Zsolt Hepp

Adherence to oral migraine-preventive medications among patients with chronic migraine

Background Chronic migraine (CM) is a disabling disorder characterized by ≥15 headache days per month that has been shown to significantly reduce quality of life. Migraine-prevention guidelines recommend preventive medications as the standard of care for patients with frequent migraine. The aim of this study was to assess adherence to 14 commonly prescribed oral migraine-preventive medications (OMPMs) among patients with CM. Methods Retrospective claims analysis of a US claim database (Truven MarketScan® Databases) was queried to identify patients who were at least 18 years old, diagnosed with CM, and initiated an OMPM (antidepressants, beta blockers, or anticonvulsants) between January 1, 2008 and September 30, 2012. Medication possession ratios (MPR) and proportion of days covered (PDC) were calculated for each patient. A cutoff of ≥80% was used to classify adherence. The odds of adherence between OMPMs were compared using logistic regression models. Results Of the 75,870 patients identified with CM, 8688 met the inclusion/exclusion criteria. Adherence ranged between 26% to 29% at six months and 17% to 20% at 12 months depending on the calculation used to classify adherence (PDC and MPR, respectively). Adherence among the 14 OMPMs was similar except for amitriptyline, nortriptyline, gabapentin, and divalproex, which had significantly lower odds of adherence when compared to topiramate. Conclusion Adherence to OMPMs is low among the US CM population at six months and worsens by 12 months.

Persistence and switching patterns of oral migraine prophylactic medications among patients with chronic migraine: A retrospective claims analysis

Background Migraine prevention guidelines recommend oral prophylactic medications for patients with frequent headache. This study examined oral migraine preventive medication (OMPM) treatment patterns by evaluating medication persistence, switching, and re-initiation in patients with chronic migraine (CM). Methods A retrospective US claims analysis (Truven Health MarketScan® Databases) evaluated patients ≥18 years old diagnosed with CM who had initiated an OMPM between 1 January, 2008 and 30 September, 2012. Treatment persistence was measured at six and 12 months’ follow-up. Time-to-discontinuation was assessed for each OMPM and compared using Cox regression models. Among those who discontinued, the proportion that switched OMPMs within 60 days or re-initiated treatment between 61 to 365 days, and their associated persistence rates, were also assessed. Results A total of 8707 patients met the inclusion/exclusion criteria. Persistence to the initial OMPM was 25% at six months and 14% at 12 months. Based on Kaplan-Meier curves, a sharp decline of patients discontinuing was observed by 30 days, and approximately half discontinued by 60 days. Similar trends in time-to-discontinuation were seen following the second or third OMPM. Amitriptyline, gabapentin, and nortriptyline had significantly higher likelihood of non-persistence compared with topiramate. Among patients who discontinued, 23% switched to another prophylactic and 41% re-initiated therapy within one year. Among patients who switched, persistence was between 10 to 13% and among re-initiated patients, persistence was between 4 to 8% at 12 months. Conclusions Persistence to OMPMs is poor at six months and declines further by 12 months. Switching between OMPMs is common, but results indicate that persistence worsens as patients cycle through various OMPMs.

Cost-Effectiveness of a Computerized Provider Order Entry System in Improving Medication Safety Ambulatory Care

BACKGROUND Computerized provider order entry (CPOE) is the process of entering physician orders directly into an electronic health record. Although CPOE has been shown to improve medication safety and reduce health care costs, these improvements have been demonstrated largely in the inpatient setting; the cost-effectiveness in the ambulatory setting remains uncertain. OBJECTIVE The objective was to estimate the cost-effectiveness of CPOE in reducing medication errors and adverse drug events (ADEs) in the ambulatory setting. METHODS We created a decision-analytic model to estimate the cost-effectiveness of CPOE in a midsized (400 providers) multidisciplinary medical group over a 5-year time horizon- 2010 to 2014-the time frame during which health systems are implementing CPOE to meet Meaningful Use criteria. We adopted the medical groups perspective and utilized their costs, changes in efficiency, and actual number of medication errors and ADEs. One-way and probabilistic sensitivity analyses were conducted. Scenario analyses were explored. RESULTS In the base case, CPOE dominated paper prescribing, that is, CPOE cost

Comparative effectiveness of onabotulinumtoxinA versus oral migraine prophylactic medications on headache-related resource utilization in the management of chronic migraine: Retrospective analysis of a US-based insurance claims database

18 million less than paper prescribing, and was associated with 1.5 million and 14,500 fewer medication errors and ADEs, respectively, over 5 years. In the scenario that reflected a practice group of five providers, CPOE cost

Characterizing Health Care Utilization, Direct Costs, and Comorbidities Associated with Interstitial Cystitis: A Retrospective Claims Analysis

265,000 less than paper prescribing, was associated with 3875 and 39 fewer medication errors and ADEs, respectively, over 5 years, and was dominant in 80% of the simulations. CONCLUSIONS Our model suggests that the adoption of CPOE in the ambulatory setting provides excellent value for the investment, and is a cost-effective strategy to improve medication safety over a wide range of practice sizes.

