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Utilization of Medical Services by Alcoholics Participating in a Health Maintenance Organization Outpatient Treatment Program: Three‐Year Follow‐Up
Author(s) -
Reiff Sidney,
Griffiths Barbara,
Forsythe Alan B.,
Sherman Richard M.
Publication year - 1981
Publication title -
alcoholism: clinical and experimental research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.267
H-Index - 153
eISSN - 1530-0277
pISSN - 0145-6008
DOI - 10.1111/j.1530-0277.1981.tb05361.x
Subject(s) - medicine , liberian dollar , health maintenance , medical services , emergency medicine , psychiatry , family medicine , health care , finance , economics , economic growth
In a cumulative 3‐yr follow‐up study of utilization of medical services by alcoholics participating in a health insurance maintenance organization (HMO) outpatient alcoholism treatment program, expenditures of 59 alcoholics were compared with those of 78 alcoholics who chose not to participate. Results show significant differences in dollar cost per patient per year between groups in inpatient expenditures (p = 0.03). When alcoholism clinic costs were excluded from combined inpatient and outpatient expenditures, significance was maintained over the 3 yr (p = 0.02). In combined inpatient and outpatient expenditures including alcoholism treatment costs, the dollar differential between groups was substantial but not statistically significant.