Do medicare patients with disabilities receive preventive services? A population-based study

Abstract Objective: To compare health maintenance procedure rates of Medicare patients with different levels of disability. Study Design: Observational study analyzing data from the 1995 Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey (MCBS, n = 15,590). Self-reported Pap smears, mammograms, and influenza and pneumococcal vaccinations were compared between groups with different levels of health-related difficulties in six activities of daily living (ADL). Results: Compared to those without disabilities, the most severely disabled women (limitations in 5 or 6 ADL) reported fewer Pap smears (age ≤70, 23% vs 41%, p p Conclusions: Disability among Medicare patients is a significant, independent risk factor for not receiving mammograms and Pap smears. Efforts should be made to identify the most severely disabled because they are at particular risk.