EQUiPPED is a multicomponent quality improvement initiative combining education, electronic clinical decision support, and individual provider feedback to influence prescribing and improve medication safety for older adults. The objective here was to evaluate the effectiveness and sustainability of EQUiPPED to reduce the use of potentially inappropriate medications (PIMs), as defined by the American Geriatrics Society 2012 Beers Criteria, prescribed to older Veterans at the time of emergency department (ED) discharge. This evaluation represents a pre- and post-intervention comparison of PIM prescriptions at 4 urban Veteran Affairs (VA) Medical Center EDs. Poisson regression was used to compare the number of PIMs prescribed to Veterans 65 years or older discharged from the ED for at least 6 months prior to the first EQUiPPED intervention at each site and for at least 12 months following the final EQUiPPED intervention. The implementation timeline varied by site depending on local resources. All 4 sites showed a significant and sustained reduction in use of PIMs. The proportion of PIMs at site one decreased from 11.9% (SD 1.8) pre-EQUiPPED to 5.1% (SD 1.4) post-EQUiPPED (P < .0001); site 2 from 8.2% (SD 0.8) pre to 4.5% (SD 1.0) post (P < .0001); site 3 from 8.9% (SD 1.9) pre to 6.1% (SD 1.7) post (P = .0007); and site 4 from 7.4% (SD 1.7) pre to 5.7% (SD 0.8) post (P = .04). These results suggest a multicomponent program to influence provider prescribing behavior leads to safer prescribing for older adults discharged from the ED and is sustainable across multiple VA ED sites.

Potentially inappropriate medications (PIMs) have been associated with poor outcomes in older adults. Electronic health record (EHR)-based interventions may be an effective way to reduce PIM prescribing. The main objective of this study was to evaluate changes in PIM prescribing to older adult veterans ≥65 years old in the ambulatory care setting preimplementation and postimplementation of medication alert messages at the point of computerized provider order entry (CPOE). Additional exploratory objectives included evaluating provider type and patient-provider relationship as a factor for change in PIM prescribing. A total of 1539 patients prealert and 1490 patients postalert were prescribed 1952 and 1897 PIMs, respectively. End points were reported as the proportion of new PIM orders of total new prescriptions. There was no significant difference in the rate of new PIMs prealert and postalert overall, 12.6% to 12.0% ( P = .13). However, there was a significant reduction in the rate of the top 10 most common newly prescribed PIMs, 9.0% to 8.3% ( P = .016), and resident providers prescribed fewer PIMs during both time periods. A simple, age-specific medication alert message during CPOE decreased the incidence of the most frequently prescribed PIMs in older adults receiving care in an ambulatory care setting.

Suboptimal medication prescribing for older adults has been described in a number of emergency department (ED) studies. Despite this, few studies have examined ED-targeted interventions aimed at reducing the use of potentially inappropriate medications (PIMs). Enhancing Quality of Prescribing Practices for Older Veterans Discharged from the ED (EQUiPPED) is an ongoing multicomponent, interdisciplinary quality improvement initiative in eight Department of Veterans Affairs EDs. The project aims to decrease the use of PIMs, as identified by the Beers criteria, prescribed to veterans aged 65 and older at the time of ED discharge. Interventions include provider education; informatics-based clinical decision support with electronic medical record-embedded geriatric pharmacy order sets and links to online geriatric content; and individual provider education including academic detailing, audit and feedback, and peer benchmarking. Poisson regression was used to compare the number of PIMs that staff providers prescribed to veterans aged 65 and older discharged from the ED before and after the initiation of the EQUiPPED intervention. Initial data from the first implementation site show that the average monthly proportion of PIMs that staff providers prescribed was 9.4±1.5% before the intervention and 4.6±1.0% after the initiation of EQUiPPED (relative risk=0.48, 95% confidence interval=0.40-0.59, P<.001). Preliminary evaluation demonstrated a significant and sustained reduction of ED-prescribed PIMs in older veterans after implementation of EQUiPPED. Longer follow-up and replication at collaborating sites would allow for an assessment of the effect on health outcomes and costs.

Background: Gabapentinoids are commonly prescribed in perioperative multimodal analgesia protocols. Despite widespread use, the optimal dose to reduce opioid consumption while minimizing risks is unknown. We assessed dose-dependent effects of gabapentinoids on opioid consumption and postoperative pulmonary complications following total hip or knee arthroplasty (THA or TKA). We hypothesized that use of a gabapentinoid on the day of THA or TKA is associated with an increased risk of postoperative pulmonary complications in a dose-response fashion compared with the risk for patients who did not receive the drug. Methods: Using the Premier Database, we identified adults who underwent elective primary THA or TKA from 2009 to 2014. The exposure was receipt of a gabapentinoid (gabapentin or pregabalin) on the day of surgery. Gabapentin dose was categorized into 5 groups: none, 1 to 350, 351 to 700, 701 to 1,050, and >1,050 mg per day. Pregabalin dose was categorized into 4 groups: none, 1 to 110, 111 to 250, and >250 mg per day. The primary outcome was a composite of postoperative pulmonary complications, defined as respiratory failure, pneumonia, reintubation, pulmonary edema, noninvasive ventilation, or invasive mechanical ventilation. Results: Of 858,306 patients who underwent THA or TKA, 11.0% received gabapentin and 10.2% received pregabalin. The mean age (and standard deviation) of the patients was 65.6 ± 10.7 years, 39.6% were male, 78.2% were Caucasian, and 55.2% were covered by Medicare. In multilevel regression analysis, receipt of gabapentinoid at any dose on the day of surgery was associated with increased odds of postoperative pulmonary complications. Compared with no exposure to the drug being used by the particular group, all dose ranges of gabapentin and pregabalin were associated with greater odds of postoperative pulmonary complications (odds ratio, 95% confidence interval = 1.51, 1.40 to 1.63, for >1,050 mg of gabapentin and 1.81, 1.57 to 2.09, for >250 mg of pregabalin). We found no clinically meaningful associations between exposure to either gabapentin or pregabalin and perioperative opioid consumption or the length of the hospital stay. Conclusions: Exposure to gabapentinoids at any dose on the day of THA or TKA was associated with increased odds of postoperative pulmonary complications in a dose-response fashion, with minimal effects on perioperative opioid consumption. Level of Evidence: Therapeutic Level III. See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.