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Resources by Topic: Pharmacy and prescription drugs

MedPAC Data Book: Health Care Spending and the Medicare Program, 2024
Provides an overview of Medicare spending and highlights data on Medicare beneficiary demographics, dual-eligible beneficiaries, quality of care provided through the Medicare program, and other payer liability. Examines settings of care, including rural-specific provider sites, as they relate to spending, access to care, and profit margins. Compares rural and urban beneficiaries and providers throughout. Chart 6-2 addresses rural hospital closures.
Date: 07/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Risk Factors for Persistent Fatal Opioid-Involved Overdose Clusters in Massachusetts 2011–2021: A Spatial Statistical Analysis with Socio-Economic, Accessibility, and Prescription Factors
Examines locations with high opioid-involved overdose deaths in Massachusetts as well as factors contributing to mortality, such as social infrastructure and opioid prescribing practices. Provides state maps showing opioid overdose rates according to ZIP Code Tabulation Area (ZCTA). Includes data on social infrastructure access, opioid prescriptions, and ZCTA clusters, with breakdowns by poverty and race.
Author(s): Sumeeta Srinivasan, Jennifer Pustz, Elizabeth Marsh, Leonard D. Young, Thomas J. Stopka
Citation: BMC Public Health, 24, 1893
Date: 07/2024
Type: Document
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Calendar Year (CY) 2025 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule Proposed Rule
Fact sheet providing an overview of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) proposed rule regarding updates and changes to the Medicare payments under the Physician Fee Schedule (PFS) and other Medicare Part B issues for calendar year 2025. Summarizes provisions related to telehealth services; advanced primary care management services; behavioral health services; opioid treatment programs; dental and oral health services; Rural Health Clinic (RHC) and Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) Conditions for Coverage, care coordination services, telecommunication services, payment for vaccine costs, intensive outpatient program (IOP) services; and more.
Date: 07/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
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Community Buprenorphine Continuation Post-Release Following Extended Release Vs. Sublingual Buprenorphine During Incarceration: A Pilot Project in Maine
Compares post-release outcomes among incarcerated people who received extended-release buprenorphine (XRB) versus sublingual buprenorphine (SLB) for opioid use disorder (OUD) in rural Maine jails. Includes data from two jails, one of which had implemented an XRB pilot program, on rates of post-release community buprenorphine treatment continuation, diversion, safety concerns, XRB side effects, and post-release mortality.
Author(s): Alane B. O'Connor, Catherine Gelsinger, Sadie M. Donovan, Jessica Marshall, Katherine A. Ahrens
Citation: Health & Justice, 12, 28
Date: 06/2024
Type: Document
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Treatment for Opioid Use Disorder: Population Estimates — United States, 2022
Describes the U.S. adult populations who need opioid use disorder (OUD) treatment, receive any OUD treatment, and receive medication for OUD. Includes data for metropolitan compared to micropolitan and noncore locations.
Author(s): Deborah Dowell, Samantha Brown, Shiromani Gyawali, et al.
Citation: MMWR (Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report), 73(25), 567-574
Date: 06/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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MedPAC Comment on CMS's Proposed Rule on the Hospital Inpatient PPS and the Long-term Care Hospital PPS for FY 2025
Comments on a May 2, 2024, Federal Register proposed rule revising the hospital inpatient and long-term care hospital (LTCH) prospective payment systems (PPS). Discusses proposals on rate-setting in both the inpatient prospective payment systems (IPPS) and LTCH PPS; the Transforming Episode Accountability Model (TEAM), including the definition of rural hospitals eligible to participate in a lower-risk track; new payments to small, independent hospitals that establish and maintain a 6-month buffer supply of essential medicines; updates to wage index values and policies; and updates to outlier reconciliation thresholds.
Date: 06/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Enduring Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Food Access, Nutrition, and Well-Being in Rural Appalachia
Examines the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on a rural, Appalachian community in Kentucky. Utilizes focus group data from 39 participants to analyze ongoing issues such as social isolation, cost of living, and food access. Discusses how these issues affect mental health, access to needed medications, and ability to purchase nutritious food.
Author(s): Kathryn M. Cardarelli, Emily DeWitt, Rachel Gillespie, Nathan Bandy, Heather Norman-Burgdolf
Citation: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 21(5), 594
Date: 05/2024
Type: Document
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Barriers to Buprenorphine Dispensing by Medicaid-Participating Community Retail Pharmacies
Analyzes rates at which pharmacies dispensing opioids also dispensed buprenorphine, utilizing 2016-2019 Medicaid claims data. Includes year-by-year comparisons of clinics by patient volume and rural or urban location.
Author(s): Patricia R. Freeman, Lindsey R. Hammerslag, Katherine A. Ahrens, et al.
Citation: JAMA Health Forum, 5(5), e241077
Date: 05/2024
Type: Document
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US Hospital Service Availability and New 340B Program Participation
Examines whether participation in the 340B Drug Pricing Program was associated with investment in hospital-based services among newly participating hospitals between 2012 and 2018. Compares the provision of profitable and unprofitable services between 1,074 hospitals newly participating in the 340B program and 1,078 hospitals that never participated in the program by hospital characteristics, including hospital ownership, rural versus urban location, community social vulnerability index, and Critical Access Hospital (CAH) status.
Author(s): Kelsey M. Owsley, Romana Hasnain-Wynia, Ronica N. Rooks, et al.
Citation: JAMA Health Forum, 5(5), e240833
Date: 05/2024
Type: Document
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Rural-Urban Disparities in the Availability of Hospital-Based Screening, Medications for Opioid Use Disorder, and Addiction Consult Services
Compares availability of opioid use disorder screening, medication, and addiction consult services in hospitals by level of rurality. Utilizes data from the 2021 American Hospital Association (AHA) Annual Survey of Hospitals. Discusses access barriers to opioid use disorder services in rural areas.
Author(s): Berkeley Franz, Cory E. Cronin, Zoe Lindenfield, et al.
Citation: Journal of Substance Use and Addiction Treatment, 160, 209280
Date: 05/2024
Type: Document
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