Professor Richard Kravitz and his research team have concluded that an alternative method for determining the best drug therapy for managing chronic disease could reduce treatment costs or give patients more immediate relief than other common approaches typically approved for use by managed care and health insurance companies. The study, entitled "N-of-1 Trials of Expensive Biological Therapies — A Third Way," found that after evaluating three clinical strategies used to treat rheumatoid arthritis — stepped care, open access and an "n-of-1 trial" — the n-of-1 option was 47 percent cheaper than open access to the drugs, although it was 15 percent more expensive than stepped care. The study concluded that the n-of-1 approach may allow patients and their physicians to make more informed decisions about treatment selection because it tests a drug's efficacy earlier in process. The study was published online in the Archives of Internal Medicine.