Validity and Reliability of the Student Refractive Error and Eyeglasses Questionnaire-Revised Version in Myopic Children.

SIGNIFICANCE: Multiple vision-related quality of life (VRQol) instruments exist, but questionnaires designed specifically for myopic children that are appropriate for assessing the impact of refractive error are rare. PURPOSE: This study aimed to assess the validity and reliability of the Student Refractive Error and Eyeglasses Questionnaire - Revised (SREEQ-R) in school-aged children with myopia in the United Kingdom. METHODS: Community optometrists in the United Kingdom invited children up to the age of 18 years presenting for an eye examination with current or previous reported use of eyeglasses for myopia to complete the SREEQ-R, which consists of 20 specific items divided into two sections each with three response categories. The "without glasses" section relates to perceptions of uncorrected vision/not wearing glasses, and the "with glasses" relates to corrected vision/wearing glasses. Rasch analysis was used to explore the psychometric performance (content, construct validity, and reliability) of the questionnaire items and scale using Winsteps software (Winsteps.com. Portland, OR). RESULTS: A total of 125 eligible children with a mean ± standard deviation age of 12.7 ± 2.9 years completed the SREEQ-R. All items fit the Rasch model and were retained, and the scale was found to be unidimensional. All children and item infit and outfit mean square statistics fell within the recommended fit criteria. As per the Rasch analysis, the person reliability coefficients were 0.84 and 0.91, whereas item reliabilities were 0.99 and 0.80 for the without glasses and with glasses sections, respectively. The internal consistency for the SREEQ-R was good; Cronbach α values were 0.84 for without glasses and 0.91 for with glasses. CONCLUSIONS: The SREEQ-R had satisfactory validity and reliability evidence. Construct validity of the scale was supported to measure the impact of uncorrected and corrected refractive error on vision-related quality of life in myopic school-aged children in the United Kingdom. The SREEQ-R could be used in future studies to evaluate vision-related quality of life in children with myopia.

A motivational factors assessment instrument for medication management center employees providing medication therapy management services: A Rasch analysis.

BACKGROUND: Telephonic medication management centers (MMCs) provide medication therapy management services to help alleviate medication-related issues and improve health outcomes. Motivation factors driving the performance of MMC personnel are key components in achieving these goals. Yet, published literature is limited on how motivation affects MMC personnel performance. OBJECTIVE: To assess validity and reliability of the employee motivation questionnaire (EMQ), a 19-item measure of barriers and facilitators to motivation associated with MMC employees' work performance. METHODS: Pharmacist, nurse, pharmacy technician, and intern employees (N = 534) from 5 telephonic-based U.S. MMCs were invited to complete the electronic EMQ. Rasch analysis was conducted in Winsteps software using a rating scale model. Construct and content validity and reliability were analyzed with employee and item separation index (SI) and reliability coefficient (RC). Linear regression was conducted to test the association of employee characteristics with individual work performance motivation. RESULTS: A total of 319 employees completed the EMQ, 59.7% response rate. Principal components analysis suggested a unidimensional construct. Employee and item infit and outfit mean squared values met recommended fit criteria (0.5-1.5), suggesting that the data fit the model. An item-person map identified items that were easiest (joy of helping patients) and most difficult (motivated to work harder if incentives were tied to goal achievements) to agree with. Mismatch of employee motivation and item difficulty level on the measurement continuum (-1 to 0.92 logits) indicated a need for additional items that employees perceive as more difficult to agree with. The employee RC was 0.81 and the SI was 2.04; whereas, the item RC was 0.97 and the SI was 5.94. None of the variables tested illustrated statistically significant associations with the person motivation measure. CONCLUSIONS: The EMQ illustrated reasonable content validity, good construct validity, and reliability evidence when used to measure motivation factors among MMC employees. Consideration of employee motivation factors may help to better meet MMC program goals and improve patient outcomes.

Exploring performance predictors among employees in a pharmacist-led medication management center.

