Schneider Institutes for Health Policy
Research Project Summary
| Project Title: | Alcohol Use and Medical Care Quality among the Elderly |
| PI: | Merrick EL |
| Co-PI: | Horgan CM |
| Team Members: | Blow F from University of Michigan, Garnick DW, Hodgkin D, Saitz R from Boston University |
| Start Date: | 9/20/2005 |
| End Date: | 8/31/2007 |
| Funder: | National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) |
| Prime: | Brandeis |
| Research Areas: | Acute and Chronic Health Care, Behavioral Health |
| Core Competencies: | Costs & Value, Quality, High Risk & Costly Populations |
| Description The focus of this study is to examine the relationships between alcohol consumption, alcohol disorder diagnosis, and quality indicators for preventive and chronic medical care in elderly Medicare beneficiaries. People with substance abuse disorders often fail to receive regular health care including preventive services and care for chronic medical disorders. However, the connection between alcohol use and quality of care for the elderly has not been fully examined. Predisposing and enabling factors such as health beliefs and prescription drug coverage must also be considered. Because administrative and self-reported data have complementary strengths, we use 1999-2003 data from the Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey linked with Medicare claims. This is a nationally representative survey of the Medicare population; we include over-65, community-dwelling subjects (N= approximately 13,000/year). This widely used data set allows cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses. Survey data include alcohol consumption, prescription drug use, health care utilization, health and functional status, and health beliefs. Claims data allow us to apply quality indicators such as HEDIS measures for substance abuse, medical and psychiatric disorders, and preventive services, as well as to examine costs. We address these specific aims: 1. Determine whether and how alcohol consumption and/or diagnosis are related to receipt of recommended preventive medical services. 2. Determine whether and how alcohol consumption and/or diagnosis are related to quality indicators for selected chronic medical and psychiatric conditions. 3. Develop a summary indicator reflecting quality of care across various types of medical care and analyze its relationship with alcohol consumption/diagnosis. This R21 study will contribute to developing an important yet understudied area of inquiry. The results will delineate the gap between current practice and goals for care, identify how elders with particular drinking patterns or levels may be at higher risk for unmet medical needs, and identify patient and provider factors related to better performance, thus facilitating strategies for improving care. | |