Erratum to: Adherence and Persistence Across Antidepressant Therapeutic Classes: A Retrospective Claims Analysis Among Insured US Patients with Major Depressive Disorder (MDD)

Background Migraine, especially chronic migraine (CM), causes substantial disability; however, health care utilization has not been well characterized among patients receiving different migraine prophylactic treatments. Methods Using a large, US-based, health care claims database, headache-related health care utilization was evaluated among adults with CM treated with onabotulinumtoxinA or oral migraine prophylactic medications (OMPMs). Headache-related health care utilization was assessed at six, nine, and 12 months pre- and post-treatment. The primary endpoint was the difference between pre- and post-index headache-related health care utilization. A logistic regression model was created to test the difference between onabotulinumtoxinA and OMPM-treated groups for headache-related emergency department (ED) visits and hospitalizations. Results Baseline characteristics were comparable between groups. The proportion of patients with ED visits or hospitalizations for a headache-related event decreased after starting onabotulinumtoxinA, but increased after starting an OMPM, for all three cohorts. Regression analyses showed that the odds of having a headache-related ED visit were 21%, 20%, and 19% lower and hospitalization were 47%, 48%, and 56% lower for the onabotulinumtoxinA group compared to the OMPM group for the six-month, nine-month, and 12-month post-index periods, respectively. Conclusions When compared with similar patients who initiated treatment with OMPM, onabotulinumtoxinA was associated with a significantly lower likelihood of headache-related ED visits and hospitalizations.

Systematic Review of Migraine Prophylaxis Adherence and Persistence

BACKGROUND Interstitial cystitis (IC) is a debilitating condition that affects up to 5% of the U.S. POPULATION This condition is characterized by bladder pain, urinary urgency and frequency, nocturia, and, in some patients, bladder lesions called Hunners lesions (HL). IC patients who have HL experience a clinical course that is distinct from those without HL and, as a result, respond differently to existing treatments. Without effective and lasting therapeutic options, IC patients are expected to experience a reduced quality of life and be a significant economic burden. Previous research describing the burden of IC is not only outdated but lacks stratification by HL. OBJECTIVES To (a) characterize health care utilization, direct costs, and comorbidities associated with IC and (b) elucidate differences between patients with and without HL. METHODS A retrospective analysis was conducted using health care claims from the Truven Health MarketScan Research Databases. Adults with an incident IC diagnosis between 2009 and 2014 were identified and matched 1:4 to non-IC patients on age, gender, and geographic region. Health care utilization, direct costs, and comorbidities during the first 12 months after diagnosis were compared between the 2 groups, as well as between IC subgroups with and without HL. Associations were evaluated after adjustment for potential confounders using regression models. RESULTS A total of 24,836 IC patients were identified and matched to 99,344 non-IC patients. Patients were predominantly female (92%), with a mean age of 49.0 (SD = 15.3) years. IC patients used significantly more health care resources across all categories compared with non-IC patients. On average, having IC was associated with

The Real-World Impact of OnabotulinumtoxinA on Headache-Related ER Visits and Hospitalizations in the Management of Chronic Migraine (S23.004)

7,223 higher total health care costs than not having IC (95% CI =

Adherence to Oral Migraine Preventive Medications Among Patients with Chronic Migraine: Analysis of a Large US Health Insurance Claims Database (I8-1.006)

6,650-

Cost-Effectiveness Of A Computerized Provider Order Entry System In Improving Medication Safety: A Case Study In Ambulatory Care

7,796), with outpatient costs contributing to 71% of the difference, after adjusting for baseline age, gender, region, insurance type, plan type, and Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI) score. The odds of developing select comorbidities were 2.61 times greater in IC patients compared with non-IC patients (95% CI = 2.52-2.70), adjusting for baseline age, sex, region, and CCI score. Among IC patients, the HL subgroup (n = 292) used more health care resources, and having HL was associated with