OBJECTIVES: Studies that report healthcare resource utilization (HcRU) among individuals diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease (PD) typically have short follow-up periods. Longitudinal information on HcRU is important given that PD evolves over time. This study's purpose was to investigate differences in HcRU for PD cases and controls over time.

METHODS: This retrospective study utilized administrative claims data from 2005 to 2015 for Medicare beneficiaries represented in the Medicare Chronic Condition Data Warehouse (CCW) 5% sample. We matched cases to controls based on age, race, gender and comorbidities. Differences in HcRU (hospitalization, skilled nursing facility (SNF), and non-PD drug utilization) were assessed during the follow-up period between PD cases and controls. For individuals with at least 1, 3, 5, 7 and 9 years of follow up, we calculated summary statistics based on proportions and counts of HcRU measures.

RESULTS: The matched sample consisted of 15,172 cases & 15,172 controls. Among those with 1 year of follow up, a higher proportion of PD cases experienced an inpatient hospitalization (20% vs. 10%, p-value: < 0.01). A similar pattern existed among those with 9 years of follow-up (56% vs. 43%, p-value: < 0.01). We observed a similar pattern for SNF stays based on 1 year of follow-up (24% vs. 7%, p-value: < 0.01) and 9 years of follow-up (51% vs 24%, p-value: < 0.01). PD cases displayed increased HcRU with longer follow-up periods. For PD cases, the median number of SNF stays was 0 among those with 1 year of follow-up and 4 among those with 9 years of follow-up, compared to controls where the median number of SNF stays remained 0 across the periods.

CONCLUSIONS: We characterized HcRU among a cohort of Medicare beneficiaries with and without Parkinson’s disease – related claims. Over time, PD cases consistently displayed higher HcRU as compared to controls.