OBJECTIVE: Health care companies are increasingly interested in developing and maintaining employee motivation. However, this can be challenging with different professions working together in delivering telephonic medication therapy management services. The purpose of the study is to assess employees' perceptions of performance metrics, strategies to achieve those metrics, motivational work factors, and barriers to achievement at a medication management center (MMC). DESIGN: Focus group using purposive sampling. SETTING: Six in-person focus groups were conducted with the MMC employees. PARTICIPANTS: Separate focus groups were conducted for pharmacists, student pharmacist interns, and pharmacy technicians. Each group consisted of approximately 5 participants, lasted roughly 1 hour, and was facilitated by trained qualitative researchers. OUTCOME MEASURES: The semistructured sessions involved participants responding to open-ended, predetermined questions introduced by a facilitator. The sessions were audio-recorded and transcribed for analysis. Two independent reviewers analyzed the transcripts; a third independent reviewer facilitated a consensus to resolve discrepancies. RESULTS: Thirty MMC employees, with an average age of 32.1 ± 10.5 years, participated; most of them (73.3%) were women and had worked at the MMC for an average of 2.8 ± 2.2 years. Six themes were identified: (1) awareness and understanding of performance measures; (2) perceptions of performance measures; (3) suggested changes to make the performance measures more reflective of their roles; (4) motivating factors to improve performance; (5) performance barriers; and (6) strategies to achieve performance goals. The intrinsic motivational factors included providing patient care, helping change patients' lives, and meeting work goals. The extrinsic motivational factors included remuneration, management, teamwork, work environment, and feedback. The performance barriers were unrealistic goals, lack of feedback, ineffective communication, and inconsistent operational procedures. CONCLUSIONS: These study findings contribute to a growing body of research surrounding employee motivation within organizations with diverse workforces. Future work is warranted to investigate employee motivation in similar pharmacy-related settings.

Patient perceptions of a pharmacy star rating model.

OBJECTIVES: To identify patients' understanding of what constitutes a "quality pharmacy" and to obtain their feedback regarding the development and use of the pharmacy star rating model, a pharmacy-specific aggregate performance score based on the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services' Medicare Star Rating. DESIGN: Prospective cross-sectional study. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: Focus groups were conducted in Arizona, California, Mississippi, Maryland, and the District of Columbia, and one-on-one interviews were conducted in Indiana. Eligible patients were required to routinely use a community pharmacy. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Consumer insights on their experiences with their pharmacies and their input on the pharmacy star rating model were attained. Key themes from the focus groups and interviews were obtained through the use of qualitative data analyses. RESULTS: Forty-nine subjects from 5 states and DC participated in 6 focus groups and 4 one-on-one interviews. Eighty-eight percent of participants reported currently taking at least 1 medication, and 87% reported having at least 1 health condition. The 7 themes identified during qualitative analysis included patient care, relational factors for choosing a pharmacy, physical factors for choosing a pharmacy, factors related to use of the pharmacy star rating model, reliability of the pharmacy star rating model, trust in pharmacists, and measures of pharmacy quality. Most participants agreed that the ratings would be useful and could aid in selecting a pharmacy, especially if they were moving to a new place or if they were dissatisfied with their current pharmacy. CONCLUSION: Pharmacy quality measures are new to patients. Therefore, training and education will need to be provided to patients, as pharmacies begin to offer additional clinical services, such as medication therapy management and diabetes education. The use of the pharmacy star rating model was dependent on the participants' situation when choosing a pharmacy.

Interpretation of verbal descriptors for response options commonly used in verbal rating scales in patient-reported outcome instruments.

PURPOSE: To assess the variation in the interpretation of common verbal descriptors (VDs) used in response scales and examine factors associated with those interpretations. METHODS: Subjects were recruited through MediGuard and they assigned interpretation scores (11-point scale; 0 = lowest possible, 10 = highest possible) to five common sets of VDs: set one (none, mild, moderate, severe, very severe); set two (never, rarely, sometimes, often, always); set three (poor, fair, good, very good, excellent); set four (not at all, a little bit, moderately, quite a bit, extremely); and set five (not at all, a little bit, somewhat, quite a bit, very much). One-sample test for proportions and T-tests examined equality of proportions (anchors) and means scores (non-anchors) with the fixed intervals (0.0, 2.5, 5.0, 7.5, and 10.0). Ordinal regression examined adjusted associations between demographic/clinical factors and VD scores. RESULTS: Of the 350 subjects, 68 % were females and mean (SD) age was 56.9 (12.1). Two sets had two VDs with mean (95 % CI) scores not different than the fixed intervals. Set one had mild = 2.50 (2.33; 2.66) and moderate = 5.01 (4.89; 5.13) with 98.8 % (97.3 %; 100 %) assigning none = 0. Set five had a little bit = 2.35 (2.17; 2.53) and quite a bit = 7.65 (7.43; 7.87) with 95.0 % (95 % CI 91.7; 98.2) assigning not at all = 0. Significant associations (p ≤ 0.05) included age and education with somewhat and income and comorbidities with very severe. Age, sex, and education showed associations with other VDs albeit in nonsignificant models. CONCLUSIONS: Sets one and five yielded data closest to the fixed intervals. Demographic and clinical factors are associated with the interpretation of some VDs and should be adjusted for in analyses of non-randomized data.

