Dilemma of prescribing aripiprazole under the Taiwan health insurance program: a descriptive study
Yi-Chien Hsu,1,2 Yu-Ching Chou,3 Hsin-An Chang,1,2,4 Yu-Chen Kao,1,2,5 San-Yuan Huang,1,2 Nian-Sheng Tzeng1,2,4 1Department of Psychiatry, Tri-Service General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan; 2School of Medicine, 3School of Public Health, 4Student Counseling Center, National Defense Medical Center, Taipei...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Dove Medical Press
2015-01-01
|
| Series: | Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment |
| Online Access: | http://www.dovepress.com/dilemma-of-prescribing-aripiprazole-under-thenbsptaiwan-health-insuran-peer-reviewed-article-NDT |
| _version_ | 1819292572101640192 |
|---|---|
| author | Hsu YC Chou YC Chang HA Kao YC Huang SY Tzeng NS |
| author_facet | Hsu YC Chou YC Chang HA Kao YC Huang SY Tzeng NS |
| author_sort | Hsu YC |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Yi-Chien Hsu,1,2 Yu-Ching Chou,3 Hsin-An Chang,1,2,4 Yu-Chen Kao,1,2,5 San-Yuan Huang,1,2 Nian-Sheng Tzeng1,2,4 1Department of Psychiatry, Tri-Service General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan; 2School of Medicine, 3School of Public Health, 4Student Counseling Center, National Defense Medical Center, Taipei, Taiwan; 5Department of Psychiatry, Tri-Service General Hospital, Song-Shan Branch, Taipei, Taiwan Objectives: Refractory major depressive disorder (MDD) is a serious problem leading to a heavy economic burden. Antipsychotic augmentation treatment with aripiprazole and quetiapine is approved for MDD patients and can achieve a high remission rate. This study aimed to examine how psychiatrists in Taiwan choose medications and how that choice is influenced by health insurance payments and administrative policy.Design: Descriptive study.Outcome measures: Eight questions about the choice of treatment strategy and atypical antipsychotics, and the reason to choose aripiprazole.Intervention: We designed an augmentation strategy questionnaire for psychiatrists whose patients had a poor response to antidepressants, and handed it out during the annual meeting of the Taiwanese Society of Psychiatry in October 2012. It included eight questions addressing the choice of treatment strategy and atypical antipsychotics, and the reason whether or not to choose aripiprazole as the augmentation antipsychotic.Results: Choosing antipsychotic augmentation therapy or switching to other antidepressant strategies for MDD patients with an inadequate response to antidepressants was common with a similar probability (76.1% vs 76.4%). The most frequently used antipsychotics were aripiprazole and quetiapine, however a substantial number of psychiatrists chose olanzapine, risperidone, and sulpiride. The major reason for not choosing aripiprazole was cost (52.1%), followed by insurance official policy audit and deletion in the claims review system (30.1%).Conclusion: The prescribing behavior of Taiwanese psychiatrists for augmentation antipsychotics is affected by health insurance policy. Keywords: major depressive disorder, aripiprazole, psychiatrists, prescribing behavior, anti­psychotic augmentation, National Health Insurance program |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-24T03:56:40Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-1df2b72909854616ab55078fb0b8522d |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1178-2021 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-24T03:56:40Z |
| publishDate | 2015-01-01 |
| publisher | Dove Medical Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment |
