We are partnering with academic centers and professional organizations to conduct peer-reviewed, relevant research for physicians.
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Determinants of outcomes following outpatient placement of implantable cardioverter defibrillators in a Medicare Advantage population
An exploration of the association between ischemic etiology and the likelihood of heart failure hospitalization following cardiac resynchronization therapy
Digital Health Program for Diabetes Risk Reduction
Castro Sweet CM, Chiguluri V, Gumpina R, et al. J Aging Health. Epub ahead of print. Published online January 24, 2017.
Older adults at risk of diabetes lost an average of 7.5% of body weight and improved other risk factors through a remote, digital version of the CDC’s Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP), which was offered as a Medicare Advantage plan benefit.
Missed Opportunities for HPV Vaccination
Espinosa C, Woods C, Marshall G, et al. Poster presentation at: Pediatric Academic Society. April 30 - May 3, 2016; Baltimore, MD.
In over half (53%) of vaccine-related office visits (n=12,940) for adolescent girls in this study, the HPV vaccine was not given, representing nearly 7,000 missed opportunities.
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A Health Plan’s Journey to Identifying Meaningful Quality Measures
Roberts M, Green F, Holt W. Am J Med Qual. 2018 Apr 1. doi: 10.1177/1062860618772905.
This paper describes the results of a comprehensive streamlining of Humana’s quality program, resulting in a greatly reduced list of quality of measures and a new organizational structure to guide continuing work.
Comparative Multi-season Effectiveness of Three Influenza Vaccines for Timely Vaccination of a Medicare Advantage Population
Glasheen W, Renda A, Cordier T et al. Poster presented at: American Public Health Association meeting. November 4-8, 2017. Atlanta, GA.
Compared with HD-3V (high dose trivalent) vaccine, standard dose vaccines were less protective against influenza over three seasons in a population of individuals age ≥ 65 years. Sex, general morbidity and race were also associated with infection risk.
Synchronization of Medication Refill Dates and Adherence
Doshi JA, Lim R, Li P, et al. Health Affairs. 2016;35(8):1504-1512.
In this prospective controlled study, synchronizing prescription refill dates of multiple medications increased adherence up to 5 percentage points relative to control.
Direct Patient Messaging and Statin Adherence in Diabetes
Reese PP, Kessler JB, Doshi JA, et al. J Gen Intern Med. 2016;31(4):402-10.
Provision of direct reports to patients regarding their medication adherence interventions had no observable impact on their adherence levels in two randomized controlled pilot trials.
Effectiveness of Medication Adherence Reminders Tied to “Fresh Start” Dates: A Randomized Clinical Trial
Dai H, Mao D, Riis J, et al. JAMA Cardiol. Epub ahead of print. Published online February 8, 2017. doi:10.1001/jamacardio.2016.5794
Contrary to expectations, a randomized controlled trial revealed that timing medication reminders to arrive near New Year’s Day or a birthday did not improve medication adherence.
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Factors Influencing Dabigatran or Warfarin Medication Persistence in Patients with Nonvalvular Atrial Fibrillation
Annavarapu S, Gandhi PK, Li Yong, et al. J Comp Eff Res. 2018;7(7):685-691.
After adjustment for demographic and clinical differences, a comparison of new users of dabigatran with new users of warfarin showed no association between type of oral anticoagulant and persistence in refills over a 12-month period.
Humana, CDC, and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation rally around a common vision of improved health.
Comorbid Arthritis Is Associated With Lower Health-Related Quality of Life in Older Adults With Other Chronic Conditions
Havens E, Slabaugh SL, Helmick CG et al. Prev Chronic Dis. 2017;14:E60.
On average, older adults with arthritis and at least one of four other chronic conditions reported significantly more activity-limited days and physically, mentally, and total unhealthy days than those without arthritis but with the same chronic conditions. The findings have implications for disease management programs.
A Bold Goal – More Healthy Days Through Improved Community Health
Cordier T, Song Y, Cambon J et al. Popul Health Manag. 2017 Nov 10. doi: 10.1089/pop.2017.0142.
This paper presents Humana’s methods for measuring progress toward its goal of 20% improvement in health by 2020 in the communities we serve. The paper also reports results for our first year of tracking and describes our community-based interventions.
Food Insecurity in Primary Care Patients
McGrath E, Renda A, Eaker E, et al. Poster presentation at: 2017 Art & Science of Health Promotion Conference. March 27-31, 2017. Colorado Springs, CO.
Humana partnered with Feeding America to survey patients attending three primary care clinics. Results revealed high levels of food insecurity, which was associated with poorer quality of life (more unhealthy days).
Patient-Reported Cancer-Related Symptoms Are Associated with Worse Health-Related Quality of Life Among Patients Undergoing Treatment for Metastatic Cancer
Drzayich Antol D, Casebeer A, Khoury R et al. J Patient Rep Outcomes. 2018;2(29).
Among respondents to a survey of patients with metastatic cancer, low adherence to maintenance medications for chronic disease was associated with more unhealthy days according to the Healthy Days questionnaire.
