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One‐year use and cost of inpatient and outpatient services among female and male patients with an eating disorder: Evidence from a national database of health insurance claims
Author(s) -
StriegelMoore Ruth H.,
Leslie Douglas,
Petrill Stephen A.,
Garvin Vicki,
Rosenheck Robert A.
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
international journal of eating disorders
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.785
H-Index - 138
eISSN - 1098-108X
pISSN - 0276-3478
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1098-108x(200005)27:4<381::aid-eat2>3.0.co;2-u
Subject(s) - anorexia nervosa , bulimia nervosa , psychiatry , inpatient care , eating disorders , partial hospitalization , ambulatory care , medicine , managed care , psychology , health care , mental health , economics , economic growth
Objective This study examined rates and cost of inpatient and outpatient treatment among 1,932 patients with an eating disorder. Method One‐year (1995) data were available through MarketScan®, a national insurance database containing claims for 1,902,041 male patients and 2,005,760 female patients. Results Female patients ( n = 1,756, 0.14% of all females) were significantly more likely to have been treated for an eating disorder than male patients ( n = 176, 0.016% of all males), and females received more days of treatment than males. Outpatient treatment was the norm, regardless of gender or type of eating disorder. Average number of days (inpatient or outpatient) was less than the minimum recommended by standards of care. Age‐adjusted costs for the treatment of anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa were comparable to the cost of treatment for schizophrenia. Discussion The utilization data are discussed in terms of barriers to care and treatment guidelines for eating disorders. © 2000 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Int J Eat Disord 27: 381–389, 2000.