Table 1.
Weighted and unweighted covariates for nurse practitioners and primary care physician attributed beneficiaries by different drug groups
| Variable | Anti‐diabetics (n = 75,649) | RASA (n = 195,950) | Statins (n = 190 087) | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Raw | Weighted | Raw | Weighted | Raw | Weighted | |||||||
| NP [%] | PCP [%] | NP [%] | PCP [%] | NP [%] | PCP [%] | NP [%] | PCP [%] | NP [%] | PCP [%] | NP [%] | PCP [%] | |
| Demographics | ||||||||||||
| White | 0.78 | 0.85* | 0.84 | 0.83 | 0.82 | 0.88* | 0.87 | 0.87 | 0.84 | 0.90* | 0.89 | 0.89 |
| Mean age (years) | 74.37 | 74.85* | 74.56 | 74.79 | 75.43 | 75.89* | 75.77 | 75.81 | 74.95 | 75.42* | 75.33 | 75.34 |
| Female | 0.71 | 0.65* | 0.67 | 0.66 | 0.74 | 0.70* | 0.71 | 0.71 | 0.72 | 0.67* | 0.69 | 0.68 |
| Dual eligibility for Medicare/Medicaid | 0.49 | 0.33* | 0.35 | 0.36 | 0.41 | 0.26* | 0.28 | 0.28 | 0.40 | 0.25* | 0.28 | 0.28 |
| Rural | 0.07 | 0.04* | 0.05 | 0.04 | 0.06 | 0.04* | 0.04 | 0.04 | 0.06 | 0.03* | 0.04 | 0.04 |
| Elixhauser Comorbidities | ||||||||||||
| Valve disorder | 0.11 | 0.16* | 0.17 | 0.16 | 0.12 | 0.18 | 0.17 | 0.17 | 0.12 | 0.17* | 0.17 | 0.17 |
| Pulmonary circulation disease | 0.03 | 0.05* | 0.05 | 0.05 | 0.03 | 0.05* | 0.05 | 0.05 | 0.03 | 0.05* | 0.04 | 0.04 |
| Peripheral vascular disease | 0.23 | 0.25 | 0.24 | 0.25 | 0.22 | 0.23 | 0.23 | 0.23 | 0.22 | 0.23 | 0.23 | 0.23 |
| Hypertension | 0.88 | 0.91* | 0.91 | 0.90 | 0.91 | 0.93* | 0.93 | 0.93 | 0.83 | 0.86* | 0.86 | 0.86 |
| Complex hypertension | 0.05 | 0.05 | 0.05 | 0.05 | 0.05 | 0.05 | 0.05 | 0.05 | 0.04 | 0.04 | 0.04 | 0.04 |
| Paralysis | 0.04 | 0.03 | 0.03 | 0.03 | 0.03 | 0.02* | 0.03 | 0.03 | 0.03 | 0.02* | 0.03 | 0.03 |
| Neurological disorders | 0.18 | 0.16* | 0.16 | 0.16 | 0.17 | 0.15* | 0.15 | 0.15 | 0.17 | 0.15* | 0.15 | 0.15 |
| Chronic pulmonary disease | 0.23 | 0.25* | 0.25 | 0.25 | 0.22 | 0.24* | 0.24 | 0.24 | 0.23 | 0.24* | 0.25 | 0.24 |
| Diabetes w/o chronic complications | 0.97 | 0.97* | 0.97 | 0.97 | 0.44 | 0.43 | 0.44 | 0.43 | 0.44 | 0.42* | 0.44 | 0.42 |
| Diabetes w chronic complications | 0.39 | 0.43* | 0.43 | 0.42 | 0.17 | 0.17 | 0.17 | 0.17 | 0.16 | 0.16 | 0.17 | 0.16 |
| Hypothyroidism | 0.22 | 0.22 | 0.23 | 0.22 | 0.22 | 0.23 | 0.24 | 0.23 | 0.23 | 0.24 | 0.24 | 0.23 |
| Renal failure | 0.16 | 0.17* | 0.17 | 0.17 | 0.13 | 0.14* | 0.14 | 0.14 | 0.13 | 0.13 | 0.14 | 0.13 |
| Liver disease | 0.02 | 0.03 | 0.03 | 0.03 | 0.02 | 0.02 | 0.02 | 0.02 | 0.01 | 0.02 | 0.02 | 0.02 |
| Peptic ulcer Disease x bleeding | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| AIDS | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00* | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00* | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| Lymphoma | 0.00 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.01* | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.01* | 0.01 | 0.01 |
