Effect of a Proton Pump Inhibitor Deprescribing Guideline on Drug Usage and Costs in Long-Term Care.
To assess the effect of a proton pump inhibitor (PPI) deprescribing guideline on PPI usage and PPI drug costs in one long-term care home in Ontario, Canada.



Interrupted time-series analysis to compare monthly PPI usage and average monthly PPI cost per resident 9 months before guideline implementation to 12 months after.



One long-term care home in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.



Long-term care residents prescribed a PPI over a 21-month period (n = 335).



PPI deprescribing guideline and decision support tool used during quarterly medication reviews.



(1) Total number of PPI prescriptions (PPI usage) and (2) average PPI drug cost per resident. We also measured the proportion of residents whose PPI was deprescribed in the preguideline period and postguideline period.



The deprescribing guideline was associated with a decrease in PPI usage but the association was not statistically significant (-8.7 prescriptions, 95% confidence interval [CI] -22.0 to 4.6). The PPI guideline led to a significant decrease in average monthly PPI drug cost per resident over time (0.16 CAD reduction per month; 95% CI -0.29 to -0.03). In the 9 months before intervention, 57 (27.8%) of 205 eligible residents had their PPI deprescribed, and in the 12 months after intervention 134 (50.0%) of 268 eligible residents had their PPI deprescribed (difference in proportions of 22.2%; 95% CI 13.4-30.4).



The deprescribing guideline was associated with a decline PPI usage; however, this negative association was not statistically significant. PPI usage declined in the initial 6 months after guideline implementation but began to climb back to baseline after this, which may explain the lack of a significant reduction in PPI usage. This suggests that it was difficult to maintain PPI deprescribing efforts long-term. Although implementation of a PPI deprescribing guideline may lead to an initial reduction in PPI usage, and a significant reduction in the average cost of PPI prescriptions over time, it is imperative to explore ways to sustain deprescribing guideline use.
Bruyère Research Institute, Ottawa, Canada. Electronic address: wthomp01@gmail.com.
Wade
W
Thompson
Bruyère Research Institute, Ottawa, Canada.
Matthew
M
Hogel
Bruyère Research Institute, Ottawa, Canada.
Yan
Y
Li
Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, The Ottawa Hospital, Ottawa, Canada.
Kednapa
K
Thavorn
Medical Pharmacies Group Limited, Markham, Canada.
Denis
D
O'Donnell
Women's College Research Institute, Women's College Hospital, Toronto, Canada.
Lisa
L
McCarthy
Department of Family Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada.
Lisa
L
Dolovich
Bruyère Research Institute, Ottawa, Canada.
Cody
C
Black
Bruyère Research Institute, Ottawa, Canada.
Barbara
B
Farrell
D016527:Drug Costs; D005260:Female; D017408:Guidelines as Topic; D006707:Homes for the Aged; D006801:Humans; D057970:Inappropriate Prescribing / Q000517:prevention & control*; D008134:Long-Term Care; D008297:Male; D009864:Ontario; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians'; D054328:Proton Pump Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D012189:Retrospective Studies
D054328:Proton Pump Inhibitors
Deprescribing; homes for the aged; inappropriate prescribing; long-term care; proton pump inhibitors