John Romley - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by John Romley

Alzheimer's & Dementia: Translational Research & Clinical Interventions, 2021

The American journal of managed care, 2018

OBJECTIVES To model the impacts of restrictive formulary designs on outcomes for patients with H... more OBJECTIVES To model the impacts of restrictive formulary designs on outcomes for patients with HIV and to demonstrate the costs of restricting access to novel HIV regimens with better safety and efficacy profiles. STUDY DESIGN We modified an epidemiological model of HIV incidence, progression, and treatment to simulate the effects of 5 formulary scenarios on patient outcomes in the United States. METHODS Using a cohort of HIV-susceptible individuals, we followed patients through HIV infection, disease progression, and death. Patients transitioned in and out of treatment states once infected. Treatment discontinuation, efficacy, and the rate of adverse events (AEs; renal failure and bone fracture) in each formulary scenario depended on the treatment path and regimens included. Outcomes of interest included all-cause cumulative deaths, annual rates of AEs, and costs associated with treating those AEs. RESULTS All outcomes of interest were more favorable in less restrictive formula...

We assess changes in multifactor productivity in delivering acute episodes of care (including ser... more We assess changes in multifactor productivity in delivering acute episodes of care (including services received after initial discharge from a hospital) for elderly Medicare beneficiaries over 2002-2014. For a majority of the eight episode types studied, productivity improved, exceeding an annualized growth rate of 1.0% in some cases. There is some evidence of negative productivity growth for heart failure episodes over this period. Our estimates reflect ─ and are meaningfully affected by the measurement of ─ trends in the quality of care, with patients experiencing improved outcomes for most episode types.

PLOS ONE, 2021

Objectives This study documents trends in risk-adjusted quality and cost for a variety of inpatie... more Objectives This study documents trends in risk-adjusted quality and cost for a variety of inpatient surgical procedures among Medicare beneficiaries from 2002 through 2015, which can provide valuable insight on future strategies to improve public health and health care. Methods We focused on 11 classes of inpatient surgery, defined by the Agency for Health Research and Quality’s (AHRQ’s) Clinical Classification System. The surgical classes studied included a wide range of surgeries, including tracheostomy, heart valve procedures, colorectal resection, and wound debridement, among others. For each surgical class, we assessed trends in treatment costs and quality outcomes, as defined by 30-day survival without unplanned readmissions, among Medicare beneficiaries receiving these procedures during hospital stays. Quality and costs were adjusted for patient severity based on demographics, comorbidities, and community context. We also explored surgical innovations of these 11 classes of i...

The American Surgeon, 2019

The objective of this study was to examine the association between surgeon characteristics, proce... more The objective of this study was to examine the association between surgeon characteristics, procedural volume, and short-term outcomes of hemodialysis vascular access. A retrospective cohort study was performed using Medicare Part A and B data from 2007 through 2014 merged with American Medical Association Physician Masterfile surgeon data. A total of 29,034 procedures met the inclusion criteria: 22,541 (78%) arteriovenous fistula (AVF) and 6,493 (22%) arteriovenous graft (AVG). Of these, 13,110 (45.2%) were performed by vascular surgeons, 9,398 (32.3%) by general surgeons, 2,313 (8%) by thoracic surgeons, 1,517 (5.2%) by other specialties, and 2,696 (9.3%) were unknown. Every 10-year increase in years in practice was associated with a 6.9 per cent decrease in the odds of creating AVF versus AV G ( P = 0.02). Surgeon characteristics were not associated with the likelihood of vascular access failure. Every 10-procedure increase in cumulative procedure volume was associated with a 5 p...

Journal of Clinical Oncology, 2020

e19089 Background: Racial disparities are well documented in the treatment of women with breast c... more e19089 Background: Racial disparities are well documented in the treatment of women with breast cancer. Whereas clinical treatment guidelines are established for early stage breast tumors, disparities in guideline-concordant (GC) treatment may influence variation in breast cancer outcomes. As such, we investigated differences in the receipt of GC treatment for black and white women with early-stage breast cancer between 2008 and 2016. Methods: We evaluated the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Registry (SEER) Incidence database for black and white women aged 20-64 years with stage I / stage II breast tumors. Primary analyses investigated associations between race and receipt of GC treatment in three chronological periods. Potential driving factors for trends in receipt of guideline-concordant treatment were also assessed. Results: Among 145,561 women diagnosed with early stage breast tumors, overall receipt of GC care decreased from 84.58% in 2008 to 83.89% in 2016. In per...

Journal of General Internal Medicine, 2019

Journal of the American Heart Association, 2018

Background Previous research has found that patients with acute cardiovascular conditions treated... more Background Previous research has found that patients with acute cardiovascular conditions treated in teaching hospitals have lower 30‐day mortality during dates of national cardiology meetings. Methods and Results We analyzed 30‐day mortality among Medicare beneficiaries hospitalized with acute myocardial infarction (overall, ST‐segment–elevation myocardial infarction, and non–ST‐segment–elevation myocardial infarction) from January 1, 2007, to November 31, 2012, in major teaching hospitals during dates of a major annual interventional cardiology meeting (Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics) compared with identical nonmeeting days in the ±5 weeks. Treatment differences were assessed. We used a database of US physicians to compare interventional cardiologists who practiced and did not practice during meeting dates (“stayers” and “attendees,” respectively) in terms of demographic characteristics and clinical and research productivity. Unadjusted and adjusted 30‐day mortality rat...

