| Literature DB >> 22935100 |
Braden Manns1, Kevin Laupland, Marcello Tonelli, Song Gao, Brenda Hemmelgarn.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Publicly-funded drug plans often use prior authorization policies to limit drug prescribing. To guide physician prescribing of a class of antibiotics with broad antimicrobial activity (quinolone antibiotics) in accordance with new prescribing guidelines, Alberta's provincial health ministry implemented a new mechanism for formulary restriction entitled the optional special authorization (OSA) program. We conducted an observational study to determine the impact of this new formulary restriction policy on antimicrobial prescription rates as well as any clinical consequences.Entities:
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Year: 2012 PMID: 22935100 PMCID: PMC3470979 DOI: 10.1186/1472-6963-12-290
Source DB: PubMed Journal: BMC Health Serv Res ISSN: 1472-6963 Impact factor: 2.655
Characteristics of study population and unique index infection visits over the three year study period
| Median age (IQR) at beginning of OSA program | 74 (69, 80) |
| Female (n,%) | 97,568 (57.3%) |
| Death within 30 days post index visit for the overall population (n,%) | 1,270 (0.8%) |
| Any antibiotic prescription within 30 days post index visit for the overall population (n,%) | 86,436 (50.8%) |
| Unique Index Visits for Infections of Interest (n = 397,534) | |
| AECB | 119,215 (30.0%) |
| Proportion prescribed any antibiotic within 30 days 35% | |
| URTI | 185,946 (46.8%) |
| Proportion prescribed any antibiotic within 30 days 62% | |
| Pneumonia | 37,869 (9.5%) |
| Proportion prescribed any antibiotic within 30 days 48% | |
| UTI | 54,504 (13.7%) |
| Proportion prescribed any antibiotic within 30 days 71% | |
| Patients with a Unique Index Visit 1 (n = 397,534) | |
| Antibiotic Use Within 30 days Following Unique Index Visit 1 | |
| No antibiotic use | 200,794 (50.5%) |
| Antibiotics other than macrolides and quinolones | 77,586 (39.4%) |
| Macrolides | 61,331 (31.2%) |
| Quinolones | 57,823 (29.4%) |
A unique index visit could result in antibiotics being dispensed on separate days during the 30 follow-up period, and as such, numbers do not add up to 397,534.
only available on formulary as of Nov 15, 2005.
Figure 1Monthly rate of quinolone, other antibiotic, and no antibiotic use per 1000 index visits for all infections, for physicians enrolled (Panel A) and not enrolled (Panel B) in the optional special authorization program. Panel A: Physicians enrolled in the optional special authorization program. Panel B: Physicians not enrolled in the optional special authorization program.
Figure 2Time series of monthly adjusted* rates of quinolone use per 1000 index visits for all infections of interest. Fitted trend lines show predicted values from the segmented regression model.
Figure 3Time series of monthly adjusted* rates of levofloxacin use per 1000 index visits for acute exacerbation of chronic bronchitis. Fitted trend lines show predicted values from the segmented regression model.
Baseline characteristics of chart review cohort
| Total number of charts reviewed | n = 3,846 |
| Number of GP practices visited | n = 60 |
| Study Population - Patient visits confirmed to have an infection of interest (%) | 1,681 (43.7%) |
| Median age (IQR) for patients with visits, years | 73 (69, 79) |
| Female, n (%) | 1,110 (66.0%) |
| Number of infection visits before OSA program implementation, n (%) | 804 (47.8%) |
| Number of infection visits after OSA program implementation, n (%) | 877 (52.3%) |
| Infections of interest among included patient visits | n = 1,681 |
| AECB, n (%) | 101 (6.0%) |
| URTI, n (%) | 1,070 (63.6%) |
| Pneumonia, n (%) | 146 (8.7%) |
| UTI, n (%) | 366 (21.9%) |
| Antibiotic Use Following Infection of Interest | n = 1,681 |
| No Antibiotic Use | 536 (31.9%) |
| Any Antibiotic Use | 1,145 (68.1%) |