HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text (PDF) Submit a response Purchase Article View Shopping Cart Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Greenwald, H P Articles by Henke, C J Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Greenwald, H P Articles by Henke, C J

HMO membership, treatment, and mortality risk among prostatic cancer patients.

H P Greenwald and C J Henke

Sacramento Center, School of Public Administration, University of Southern California.

OBJECTIVES. Treatment and mortality risk were compared between prostate cancer patients receiving care in fee-for-service settings and those receiving care in a health maintenance organization (HMO). METHODS. Two samples were obtained from a population-based tumor registry. Patients in the first sample (n = 201) were interviewed shortly after diagnosis to obtain data on income, education, overall health status, and expenditures for health status, and expenditures for health care. These data were combined with information from the tumor registry on cancer stage, age, treatment, place of residence, and source of care. Only tumor registry data were obtained for most patients in the second sample (n = 962). For both samples, survival time was monitored for up to 80 months. RESULTS. Multivariate analysis of data from the interviewed sample indicated that HMO patients were less likely to receive surgery but more likely to receive radiation therapy than were those in fee-for-service settings. Mortality risk was lower for the HMO patients than for those in fee-for-service plans. Findings based on the second sample were nearly identical. CONCLUSIONS. This study suggests that HMOs may offer important advantages to lower-income patients at risk for specific life-threatening diseases.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				R. G. Roetzheim, N. Pal, C. Tennant, L. Voti, J. Z. Ayanian, A. Schwabe, and J. P. Krischer Effects of Health Insurance and Race on Early Detection of Cancer J Natl Cancer Inst, August 18, 1999; 91(16): 1409 - 1415. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				G. F. Riley, A. L. Potosky, C. N. Klabunde, J. L. Warren, and R. Ballard-Barbash Stage at Diagnosis and Treatment Patterns Among Older Women With Breast Cancer: An HMO and Fee-for-Service Comparison JAMA, February 24, 1999; 281(8): 720 - 726. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]