A Qualitative Study on Perspectives of Parkinson's Disease Medications: Insights from Patient Focus Groups.

Purpose: Medication is an important component of the management of Parkinson's disease (PD), yet few studies investigate factors that inform medication decision-making from the perspective of those who use these therapies. This qualitative study aimed to better understand the medication experiences and perspectives of people with PD (PwPD).

Patients And Methods: Thirty-two PwPD recruited from five large movement disorder clinics from five US states participated in 1-hour on-line focus groups in 2022.

Detailing Healthcare Claims Data Evidence of Extrapyramidal Symptoms in Medicaid Patients with Schizophrenia after Second-Generation Antipsychotic Medication Initiation.

Researchers have used elements of administrative healthcare claims data (e.g., diagnosis codes and medications) to calculate rates of extrapyramidal symptoms (EPS) in patients with schizophrenia who utilize second-generation antipsychotics (SGAs).

Provider perceptions of barriers to biosimilar utilization in community oncology practices.

Background: Biosimilars reduce the burden of cost on patients and payers, and so doing, increase access to life-saving care. However, biosimilar uptake in the US has been inconsistent.

Objectives: This study assessed provider perceptions of barriers to biosimilar use and their relationships to utilization rates in a large, national oncology network and examined if perceptions differed by demographic and practice characteristics.

Association Between Persistence with Oral Atypical Antipsychotic Medications and Hospital and Emergency Department Utilization in Medicaid Patients with Schizophrenia.

Purpose: To examine 1-year persistence with oral atypical antipsychotics (OAAPs) for Medicaid patients with schizophrenia and assess the association between OAAP persistence and hospital and emergency department (ED) resource utilization.

Patients And Methods: Using 2016-2020 multi-state Medicaid claims data, this retrospective study followed patients diagnosed with schizophrenia for 12 months after initiating OAAP therapy. Patients started on an OAAP with no evidence of antipsychotic use in the previous 6 months were included if they had a diagnosis of schizophrenia, were not dually enrolled in Medicaid and Medicare, did not switch to a long-acting injectable antipsychotic, and were continuously eligible 6 months before and 12 months after the initial OAAP prescription (index date).

One-Year Medication Treatment Patterns, Healthcare Resource Utilization, and Expenditures for Medicaid Patients with Schizophrenia Starting Oral Atypical Antipsychotic Medication.

Oral atypical antipsychotic (OAAP) medications are the most commonly prescribed treatment for the management of schizophrenia symptoms. This retrospective study, using Medicaid claims data (2016-2020), followed patients for 12 months after initiating OAAP therapy. Study outcomes included OAAP adherence, switching, augmentation, healthcare resource utilization (HRU), and expenditures.

Procurement and use of social determinants of health data among key health care stakeholders.

A growing body of evidence supports the need for health systems to shift towards addressing social determinants of health (SDoH) as part of routine care. However, little is known about the state of the industry in terms of procurement and use of SDoH data. To assess stakeholders' perceptions and experiences in collecting and utilizing SDoH data.

An assessment of Parkinson's disease medication treatment patterns in the Medicaid population.

Introduction: Most Parkinson's disease (PD) medication adherence studies have focused on patients with commercial or Medicare health insurance coverage. However, less is known regarding medication treatment patterns within the Medicaid population.

Methods: This retrospective cohort study utilized 2011-2019 administrative healthcare claims from 7 state Medicaid programs.

"It's Time to Represent": shifting the paradigm to improve the quality of inputs into value assessment frameworks.

"It's Time to Represent" integrates 2 strategies that challenge the status quo to increase the diversity of populations that participate in research and address drivers of health disparities to better inform value assessment. The first, a community-engaged campaign, proposes to develop authentic, long-term partnerships with community members, their health care providers, and researchers to tailor recruitment and retention methods for underrepresented groups and hold researchers accountable for equitable selection of study participants. The second proposes to create an expectation for researchers to routinely collect patient-reported, actionable social determinants of health data to generate enhanced real-world evidence and thereby improve the quality of inputs utilized in value assessment frameworks.

"It's Time to Represent": shifting the paradigm to improve the quality of inputs into value assessment frameworks.

