Medicare Letters To Curb Overprescribing Of Controlled Substances Had No Detectable Effect On Providers
Inappropriate prescribing is a rising threat to the health of Medicare beneficiaries and a drain on Medicare’s finances. In this study we used a randomized controlled trial approach to evaluate a low-cost, light-touch intervention aimed at reducing the inappropriate provision of Schedule II controll...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Other Authors: | |
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | en_US |
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Project Hope
2016
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/105912 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9941-6684 |
| _version_ | 1826207252463222784 |
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| author | Sacarny, A. Yokum, D. Agrawal, S. Finkelstein, Amy |
| author2 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Economics |
| author_facet | Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Economics Sacarny, A. Yokum, D. Agrawal, S. Finkelstein, Amy |
| author_sort | Sacarny, A. |
| collection | MIT |
| description | Inappropriate prescribing is a rising threat to the health of Medicare beneficiaries and a drain on Medicare’s finances. In this study we used a randomized controlled trial approach to evaluate a low-cost, light-touch intervention aimed at reducing the inappropriate provision of Schedule II controlled substances in the Medicare Part D program. Potential overprescribers were sent a letter explaining that their practice patterns were highly unlike those of their peers. Using rich administrative data, we were unable to detect an effect of these letters on prescribing. We describe ongoing efforts to build on this null result with alternative interventions. Learning about the potential of light-touch interventions, both effective and ineffective, will help produce a better toolkit for policy makers to improve the value and safety of health care. |
| first_indexed | 2024-09-23T13:46:25Z |
| format | Article |
| id | mit-1721.1/105912 |
| institution | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| language | en_US |
| last_indexed | 2024-09-23T13:46:25Z |
| publishDate | 2016 |
| publisher | Project Hope |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | mit-1721.1/1059122024-06-26T20:37:19Z Medicare Letters To Curb Overprescribing Of Controlled Substances Had No Detectable Effect On Providers Sacarny, A. Yokum, D. Agrawal, S. Finkelstein, Amy Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Economics Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) Finkelstein, Amy Finkelstein, Amy Inappropriate prescribing is a rising threat to the health of Medicare beneficiaries and a drain on Medicare’s finances. In this study we used a randomized controlled trial approach to evaluate a low-cost, light-touch intervention aimed at reducing the inappropriate provision of Schedule II controlled substances in the Medicare Part D program. Potential overprescribers were sent a letter explaining that their practice patterns were highly unlike those of their peers. Using rich administrative data, we were unable to detect an effect of these letters on prescribing. We describe ongoing efforts to build on this null result with alternative interventions. Learning about the potential of light-touch interventions, both effective and ineffective, will help produce a better toolkit for policy makers to improve the value and safety of health care. Laura and John Arnold Foundation Robert Wood Johnson Foundation 2016-12-21T15:20:18Z 2016-12-21T15:20:18Z 2016-03 Article http://purl.org/eprint/type/JournalArticle 0278-2715 1544-5208 http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/105912 Sacarny, A. et al. “Medicare Letters To Curb Overprescribing Of Controlled Substances Had No Detectable Effect On Providers.” Health Affairs 35.3 (2016): 471–479. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9941-6684 en_US http://dx.doi.org/10.1377/hlthaff.2015.1025 Health Affairs Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/ application/pdf Project Hope Finkelstein |
| spellingShingle | Sacarny, A. Yokum, D. Agrawal, S. Finkelstein, Amy Medicare Letters To Curb Overprescribing Of Controlled Substances Had No Detectable Effect On Providers |
| title | Medicare Letters To Curb Overprescribing Of Controlled Substances Had No Detectable Effect On Providers |
| title_full | Medicare Letters To Curb Overprescribing Of Controlled Substances Had No Detectable Effect On Providers |
| title_fullStr | Medicare Letters To Curb Overprescribing Of Controlled Substances Had No Detectable Effect On Providers |
| title_full_unstemmed | Medicare Letters To Curb Overprescribing Of Controlled Substances Had No Detectable Effect On Providers |
| title_short | Medicare Letters To Curb Overprescribing Of Controlled Substances Had No Detectable Effect On Providers |
| title_sort | medicare letters to curb overprescribing of controlled substances had no detectable effect on providers |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/105912 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9941-6684 |
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