Increasing influenza vaccination rates for Medicare beneficiaries - Montana and Wyoming, 1994
Article Abstract:
A letter or postcard sent to all Medicare beneficiaries could increase vaccination rates against influenza. According to the CDC, 52% of elderly people in the US received the flu vaccine in 1993, up from 33% in 1989. More than 90% of the deaths from flu occur in the elderly. Since 1993, Medicare reimburses vaccination costs. But only 35% of Medicare beneficiaries submitted a bill for vaccination during the 1993-94 flu season. In Sep 1994, the Montana-Wyoming Foundation for Medical Care sent letters to 41,100 Medicare beneficiaries in four regions of the two states urging them to get a flu shot. As a result, Medicare bills submitted rose from 6.5 to 8.7 percentage points in Montana and from 18.9 to 19.9 percentage points in Wyoming. Among beneficiaries who did not receive letters, the increase was 4.4 percentage points in Montana and 11.5 percentage points in Wyoming. Those who were vaccinated in 1993 were more likely to be vaccinated in 1994.
Publication Name: JAMA, The Journal of the American Medical Association
Subject: Health
ISSN: 0098-7484
Year: 1995
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Occupational therapy for independent-living older adults: a randomized controlled trial
Article Abstract:
Occupational therapy (OT) may reduce the risk of functional decline in independent-living elderly people. Researchers analyzed the effect of a 9-month occupational therapy program, a social activity program or no intervention at all in 361 elderly people living in two apartment complexes. OT was not job-related but rather a series of activities of daily life such as exercising, shopping and education about healthy lifestyles. People who received OT benefitted substantially compared to those in the social activities or no intervention groups. In fact, people in these groups tended to decline during the study.
Publication Name: JAMA, The Journal of the American Medical Association
Subject: Health
ISSN: 0098-7484
Year: 1997
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Missed opportunities for pneumococcal and influenza vaccination of Medicare pneumonia inpatients - 12 Western states, 1995
Article Abstract:
An analysis of 1995 Medicare billing data reveals that physicians are missing many opportunities to vaccinate elderly hospital patients against influenza and pneumococcal infections. Among 4,548 elderly patients hospitalized in 12 Western states that year, only 20% had received the pneumococcal vaccine at some time in the previous five years. About two-thirds of those not vaccinated had risk factors for pneumococcal infection. In a survey of 1,242 patients admitted to a hospital in last quarter of 1994, only 35% had received the influenza vaccine.
Publication Name: JAMA, The Journal of the American Medical Association
Subject: Health
ISSN: 0098-7484
Year: 1997
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