"It's Time to Represent" integrates 2 strategies that challenge the status quo to increase the diversity of populations that participate in research and address drivers of health disparities to better inform value assessment. The first, a community-engaged campaign, proposes to develop authentic, long-term partnerships with community members, their health care providers, and researchers to tailor recruitment and retention methods for underrepresented groups and hold researchers accountable for equitable selection of study participants. The second proposes to create an expectation for researchers to routinely collect patient-reported, actionable social determinants of health data to generate enhanced real-world evidence and thereby improve the quality of inputs utilized in value assessment frameworks.

A ready-to-use liquid glucagon for treatment of severe hypoglycemia demonstrates reduced healthcare payer costs in a budget impact model.

To model the annual value of a novel ready-to-use, room-temperature stable liquid glucagon rescue pen and prefilled syringe (GRP, G-PFS; Xeris Pharmaceuticals, Inc.) for treatment of severe hypoglycemia events (SHE) versus current lyophilized powder glucagon emergency kits (GEK). GRP is a prefilled auto-injector designed to promptly administer concentrated liquid glucagon in a simple two-step process.

Impact of Pharmacist Immunization Authority on Seasonal Influenza Immunization Rates Across States.

Purpose: The goal of this study was to investigate the impact on immunization rates of policy changes that allowed pharmacists to administer influenza immunizations across the United States.

Methods: Influenza immunization rates across states were compared before and after policy changes permitting pharmacists to administer influenza immunizations. The study used Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) survey data on influenza immunization rates between 2003 and 2013.

Infectious diseases specialty intervention is associated with decreased mortality and lower healthcare costs.

Background: Previous studies, largely based on chart reviews with small sample sizes, have demonstrated that infectious diseases (ID) specialists positively impact patient outcomes. We investigated how ID specialists impact mortality, utilization, and costs using a large claims dataset.

Methods: We used administrative fee-for-service Medicare claims to identify beneficiaries hospitalized from 2008 to 2009 with at least 1 of 11 infections.

Utilization patterns of stimulants in ADHD in the Medicaid population: a retrospective analysis of data from the Texas Medicaid program.

Background: Some previously published research on treatment utilization patterns in patients with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has been focused on data from commercial health plans, whereas research in the Medicaid population is lacking. Thus, little is known about these utilization patterns in Medicaid populations, which typically have demographic and clinical characteristics that differ from those of employer-based groups.

Objectives: The objectives of the present retrospective data analysis were to evaluate the associations of medication groups (categorized by stimulant type [methylphenidate or amphetamine] and duration of action [short-acting (SA) or long-acting (LA)]) with measures of stimulant utilization patterns (adherence, persistence, and switching) in children, adolescents, and adults with ADHD enrolled in the fee-for-service delivery model within the Texas Medicaid Program.

Patient and plan characteristics affecting abandonment of oral oncolytic prescriptions.

Purpose: To calculate the abandonment rate of oral oncolytic medications and identify factors that may affect likelihood of abandonment.

Study Design: Cross-sectional cohort study using administrative claims data.

Methods: We analyzed a nationally representative pharmacy claims database and identified 10,508 patients with Medicare and commercial insurance for whom oral oncolytic therapy was initiated between 2007 and 2009.

Impact of telephone medication therapy management on medication and health-related problems, medication adherence, and Medicare Part D drug costs: a 6-month follow up.

Background: The Medicare Modernization Act of 2003 mandated the provision of medication therapy management (MTM) to eligible Part D beneficiaries to improve medication-related outcomes. As MTM programs evolve, evaluation is necessary to help inform MTM best practices.

Objective: The objective of this study was to determine the impact of pharmacist-provided telephone MTM on: (1) medication and health-related problems (MHRPs); (2) medication adherence; and (3) Part D drug costs.

Patient and plan characteristics affecting abandonment of oral oncolytic prescriptions.

Objective: To calculate the abandonment rate of oral oncolytic medications and identify factors that may affect likelihood of abandonment.

Study Design: Cross-sectional cohort study using administrative claims data.

Methods: We analyzed a nationally representative pharmacy claims database and identified 10,508 patients with Medicare and commercial insurance for whom oral oncolytic therapy was initiated between 2007 and 2009.

Patient satisfaction with a pharmacist-provided telephone medication therapy management program.

