BACKGROUND:

Depression and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are important women's health issues. Depression is known to be associated with poor physical health; however, associations between physical health and PTSD, a common comorbidity of depression, have received less attention.

OBJECTIVES:

To examine number of medical symptoms and physical health status in women with PTSD across age strata and benchmark them against those of women with depression alone or with neither depression nor PTSD.

METHODS:

A random sample of Veterans Health Administration enrollees received a mailed survey in 1999-2000 (response rate, 63%). The 30 865 women respondents were categorized according to whether a health care provider had ever told them that they had PTSD, depression (without PTSD), or neither. Outcomes were self-reported medical conditions and physical health status measured with the Veterans SF-36 instrument, a version of the Medical Outcomes Study 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36) modified for use in veteran populations.

RESULTS:

Across age strata, women with PTSD (n = 4348) had more medical conditions and worse physical health status (physical functioning, role limitations due to physical problems, bodily pain, and energy/vitality scales from the Veterans SF-36) than women with depression alone (n = 7580) or neither (n = 18 937). In age-adjusted analyses, the Physical Component Summary score was on average 3.4 points lower in women with depression alone and 6.3 points lower in women with PTSD than in women with neither (P.001).

CONCLUSIONS:

Posttraumatic stress disorder is associated with a greater burden of medical illness than is seen with depression alone. The presence of PTSD may account for an important component of the excess medical morbidity and functional status limitations seen in women with depression.

This issue of CHP/PCOR's quarterly newsletter covers news and developments from the winter 2004 quarter. It features articles about CHP/PCOR faculty member Mark McClellan's new position as administrator of the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services; a report by the Stanford-UCSF Evidence-based Practice Center evaluating the regionalization of bioterrorism preparedness and response; the development of a research protocol for a World Health Organization study on the effectiveness of public-private partnerships in health care; a new design for CHP/PCOR's Web site; and a roundup of last quarter's media coverage highlighting the centers' research work.

The "market forces" to which economists ascribe the ability to motivate improvement in quality and efficiency are largely nonexistent in U.S. health care. One thus might ask, "Could market forces be made strong enough to deliver efficient health care systems?" There is some evidence to suggest that the answer is "Yes." This paper offers a short list of some changes that would be needed to create such a health care economy. Continued increases in costs and in the numbers of uninsured people will likely make a universal coverage model based on Medicare a politically popular choice, but such a model would not deliver efficient health care systems because it lacks sufficient incentives for consumers to choose less costly options.

Toward a 21st Century Health System is a collection of essays that explore a key element of the health care delivery system -- large multispecialty physician group practices. Edited by policy experts Alain Enthoven and Laura Tollen, and written by a panel of health policy scholars and leaders including Stephen Shortell, Hal Luft, Donald Berwick, James Robinson, and Helen Darling, this resource addresses a variety of topics, including:

• organized delivery systems
• quality of care in prepaid group practice versus other types of managed care
• the role of physician leadership and culture in group practice
• prepaid group practice and the formation of national health policy

The book also covers such topics as pharmacy benefit management, technology assessment, health services research, and employer purchasing of benefits, all as they relate to prepaid group practice.

This report examines current trends in specialized mental health care in the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Over the period 1999 to 2002, inpatient bed-days declined steadily, and the number of outpatient visits increased. Outpatient pharmacy spending increased by nearly 19 percent per year, whereas spending for inpatient, residential, and outpatient nonpharmacy services increased by less than 1.5 percent per year. Total per capita spending declined from 3,262 to 3,061 US dollars as the number of patients served increased faster than did total spending. These trends most likely reflect VA policy changes and the impact of new psychiatric medications.

OBJECTIVE: To identify problems faced by older adults with diabetes due to out-of-pocket medication costs. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: In this cross-sectional national survey of 875 adults with diabetes treated with hypoglycemic medication, respondents reported whether they had underused prescription medications due to cost pressures or had experienced other financial problems associated with medication costs such as forgoing basic necessities. Respondents also described their interactions with clinicians about medication costs. RESULTS: A total of 19% of respondents reported cutting back on medication use in the prior year due to cost, 11% reported cutting back on their diabetes medications, and 7% reported cutting back on their diabetes medications at least once per month. Moreover, 28% reported forgoing food or other essentials to pay medication costs, 14% increased their credit card debt, and 10% borrowed money from family or friends to pay for their prescriptions. Medication cost problems were especially common among respondents who were younger, had higher monthly out-of-pocket costs, and had no prescription drug coverage. In general, few respondents, including those reporting medication cost problems, reported that their health care providers had given them information or other assistance to address medication cost pressures. CONCLUSIONS: Out-of-pocket medication costs pose a significant burden to many adults with diabetes and contribute to decreased treatment adherence. Clinicians should actively identify patients with diabetes who are facing medication cost pressures and assist them by modifying their medication regimens, helping them understand the importance of each prescribed medication, providing information on sources of low-cost drugs, and linking patients with coverage programs.