Smoking quit rates among patients receiving pharmacist-provided pharmacotherapy and telephonic smoking cessation counseling.

OBJECTIVES: Tobacco use is the nation's leading cause of preventable illness and death, causing a significant burden on the health care system. Many cessation pharmacotherapy treatment options are available to help smokers quit, including nicotine replacement therapies (NRTs) and prescription medications. Research indicates that pharmacists are able to provide a positive benefit to smokers who want to quit through pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic interventions. The aim of the present work was to examine the quit rates among participants who received smoking cessation pharmacotherapy and pharmacist-provided telephone-based quit counseling services. DESIGN: Retrospective database review of enrolled participants. SETTING: Telephone-based pharmacotherapy and medication counseling services offered from a medication management center. PARTICIPANTS: State employees who voluntarily contacted a medication management center for smoking cessation services after receiving promotional flyers. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Long-term quit rates at 7 and 13 months were determined by means of patient self-report in response to questioning. Smoking cessation was considered to be a success if the patient reported not smoking for the past 30 days. RESULTS: A total of 238 participants were included in the review. Thirty-nine participants completed the program after the first treatment, 12 participants after the second treatment, and 4 participants after the third treatment. Two patients completed the program more than once. Eighty-five participants (36%) reported results at 7-month follow-up; of these, 43 (51%) were smoking free. A total of 44 participants (18%) reported results at 13-month follow-up; of these, 24 participants (55%) reported being smoking free. There were no significant differences in the percentages of smoking-free participants at 7 or 13 months, regardless of their first treatment (P = 0.06 and 0.345, respectively). CONCLUSION: Successful quit rates were higher than previously demonstrated with other telephone-based smoking cessation programs. Therefore, pharmacist-provided telephone-based counseling may be beneficial in helping patients to quit smoking. Future research is warranted to examine the benefits of these types of programs.

Check it out: A practical tool for improving medication safety.

OBJECTIVE: To recommend incorporation of a prospective drug utilization review (DUR) checklist into the routine processing of prescription orders in the community practice setting to improve the quality and safety of pharmaceutical care. PRACTICE INNOVATION: We proposed a checklist that was designed to include all the elements of a prospective DUR required by the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990 (OBRA '90) and most pharmacy practice acts. CONCLUSION: If properly incorporated into workflow and supported by company policies and procedures, a simple DUR checklist like that proposed in this study could significantly improve the quality of pharmacists' prospective DUR activities and the safety of medication therapy provided to patients. We also recommend that future quality metrics be created and implemented to ensure that pharmacists consistently perform this key professional responsibility.

Rasch analysis of the Student Refractive Error and Eyeglass Questionnaire.

PURPOSE: To evaluate and refine a newly developed instrument, the Student Refractive Error and Eyeglasses Questionnaire (SREEQ), designed to measure the impact of uncorrected and corrected refractive error on vision-related quality of life (VRQoL) in school-aged children. METHODS: A 38-statement instrument consisting of two parts was developed: part A relates to perceptions regarding uncorrected vision and part B relates to perceptions regarding corrected vision and includes other statements regarding VRQoL with spectacle correction. The SREEQ was administered to 200 Native American 6th- through 12th-grade students known to have previously worn and who currently require eyeglasses. Rasch analysis was conducted to evaluate the functioning of the SREEQ. Statements on parts A and B were analyzed to examine the dimensionality and constructs of the questionnaire, how well the items functioned, and the appropriateness of the response scale used. RESULTS: Rasch analysis suggested two items be eliminated and the measurement scale for matching items be reduced from a four-point response scale to a three-point response scale. With these modifications, categorical data were converted to interval-level data to conduct an item and person analysis. A shortened version of the SREEQ was constructed with these modifications, the SREEQ-R, which included the statements that were able to capture changes in VRQoL associated with spectacle wear for those with significant refractive error in our study population. CONCLUSIONS: Although part B of the SREEQ appears to have a less-than-optimal reliability to assess the impact of spectacle correction on VRQoL in our student population, it is able to detect statistically significant differences from pretest to posttest on both the group and individual levels to show that the instrument can assess the impact that glasses have on VRQoL. Further modifications to the questionnaire, such as those included in the SREEQ-R, could enhance its functionality.

Assessing patients' information needs regarding drug-drug interactions.

