title: Factors associated with ordering laboratory monitoring of high-risk medications.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Knowledge about factors associated with provider ordering of appropriate testing is limited.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To determine physician factors associated with ordering recommended laboratory monitoring tests for high-risk medications.
  
  
  METHODS
  Retrospective cohort study of patients prescribed a high-risk medication requiring laboratory monitoring in a large multispecialty group practice between 1 January 2008 and 31 December 2008. Analyses are based on administrative claims and electronic medical records. The outcome is a physician order for each recommended laboratory test for each prescribed medication. Key predictor variables are physician characteristics, including age, gender, specialty training, years since completing training, and prescribing volume. Additional variables are patient characteristics such as age, gender, comorbidity burden, whether the medication requiring monitoring is new or chronic, and drug-test characteristics such as inclusion in black box warnings. We used multivariable logistic regression, accounting for clustering of drugs within patients and patients within providers.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Physician orders for laboratory testing varied across drug-test pairs and ranged from 9% (Primidone-Phenobarbital level) to 97% (Azathioprine-CBC), with half of the drug-test pairs in the 85-91% ordered range. Test ordering was associated with higher provider prescribing volume for study drugs and specialist status (primary care providers were less likely to order tests than specialists). Patients with higher comorbidity burden and older patients were more likely to have appropriate tests ordered. Drug-test combinations with black box warnings were more likely to have tests ordered.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Interventions to improve laboratory monitoring should focus on areas with the greatest potential for improvement: providers with lower frequencies of prescribing medications with monitoring recommendations and those prescribing these medications for healthier and younger patients; patients with less interaction with the health care system are at particular risk of not having tests ordered. Black box warnings were associated with higher ordering rates and may be a tool to increase appropriate test ordering.
authors: Division of Clinical Informatics, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, 1330 Beacon St., Suite 400, Brookline, MA, 02446, USA, shira@post.harvard.edu.
authors: Shira H
authors: SH
authors: Fischer
authors: Jennifer
authors: J
authors: Tjia
authors: George
authors: G
authors: Reed
authors: Daniel
authors: D
authors: Peterson
authors: Jerry H
authors: JH
authors: Gurwitz
authors: Terry S
authors: TS
authors: Field
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D016903:Drug Monitoring / Q000379:methods / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D004363:Drug Utilization / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D006302:Health Services Research / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009511:New England; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians' / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D055553:Prescription Drugs / Q000009:adverse effects*; D012189:Retrospective Studies
chemical_list: D055553:Prescription Drugs