Table 1.
Sample Characteristics of Pilot and Comparison Practices in the Baseline Period for the Full Analytic Sample (1 April 2007 – 31 March 2009)
| Pilot Practices | Comparison Practices | p value of difference | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Number of practices | 15 | 66 | — |
| Attributed member months per practice | 18,312 | 13,938 | 0.31 |
| Average age | 44.1 | 42.4 | 0.09 |
| % female | 51.7 | 66.5 | < 0.001* |
| Average Elixhauser Index | 1.4 | 1.3 | 0.23 |
| Average baseline cost per member per month in U.S. dollars | |||
| Total cost of care | 436.05 | 415.02 | 0.64 |
| Inpatient cost | 80.65 | 68.43 | 0.36 |
| Emergency department cost | 24.11 | 29.82 | 0.01* |
| Average baseline utilization per member per month | |||
| Primary care physician visits | 0.27 | 0.26 | 0.92 |
| Specialist visits | 0.15 | 0.16 | 0.38 |
| Inpatient (IP) admissions | 0.02 | 0.02 | 0.53 |
| Emergency room (ER) visits | 0.02 | 0.01 | 0.10 |
| Ambulatory care sensitive ER visits | 0.002 | 0.002 | 0.92 |
| Ambulatory care IP admissions | 0.001 | 0.002 | 0.55 |
| Prescriptions | 1.24 | 1.14 | 0.12 |
| Prescription days supply | 39.52 | 36.09 | 0.21 |
| Average baseline quality (% screened) | |||
| HbA1c testing in patients with diabetes | 82.6 | 85.7 | 0.09 |
| Lipid testing in patients with diabetes | 82.4 | 74.8 | 0.12 |
| Dilated eye exams in patients with diabetes | 17.5 | 18.5 | 0.83 |
| Colon cancer screening | 25.7 | 25.9 | 0.86 |
| Breast cancer screening | 53.9 | 55.4 | 0.43 |
| Cervical cancer screening | 38.1 | 47.6 | 0.13 |
Note: Measures are summarized to the practice level and t-tests are used to test the significance between the comparison and the pilot practices; *statistically significant at the 0.05 level