OBJECTIVE: To assess patients' information needs regarding drug-drug interactions (DDIs) to inform patient DDI education resources. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. SETTING: Online (United States in May 2011). PARTICIPANTS: Registered users of an online medication monitoring service (MediGuard). INTERVENTION: Online questionnaire. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Participants' information needs regarding DDIs and perceived importance of questions related to detecting and preventing harm from DDIs. RESULTS: Characteristics of the 100 surveyed participants were as follows: 57% women, 88% white, 96% non-Hispanic, 71% retired, mean (±SD) age 65.2 ± 9.7 years (range 35-86). The number of prescription medications ranged from 2 to 22 (median 7) and the number of over-the-counter (OTC) medications from 1 to 10 (4). The most common concerns cited by participants were identification of interacting medications, seriousness of DDIs, interactions with OTC medications, interactions with foods, exacerbating comorbidities, short- and long-term adverse effects, signs and frequency of DDIs, and how to minimize adverse effects. Statistically significant differences based on gender, number of prescriptions, and number of OTC medications were observed in rankings of the importance of some DDI questions ( P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Patient-centered DDI education programs should consider addressing the seriousness of DDIs, the effect of DDIs on comorbidities, and interactions with OTC medications and foods and determining methods for identifying, minimizing, and managing DDIs.

Identifying Student Research Project Impact Using the Buxton and Hanney Payback Framework.

Objectives. To determine whether evidence of the impact of student quality improvement projects and research projects on practice sites and the community can be identified using the Buxton and Hanney Payback Framework (BHPF).Methods. The BHPF was used to identify the broader impact of quality improvement projects and research projects conducted by the Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) class of 2020. The BHPF includes five domains of community impact: knowledge production, benefits to health or the health sector, benefits to future research, economic benefits, and policy and product development. Data were collected by having project preceptors complete a questionnaire and by reviewing student project posters. Data were analyzed by calculating frequencies and percentages for each domain.Results. Projects (N=73) were completed by 107 pharmacy students at health-system sites, community sites, academic sites, and other sites, and most often involved clinical care and pharmacy services (49%). Thirty-three preceptors (55%) responded to the questionnaire, and 73 project posters were reviewed. The most frequently identified impact types were knowledge production (n=43 for questionnaire, n=24 for posters) and health/health sector benefits (n=46 for questionnaire, n=8 for posters). Less frequently identified were economic benefits (total n=19), benefits to future research (total n=13), and policy and product development (total n=10).Conclusions. This study provides evidence that the impact of PharmD student quality improvement and research projects on practice sites and communities can be identified using the BHPF framework, and this impact extends beyond the usual academic outcomes of poster presentations and publications to include benefits related to improving quality of services, improving workflow, and providing opportunity for personal development.

Association of low-income subsidy, medicaid dual eligibility, and disability status with high-risk medication use among Medicare Part D beneficiaries.

BACKGROUND: Low-income subsidy/dual eligibility (LIS/DE) status and disability status may be associated with high-risk medication (HRM) use but are not usually accounted for in medication-use quality measures. OBJECTIVE: To examine the association of: 1) LIS/DE status and HRM use; and 2) disability status and HRM use, while controlling for both health plan level effects and patient characteristics for Medicare beneficiaries enrolled in Medicare Advantage Prescription Drug Plans (MA-PD) and stand-alone Prescription Drug Plans (PDP). METHODS: This retrospective cross-sectional study used 2013 Medicare data to determine if LIS/DE status and disability status were independently associated with HRM use (using the Pharmacy Quality Alliance HRM measure) in MA-PDs and PDPs. Multivariable generalized linear mixed models assessed the association of LIS/DE and HRM use, and disability and HRM use, after adjusting for health plan effect and patient-level confounders for MA-PD and PDP beneficiaries. RESULTS: Of 520,019 MA-PD beneficiaries, 88,693 (17.1%) were LIS/DE and 48,997 (9.4%) were disabled. Of 881,264 PDP beneficiaries, 213,096 (24.2%) were LIS/DE, and 83,593 (9.5%) were disabled. LIS/DE beneficiaries had a higher percent of HRM users compared to non-LIS/DE MA-PD (13.3% vs. 9.7%, p < 0.001) and PDP (17.1% vs. 13.2%, p < 0.001) beneficiaries. Disabled beneficiaries had a higher percent of HRM users compared to non-disabled MA-PD (17.0% vs. 9.6%, p < 0.001) and PDP (22.9% vs. 13.2%, p < 0.001) beneficiaries. Multivariable analyses showed LIS/DE (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 1.07; 95% CI = 1.04, 1.10) and disability (AOR = 1.38; 95% CI = 1.34, 1.42) were associated with HRM use among MA-PD and PDP beneficiaries (LIS/DE AOR = 1.14; 95% CI = 1.12, 1.16; disability AOR = 1.37; 95% CI = 1.34, 1.40). CONCLUSIONS: The association of LIS/DE and disability with higher HRM use in both MA-PD and PDP beneficiaries, when controlling for health plan effects and patient characteristics, suggests these factors should be considered when comparing health plan performance on HRM measures.

