Literature Collection

BACKGROUND: Access to specialty medications prescribed for complex and debilitating conditions is often delayed or unsuccessful. Specialty pharmacies can streamline medication access and timely delivery. OBJECTIVE: To compare primary medication nonadherence (PMN), the rate at which a prescription is written but not obtained by the patient, and turnaround time (TAT) between patients filling specialty medication with an integrated health system specialty pharmacy (HSSP) and those using external specialty pharmacies (non-HSSP). METHODS: A retrospective single-center cohort study was performed between June 2021 and May 2022. Patients prescribed specialty medications from the Vanderbilt Health System Oncology, Inflammatory, or Multiple Sclerosis clinics were included if they had a new prescription within the study period and follow-up encounter after the prescription. The primary outcome was PMN, defined as the prescribed medication or therapeutic alternative confirmed to not be filled. TAT was defined as time from a specialty medication prescription to the first filled claim. A logistic regression model was used to test for associations with PMN and the pharmacy the medication was sent to (HSSP vs non-HSSP), controlling for age, sex, clinic, race, and insurance. An ordinal logistic regression model was used to test for associations with TAT and the filling pharmacy (HSSP vs non-HSSP), controlling for age, sex, clinic, race, and insurance. RESULTS: There were 1,466 patients with 1 eligible prescription (67% HSSP and 33% non-HSSP) evaluated for PMN. Of these patients, the median age was 56 (interquartile range [IQR] 41-68) years, 55% of patients were female, and 56% had commercial insurance. PMN was 6.5% for HSSP patients, and 9.9% for non-HSSP patients. Patients who had a prescription sent to non-HSSP pharmacies had 60% higher odds of having PMN (P = 0.027). For the TAT outcome, 1,188 eligible patients were included (66% HSSP and 34% non-HSSP). TAT for patients filling at an HSSP was a median 3 (1-6) days and a median 4 (1-10) days for patients filling at a non-HSSP. Patients who filled at non-HSSP pharmacies had 40% higher odds of having a longer TAT (OR = 1.4, 95% CI = 1.1-1.7, P = 0.004). Patients using commercial insurance (P = 0.018) and Black patients (P = 0.018) had higher odds of a longer TAT. CONCLUSIONS: Prescriptions sent to non-HSSP specialty pharmacies are more likely to not be filled or to take longer to fill than those sent to an HSSP.

BACKGROUND: Telemedicine-delivered buprenorphine (tele-buprenorphine) can potentially increase access to buprenorphine for patients with opioid use disorder (OUD), especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, but we know little about use in clinical care. METHODS: This study was a retrospective national cohort study of veterans diagnosed with opioid use disorder (OUD) receiving buprenorphine treatment from the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) in fiscal years 2012-2019. The study examined trends in use of tele-buprenorphine and compared demographic and clinical characteristics in patients who received tele-buprenorphine versus those who received in-person treatment only. RESULTS: Utilization of tele-buprenorphine increased from 2.29% of buprenorphine patients in FY2012 (n = 187) to 7.96% (n = 1352) in FY2019 in VHA veterans nationally. Compared to patients receiving only in-person care, tele-buprenorphine patients were less likely to be male (AOR = 0.85, 95% CI: 0.73-0.98) or Black (AOR = 0.54, 95% CI: 0.45-0.65). Tele-buprenorphine patients were more likely to be treated in community-based outpatient clinics rather than large medical centers (AOR = 2.91, 95% CI: 2.67-3.17) and to live in rural areas (AOR = 2.12, 95% CI:1.92-2.35). The median days supplied of buprenorphine treatment was 722 (interquartile range: 322-1459) among the tele-buprenorphine patients compared to 295 (interquartile range: 67-854) among patients who received treatment in-person. CONCLUSIONS: Use of telemedicine to deliver buprenorphine treatment in VHA increased 3.5-fold between 2012 and 2019, though overall use remained low prior to COVID-19. Tele-buprenorphine is a promising modality especially when treatment access is limited. However, we must continue to understand how practitioners and patient are using telemedicine and how these patients' outcomes compare to those using in-person care.