title: Economic Value of Prosthetic Services Among Medicare Beneficiaries: A Claims-Based Retrospective Cohort Study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  There are few studies of the economic impact or value of lower extremity prosthetic services. Results from this study can inform the value proposition concerning prosthetic services within military health, where over 40,000 Veterans with limb-loss receive care for their amputations through the Veterans Administration health care system.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To determine the extent to which Medicare patients who received selected prosthetic services had less health care utilization, lower Medicare payments, and/or fewer negative outcomes compared to matched patients not receiving these services.
  
  
  METHODS
  This retrospective cohort analysis using Medicare claims data (2007-2010) and propensity score matching techniques to control for observable selection bias based on etiological diagnosis, comorbidities, patient characteristics, and historical health care utilization one year before the etiological diagnosis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Patients who received lower extremity prostheses had comparable Medicare episode payments ($6,099 per-member-per-month for study group, $6,015 per-member-per-month for comparison group) and better outcomes than patients who did not receive prostheses. Study group patients were more likely to receive extensive outpatient therapy than comparison group patients (p < 0.05). Receiving physical therapy is associated with fewer hospitalizations and emergency room visits, and less facility-based care (p < 0.05), essentially offsetting the cost of the prosthetic over a 12-month time frame.
authors.affiliation: Dobson DaVanzo & Associates, LLC, 450 Maple Avenue East, Suite 303, Vienna, VA 22182.
authors.forename: Allen
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Dobson
authors.affiliation: Dobson DaVanzo & Associates, LLC, 450 Maple Avenue East, Suite 303, Vienna, VA 22182.
authors.forename: Audrey
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: El-Gamil
authors.affiliation: hMetrix, 150 Monument Road, Suite 107, Bala Cynwyd, PA 19004.
authors.forename: Matt
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Shimer
authors.affiliation: Dobson DaVanzo & Associates, LLC, 450 Maple Avenue East, Suite 303, Vienna, VA 22182.
authors.forename: Joan E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: DaVanzo
mesh_terms: D001186:Artificial Limbs / Q000191:economics*; D003695:Delivery of Health Care / Q000191:economics*; D017048:Health Care Costs; D006801:Humans; D035002:Lower Extremity; D006278:Medicare / Q000191:economics*; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014481:United States; D014728:Veterans