Assessment tool for pharmacy drug-drug interaction software.

OBJECTIVES: To assess the performance of pharmacy clinical decision support (CDS) systems for drug-drug interaction (DDI) detection and to identify approaches for improving the ability to recognize important DDIs. PRACTICE DESCRIPTION: Pharmacists rely on CDS systems to assist in the identification of DDIs, and research suggests that these systems perform suboptimally. The software evaluation tool described here may be used in all pharmacy settings that use electronic decision support to detect potential DDIs, including large and small community chain pharmacies, community independent pharmacies, hospital pharmacies, and governmental facility pharmacies. PRACTICE INNOVATION: A tool is provided to determine the ability of pharmacy CDS systems to identify established DDIs. It can be adapted to evaluate potential DDIs that reflect local practice patterns and patient safety priorities. Beyond assessing software performance, going through the evaluation processes creates the opportunity to evaluate inadequacies in policies, procedures, workflow, and training of all pharmacy staff relating to pharmacy information systems and DDIs. CONCLUSION: The DDI evaluation tool can be used to assess pharmacy information systems' ability to recognize relevant DDIs. Suggestions for improvement include determining whether the software allows for customization, creating standard policies for handling specific interactions, and ensuring that drug knowledge database updates occur frequently.

Indication or diagnosis should be required on prescriptions.

Although prospective drug utilization review and patient counseling have long been recognized as professional and ethical responsibilities of pharmacists, the implementation of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990 made them legal responsibilities. Ensuring the safety and effectiveness of prescription pharmaceutical care requires that all members of the prescriber-patient-pharmacist triad are equally informed about the therapeutic plan for which the pharmacist is professionally, ethically, and legally responsible for properly implementing. Providing pharmacists with the clinical indication or diagnosis is an important and long overdue first step. DISCLOSURES: No funding was received for the writing of this article. Warholak has received grant funding through the University of Arizona from Sinfonia Rx, Pharmacy Quality Alliance, and the Arizona Department of Health Services, unrelated to this work. The other authors have nothing to disclose.

A prospective observational study of medication errors in a tertiary care emergency department.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: We determine the rate and severity of medication errors, as well as factors associated with error occurrence in the emergency department (ED). METHODS: This was a prospective observational study conducted between May 1, 2008, and February 1, 2009. The pharmacist observer was present in the ED for 28 shifts (12 hours each). Information was collected on the medication use process by observing the activities of nurses caring for the patients. Errors were categorized by severity. Logistic regression was used to analyze factors associated with a risk of medication error. RESULTS: The observer identified 178 medication errors in 192 patients during the data collection period. At least 1 error occurred in 59.4% of patients, and 37% of patients overall had an error that reached them. No errors in the study resulted in permanent harm to the patient or contributed to initial or prolonged hospitalization; however, interventions were performed to prevent patient harm that likely influenced the severity of error. Errors categorized according to stage were prescribing (53.9%), transcribing (10.7%), dispensing (0.6%), and administering (34.8%). Variables predictive of medication errors were boarded patient status (odds ratio [OR] 2.15; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.03 to 4.5), number of medication orders (OR 1.25; 95% CI 1.12 to 1.39), number of medications administered (OR 1.22; 95% CI 1.07 to 1.38), and nursing employment status (less error if full time) (OR 0.37; 95% CI 0.16 to 0.86). CONCLUSION: Medication errors in the ED are common, and most errors occur in the prescribing and administering phases. Boarded patient status, increasing number of medications orders, increasing number of medications administered, and part-time nursing status are associated with an increased risk of medication error.

The Educating Pharmacy Students and Pharmacists to Improve Quality program: tool for pharmacy practice.

