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Part D (part + d)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Medical Sciences	66%

Selected Abstracts

The Effect of Transitioning to Medicare Part D Drug Coverage in Seniors Dually Eligible for Medicare and Medicaid

JOURNAL OF AMERICAN GERIATRICS SOCIETY, Issue 12 2008
William H. Shrank MD
OBJECTIVES: To evaluate medication use, out-of-pocket spending, and medication switching during the transition period for patients dually eligible for Medicaid and Medicare (dual eligibles). DESIGN: Time-trend analysis, using segmented linear regression. SETTING: Patient-level pharmacy dispensing data from January 2005 to December 2006 from a large pharmacy chain with stores in 34 states. PARTICIPANTS: Dual eligibles aged 65 and older. MEASUREMENTS: Changes in utilization, patient copayments, and medication switching were analyzed using interrupted time trend analyses. Utilization and spending were evaluated for five study drugs: clopidogrel, proton pump inhibitors (PPIs), warfarin, and statins (essential drugs covered by Part D plans) and benzodiazepines (not covered through Part D but potentially covered through Medicaid). RESULTS: Drug use for 13,032 dual eligibles was evaluated. There was no significant effect of the transition to Medicare Part D on use of all study drugs, including the uncovered benzodiazepines. Cumulative reductions were seen in copayments for all covered drugs after implementation of Part D, ranging from 25% annually for PPIs to 53% for warfarin, but there was a larger increase in copayments, 91% annually, for benzodiazepines after the transition. The rate of switching medications was 3.0 times as great for the PPIs after implementation of Part D than before implementation, but there was no significant change in the other study drug classes. CONCLUSION: These findings in a single, large pharmacy chain indicate that the transition plan for dual eligibles led to less medication discontinuation and switching than many had expected. The substantially greater cost sharing for benzodiazepines highlights the importance of implementing a thoughtful transition plan when executing such a national policy. [source]

Medicare Part D Coverage and Its Influence on Transplant Patients' Out-of-Pocket Prescription Expenses

AMERICAN JOURNAL OF TRANSPLANTATION, Issue 7 2006
M. A. Chisholm
Since Medicare is available for qualifying individuals because of age (65 years or greater), disability, or end-stage renal disease, many transplant recipients have Medicare coverage. Everyone who is entitled to Medicare will qualify to enroll in a Part D plan,a voluntary prescription drug coverage option offered by private insurance companies who meet the standards established by Medicare. The addition of Medicare Part D may help reduce out-of-pocket medication expenses for transplant recipients who have Medicare; however, the reality of utilizing Part D to maximize recipients' benefits is not simple, but rather complicated. The intricacies of Part D involve not only understanding premium costs and benefit stages, but formularies, and, particularly for transplant patients, deciphering how Medicare Part B immunosuppressant coverage influences Part D coverage. This article details significant information concerning Part D that transplant health care professionals should know in order to maximize patients' benefits and minimize their out-of-pocket medication expenses. [source]

Yet another ten stories on antiviral drug discovery (part D): Paradigms, paradoxes, and paraductions

MEDICINAL RESEARCH REVIEWS, Issue 4 2010
Erik De Clercq
Abstract This review article presents the fourth part (part D) in the series of stories on antiviral drug discovery. The stories told in part D focus on: (i) the cyclotriazadisulfonamide compounds; (ii) the {5-[(4-bromophenylmethyl]-2-phenyl-5H -imidazo[4,5- c]pyridine} compounds; (iii) (1H,3H -thiazolo[3,4- a]benzimidazole) derivatives; (iv) T-705 (6-fluoro-3-hydroxy-2-pyrazinecarboxamide) and (v) its structurally closely related analogue pyrazine 2-carboxamide (pyrazinamide); (vi) new strategies for the treatment of hemorrhagic fever virus infections, including, as the most imminent, (vii) dengue fever, (viii) the veterinary use of acyclic nucleoside phosphonates; (ix) the potential (off-label) use of cidofovir in the treatment of papillomatosis, particularly RRP (recurrent respiratory papillomatosis); and (x) finally, the prophylactic use of tenofovir to prevent HIV infections. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Med Res Rev, 30, No. 4, 667,707, 2010 [source]