"Statistical Analysis of Longitudinal Medical Cost Data"
Lei Liu, Ph.D., University of Virginia
September 27, 2011 @ 3:30 - 4:30 pm
Location: 701 Blockley Hall
Biostatistics
TITLE: Statistical Analysis of Longitudinal Medical Cost Data
ABSTRACT: Medical costs are on the rise during the past half centuries.
Out-of-control costs are the main obstacle to securing medical
coverage for all, and reducing the growth rate of health care costs
is the single most important fiscal issue we face as a country. In
this talk we give an introduction to the statistical analysis of
longitudinal (e.g., monthly) medical costs. We review several
innovative statistical models from our research efforts during the
past several years. Such methods are more efficient than the analysis
of cross sectional medical costs and essential to understand the
dynamics of medical costs. We also show the applications of these
models to analyze monthly medical costs of chronic heart failure
patients from the clinical data repository (CDR) at the University of
Virginia Health System.