OBJECTIVE: To describe (1) the importance of understanding quality measurement and improvement and (2) the development and potential uses of the Educating Pharmacy Students and Pharmacists to Improve Quality (EPIQ) program. PRACTICE DESCRIPTION: The EPIQ program is applicable to all pharmacy practice settings. PRACTICE INNOVATION: EPIQ was developed as a quality improvement education resource, for use by pharmacy faculty and other professionals, to teach student pharmacists, pharmacists, and other stakeholders about measuring, reporting, and improving quality in pharmacy practice. RESULTS: The EPIQ program contains 17 sessions that have been packaged in five modules addressing (1) the status of quality improvement and reporting in the U.S. health care system, (2) quality improvement concepts, (3) quality measurement, (4) quality-based interventions and incentives, and (5) application of quality improvement to the pharmacy practice setting. Each standalone module can be used in a variety of orders and are not sequential in nature. Individual pharmacists may choose one or more modules to meet individual continuing education (CE) requirements, and employers (pharmacists) may mix and match modules to develop employee training programs. Pharmacy associations and other CE providers have also used the modules to develop live CE and certificate programs. A sample of the EPIQ program and how it can be used by pharmacists is provided in this article. CONCLUSION: Gauging the current state of pharmacy quality or the extent to which intended improvements have an impact is not possible unless quality is measured. Tools for quality measurement from the EPIQ program can be used to improve pharmacist understanding of quality measurement and reporting, to interpret quality reports, and ultimately to make changes that can improve quality in pharmacy practice. Pharmacists are encouraged to use the tool described in the current work to interpret quality reports.

Geographic Variation in the Prevalence of High-Risk Medication Use Among Medicare Part D Beneficiaries by Hospital Referral Region.

BACKGROUND: Understanding geographic patterns of high-risk medication (HRM) prescribed and dispensed among older adults may help the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and their partners develop and tailor prevention strategies. OBJECTIVE: To compare the geographic variation in the prevalence of HRM use among Medicare Part D beneficiaries from 2011 to 2013, for Medicare Advantage Prescription Drug (MA-PD) plans and stand-alone Prescription Drug Plans (PDPs). METHODS: This retrospective study used the data of a 5% national Medicare sample (2011-2013). Beneficiaries were included in the study if they were aged ≥ 65 years, continuously enrolled in MA-PDs or PDPs (~1.3 million each year), and had ≥ 2 prescriptions for the same HRM (e.g., amitriptyline) prescribed and dispensed during the year based on the Pharmacy Quality Alliance's (PQA) quality measures for HRM use. Multivariable logistic regression was used to estimate adjusted annual HRM use rates (i.e., adjusted predictions, average marginal predictions, or model-adjusted risk) across 306 Dartmouth Atlas of Health Care hospital referral regions (HRRs), controlling for sociodemographic, health-status, and access-to-care factors. RESULTS: Among eligible beneficiaries each year (1,161,076 in 2011, 1,237,653 in 2012, and 1,402,861 in 2013), nearly 40% were enrolled in MA-PD plans, whereas the remaining 60% were in PDP plans. The adjusted prevalence of HRM use significantly decreased among Medicare beneficiaries enrolled in MA-PD (13.1%-8.4%, P < 0.001) and PDP (16.2%-12.2%, P < 0.001) plans from 2011 to 2013. For MA-PD and PDP beneficiaries, HRM users were more likely to be (all P < 0.001) the following: female (MA-PD: 70.4% vs. 59.9%; PDP: 72.8% vs. 62.5%); White (MA-PD: 84.6% vs. 81.4%; PDP: 86.6% vs. 85.3%); with low-income subsidy or dual eligibility for Medicaid (MA-PD: 22.3% vs. 16.6%; PDP: 29.2% vs. 23.3%); and disabled (MA-PD: 15.6% vs. 8.7%; PDP: 15.4% vs. 8.5%) compared with non-HRM users in 2013. In 2013, significant geographic variation existed, with the ratios of 75th-25th percentiles of HRM use rates across HRRs as 1.42 for MA-PDs and 1.31 for PDPs. For MA-PDs, the top 5 HRRs with the highest HRM use rates in 2013 were Casper, WY (20.4%), Waco, TX (16.7%), Lubbock, TX (15.7%), Santa Barbara, CA (15.2%), and Temple, TX (15.1%); for PDPs, they were Lawton, OK (18.8%), Alexandria, LA (18.8%), Lake Charles, LA (18.6%), Oklahoma City, OK (18.0%), and Slidell, LA (18.0%). CONCLUSIONS: Substantial geographic variation exists in the prevalence of HRM use among older adults in Medicare, regardless of prescription drug plan. Areas with high prevalence of HRM use may benefit from targeted interventions (e.g., medication therapy management monitoring or alternative medication substitutions) to prevent potential adverse consequences. DISCLOSURES: No outside funding supported this study. The authors have nothing to disclose. This study was presented as a poster at the International Society of Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR) Asia Pacific Meeting; September 8-11, 2018; Tokyo, Japan.

