IMPORTANCE Based on randomized evidence, expert guidelines in 2011 endorsed shorter, hypofractionated whole breast irradiation (WBI) for selected patients with early-stage breast cancer and permitted hypofractionated WBI for other patients. OBJECTIVES To examine the uptake and costs of hypofractionated WBI among commercially insured patients in the United States. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS Retrospective, observational cohort study, using administrative claims data from 14 commercial health care plans covering 7.4%of US adult women in 2013, we classified patients with incident early-stage breast cancer treated with lumpectomy and WBI from 2008 and 2013 into 2 cohorts: (1) the hypofractionation-endorsed cohort (n = 8924) included patients aged 50 years or older without prior chemotherapy or axillary lymph node involvement and (2) the hypofractionation-permitted cohort (n = 6719) included patients younger than 50 years or those with prior chemotherapy or axillary lymph node involvement. EXPOSURES Hypofractionated WBI (3–5 weeks of treatment) vs conventional WBI (5–7 weeks of treatment). MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES Use of hypofractionated and conventional WBI, total and radiotherapy-related health care expenditures, and patient out-of-pocket expenses. Patient and clinical characteristics included year of treatment, age, comorbid disease, prior chemotherapy, axillary lymph node involvement, intensity-modulated radiotherapy, practice setting, and other contextual variables. RESULTS Hypofractionated WBI increased from 10.6%(95%CI, 8.8%–12.5%) in 2008 to 34.5%(95%CI, 32.2%–36.8%) in 2013 in the hypofractionation-endorsed cohort and from 8.1% (95%CI, 6.0%–10.2%) in 2008 to 21.2%(95%CI, 18.9%–23.6%) in 2013 in the hypofractionation-permitted cohort. Adjusted mean total health care expenditures in the 1 year after diagnosis were $28 747 for hypofractionated and $31 641 for conventional WBI in the hypofractionation-endorsed cohort (difference, $2894; 95%CI, $1610–$4234; P < .001) and $64 273 for hypofractionated and $72 860 for conventional WBI in the hypofractionation-permitted cohort (difference, $8587; 95%CI, $5316–$12 017; P < .001). Adjusted mean total 1-year patient out-of-pocket expenses were not significantly different between hypofractionated vs conventional WBI in either cohort. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE Hypofractionated WBI after breast conserving surgery increased among women with early-stage breast cancer in 14 US commercial health care plans between 2008 and 2013. However, only 34.5%of patients with hypofractionation-endorsed and 21.2%with hypofractionation-permitted early-stage breast cancer received hypofractionated WBI in 2013.

The primary objective of this review was to identify and examine the literature on the association between medication adherence self-reported questionnaires (SRQs) and medication monitoring devices. The primary literature search was performed for 1980-2009 using PubMed, PubMed In Process and Non-Indexed, Ovid MEDLINE, Ovid MEDLINE In-Process, PsycINFO (EBSCO), CINAHL (EBSCO), Ovid HealthStar, EMBASE (Elsevier) and Cochrane Databases and using the following search terms: 'patient compliance', 'medication adherence', 'treatment compliance', 'drug monitoring', 'drug therapy', 'electronic', 'digital', 'computer', 'monitor', 'monitoring', 'drug', 'drugs', 'pharmaceutical preparations', 'compliance' and 'medications'. We identified studies that included SRQs and electronic monitoring devices to measure adherence and focused on the SRQs that were found to be moderately to highly correlated with the monitoring devices. Of the 1679 citations found via the primary search, 41 full-text articles were reviewed for correlation between monitoring devices and SRQs. A majority (68%) of articles reported high (27%), moderate (29%) or significant (12%) correlation between monitoring devices (37 using Medication Event Monitoring System [MEMS®] and four using other devices) and SRQs (11 identified and numerous other unnamed SRQs). The most commonly used SRQs were the Adult/Pediatric AIDS Clinical Trial Group (AACTG/PACTG; 24.4%, 10/41) followed by the 4-item Morisky (9.8%, 4/41), Brief Medication Questionnaire (9.8%, 4/41) and visual analogue scale (VAS; 7.3%, 3/41). Although study designs differed across the articles, SRQs appeared to report a higher rate of medication adherence (+14.9%) than monitoring devices. In conclusion, several medication adherence SRQs were validated using electronic monitoring devices. A majority of them showed high or moderate correlation with medication adherence measured using monitoring devices, and could be considered for measuring patient-reported adherence prospectively.

