Health Care Utilization and Outcomes Among Persons With Rheumatoid Arthritis in Fee-for-Service and Prepaid Group Practice Settings

摘要: Objective. —To compare health care utilization and outcomes over an 11-year period among persons with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in fee-for-service prepaid group practice settings. Design. —Cohort of RA followed up for as long 11 years. The principal measures were obtained from annual structured telephone interview conducted by a trained survey worker. Setting. —Persons presenting to random sample community rheumatologists northern California. Patients. —Patients enrolled 2 cycles: 1982 1983 1989. Study listed all meeting criteria their offices 1-month period. Of the 1062 so listed, we 1025, or 96.5%. 1025 RA, 227 (22.2%) reported receiving Main Outcome Measures. —As end 1994, 5295 person-years observation available analysis level outcome measures; 341 had been years study. main measured included office visits, outpatient surgeries, hospital admissions, painful joints. Results. —The settings did not differ quantity used any 1 year either non-RA reasons. Among those years, feefor-service cumulative entire groups on measure long-term basis. results mortality analyses inconsistent: using Kaplan-Meier estimates, survived significantly longer ( P Conclusions. —We could find no evidence that fee-forservice received different quantities experienced