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The fast-growing prevalence of Parkinson's disease (PD) creates a heavy burden for society and the health care system. Although different ways to mitigate the economic burden of PD have been discussed in the literature, including several effective treatments, few studies have paid attention to the effect of care rehabilitation (CR) on PD costs over a long-term care period. This study tracked medical expenses, care costs, and total costs of elderly individuals with PD for 3 years based on medical claims data merged with long-term care insurance (LTCI) claims data, and determined whether CR reduced PD costs. Using a retrospective, longitudinal cohort design, 3950 elderly individuals with PD who received LTCI services from April 2014 to March 2017 in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan were followed. PD costs were compared between the CR group and the non-CR group, and a hierarchical linear model was used to examine whether CR was associated with medical expenses, care costs, and total costs. The mean value of total costs in fiscal years 2014, 2015, and 2016 were ¥3,124,944 (US$29,504), ¥3,328,398 (US$31,425), and ¥3,615,892 (US$34,140), respectively. In a hierarchical linear model, CR alone was not associated with medical expenses and care costs; additionally, CR had a positive association with higher total costs. However, the interaction term between CR and baseline care needs level significantly reduced care costs and total costs. That indicates that if older PD patients with higher care needs level receive CR, their care costs and total costs will be reduced. Further research is needed to clarify how CR reduces these patients' costs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The incidence rates of hip fracture have been increasing in Japan. Length of stay among hip fracture patients in Japan is much longer than other developed countries, and the Japanese government introduced financial incentives for regionally coordinated femoral neck fracture care to reduce health care resource utilization. The objective of this study was to evaluate whether the financial incentives reduce health care resource utilization among patients 75 years or older with femoral neck fracture in Japan. Claims data from the Fukuoka Prefecture Regional Association for Late-Stage Healthcare for Older People were analyzed for the period from April 2010 to March 2016. The authors identified 4641 eligible subjects after femoral neck fracture surgery, and categorized them into groups based on care pathways: coordinated care, integrated care, and other. Length of stay by care phase and total charges were used as measures of health care resource utilization. The models showed that coordinated and integrated care were significantly associated with shorter length of stay during perioperative care: coordinated care, multiplicative effect, 0.90 (P < 0.001); integrated care, 0.77 (P < 0.001). However, only integrated care was associated with shorter rehabilitation and overall length of stay: 0.66 (P < 0.001) in rehabilitation; 0.70 (P < 0.001) in overall duration. Integrated care also was associated with lower total charges: 0.70 (P < 0.001). Current financial incentives for regionally coordinated femoral neck fracture care do not affect health care resource utilization. Further health care reforms should be implemented to promote effective regional care coordination in Japan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]