In this Section |
190406 Severe lead poisoning: Payers and practice patternsMonday, October 27, 2008
Previous studies have shown that severe lead poisoning still occurs in the United States. This study expands on these existing findings and examines two specific aims. The first aim was to derive who pays for treatment of severe lead poisoning. The second aim was to characterize how patients were treated. This research analyzed all inpatient admissions of 11 states over a five year period. This research collected case information from the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP), under specific case definition. Trends in insurance payment, practice patterns, source of admission and supporting health system information were derived using descriptive statistical and chi square analyses. Results indicate that Medicaid and private insurers pay for the majority of treatment. Detailed analyses show that the two major payers compliment one another; when one decreases benefits, the other absorbs the difference. Treatment patterns vary, spanning from multi-day observation to bone scans. Severe lead poisoning cases caught via routine admissions and screening makes up the majority of cases and continues to decline; however, emergency department admissions have not. Both sources of admission exhibit specific demographic profiles.
Learning Objectives: Keywords: Lead, Insurance
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: Previously presented on the changing epidemiological profile of severe lead poisoning in the United States at both APHA and ICUH. I have a masters degree in public health. I am a doctoral student and research fellow. I am a civil servant at the US Department of Health and Human services I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.
See more of: Committee on Affiliates Student Poster Session
See more of: APHA-Committee on Affiliates |