The good, the bad, and the different: a primer on aspects of heterogeneity of treatment effects.
This article presents a variety of tools and resources to aid decision makers as they evaluate the literature to determine when clinically relevant differences exist.
PMID: 24856593 [PubMed - in process] (Source: Journal of Managed Care Pharmacy)
Source: Journal of Managed Care Pharmacy - November 14, 2014 Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Tags: J Manag Care Pharm Source Type: research
Managing heterogeneity in prescription drug coverage policies.
Authors: Teagarden JR
Abstract
Necessity and fairness require that health plans limit the products and services they cover. The basis for these decisions refers to population averages and related population parameters. However, individuals vary and may not be accurately represented by the parameters used to establish coverage policies. Health plans, therefore, are obligated to anticipate and manage heterogeneity among their member groups. This commentary offers considerations for managing heterogeneity in prescription drug benefits.
PMID: 24856594 [PubMed - in process] (Source: Journal of Managed Care Pharmacy)
Source: Journal of Managed Care Pharmacy - November 14, 2014 Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Tags: J Manag Care Pharm Source Type: research
Evaluation of an educational program on deciphering heterogeneity for medical coverage decisions.
CONCLUSION: A live educational program was effective in improving participants' immediate knowledge and attitudes regarding the topic of heterogeneity. Participating managed care pharmacists and medical managers indicated that heterogeneity of treatment effect was likely to be used in determining prior authorizations and determining necessity.
PMID: 24856595 [PubMed - in process] (Source: Journal of Managed Care Pharmacy)
Source: Journal of Managed Care Pharmacy - November 14, 2014 Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Tags: J Manag Care Pharm Source Type: research
Quitting patterns and predictors of success among participants in a tobacco cessation program provided by pharmacists in New Mexico.
CONCLUSIONS: The study findings showed that having community pharmacists provide smoking cessation interventions resulted in quitting success rates similar to other health care professionals, which ranged from 9.9% to 26.0%. Since pharmacists are a widely available resource for their patients, managed care organizations may be able to improve the health, and avoid subsequent tobacco-related adverse health outcomes, of their members by implementing a program similar to the NMPCF Tobacco Cessation Program.
PMID: 24856596 [PubMed - in process] (Source: Journal of Managed Care Pharmacy)
Source: Journal of Managed Care Pharmacy - November 14, 2014 Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Tags: J Manag Care Pharm Source Type: research
Association of out-of-pocket pharmacy costs with adherence to varenicline.
CONCLUSIONS: Among Medicare beneficiaries newly initiated on varenicline, medication adherence was suboptimal, and greater OOP cost was associated with lower adherence and lower odds of refilling varenicline.
PMID: 24856597 [PubMed - in process] (Source: Journal of Managed Care Pharmacy)
Source: Journal of Managed Care Pharmacy - November 14, 2014 Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Tags: J Manag Care Pharm Source Type: research
Persistence and compliance with pazopanib in patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma within a U.S. administrative claims database.
CONCLUSIONS: In this observational study, greater than 50% of patients with advanced RCC were on pazopanib for almost 4 months, with the majority of both cohorts achieving high persistence and high compliance. Additionally, younger age and higher comorbidity index were the strongest predictors of both greater persistence and compliance. Further studies with larger cohorts and longer follow-up are needed to validate these findings.
PMID: 24856598 [PubMed - in process] (Source: Journal of Managed Care Pharmacy)
Source: Journal of Managed Care Pharmacy - November 14, 2014 Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Tags: J Manag Care Pharm Source Type: research
Impact of a prior authorization policy for montelukast on clinical outcomes for asthma and allergic rhinitis among children and adolescents in a state Medicaid program.
CONCLUSIONS: While there was a point increase at implementation for DRV and ABX, the overall trend remained negative, indicating that no unexpected adverse clinical outcomes occurred. Additionally, no signal was found in ER use after implementation to indicate that unintended consequences occurred, particularly for those patients with asthma.
PMID: 24856599 [PubMed - in process] (Source: Journal of Managed Care Pharmacy)
Source: Journal of Managed Care Pharmacy - November 14, 2014 Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Tags: J Manag Care Pharm Source Type: research
Current drug therapies for rosacea: a chronic vascular and inflammatory skin disease.
