Financial DisclosureDaniel Hartung has received money paid to his institution (grant funding) from NIH, CDC, AHRQ, National MS Society, and AbbVie Pharmaceuticals. He has a consulting contract with MedSavvy. Maria Rodriguez received money paid to her institution from the Laura and John Arnold Foundation and World Health Organization. She was on a medical advisory board for Cooper Surgical and has been a contraceptive implant trainer for Merck. She was also a WRHR Scholar with NICHD funding in the past (which didn't support this work).

Our results support a modest safety advantage with ER oxycodone compared with ER morphine. Among subjects with noncancer pain, fentanyl and methadone were associated with an increased risk of an adverse event compared with ER morphine. Additional studies are needed to confirm our findings and further clarify risks associated with different LAOs.

Oregon's prior authorization policy was effective at reducing high dosage opioid prescriptions. While multiple pharmacy use also declined, no changes in opioid overdose were observed.

In Oklahoma, USA's July 2008 prior authorization policy for extended-release/long-acting opioids appears to have reduced the number of opioid-naive patients initiating extended-release/long-acting opioid use by more than half, but may also have increased short-acting opioid prescriptions by 7%.

Objective This study examined a cohort of Medicaid patients with new prescriptions for atypical antipsychotic medication to determine the prevalence of sub-therapeutic atypical antipsychotic medication use and to identify patient and prescribing provider characteristics associated with its occurrence. Method This observational cohort study examined Medicaid administrative claims data for patients age 20–64 with a new prescription for an atypical antipsychotic medication (clozapine, olanzapine, quetiapine, risperidone, ziprasidone) between 1/2004 and 12/2004. Patient characteristics, prescribing provider characteristics, length of therapy, and dosing were examined. A logistic regression assessed the probability of sub-therapeutic dosing. Results Among 830 individuals starting an atypical antipsychotic, only 15% had a documented diagnosis of schizophrenia, sub-therapeutic dosing was common (up to 86% of patients taking quetiapine), and 40% of the sample continued less than 30 days with the indexed prescription. A logistic model indicated that a general practitioner as prescribing provider, length of therapy less than 30 days, and prescription of quetiapine were significantly associated with a sub-therapeutic dose. Conclusions These results suggest there is extensive use of expensive atypical anti-psychotic medications for off-label purposes such as sedation or for other practice patterns that should be explored further. Approaches that minimize off-label atypical antipsychotic use could be of considerable value to Medicaid programs. In addition, theses findings support the need for the introduction or increased use of utilization monitoring, and the implementation of medication practice guidelines as appropriate decision support for prescribing providers.

BackgroundAcademic detailing is an interactive, convenient, and user-friendly approach to delivering non-commercial education to healthcare clinicians. While evidence suggests academic detailing is associated with improvements in prescribing behavior, uncertainty exists about generalizability and scalability in diverse settings. Our study evaluates different models of delivering academic detailing in a rural family medicine setting.MethodsWe conducted a pilot project to assess the feasibility, effectiveness, and satisfaction with academic detailing delivered face-to-face as compared to a modified approach using distance-learning technology. The recipients were four family medicine clinics within the Oregon Rural Practice-based Research Network (ORPRN). Two clinics were allocated to receive face-to-face detailing and two received outreach through video conferencing or asynchronous web-based outreach. Surveys at midpoint and completion were used to assess effectiveness and satisfaction.ResultsEach clinic received four outreach visits over an eight month period. Topics included treatment-resistant depression, management of atypical antipsychotics, drugs for insomnia, and benzodiazepine tapering. Overall, 90% of participating clinicians were satisfied with the program. Respondents who received in person detailing reported a higher likelihood of changing their behavior compared to respondents in the distance detailing group for five of seven content areas. While 90%-100% of respondents indicated they would continue to participate if the program were continued, the likelihood of participation declined if only distance approaches were offered.ConclusionsWe found strong support and satisfaction for the program among participating clinicians. Participants favored in-person approaches to distance interactions. Future efforts will be directed at quantitative methods for evaluating the economic and clinical effectiveness of detailing in rural family practice settings.

Prescription opioid fills that were likely paid out-of-pocket were common and associated with several known indicators of high-risk opioid use.

No abstract