| spelling | doaj.art-1df2b72909854616ab55078fb0b8522d2022-12-21T17:16:25ZengDove Medical PressNeuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment1178-20212015-01-012015default22523220135Dilemma of prescribing aripiprazole under the Taiwan health insurance program: a descriptive studyHsu YCChou YCChang HAKao YCHuang SYTzeng NSYi-Chien Hsu,1,2 Yu-Ching Chou,3 Hsin-An Chang,1,2,4 Yu-Chen Kao,1,2,5 San-Yuan Huang,1,2 Nian-Sheng Tzeng1,2,4 1Department of Psychiatry, Tri-Service General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan; 2School of Medicine, 3School of Public Health, 4Student Counseling Center, National Defense Medical Center, Taipei, Taiwan; 5Department of Psychiatry, Tri-Service General Hospital, Song-Shan Branch, Taipei, Taiwan Objectives: Refractory major depressive disorder (MDD) is a serious problem leading to a heavy economic burden. Antipsychotic augmentation treatment with aripiprazole and quetiapine is approved for MDD patients and can achieve a high remission rate. This study aimed to examine how psychiatrists in Taiwan choose medications and how that choice is influenced by health insurance payments and administrative policy.Design: Descriptive study.Outcome measures: Eight questions about the choice of treatment strategy and atypical antipsychotics, and the reason to choose aripiprazole.Intervention: We designed an augmentation strategy questionnaire for psychiatrists whose patients had a poor response to antidepressants, and handed it out during the annual meeting of the Taiwanese Society of Psychiatry in October 2012. It included eight questions addressing the choice of treatment strategy and atypical antipsychotics, and the reason whether or not to choose aripiprazole as the augmentation antipsychotic.Results: Choosing antipsychotic augmentation therapy or switching to other antidepressant strategies for MDD patients with an inadequate response to antidepressants was common with a similar probability (76.1% vs 76.4%). The most frequently used antipsychotics were aripiprazole and quetiapine, however a substantial number of psychiatrists chose olanzapine, risperidone, and sulpiride. The major reason for not choosing aripiprazole was cost (52.1%), followed by insurance official policy audit and deletion in the claims review system (30.1%).Conclusion: The prescribing behavior of Taiwanese psychiatrists for augmentation antipsychotics is affected by health insurance policy. Keywords: major depressive disorder, aripiprazole, psychiatrists, prescribing behavior, anti­psychotic augmentation, National Health Insurance programhttp://www.dovepress.com/dilemma-of-prescribing-aripiprazole-under-thenbsptaiwan-health-insuran-peer-reviewed-article-NDT |
| spellingShingle | Hsu YC Chou YC Chang HA Kao YC Huang SY Tzeng NS Dilemma of prescribing aripiprazole under the Taiwan health insurance program: a descriptive study Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment |
| title | Dilemma of prescribing aripiprazole under the Taiwan health insurance program: a descriptive study |
| title_full | Dilemma of prescribing aripiprazole under the Taiwan health insurance program: a descriptive study |
| title_fullStr | Dilemma of prescribing aripiprazole under the Taiwan health insurance program: a descriptive study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Dilemma of prescribing aripiprazole under the Taiwan health insurance program: a descriptive study |
| title_short | Dilemma of prescribing aripiprazole under the Taiwan health insurance program: a descriptive study |
| title_sort | dilemma of prescribing aripiprazole under the nbsp taiwan health insurance program a descriptive nbsp study |
| url | http://www.dovepress.com/dilemma-of-prescribing-aripiprazole-under-thenbsptaiwan-health-insuran-peer-reviewed-article-NDT |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT hsuyc dilemmaofprescribingaripiprazoleunderthenbsptaiwanhealthinsuranceprogramadescriptivenbspstudy AT chouyc dilemmaofprescribingaripiprazoleunderthenbsptaiwanhealthinsuranceprogramadescriptivenbspstudy AT changha dilemmaofprescribingaripiprazoleunderthenbsptaiwanhealthinsuranceprogramadescriptivenbspstudy AT kaoyc dilemmaofprescribingaripiprazoleunderthenbsptaiwanhealthinsuranceprogramadescriptivenbspstudy AT huangsy dilemmaofprescribingaripiprazoleunderthenbsptaiwanhealthinsuranceprogramadescriptivenbspstudy AT tzengns dilemmaofprescribingaripiprazoleunderthenbsptaiwanhealthinsuranceprogramadescriptivenbspstudy |