Abstract
Cancer is in the focus of public and scientific interest as one of the leading causes of death, with an increasing case load due to demographic changes and rising treatment costs. Comparatively, little is known about health care utilization of cancer patients. This article first gives an overview of health services research and claims data of German statutory health insurance funds. Second, claims data of the Gmünder ErsatzKasse (GEK) for a period of 3 months (10-12/2008) are used to analyze patterns of drug prescriptions by oncologists. A total of 1.98 million prescriptions were included. Based on all prescriptions, the proportion of compounded prescriptions is about 17 times higher for oncologists compared to other physicians (34.4% vs. 2.0%). Fur- thermore, the costs of these solutions prescribed by oncologists are higher (median: 397.68 Euros vs. 15.45 Euros). Health services research in oncology is urgently needed. Claims data of German health insurance funds offer a broad range of opportunities, especially when linked with other data. However, in the case of individually prepared solutions, claims data provide no further information on the drug.
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
