about 1 per 2500 births. The disorder is associated with progressive lung disease and pancreatic enzyme deficiency, leading to considerable morbidity and...