Academic Detailing Has a Positive Effect on Prescribing and Decreasing Prescription Drug Costs: A Health Plan's Perspective.

Background: When initiated by a health plan, academic detailing can be used to change prescribing practices, which can lead to increased safety and savings.

Objective: To evaluate the impact of academic detailing on prescribing and prescription drug costs of cefixime to a health plan.

Methods: A prospective intervention study was carried out that evaluated the prescribing practices and prescription drug costs of cefixime. A total of 11 prescribers were detailed by 1 pharmacist between August 2014 and March 2015. Two of the 11 prescribers did not respond to the academic detailing and were not followed up. The physicians' prescribing habits and prescription costs were compared before and after detailing to evaluate the effectiveness of the intervention. Data were collected for approximately 5 months before and after the intervention. Each prescriber served as his or her own control.

Results: Overall, an approximate 36% reduction in the number of cefixime prescriptions written and an approximate 20% decrease in prescription costs was seen with academic detailing compared with the year before the intervention. In 9 of 11 (82%) prescribers, intervention with academic detailing was successful and resulted in fewer prescriptions for cefixime during the study period.

Conclusion: Academic detailing had a positive impact on prescribing, by decreasing the number of cefixime prescriptions and lowering the drug costs to the health plan.