A Systematic Literature Review of the Prognostic and Predictive Value of PIK3CA Mutations in HR+/HER2- Metastatic Breast Cancer.

PIK3CA mutations may have prognostic value for patients with hormone receptor-positive/human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-negative metastatic breast cancer, representing an important potential target for systemic therapy. Prognostic and predictive values associated with PIK3CA mutations are not well understood. A comprehensive search of PubMed/MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane Central, and conference abstracts was performed for English-language articles published January 1993 through April 2019. Articles were categorized by treatment arms based on experimental and treatment drug classes. Information on progression-free survival (PFS), hazard ratios, overall survival, response rate, and clinical benefit rate was obtained. A total of 17 studies were included. Among those evaluating non-PI3Ki based therapies, 91% showed numerically shorter median PFS, ranging from 1.5 to 19.2 months and 1.8 to 29.6 months for the mutant versus non-mutant subgroups, respectively. Where reported (n = 13 studies), PFS was shorter between those arms offering endocrine monotherapy (range, 1.6-14.7 months) compared with a corresponding targeted therapy + endocrine monotherapy (range, 3.9-29.6 months). Of 5 PI3Ki-based arms comparing PFS, higher median PFS in PIK3CA mutant versus non-mutant cases was demonstrated. PFS was shorter for patients with PIK3CA mutant (range, 1.6-19.2 months) compared with PIK3CA wild-type (range, 1.8-29.6 months) in 10 (71%) of 14 treatment arms reporting PFS. Studies (n = 4) not reporting PFS reported response rate, but there were no clear directional trends. The presence of PIK3CA mutations may be associated with worse clinical outcomes in patients with hormone receptor-positive/human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-negative metastatic breast cancer. Clinical outcomes such as PFS may be improved using a combination of PI3Ki-based therapies and endocrine therapies among this population. However, more research is warranted to fully elucidate this association.

A Systematic Review of the Prevalence and Diagnostic Workup of PIK3CA Mutations in HR+/HER2- Metastatic Breast Cancer.

PIK3CA mutation frequency varies among breast cancer (BC) subtypes. Recent evidence suggests combination therapy with the PI3K inhibitor (PI3Ki) alpelisib and endocrine therapy (ET) improves response rates and progression-free survival (PFS) in PIK3CA-mutant, hormone receptor positive (HR+) BC versus ET alone; thus, better understanding the clinical and epidemiologic elements of these mutations is warranted. This systematic review characterizes the PIK3CA mutation epidemiology, type of testing approaches (e.g., liquid or tissue tumor biopsy), and stability/concordance (e.g., consistency in results by liquid versus solid tumor sample, by the same method over time) in patients with HR+/HER2- advanced (locally unresectable) or metastatic disease (HR+/HER2- mBC) and explores performance (e.g., pairwise concordance, sensitivity, specificity, or predictive value) of respective mutation findings. A comprehensive search of PubMed/MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane Central, and select conference abstracts (i.e., AACR, ASCO, SABCS, ECCO, and ESMO conferences between 2014 and 2017) identified 39 studies of patients with HR+, HER2- mBC. The median prevalence of PIK3CA mutation was 36% (range: 13.3% to 61.5%); identified testing approaches more commonly used tissue over liquid biopsies and primarily utilized next-generation sequencing (NGS), polymerase chain reaction (PCR), or Sanger sequencing. There was concordance and stability between tissues (range: 70.4% to 94%) based on limited data. Given the clinical benefit of the PI3Ki alpelisib in patients with PIK3CA mutant HR+/HER2- mBC, determination of tumor PIK3CA mutation status is of importance in managing patients with HR+/HER2- mBC. Prevalence of this mutation and utility of test methodologies likely warrants PIK3CA mutation testing in all patients with this breast cancer subtype via definitive assessment of PIK3CA mutational status.

An exploratory comparison of medication lists at hospital admission with administrative database records.