PurposeIt is vital to understand the associations between the medication event monitoring systems (MEMS) and self-reported questionnaires (SRQs) because both are often used to measure medication adherence and can produce different results. In addition, the economic implication of using alternative measures is important as the cost of electronic monitoring devices is not covered by insurance, while self-reports are the most practical and cost-effective method in the clinical settings. This meta-analysis examined the correlations of two measurements of medication adherence: MEMS and SRQs.MethodsThe literature search (1980-2009) used PubMed, OVID MEDLINE, PsycINFO (EBSCO), CINAHL (EBSCO), OVID HealthStar, EMBASE (Elsevier), and Cochrane Databases. Studies were included if the correlation coefficients [Pearson (rp) or Spearman (rs)] between adherences measured by both MEMS and SRQs were available or could be calculated from other statistics in the articles. Data were independently abstracted in duplicate with standardized protocol and abstraction form including 1) first author's name; 2) year of publication; 3) disease status of participants; 4) sample size; 5) mean age (year); 6) duration of trials (month); 7) SRQ names if available; 8) adherence (%) measured by MEMS; 9) adherence (%) measured by SRQ; 10) correlation coefficient and relative information, including p-value, 95% confidence interval (CI). A meta-analysis was conducted to pool the correlation coefficients using random-effect model.ResultsEleven studies (N = 1,684 patients) met the inclusion criteria. The mean of adherence measured by MEMS was 74.9% (range 53.4%-92.9%), versus 84.0% by SRQ (range 68.35%-95%). The correlation between adherence measured by MEMS and SRQs ranged from 0.24 to 0.87. The pooled correlation coefficient for 11 studies was 0.45 (p = 0.001, 95% confidence interval [95% CI]: 0.34-0.56). The subgroup meta-analysis on the seven studies reporting rp and four studies reporting rs reported the pooled correlation coefficient: 0.46 (p = 0.011, 95% CI: 0.33-0.59) and 0.43 (p = 0.0038, 95% CI: 0.23-0.64), respectively. No differences were found for other subgroup analyses.ConclusionMedication adherence measured by MEMS and SRQs tends to be at least moderately correlated, suggesting that SRQs give a good estimate of medication adherence.

BackgroundThe New Cooperative Medical Scheme (NCMS) provides health insurance coverage for rural populations in China. This study aimed to evaluate changes in household catastrophic health expenditure (CHE) due to chronic disease before and after the reimbursement policies for services of chronic disease were implemented to provide additional financial support.MethodsThe study used data from the household surveys conducted in Shandong Province and Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region in 2006 and 2008. The study sample in village-level units was divided into two groups: 36 villages which implemented the NCMS reimbursement policies for chronic diseases as the intervention group, and 72 villages which did not as the control group. Health care expenditure of more than 40% of household’s non-food expenditure was defined as a household with CHE (i.e., impoverishment). The conceptual framework was established based on the Andersen socio-behavioral model of health care utilization to explore how the NCMS reimbursement policies impacted health expenditures. A difference-in-difference model was employed to compare the change in the proportion of households incurring CHE due to chronic disease between the two groups over time.ResultsThe households that participated in the NCMS were less likely to become impoverished (P<0.05). In addition, the households with both male household head and higher income level were protective factors to prevent CHE (P<0.05). Young households with preschool children suffered less from CHE (P<0.05). The effect of the NCMS reimbursement policies for chronic disease on the CHE was negative, yet not statistically significant (p = 0.814).ConclusionsThe NCMS coverage showed financial protection for households with chronic disease. However, the NCMS reimbursement policies should be strengthened in the future.

Adherence to TB treatment is the most important requirement for efficient TB control. Migrant TB patients’ “migratory” nature affects the adherence negatively, which presents an important barrier for National TB Control Program in China. Therefore, TB control among migrants is of high importance.The aim of this study is to describe adherence to TB treatment among migrant TB patients and to identify factors associated with adherence. A total of 12 counties/districts of Shandong Province, China were selected as study sites. 314 confirmed smear positive TB patients were enrolled between August 2nd 2008 and October 17th 2008, 16% of whom were non-adherent to TB therapy. Risk factors for non-adherence were: the divorced or bereft of spouse, patients not receiving TB-related health education before chemotherapy, weak incentives for treatment adherence, and self supervision on treatment. Based on the risk factors identified, measures are recommended such as implementing health education for all migrant patients before chemotherapy and encouraging primary care workers to supervise patients.