Document Detail


The impact of atypical antipsychotic medications on the use of health care by patients with schizophrenia.
MedLine Citation:
PMID:  18237358     Owner:  NLM     Status:  MEDLINE    
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
OBJECTIVE: Using data in real-world clinical practice, this study aims to compare the health-care use patterns of patients with schizophrenia who use oral antipsychotics. METHODS: A total of 219,504 episodes of antipsychotic drug therapy initiated during the period from 2000 to 2002 were identified using data from the California Medicaid program. Four types of episodes were analyzed based on the patient's drug use history as far back as 1994: restarting therapy after a break in therapy using the same drug used in the preceding episode; switching therapy after a break in treatment using a different medication; switching therapy without a break in therapy; and augmentation. Health-care use patterns over a 1-year post-treatment period were analyzed using ordinary least squares (OLS) regressions, Cox proportional hazards models, and logistic regression. RESULTS: The impact of atypical antipsychotics on health-care use in the first post-treatment year varies by episode type. Patients switching to atypical medications generally cost significantly more than similar patients switching to a conventional antipsychotic. Olanzapine and risperidone, however, were associated with reductions in total costs relative to conventional antipsychotics when used in restart and augmentation episodes. Differences across all three second-generation antipsychotics were relatively small. CONCLUSIONS: Small differences across the atypical antipsychotics suggest that these drugs are interchangeable, raising the question of whether drug costs could be reduced through selectively contracting for a preferred drug. Potential savings may be limited by several factors. First, most episodes of treatment are restart episodes. Switching these patients to a preferred drug may have clinical risk. Second, patients with schizophrenia switch and augment therapies frequently, thus quickly reducing the population of patients who could be effectively treated with a single preferred drug.
Authors:
Lei Chen; Jeffrey S McCombs; Jinhee Park
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Publication Detail:
Type:  Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't    
Journal Detail:
Title:  Value in health : the journal of the International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research     Volume:  11     ISSN:  1524-4733     ISO Abbreviation:  Value Health     Publication Date:    2008 Jan-Feb
Date Detail:
Created Date:  2008-02-01     Completed Date:  2008-03-06     Revised Date:  2008-11-21    
Medline Journal Info:
Nlm Unique ID:  100883818     Medline TA:  Value Health     Country:  United States    
Other Details:
Languages:  eng     Pagination:  34-43     Citation Subset:  IM    
Affiliation:
Department of Pharmaceutical Economics and Policy, School of Pharmacy, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
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MeSH Terms
Descriptor/Qualifier:
Antipsychotic Agents / economics,  therapeutic use*
Benzodiazepines / economics,  therapeutic use*
Clozapine / economics,  therapeutic use
Dibenzothiazepines / economics,  therapeutic use
Drug Costs
Drug Utilization Review
Episode of Care
Health Care Costs
Health Resources / economics,  utilization*
Humans
Risperidone / economics,  therapeutic use
Schizophrenia / drug therapy*,  economics
Chemical
Reg. No./Substance:
0/Antipsychotic Agents; 0/Dibenzothiazepines; 0/quetiapine; 106266-06-2/Risperidone; 12794-10-4/Benzodiazepines; 132539-06-1/olanzapine; 5786-21-0/Clozapine

From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine


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