In trying to determine the effectiveness of new cardiovascular technology on Medicare beneficiaries, the government is looking at the wrong trials, a new study suggests.
While most Medicare beneficiaries are older women with co-morbid conditions, “the trials are conducted mostly in younger, healthier, male, non-U.S. populations,” authors of the study say.
Researchers at the University of California at San Francisco analyzed data found in 141 clinical trials that had been used by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Service to assess the health benefits of new technology on Medicare recipients. The report was published in the Archives of Internal Medicine on Jan. 28.
