Retrospective drug utilization review and the behavior of medicaid prescribers: an empirical marginal analysis

• Published in: Clinical therapeutics 1995-11, Vol.17 (6), p.1174-1187
• Main Authors: Guo, Jeff Jianfei, Gibson, J.Tyrone, Hancock, Gregory R., Barker, Kenneth N.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Alabama; Anti-Ulcer Agents - economics; Biological and medical sciences; Digestive system; Drug Costs; Drug Utilization Review - economics; Drug Utilization Review - standards; Humans; Medicaid - economics; Medicaid - legislation & jurisprudence; Medical sciences; Pharmacology. Drug treatments; Retrospective Studies; United States
• ISSN: 0149-2918; 1879-114X
• DOI: 10.1016/0149-2918(95)80096-4

The objectives of this study were to evaluate the effectiveness of drug utilization review (DUR) letter intervention on reducing the cost of medications under Medicaid. The target drugs in this study were six antiulcer agents prescribed for Alabama Medicaid recipients. The study group consisted of 100 prescribes who received DUR intervention. A total of 3776 prescribers who did not receive DUR intervention served as the comparison group. Using an interrupted time series design, these 3876 prescribers were studied before and after the implementation of the DUR program. The study found that prescribers' behavior changed after the DUP letters were sent out, resulting in a reduction in the average marginal days of drug therapy and drug reimbursement per recipient. For the target drugs, there was an average savings of $112.73 per prescriber per month and a total of $136,370.82 savings per month for the Alabama Medicaid program.