The impact of the transcendental meditation program on government payments to physicians in Quebec: an update.
R E Herron, S L Hillis
American Journal of Health Promotion 2000 DOI: 10.4278/0890-1171-14.5.284 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Quasi-experimental, longitudinal, cost-minimization study Randomized Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 2,836 |
| Population | Quebec health insurance enrollees who practiced the TM technique and matched non-practitioners |
| Duration | 14-year study with pre- and postintervention assessment; postintervention comparison over 6 years |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Key findings | After starting TM, practitioners' physician payments declined 1% to 2% annually, whereas the comparison group's payments increased up to 11.73% annually over six years, yielding a 13.78% mean annual difference (p = .0017). The authors suggest TM reduced payments to physicians by 5% to 13% annually relative to comparison subjects. |
Abstract
To determine whether practice of the Transcendental Meditation (TM) technique can affect medical expenses. The evaluation was a quasi experimental, longitudinal, cost-minimization study. Province of Quebec, Canada. This study involved 1418 Quebec health insurance enrollees who practiced the TM technique compared with 1418 subjects who were randomly selected from enrollees of the same age, sex, and region. TM subjects had chosen to begin the technique prior to learning about and choosing to enter the study. This 14-year, pre- and postintervention study retrospectively assessed government payments to physicians for treating the TM and comparison groups. Other medical expense data for individuals were unavailable. Data were inflation-adjusted. For each subject, least squares regression slopes were calculated to estimate pre- and postintervention annual rates of change in payments. We compared the groups' means and 1%, 5%, and 10% trimmed means (robust estimators) of the slopes. Before starting meditation, the yearly rate of increase in payments between groups was not significantly different (p > .17). After commencing meditation, the TM group's mean payments declined 1% to 2% annually. The comparison group's payments increased up to 11.73% annually over 6 years. There was a 13.78% mean annual difference (p = .0017). The results suggest that the TM technique reduced payments to physicians between 5% and 13% annually relative to comparison subjects over 6 years. Randomized studies are recommended.
Comparable studies
Other experimental studies on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| The benefits of being present: Mindfulness and its role in psychological well-being. Cancer patients (clinical intervention study) | 2003 | Mixed methods: scale development, correlational, quasi-experimental, laboratory, experience-sampling, and clinical intervention study | |
| Loving-kindness meditation increases social connectedness. | 2008 | Controlled laboratory experiment | |
| Mindfulness and mind-wandering: Finding convergence through opposing constructs. | 2012 | Two studies: correlational study and experimental study | |
| Mental Training Enhances Attentional Stability: Neural and Behavioral Evidence | 2009 | Experimental study | |
| Mindfulness meditation and substance use in an incarcerated population. Incarcerated population | 2006 | Quasi-experimental with treatment-as-usual control condition |
Citations in the library
Cited by 15
- Meditation's impact on chronic illness. Holistic Nursing Practice 2003
- Effect of Transcendental Meditation on Employee Stress, Depression, and Burnout: A Randomized Controlled Study The Permanente Journal January 30, 2014
- Prevention and Treatment of Cardiovascular Disease in Adolescents and Adults through the Transcendental Meditation® Program: A Research Review Update Current Hypertension Reviews October 1, 2012
- Transcendental Meditation practitioners show reduced expression of the Conserved Transcriptional Response to Adversity. Brain, Behavior, & Immunity - Health October 1, 2023
- Case report on transcendental meditation (TM) Journal of Psychology & Clinical Psychiatry 2023
and 10 more in the library
Cites 13
- Physiological Effects of Transcendental Meditation Science March 27, 1970
- Treating and Preventing Alcohol, Nicotine, and Drug Abuse Through Transcendental Meditation: Alcoholism Treatment Quarterly October 26, 1994
- Effectiveness of the Transcendental Meditation Program in Preventing and Treating Substance Misuse: A Review International Journal of the Addictions 1991
- Electrophysiological correlates of higher states of consciousness during sleep in long-term practitioners of the Transcendental Meditation program. Sleep February 1997
- Autonomic patterns during respiratory suspensions: possible markers of Transcendental Consciousness. Psychophysiology January 1997
and 8 more in the library