Dataset Information

Long-acting opioid initiation in US nursing homes.

ABSTRACT: PURPOSE:To estimate the proportion of residents newly initiating long-acting opioids in comparison to residents initiating short-acting opioids and examine variation in long-acting opioid initiation by region and resident characteristics. METHODS:This cross-sectional study included 182 735 long-stay nursing home residents in 13 881 US nursing homes who were Medicare beneficiaries during 2011 to 2013 and initiated a short-acting or long-acting opioid (excluding residents <50 years old, those with cancer, or receiving hospice care). Medicare Part D prescription claims were used to identify residents as newly initiating short-acting or long-acting opioids, defined as having a prescription claim for an opioid with no prior opioid prescriptions in the preceding 60 days. We estimated the overall proportion of initiators prescribed long-acting opioids. Regional variation was examined by mapping results by state and hospital referral regions. Logistic models were used to estimate adjusted odds ratios (aORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). RESULTS:Two percent of opioid initiators were prescribed long-acting opioids. State variation in long-acting opioid initiation ranged from 0.6% to 7.5% (5th-95th percentiles: 0.6-6.4%). Resident characteristics associated with increased long-acting opioid initiation included severe physical limitations (vs none/mild limitations; aOR: 2.13, 95% CI: 1.92-2.37) and pain (staff-assessed vs no pain; aOR: 1.59 95% CI: 1.40-1.80), whereas being non-White was inversely associated (non-Hispanic black vs non-Hispanic white; aOR: 0.70, 95% CI: 0.62-0.79). CONCLUSION:United States nursing home residents predominantly initiate short-acting opioids in accordance with Center for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines. Documented variation by geographic and resident characteristics suggests that improvements are possible.

SUBMITTER: Hunnicutt JN

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6279625 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Long-acting opioid initiation in US nursing homes.

Hunnicutt Jacob N JN Hume Anne L AL Ulbricht Christine M CM Tjia Jennifer J Lapane Kate L KL

Pharmacoepidemiology and drug safety 20180604 1

<h4>Purpose</h4>To estimate the proportion of residents newly initiating long-acting opioids in comparison to residents initiating short-acting opioids and examine variation in long-acting opioid initiation by region and resident characteristics.<h4>Methods</h4>This cross-sectional study included 182 735 long-stay nursing home residents in 13 881 US nursing homes who were Medicare beneficiaries during 2011 to 2013 and initiated a short-acting or long-acting opioid (excluding residents <50 years ...[more]

PMID: 29869441

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Project description:Background/objectivesOverall and long-term opioid use among older adults have increased since 1999. Less is known about opioid use in older adults in nursing homes (NHs).DesignCross-sectional.SettingU.S. NHs (N = 13,522).ParticipantsLong-stay NH resident Medicare beneficiaries with a Minimum Data Set 3.0 (MDS) assessment between April 1, 2012, and June 30, 2012, and 120 days of follow-up (N = 315,949).MeasurementsWe used Medicare Part D claims to measure length of opioid use in the 120 days from the index assessment (short-term: ≤30 days, medium-term: >30-89 days, long-term: ≥90 days), adjuvants (e.g., anticonvulsants), and other pain medications (e.g., corticosteroids). MDS assessments in the follow-up period were used to measure nonpharmacological pain management use. Modified Poisson models were used to estimate adjusted prevalence ratios (aPR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for age, gender, race and ethnicity, cognitive and physical impairment, and long-term opioid use.ResultsOf all long-stay residents, 32.4% were prescribed any opioid, and 15.5% were prescribed opioids long-term. Opioid users (versus nonusers) were more commonly prescribed pain adjuvants (32.9% vs 14.9%), other pain medications (25.5% vs 11.0%), and nonpharmacological pain management (24.5% vs 9.3%). Long-term opioid use was higher in women (aPR = 1.21, 95% CI = 1.18-1.23) and lower in racial and ethnic minorities (non-Hispanic blacks vs whites: APR = 0.93, 95% CI = 0.90-0.94) and those with severe cognitive impairment (vs no or mild impairment, aPR = 0.82, 95% CI = 0.79-0.83).ConclusionOne in seven NH residents was prescribed opioids long-term. Recent guidelines on opioid prescribing for pain recommend reducing long-term opioid use, but this is challenging in NHs because residents may not benefit from nonpharmacological and nonopioid interventions. Studies to address concerns about opioid safety and effectiveness (e.g., on pain and functional status) in NHs are needed.

Project description:Objective: Determine the accuracy of nursing home self-reported antipsychotic prescribing before and after implementation of a Medicare campaign to reduce use.Methods: Quasi-experimental study comparing trends in self-reported antipsychotic prescribing relative to claims-based prescribing. Setting is a nationwide sample of 11,912 facilities, 2011-2013. Participants are long-stay nursing home residents (n = 586,281) with prescribing data in Medicare Minimum Data Set 3.0 and Medicare Part D claims database. Verified with a pharmacy dispensing database. Main outcomes are the discrepancies in quarterly prevalence of antipsychotic prescribing between nursing home self-reports and claims data and the characteristics of facilities and residents where discrepancies were identified.Results: Nursing homes underreport their antipsychotic prescribing levels, on average, by 1 percentage point per quarter relative to Medicare Part D claims (0.013, 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.012-0.015; p<.001). After the Medicare campaign, the underreporting gap increased by another half a percentage point (0.004, 95% CI .003-.005; p = .012). Nursing home residents with dementia, Alzheimer's disease or bipolar disorders were at the highest risk for underreported antipsychotic prescribing before the campaign (Adjusted Odds ratio (AOR) 1.385, 95% CI: 1.330-1.444; AOR 1.234, 95% CI: 1.172-1.300; AOR 1.574, 95% CI: 1.444-1.716, respectively) and afterwards. After the launch of the Medicare campaign, underreported antipsychotic prescribing occurred most in for-profit nursing homes (AOR 1.088, 95% CI: 1.005-1.178) and facilities in the US South (AOR 1.262, 95% CI: 1.145-1.391). Agreement was high between claims and dispensing data (99.7%).Conclusion: Nursing homes did not identify up to 6,000 residents per calendar quarter as having received antipsychotics despite these prescriptions being paid by Medicare and dispensed by a pharmacy. Nursing home rates of antipsychotic prescribing from self-reported data may be biased.

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Long-acting opioid initiation in US nursing homes.

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Long-acting opioid initiation in US nursing homes.

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