| Metastatic cancer | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.01 |
| Solid tumor w/out metastasis | 0.07 | 0.10* | 0.10 | 0.10 | 0.07 | 0.11* | 0.10 | 0.10 | 0.07 | 0.11* | 0.10 | 0.10 |
| Rheumatoid arthritis/collagen vas | 0.04 | 0.06* | 0.05 | 0.05 | 0.04 | 0.06* | 0.06 | 0.06 | 0.04 | 0.06* | 0.06 | 0.05 |
| Coagulopathy | 0.05 | 0.05 | 0.05 | 0.05 | 0.04 | 0.05* | 0.04 | 0.04 | 0.04 | 0.05* | 0.04 | 0.04 |
| Obesity | 0.11 | 0.11 | 0.12 | 0.11 | 0.07 | 0.08 | 0.08 | 0.08 | 0.07 | 0.07 | 0.07 | 0.07 |
| Weight loss | 0.05 | 0.05 | 0.05 | 0.06 | 0.06 | 0.06 | 0.05 | 0.06 | 0.06 | 0.06 | 0.05 | 0.06 |
| Fluid and electrolyte disorders | 0.17 | 0.19* | 0.19 | 0.19 | 0.16 | 0.18* | 0.18 | 0.18 | 0.15 | 0.16* | 0.16 | 0.16 |
| Chronic blood loss anemia | 0.01 | 0.03* | 0.02 | 0.02 | 0.02 | 0.02* | 0.02 | 0.02 | 0.02 | 0.02* | 0.02 | 0.02 |
| Deficiency anemia | 0.29 | 0.30 | 0.30 | 0.30 | 0.26 | 0.27* | 0.26 | 0.27 | 0.24 | 0.25* | 0.25 | 0.25 |
| Alcohol abuse | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.01 |
| Drug abuse | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.01 |
| Psychoses | 0.14 | 0.10* | 0.11 | 0.11 | 0.11 | 0.09* | 0.09 | 0.09 | 0.12 | 0.09* | 0.10 | 0.09 |
| Depression | 0.15 | 0.13* | 0.14 | 0.14 | 0.15 | 0.14* | 0.14 | 0.14 | 0.16 | 0.14* | 0.14 | 0.14 |
| Patient Pay Ratio ‐ Median | 0.18 | 0.22* | 0.21 | 0.21 | 0.20 | 0.24* | 0.23 | 0.23 | 0.21 | 0.24* | 0.24 | 0.24 |
| Plan type | ||||||||||||
| Plan type1 | 0.99 | 0.99* | 0.99 | 0.99 | 0.99 | 0.99 | 0.99 | 0.99 | 0.99 | 0.99 | 0.99 | 0.99 |
| Plan type2 | 0.01 | 0.01* | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.01* | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.01* | 0.01 | 0.01 |
| CMS region | ||||||||||||
| Region 1 | 0.04 | 0.05 | 0.05 | 0.05 | 0.04 | 0.05* | 0.05 | 0.05 | 0.04 | 0.05* | 0.05 | 0.05 |
| Region 2 | 0.08 | 0.14* | 0.13 | 0.13 | 0.08 | 0.14* | 0.13 | 0.13 | 0.09 | 0.14* | 0.13 | 0.13 |
| Region 3 | 0.30 | 0.28* | 0.27 | 0.28 | 0.29 | 0.27* | 0.26 | 0.27 | 0.27 | 0.26* | 0.25 | 0.26 |
| Region 4 | 0.15 | 0.20* | 0.19 | 0.19 | 0.17 | 0.20* | 0.20 | 0.19 | 0.17 | 0.20* | 0.20 | 0.19 |
| Region 5 | 0.14 | 0.09* | 0.10 | 0.10 | 0.13 | 0.08* | 0.09 | 0.09 | 0.12 | 0.07* | 0.08 | 0.08 |
| Region 6 | 0.10 | 0.08* | 0.08 | 0.08 | 0.11 | 0.08* | 0.08 | 0.09 | 0.11 | 0.08* | 0.09 | 0.09 |
| Region 7 | 0.03 | 0.02 | 0.02 | 0.02 | 0.03 | 0.02* | 0.02 | 0.02 | 0.03 | 0.02* | 0.02 | 0.02 |
| Region 8 | 0.04 | 0.05* | 0.05 | 0.05 | 0.04 | 0.06* | 0.06 | 0.05 | 0.03 | 0.06* | 0.05 | 0.05 |
| Region 9 | 0.06 | 0.04* | 0.04 | 0.04 | 0.07 | 0.04* | 0.04 | 0.04 | 0.07 | 0.04* | 0.05 | 0.04 |
*Indicates differences between NP and PCP beneficiaries are significantly different at p < 0.05. After propensity score weighting no covariates remained statistically different in all three drug cohorts.