title: Cost-return prediction in morbidly obese employees following weight loss interventions: a study framework.
abstract: Obesity and its many complications potentially can collapse most medical plans, unless attempts at prevention and therapy become more effective and widespread. An important incentive for providing effective treatment is proper reimbursement. We present here an evaluation of the feasibility, constrains and requirements for comparative cost-effectiveness evaluation of weight loss intervention from the payer's and employer's points of view, and propose a general framework for this type of studies toward decision making.
authors.affiliation: School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL, USA. pwindyga@cs.ucf.edu
authors.forename: Piotr
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Windyga
authors.forename: Keith
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Vickie
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: White
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Leon
authors.forename: Anirban
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bag
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D050110:Bariatric Surgery / Q000191:economics; D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis; D003661:Decision Support Techniques; D019468:Disease Management; D004867:Equipment Design; D017048:Health Care Costs; D006801:Humans; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D009765:Obesity; D009767:Obesity, Morbid / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000191:economics*; D016730:Program Development; D015397:Program Evaluation; D011788:Quality of Life; D019057:Quality-Adjusted Life Years; D015431:Weight Loss