Maternal and Child Health Journal, 2018

Objectives To examine the association between having a patient-centered medical home (PCMH) and h... more Objectives To examine the association between having a patient-centered medical home (PCMH) and healthcare expenditures and quality of care for children with special health care needs (CSHCN). Methods We conducted a cross-sectional analysis of 8802 CSHCN using the 2008–2012 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey. A PCMH indicator was constructed from survey responses. Inverse probability treatment weighting was applied to balance the cohort. CSHCN’s annual health care expenditures and quality were analyzed using two-part and logistic models, respectively. Results Covariate-adjusted annual total expenditures were similar between CSHCN with and without a PCMH ($4267 vs. 3957,p=0.285).CSHCNwithaPCMHhadhigheroddsofincurringexpenditure(OR1.66,953957, p = 0.285). CSHCN with a PCMH had higher odds of incurring expenditure (OR 1.66, 95% CI 1.22–2.25)—in particular, office-based services and prescriptions (OR 1.46 and 1.36, 95% CI 1.24–1.72 and 1.17–1.58, respectively)—compared to those without a PCMH, without shifting expenditures. When examined in detail, PCMH was associated with lower odds of accessing office-based mental health services (OR 0.80, 95% CI 0.66–0.96), leading to lower expenditures (3957,p=0.285).CSHCNwithaPCMHhadhigheroddsofincurringexpenditure(OR1.66,95106 vs. $137; p = 0.046). PCMH was associated with higher odds of post-operation and immunization visits (OR 1.23 and 1.22, 95% CI 1.05–1.45 and 1.004–1.48, respectively) without changing expenditures. Parents of CSHCN with a PCMH were more likely to report having the best health care quality (OR 2.33, p < 0.001). Conclusions CSHCN who had a PCMH experienced better health care quality and were more likely to access preventive services, with unchanged expenditures. However, they were less likely to use mental health services in office-based settings. As the effects of PCMH varied across services for CSHCN, more research is warranted.

Rand health quarterly, 2011

The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) has increasingly confronted financial, managerial, and opera... more The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) has increasingly confronted financial, managerial, and operational challenges in sustaining health benefits for service members and their families: For example, medical costs are projected to increase to 12 percent of DoD's total budget in 2015, from a level of 8 percent in 2007. To address these challenges, DoD is working to transform business practices within the Military Health System. As part of this effort, DoD has considered setting targets for health care utilization in its military treatment facilities (MTFs) and rewarding or penalizing MTFs according to their performance. In this article, the authors discuss the potential and limitations of using MTF utilization and costs as measures of MTF leaders' performance. Nicosia, Wynn, and Romley report the findings of (1) their qualitative review of performance assessment in the nonmilitary health care sector and (2) their quantitative analysis of how MTF utilization and cost metrics are...

PloS one, 2016

Some models of vaccination behavior imply that an individual's willingness to vaccinate could... more Some models of vaccination behavior imply that an individual's willingness to vaccinate could be negatively correlated with the vaccination rate in her community. The rationale is that a higher community vaccination rate reduces the risk of contracting the vaccine-preventable disease and thus reduces the individual's incentive to vaccinate. At the same time, as for many health-related behaviors, individuals may want to conform to the vaccination behavior of peers, counteracting a reduced incentive to vaccinate due to herd immunity. Currently there is limited empirical evidence on how individual vaccination decisions respond to the vaccination decisions of peers. In the fall of 2014, we used a rapid survey technology to ask a large sample of U.S. adults about their willingness to use a vaccine for Ebola. Respondents expressed a greater inclination to use the vaccine in a hypothetical scenario with a high community vaccination rate. In particular, an increase in the community ...

Rand health quarterly, 2012

Air pollution is harmful to human health, but little is known about the costs of pollution-relate... more Air pollution is harmful to human health, but little is known about the costs of pollution-related health care. If such care imposes a significant burden on insurance companies and employers, they would have substantial stakes in improving air quality. Reduced medical spending could also benefit public programs such as Medicare and Medicaid. This study estimated the amount of medical spending by private health insurers and public purchasers, such as Medicare, that is related to air pollution. Specifically, the authors determined how much failing to meet air quality standards cost various purchasers of hospital care in California over 2005-2007. The results indicate that substantial reductions in hospital spending can be achieved through reductions in air pollution.

Journal of health economics, Jan 11, 2016

Approval of new drugs is increasingly reliant on "surrogate endpoints," which correlate... more Approval of new drugs is increasingly reliant on "surrogate endpoints," which correlate with but imperfectly predict clinical benefits. Proponents argue surrogate endpoints allow for faster approval, but critics charge they provide inadequate evidence. We develop an economic framework that addresses the value of improvement in the predictive power, or "quality," of surrogate endpoints, and clarifies how quality can influence decisions by regulators, payers, and manufacturers. For example, the framework shows how lower-quality surrogates lead to greater misalignment of incentives between payers and regulators, resulting in more drugs that are approved for use but not covered by payers. Efficient price-negotiation in the marketplace can help align payer incentives for granting access based on surrogates. Higher-quality surrogates increase manufacturer profits and social surplus from early access to new drugs. Since the return on better quality is shared between man...

Pediatrics, 2017

Many children with special health care needs (CSHCN) receive health care at home from family memb... more Many children with special health care needs (CSHCN) receive health care at home from family members, but the extent of this care is poorly quantified. This study's goals were to create a profile of CSHCN who receive family-provided health care and to quantify the extent of such care. We analyzed data from the 2009-2010 National Survey of Children with Special Health Care Needs, a nationally representative sample of 40 242 parents/guardians of CSHCN. Outcomes included sociodemographic characteristics of CSHCN and their households, time spent by family members providing health care at home to CSHCN, and the total economic cost of such care. Caregiving hours were assessed at (1) the cost of hiring an alternative caregiver (the "replacement cost" approach), and (2) caregiver wages (the "foregone earnings" approach). Approximately 5.6 million US CSHCN received 1.5 billion hours annually of family-provided health care. Replacement with a home health aide would hav...