Preliminary Investigation of Pharmacist-Delivered, Direct-to-Provider Interventions to Reduce Co-Prescribing of Opioids and Benzodiazepines among a Medicare Population
Co-prescribing of opioids and benzodiazepines can lead to overdoses and mortality. This retrospective study analyzed prescription claims data collected in 2016. A national medication therapy management (MTM) program conducted prescriber-based outreach interventions for patients with concurrent opioi...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2020-02-01
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| Series: | Pharmacy |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2226-4787/8/1/25 |
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| author | Jennifer M. Bingham Ann M. Taylor Kevin P. Boesen David R. Axon |
| author_facet | Jennifer M. Bingham Ann M. Taylor Kevin P. Boesen David R. Axon |
| author_sort | Jennifer M. Bingham |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Co-prescribing of opioids and benzodiazepines can lead to overdoses and mortality. This retrospective study analyzed prescription claims data collected in 2016. A national medication therapy management (MTM) program conducted prescriber-based outreach interventions for patients with concurrent opioid and benzodiazepine prescriptions. The pharmacist’s direct-to-prescriber intervention was conducted following a targeted medication review. The pharmacist initiated interventions with the prescriber via facsimile to recommend discontinuation of concurrent use of these drugs. This study included 57,748 subjects who were predominantly female (67.83%) and aged ≥ 65 years (66.90%). Prescribers were most commonly located in the southern United States (46.88%). The top prescribed opioid medications were hydrocodone-acetaminophen (33.60%), tramadol (17.50%), and oxycodone-acetaminophen (15.66%). The top benzodiazepines prescribed concurrently with opioids were alprazolam (35.11%), clonazepam (21.16%), and lorazepam (20.09%). Based on the pharmacists’ recommendations, 37,990 (65.79%) resulted in a medication discontinuation (benzodiazepines 40.23%; opioids 59.77%) by the provider. There were significant differences in the proportion of opioids discontinued by subject age (<i>p</i> < 0.001) and prescriber geographical region (<i>p</i> = 0.0148). The top medications discontinued by the prescriber were hydrocodone-acetaminophen (18.86%), alprazolam (14.19%), and tramadol HCl (13.51%). This study provides initial evidence for pharmacist-supported, direct-to-prescriber programs as an effective medication safety strategy. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-10T08:12:54Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-b734f7d0f6ee4810816fe8ac76d829c0 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2226-4787 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-10T08:12:54Z |
| publishDate | 2020-02-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Pharmacy |
| spelling | doaj.art-b734f7d0f6ee4810816fe8ac76d829c02022-12-22T01:56:32ZengMDPI AGPharmacy2226-47872020-02-01812510.3390/pharmacy8010025pharmacy8010025Preliminary Investigation of Pharmacist-Delivered, Direct-to-Provider Interventions to Reduce Co-Prescribing of Opioids and Benzodiazepines among a Medicare PopulationJennifer M. Bingham0Ann M. Taylor1Kevin P. Boesen2David R. Axon3Tabula Rasa HealthCare, Moorestown, NJ 08057, USAPharmacy Practice and Science, University of Arizona College of Pharmacy, Tucson, AZ 85721, USATabula Rasa HealthCare, Moorestown, NJ 08057, USAPharmacy Practice and Science, University of Arizona College of Pharmacy, Tucson, AZ 85721, USACo-prescribing of opioids and benzodiazepines can lead to overdoses and mortality. This retrospective study analyzed prescription claims data collected in 2016. A national medication therapy management (MTM) program conducted prescriber-based outreach interventions for patients with concurrent opioid and benzodiazepine prescriptions. The pharmacist’s direct-to-prescriber intervention was conducted following a targeted medication review. The pharmacist initiated interventions with the prescriber via facsimile to recommend discontinuation of concurrent use of these drugs. This study included 57,748 subjects who were predominantly female (67.83%) and aged ≥ 65 years (66.90%). Prescribers were most commonly located in the southern United States (46.88%). The top prescribed opioid medications were hydrocodone-acetaminophen (33.60%), tramadol (17.50%), and oxycodone-acetaminophen (15.66%). The top benzodiazepines prescribed concurrently with opioids were alprazolam (35.11%), clonazepam (21.16%), and lorazepam (20.09%). Based on the pharmacists’ recommendations, 37,990 (65.79%) resulted in a medication discontinuation (benzodiazepines 40.23%; opioids 59.77%) by the provider. There were significant differences in the proportion of opioids discontinued by subject age (<i>p</i> < 0.001) and prescriber geographical region (<i>p</i> = 0.0148). The top medications discontinued by the prescriber were hydrocodone-acetaminophen (18.86%), alprazolam (14.19%), and tramadol HCl (13.51%). This study provides initial evidence for pharmacist-supported, direct-to-prescriber programs as an effective medication safety strategy.https://www.mdpi.com/2226-4787/8/1/25opioidbenzodiazepinepharmacist deliveredco-prescribing |
| spellingShingle | Jennifer M. Bingham Ann M. Taylor Kevin P. Boesen David R. Axon Preliminary Investigation of Pharmacist-Delivered, Direct-to-Provider Interventions to Reduce Co-Prescribing of Opioids and Benzodiazepines among a Medicare Population Pharmacy opioid benzodiazepine pharmacist delivered co-prescribing |
| title | Preliminary Investigation of Pharmacist-Delivered, Direct-to-Provider Interventions to Reduce Co-Prescribing of Opioids and Benzodiazepines among a Medicare Population |
| title_full | Preliminary Investigation of Pharmacist-Delivered, Direct-to-Provider Interventions to Reduce Co-Prescribing of Opioids and Benzodiazepines among a Medicare Population |
| title_fullStr | Preliminary Investigation of Pharmacist-Delivered, Direct-to-Provider Interventions to Reduce Co-Prescribing of Opioids and Benzodiazepines among a Medicare Population |
| title_full_unstemmed | Preliminary Investigation of Pharmacist-Delivered, Direct-to-Provider Interventions to Reduce Co-Prescribing of Opioids and Benzodiazepines among a Medicare Population |
| title_short | Preliminary Investigation of Pharmacist-Delivered, Direct-to-Provider Interventions to Reduce Co-Prescribing of Opioids and Benzodiazepines among a Medicare Population |
| title_sort | preliminary investigation of pharmacist delivered direct to provider interventions to reduce co prescribing of opioids and benzodiazepines among a medicare population |
| topic | opioid benzodiazepine pharmacist delivered co-prescribing |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2226-4787/8/1/25 |
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