BACKGROUND: Medication reconciliation is recognized as important, but no one method has been recommended. Research has shown that the most common medication reconciliation errors are attributable to omitted medications and doses. The pharmacy claims aggregator used in this evaluation is a private company that gathers pharmacy claims data from disparate pharmacy benefit managers into a secure repository (hereafter referred to as the claims database) under contracts with public and private health plans. A web interface for the repository can be used by subscribing health systems and health care providers to view patient-level pharmacy claims data to support patient care. At the time of this study, the claims database contained information from 5 public and private health insurance programs covering approximately 500,000 enrollees in Arizona. OBJECTIVE: To compare current medication lists (medication name and strength) collected by patient interview upon admission at a medical center with those collected by a company that aggregates pharmacy claims data. METHODS: This study was a retrospective chart review. A list of 300 patients was produced by a medical center using random number generation for patients who were (a) admitted to the medical center from January 1, 2007, through June 30, 2007; (b) aged 18 years or older; and (c) enrollees of health plans that send pharmacy claims data to the claims database. The first 100 patients on this list who were found in the claims database were included in the study sample. Patient-reported current medication information recorded on the medical center's admission medication reconciliation form was compared with the current medication information in the claims database at the time of admission. Medications, including prescription drugs, over-the-counter (OTC) products, supplements, and herbals, were considered current in the medication reconciliation form based on patient reports of medications still being taken upon admission to the medical center. Medications were considered current in the claims database if the most recent fill date plus days supply was equal to or greater than the hospital admission date. Data were collected by an investigator on a standardized data collection form designed for this evaluation. The investigator gathered information from the medical center for each study patient and then queried each patient in the claims database to record data. These 2 medication lists were matched, and discrepancies were noted both at the patient-drug level and at the patient level. Rates of omissions and discrepancies were calculated for each information source, and the McNemar chi-square test for binomial proportions in matched-pair data was used to assess the statistical significance of differences between information sources. RESULTS: Of the 100 patients, a total of 78 patients had medication reconciliation records in their medical center charts that could be compared with claims data. A total of 280 medications were listed for these 78 patients, with 196 medications recorded in the claims database and 131 recorded on the medication reconciliation form. At the patient-drug level, significantly more medications and strengths were listed in the claims database than in the medication reconciliation form (medications: 70.0% of 280 vs. 46.8% of 280, respectively; strengths: 100.0% of 196 vs. 71.8% of 131, respectively; both comparisons P < 0.001). One-half of the medications omitted in the claims database (42 of 84) were OTC medications. On a patient level, there was no significant between-source difference in the proportion of patients who had at least 1 missing medication (44.9% claims vs. 52.6% medication reconciliation form, P = 0.337), but there was a significant difference in the proportion of patients for whom at least 1 strength was missing (0.0% claims vs. 23.1% medication reconciliation form, P < 0.001). All medications and strengths matched in 24 of 78 (30.8%) patients. CONCLUSION: Information collected using a claims database produced a more complete list of medication names and strengths than that compiled upon admission interviews at the medical center. However, the claims database did not contain information about medications that were not reimbursed by insurance. The most accurate method of obtaining the complete medication list may be to combine these 2 techniques.

Analysis of community chain pharmacists' interventions on electronic prescriptions.

OBJECTIVE: To measure the incidence and nature of prescribing errors on electronic prescriptions (e-prescriptions) that required active intervention by dispensing pharmacists to correct. DESIGN: Descriptive, nonexperimental, cross-sectional study. SETTING: 122 chain community pharmacies that met a prior minimum dispensing volume of five e-prescriptions per day in five states during July through September 2006. PARTICIPANTS: Pharmacists in participating pharmacies. INTERVENTION: A panel of participating pharmacists reported their medication therapy interventions using a standardized documentation protocol. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Number, type, and reason for pharmacist interventions on e-prescriptions. RESULTS: Data were reported from 68 participating chain pharmacies in five states during 312 work shifts. During the study pharmacists reviewed 2,690 e-prescription orders (new, 83.0%; refill, 17.0%) and took action 102 times for an intervention rate of 3.8%. The rate at which pharmacists identified problems on new e-prescriptions was found to be nearly twice that of refills (4.1% and 2.2%, respectively). The most common reason for pharmacists' interventions on e-prescriptions was to supplement omitted information (31.9%), especially missing directions. Dosing errors were also quite common (17.7%). The most common response by pharmacists to e-prescription problems was to contact the prescriber (64.1%), consult the patient's profile or medication history (12.8%), or interview the patient or the patient's representative (9.4%). In most cases (56%), the e-prescription order was changed and the prescription was ultimately dispensed. In 15% of cases the e-prescription was dispensed as written following clarification by the prescriber. In 10% of cases the prescription was not dispensed. An additional 12% of prescription issues remained unresolved. Pharmacists required an average of 6.07 minutes to conduct their interventions on problematic e-prescription orders, representing an incremental dispensing cost of $4.74. CONCLUSION: Electronic prescribing can improve the safety and effectiveness of patient care. As currently implemented in the community practice setting, this still-emerging technology maintains selected threats to both medication safety and effectiveness, although probably less than handwritten prescriptions. The adoption of selected best practice recommendations by prescribers could improve the safety, effectiveness, and efficiency of e-prescribing.