Biomaterial Database

Drinking patterns, health care utilization, and costs among HMO primary care patients. 2001

M R Polen, and C A Green, and D K Freeborn, and J P Mullooly, and F Lynch

Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research, 3800 N Interstate Avenue, Portland, OR 97227, USA. michael.polen@kp.org

A survey of 8,034 primary care patients in a health maintenance organization examined the relationship between alcohol consumption and health care costs and service use. Costs were estimated from service use data for 1 year before and 2 years after study enrollment. No strong, consistent relationships were identified between multiple indicators of drinking patterns and either health care costs or service use. Compared with total costs among very light drinkers, former drinkers were higher, lifetime abstainers were similar, and persons in the higher drinking levels tended to have lower but not significantly different costs. Drinking patterns did not appear to be an important predictor of short-term health care costs or service use in this setting. Further study of former drinkers is warranted to examine the role of alcohol-related illnesses in the decision to quit drinking.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D009922	Oregon	State bounded on the north by Washington, on the east by Idaho, on the south by California and Nevada, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean.
D011320	Primary Health Care	Care which provides integrated, accessible health care services by clinicians who are accountable for addressing a large majority of personal health care needs, developing a sustained partnership with patients, and practicing in the context of family and community. (JAMA 1995;273(3):192)	Primary Care,Primary Healthcare,Care, Primary,Care, Primary Health,Health Care, Primary,Healthcare, Primary
D003430	Cross-Sectional Studies	Studies in which the presence or absence of disease or other health-related variables are determined in each member of the study population or in a representative sample at one particular time. This contrasts with LONGITUDINAL STUDIES which are followed over a period of time.	Disease Frequency Surveys,Prevalence Studies,Analysis, Cross-Sectional,Cross Sectional Analysis,Cross-Sectional Survey,Surveys, Disease Frequency,Analyses, Cross Sectional,Analyses, Cross-Sectional,Analysis, Cross Sectional,Cross Sectional Analyses,Cross Sectional Studies,Cross Sectional Survey,Cross-Sectional Analyses,Cross-Sectional Analysis,Cross-Sectional Study,Cross-Sectional Surveys,Disease Frequency Survey,Prevalence Study,Studies, Cross-Sectional,Studies, Prevalence,Study, Cross-Sectional,Study, Prevalence,Survey, Cross-Sectional,Survey, Disease Frequency,Surveys, Cross-Sectional
D006279	Health Maintenance Organizations	Organized systems for providing comprehensive prepaid health care that have five basic attributes: (1) provide care in a defined geographic area; (2) provide or ensure delivery of an agreed-upon set of basic and supplemental health maintenance and treatment services; (3) provide care to a voluntarily enrolled group of persons; (4) require their enrollees to use the services of designated providers; and (5) receive reimbursement through a predetermined, fixed, periodic prepayment made by the enrollee without regard to the degree of services provided. (From Facts on File Dictionary of Health Care Management, 1988)	Group Health Organizations, Prepaid,HMO,Prepaid Group Health Organizations,Health Maintenance Organization,Organizations, Health Maintenance,Organization, Health Maintenance
D006801	Humans	Members of the species Homo sapiens.	Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D000428	Alcohol Drinking	Behaviors associated with the ingesting of ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES, including social drinking.	Alcohol Consumption,Alcohol Intake,Drinking, Alcohol,Alcohol Drinking Habits,Alcohol Drinking Habit,Alcohol Intakes,Consumption, Alcohol,Drinking Habit, Alcohol,Habit, Alcohol Drinking,Habits, Alcohol Drinking,Intake, Alcohol
D014600	Utilization Review	An organized procedure carried out through committees to review admissions, duration of stay, professional services furnished, and to evaluate the medical necessity of those services and promote their most efficient use.	Review, Utilization,Reviews, Utilization,Utilization Reviews
D014861	Washington	State bounded by on the north by Canada, on the east by Idaho, on the south by Oregon, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean.
D015994	Incidence	The number of new cases of a given disease during a given period in a specified population. It also is used for the rate at which new events occur in a defined population. It is differentiated from PREVALENCE, which refers to all cases in the population at a given time.	Attack Rate,Cumulative Incidence,Incidence Proportion,Incidence Rate,Person-time Rate,Secondary Attack Rate,Attack Rate, Secondary,Attack Rates,Cumulative Incidences,Incidence Proportions,Incidence Rates,Incidence, Cumulative,Incidences,Person time Rate,Person-time Rates,Proportion, Incidence,Rate, Attack,Rate, Incidence,Rate, Person-time,Rate, Secondary Attack,Secondary Attack Rates
D017048	Health Care Costs	The actual costs of providing services related to the delivery of health care, including the costs of procedures, therapies, and medications. It is differentiated from HEALTH EXPENDITURES, which refers to the amount of money paid for the services, and from fees, which refers to the amount charged, regardless of cost.	Medical Care Costs,Treatment Costs,Costs, Medical Care,Health Costs,Healthcare Costs,Cost, Health,Cost, Health Care,Cost, Healthcare,Cost, Medical Care,Cost, Treatment,Costs, Health,Costs, Health Care,Costs, Healthcare,Costs, Treatment,Health Care Cost,Health Cost,Healthcare Cost,Medical Care Cost,Treatment Cost