Characterising incident opioid use among incident users of prescription sedative hypnotics: A national cohort study.

Objective: To evaluate co-prescribing of sedatives hypnotics and opioids.

Design: Retrospective study evaluating the association of patient characteristics and comorbidities with coprescribing.

Setting And Participants: Using the national Merative MarketScan Database between 2005 and 2018, we identified patients who received an incident sedative prescription with or without subsequent, incident opioid prescriptions within a year of the sedative prescription in the USA.

The Affordable Care Act and income-based disparities in health care coverage and spending among nonelderly adults with cancer.

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) significantly reduced uninsured individuals and improved financial protection; however, escalating costs of cancer treatment has led to substantial out-of-pocket expenses, causing severe financial and mental health distress for individuals with cancer. Mixed evidence on the ACA's ongoing impact highlights the necessity of assessing health-spending changes across income groups for informed policy interventions. In our nationally representative survey evaluating the early- and long-term effects of the ACA on nonelderly adult patients with cancer, we categorized individuals-based income subgroups defined by the ACA for eligibility.

Opioid Overdose Hospitalizations During COVID-19: The Experience of Pennsylvania.

Objective: The COVID-19 pandemic placed extreme burden on hospitals, while opioid overdose is another challenging public health issue. This study aimed to examine the trends and outcomes of opioid overdose hospitalizations in Pennsylvania during 2018 to 2021.

Design: We identified opioid overdose hospitalizations in the state of Pennsylvania using the state-wide hospital discharge database (PHC4) 2018 to 2021.

Evaluation of Discharge Opioid Prescribing in Coronary Artery Bypass Patients Following an Opioid Stewardship Intervention for Providers.

Opioid stewardship efforts can promote safe and effective use of opioids to optimize pain control and minimize unintended consequences. The purpose of this study is to assess the difference in post-operative opioid discharge prescribing in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery following implementation of a tripartite opioid stewardship intervention. This was a single-center, quality improvement study at a large, quaternary academic medical center.

Clinical decision making involving prescription drug monitoring programs: A factorial, vignette-based study among student pharmacists.

Objectives: Prescription drug monitoring programs (PDMPs) are state-maintained databases that providers may reference when deciding to prescribe or dispense controlled substances. As more states begin to mandate PDMP use at the point of care, it is imperative to assess how pharmacists use PDMP information when determining whether to fill a controlled substance prescription (CSP). The objective of this study was to evaluate which factors affected fourth-year student pharmacists' decision to fill an opioid prescription, their level of confidence in their decision making, and familiarity with the PDMP.

Factors associated with the use of the prescription monitoring program by prescribers and pharmacists in Texas.

Purpose: To describe Texas Prescription Monitoring Program (PMP) use and identify predictors of PMP query for opioid and benzodiazepine prescriptions by prescribers and pharmacists.

Methods: Dispensation and query records from the Texas PMP for opioid and benzodiazepine medications dispensed between October 1, 2016 and December 31, 2018 were linked using common patient identifiers. Autoregressive linear regression was used to assess trends in utilization.

Impact of COVID-19 Related Policy Changes on Buprenorphine Dispensing in Texas.

Objectives: To measure the change in the daily number of patients receiving buprenorphine and buprenorphine prescribers during the early phase of the COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic in Texas.

Methods: Counts of the number of patients filling and number of providers prescribing buprenorphine were calculated for each weekday between November 4, 2019 and May 12, 2020. The change in daily patients and prescribers between March 2, 2020 and May 12, 2020, was modeled as a change in slope compared to the baseline period using autoregressive, interrupted time series regression.

Prescribers' perceptions on the impact of hydrocodone rescheduling on geriatric pain management: A qualitative study.

Objective: To qualitatively assess prescribers) perceptions regarding the consequences associated with hydrocodone rescheduling among geriatric patients being discharged from inpatient settings.

Design: This was a cross-sectional study.

Setting: Two focus groups were conducted by a trained facilitator in a metropolitan academic medical center in January 2016.

Cardiovascular mortality and oral antidiabetic drugs: protocol for a systematic review and network meta-analysis.

Introduction: Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of morbidity and mortality among individuals with diabetes. Despite the beneficial effects of antidiabetic drugs (ADDs) in terms of lowering haemoglobin A1c, several ADDs have been shown to increase the risk of cardiovascular events. Given the high prevalence of cardiovascular disease among individuals with diabetes, it is important to weigh the benefits of ADDs against their cardiovascular safety.

Direct and indirect cost of managing alzheimer's disease and related dementias in the United States.

Care of individuals with Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias (ADRD) poses special challenges. As the disease progresses, individuals with ADRD require increasing levels of medical care, caregiver support, and long-term care which can lead to substantial economic burden. Areas covered: In this expert review, we synthesized findings from studies of costs of ADRD in the United States that were published between January 2006 and February 2017, highlighted major sources of variation in costs, identified knowledge gaps and briefly outlined directions for future research and implications for policy and program planning.

Direct medical expenditures associated with Alzheimer's and related dementias (ADRD) in a nationally representative sample of older adults - an excess cost approach.

Objective: To estimate the excess direct annual healthcare expenditures associated with Alzheimer's and related dementias(ADRD) among community-dwelling older adults in the United States.

Methods: This retrospective cross-sectional study compared the annual healthcare expenditures between elderly individuals aged 65 years and older with ADRD (n = 662) and without ADRD (n = 13,398) using data from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) for the years 2007, 2009, 2011 and 2013. Adjusted total annual medical expenditures was estimated using generalized linear model with gamma distribution and log link in 2013 U.