Publications

There are no clinical guidelines on best practices for the use of bronchoscopy and esophagoscopy in diagnosing head and neck cancer.  Dr. Gordon Sun of PHAR partnered with investigators from the University of Michigan and the University of Pennsylvania to examine variation in the use of bronchoscopy and esophagoscopy across hospitals in Michigan through a retrospective cohort study of the Michigan State Ambulatory Surgery Database.  The authors found that patients with head and neck cancer who are undergoing diagnostic laryngoscopy are much more likely to undergo concurrent bronchoscopy and esophagoscopy at low- and medium-volume hospitals than at high-volume hospitals.  The publication can be viewed here.

Patients with cystic fibrosis (CF), a common life-shortening inherited disorder, often don’t take all their medications. It has been proposed that better adherence could improve these patients’ health more than any specific medical treatment. Investigators at PHAR, LLC, in collaboration with Genentech, Inc. conducted a retrospective cohort analysis and confirmed that there was generally low adherence to dornase alfa, a key drug for CF. The study also found that better adherence was associated with shorter hospital stays. This publication can be viewed by visiting the Journal of Medical Economics website.

PHAR, LLC, in collaboration with Bristol-Myers Squibb and Otsuka Pharmaceutical Development & Commercialization, Inc, conducted a study to evaluate how antipsychotic medication half-life affects the risk of psychiatric hospital admission and emergency department (ED) visits for patients with schizophrenia. The study found that patients taking medication with a longer half-life had fewer comorbid mental health conditions, took fewer psychiatric medications, and had a lower risk of hospital admission and ED visits for mental disorders. The full study can be found in the January 2012 edition of the Journal of Medical Economics.

The literature on chronic idiopathic urticaria (CIU) lacks information on demographic characteristics and comorbidities. To fill this gap, investigators at PHAR, LLC initiated an analysis to better define the insured population. By conducting a cross-sectional analysis of insurance claims, investigators found that although antihistamines were the most common treatment for CIU, physicians also frequently prescribed oral corticosteroids. The study was conducted in partnership with Genentech, Inc. as well as investigators at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and NOVA Southeastern University College of Osteopathic Medicine. View the abstract at the Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology website.

Using a retrospective cohort analysis, investigators at PHAR, LLC and Genentech, Inc. examined patterns of omalizumab use in the first 5 years after the drug’s approval. The study found that omalizumab is most often used with appropriate concomitant medications. In addition, most omalizumab prescriptions come from specialist physicians. These findings were published in the December 2011 edition of the Journal of Asthma.

Cost-effectiveness techniques can provide valuable insight into breast cancer treatment. A recent PHAR, LLC study assessed the impact on health outcomes and healthcare expenditures of adopting a 21-gene assay for women with early-stage, minimally node-positive, estrogen receptor-positive HER2-negative breast cancer. The study found that the use of this 21-gene assay was associated with improved outcomes for these breast cancer patients, with no additional cost. To see the publication in its entirety, visit The American Journal of Managed Care website.

Investigators at PHAR, LLC evaluated the economic impact of alvimopan in clinical practice. They found that, along with other initiatives to improve quality and reduce costs of surgical care, alvimopan may be a good choice for use in the perioperative management of patients who undergo segmental bowel resection. This research was published in the P & T journal.

A recent PHAR, LLC study evaluated treatment recommendations for patients with lymph node-positive, estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer. Specifically, investigators sought to determine the effect of the 21-gene recurrence score (RS) assay results on physician decision making for such patients. The findings show that the RS result was used in determining treatment more often when patients had tumors less than 5 cm and one to three positive lymph nodes than when tumors were larger and patients had four or more positive nodes. Use of the RS also resulted in an overall reduction in recommendations for chemotherapy. This research was published in the Journal of Oncology Practice.