New HCFO Grant Awarded

Title: Changes in Drug Utilization for Seniors without Prior Prescription Drug Insurance
Grantee Institution: Brigham & Women's Hospital, Inc.
Principal Investigator: Sebastian Schneeweiss, M.D., Sc.D.
Grant Period: November 01, 2006 – October 31, 2007
Grant Summary: The researchers will assess changes in prescription drug use among elderly patients who had no prescription drug coverage prior to Medicare Part D. In particular, they will examine the following research questions: 1) How fast is the uptake of Medicare Part D among seniors without prior insurance? Is there an increase in preventive drug use (more new users, better adherence)?; 2) Is there switching to more effective or more expensive drugs?; 3) Is there a reduction in discontinuation of drugs for chronic conditions?; 4) To what extent does total drug spending per patient change?; 5) What proportion of spending is shifted from patients to Medicare?; 6) Are prescribing changes clustered within physicians, pharmacies, or chains?; 7) How do prescribing patterns change when some patients exhaust their initial coverage but have not yet reached the catastrophic coverage (in the “doughnut hole”)? The objective of the study is to influence discussion of how to improve Medicare drug coverage after the first year of its existence by providing timely methodologically rigorous evidence.