Background: Patient satisfaction with medication therapy management (MTM), a required component of the Medicare Part D benefit, is an important outcome to consider when evaluating MTM programs.

Objective: To measure patient satisfaction with a pharmacist-provided telephone MTM program.

Methods: The study design was nonexperimental and cross sectional.

Effects of antiepileptic drug substitutions on epileptic events requiring acute care.

Study Objectives: To determine the odds of antiepileptic drug substitution among patients who had an epileptic event requiring acute care-ambulance service, emergency department visit, or hospitalization-relative to patients who did not have an event, and to compare these results with those from a recent study involving a similar method but different patients.

Design: Case-control analysis.

Data Source: United States health care claims from the PharMetrics database.

Patient adherence and reimbursement amount for antidiabetic fixed-dose combination products compared with dual therapy among Texas Medicaid recipients.

Background: Little is known about the potential for improved adherence with and cost savings of fixed-dose combination therapy (FDCT) products compared with analogous dual therapy for type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Objectives: The objectives of this study were as follows: (1) to describe patient adherence to various oral antidiabetic regimens (ie, dual therapy and FDCT); (2) to determine whether there is a difference in medication adherence between FDCT users and analogous dual-therapy users; and (3) to assess whether there is a difference in reimbursement amounts between an FDCT product and its individual components.

Methods: This study was a retrospective cohort analysis using the Texas Medicaid prescription claims database.

Extended-release, once-daily morphine (Avinza) for the treatment of chronic nonmalignant pain: effect on pain, depressive symptoms, and cognition.

Objective: To evaluate the impact of an extended-release, once-daily morphine sulfate formulation on depressive symptoms and neurocognition in patients with chronic nonmalignant pain.

Design: Prospective, open-label, one-group trial with a pretest-posttest design.

Setting: Outpatient pain management clinic.

Comparison of hospitalizations, emergency department visits, and costs in a historical cohort of Texas Medicaid patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, by initial medication regimen.

Background: Limited information is available on the relative outcomes and treatment costs of various pharmacotherapies for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in a Medicaid population.

Objective: This study compared the effects of initial medication regimens for COPD on COPD-related and all-cause events (hospitalizations and/or emergency department [ED] visits) and COPD-related and all-cause costs.

Methods: The study population was a historical cohort of Texas Medicaid beneficiaries aged 40 to 64 years with COPD-related medical costs (International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification codes 491.

Topiramate prescribing patterns among medicaid patients: diagnosis, comorbidities, and dosing.

Background: Routine clinical practice data are useful for payers and formulary decision makers to make sound decisions regarding coverage policy. Based on a literature search, there has been scant research into topiramate prescribing patterns among Medicaid patients.

Objective: The aim of this study was to describe diagnoses, demographic characteristics, additional co-existing diagnoses, and dosing among Medicaid patients prescribed topiramate.

Comparison of mail-order with community pharmacy in plan sponsor cost and member cost in two large pharmacy benefit plans.

Background: Pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) play a major role in administering prescription drug benefit programs for health plans and employers. PBMs have often encouraged the use of self-owned mail-order pharmacy services with the promise to plan sponsors of lower prescription drug costs compared with those of the community pharmacy network. Some plan sponsors have requested a higher degree of disclosure of contract relationships and transparency in pricing.

Physician specialty associated with antipsychotic prescribing for youths in the Texas Medicaid program.

Background/objective: The use of antipsychotics in children and adolescents in the Texas Medicaid program has increased with the introduction of newer atypical antipsychotics. The purpose of this study was to examine physician specialty associated with antipsychotic prescribing from 1996 to 2001.

Methods: All antipsychotic prescription claims records for children and adolescents younger than the age of 20 years from 1996 to 2001 were extracted from the Texas Medicaid Drug Vendor prescription database.

An economic comparison of risperidone and olanzapine use within an integrated managed mental health program.

This study assessed differences in total mental health care costs for 1 year following initiation of risperidone or olanzapine in individuals within NorthSTAR, an integrated managed mental health pilot project. A retrospective database analysis of individuals with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder and newly started on either agent was conducted. Antipsychotic medication costs were significantly lower for individuals prescribed risperidone than olanzapine (1763 dollars versus 2582 dollars; p<0.