Utilization outcomes of direct oral anticoagulants in Medicare patients

Arora, Prachi; Muehrcke, Maria; Russell, Molly J; Ghanekar, Saurabh

doi:10.1016/j.sapharm.2023.07.002

Cited by 1 publication

(1 citation statement)

References 57 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Through the increasing adoption of DOACs for AF management, it is important to research their real-world utilisation patterns. Medication utilisation outcomes such as adherence, persistence, discontinuation, and switching rates are crucial surrogate markers that reflect patient preferences, prescriber behaviour, and pharmacy practices [15][16][17][18][19]. These markers can be valuable not only for clinical practice but also for government decision making, as well as for developing new programmes or changes in regulation.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Role of a National Health Service Electronic Prescriptions Database in the Detection of Prescribing and Dispensing Issues and Adherence Evaluation of Direct Oral Anticoagulants

Gavrilova,

Zolovs,

Šmits

et al. 2024

Healthcare

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background: Anticoagulation therapy plays a crucial role in the management of atrial fibrillation (AF) by significantly reducing the risk of stroke. Direct oral anticoagulants (DOAC) became preferred over warfarin due to their superior safety and efficacy profile. Assessing adherence to anticoagulation therapy is necessary in clinical practice for optimising patient outcomes and treatment efficacy, thus emphasising its significance. Methods: A retrospective study utilised the Latvian National Health Service reimbursement prescriptions database, covering prescriptions for AF and flutter from January 2012 to December 2022. The proportion of days covered method was selected for adherence assessment, categorising it into three groups: (1) below 80%, (2) between 80% and 90%, and (3) above 90%. Results: A total of 1,646,648 prescriptions were analysed. Dabigatran prescriptions started declining after 2020, coinciding with a decrease in warfarin prescriptions since 2018. The total adherence levels to DOAC therapy were 69.4%. Only 44.2% of users achieved an adherence level exceeding 80%. The rate of paper prescriptions decreased from 98.5% in 2017 to 1.3% in 2022. Additionally, the utilisation of international non-proprietary names reached 79.7% in 2022. Specifically, 16.7% of patients selected a single pharmacy, whereas 27.7% visited one or two pharmacies. Meanwhile, other patients obtained medicines from multiple pharmacies. Conclusions: The total adherence level to DOAC therapy is evaluated as low and there was no significant difference in age, gender, or “switcher” status among adherence groups. Physicians’ prescribing habits have changed over a decade.

show abstract