CONCLUSION: Rosacea is a chronic vascular and inflammatory skin disease. Understanding the role of factors that trigger the onset of rosacea symptoms and exacerbate the condition is crucial in treating this skin disease.
PMID: 24856600 [PubMed - in process] (Source: Journal of Managed Care Pharmacy)
Source: Journal of Managed Care Pharmacy - November 14, 2014 Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Tags: J Manag Care Pharm Source Type: research
Antidepressant treatment persistence in low-income, insured pregnant women.
CONCLUSIONS: Treatment persistence to antidepressant medications was poor during pregnancy in low-income, insured pregnant women. Individualized treatment might be considered to reduce the risks of untreated depression and antenatal antidepressant use in vulnerable women.
PMID: 24856601 [PubMed - in process] (Source: Journal of Managed Care Pharmacy)
Source: Journal of Managed Care Pharmacy - November 14, 2014 Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Tags: J Manag Care Pharm Source Type: research
Exploration of claims-based utilization measures for detecting potential nonmedical use of prescription drugs.
CONCLUSIONS: When comparing classes of drugs with a known abuse potential with classes of drugs not prone to such use, using an array of drug utilization measures, significantly different patterns emerge, although the ability of these measures to serve as reliable indicators of the extent of nonmedical prescribing may be limited. There is a need for valid and reliable algorithms to detect the extent of nonmedical use at a population level to help target public health interventions aimed at constraining illicit use. Further work is warranted on the development of novel measures that make use of individual patient-level use ...
Source: Journal of Managed Care Pharmacy - November 14, 2014 Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Tags: J Manag Care Pharm Source Type: research
What is the value of medication adherence?
Authors: Clifford S, Coyne KS
PMID: 24967518 [PubMed - in process] (Source: Journal of Managed Care Pharmacy)
Source: Journal of Managed Care Pharmacy - November 14, 2014 Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Tags: J Manag Care Pharm Source Type: research
Medication effectiveness with the use of tumor necrosis factor inhibitors among Texas medicaid patients diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis.
CONCLUSION: The study results suggest that when using a medication effectiveness algorithm, IFX, ETN, and ADA have comparable effectiveness in patients with RA. Patient adherence to therapy may be higher if given IFX, and patients who receive ETN are less likely to have a dose escalation.
PMID: 24967519 [PubMed - in process] (Source: Journal of Managed Care Pharmacy)
Source: Journal of Managed Care Pharmacy - November 14, 2014 Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Tags: J Manag Care Pharm Source Type: research
Out-of-pocket costs and oral cancer medication discontinuation in the elderly.
CONCLUSION: Beneficiaries with higher OOP costs for the more expensive oral cancer drugs were more likely to discontinue or delay drug therapy.
PMID: 24967520 [PubMed - in process] (Source: Journal of Managed Care Pharmacy)
Source: Journal of Managed Care Pharmacy - November 14, 2014 Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Tags: J Manag Care Pharm Source Type: research
A systematic literature review assessing the directional impact of managed care formulary restrictions on medication adherence, clinical outcomes, economic outcomes, and health care resource utilization.
CONCLUSIONS: There is a strong evidence base demonstrating a negative correlation between formulary restrictions on medication adherence outcomes. Additional research on commonly used formulary restrictions, specifically prior authorization and step therapy, as well as on the association between formulary restrictions and clinical outcomes, is warranted.
PMID: 24967521 [PubMed - in process] (Source: Journal of Managed Care Pharmacy)
Source: Journal of Managed Care Pharmacy - November 14, 2014 Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Tags: J Manag Care Pharm Source Type: research
Impact of adherence and weight loss on glycemic control in patients with type 2 diabetes: cohort analyses of integrated medical record, pharmacy claims, and patient-reported data.
CONCLUSIONS: This study has provided additional evidence in a managed, integrated setting that in patients treated for T2DM, weight loss is associated with good glycemic control. Adherence is associated with weight loss according to self-report, but not claims-based adherence measures. Adherence is also associated with glycemic control as measured by the 2 different methods. This study adds to the body of literature highlighting the importance of adherence as well as weight loss in achieving good glycemic control. The fact that the association of weight loss and adherence on glycemic control outcomes was significant regard...
Source: Journal of Managed Care Pharmacy - November 14, 2014 Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Tags: J Manag Care Pharm Source Type: research
