title: Dual Health Care System Use and High-Risk Prescribing in Patients With Dementia: A National Cohort Study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Recent federal policy changes attempt to expand veterans' access to providers outside the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Receipt of prescription medications across unconnected systems of care may increase the risk for unsafe prescribing, particularly in persons with dementia.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the association between dual health care system use and potentially unsafe medication (PUM) prescribing.
  
  
  METHODS
  Retrospective cohort study.
  
  
  METHODS
  National VA outpatient care facilities in 2010.
  
  
  METHODS
  75 829 veterans with dementia who were continuously enrolled in Medicare from 2007 to 2010; 80% were VA-only users, and 20% were VA-Medicare Part D (dual) users.
  
  
  METHODS
  Augmented inverse propensity weighting was used to estimate the effect of dual-system versus VA-only prescribing on 4 indicators of PUM prescribing in 2010: any exposure to Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set (HEDIS) high-risk medication in older adults (PUM-HEDIS), any daily exposure to prescriptions with a cumulative Anticholinergic Cognitive Burden (ACB) score of 3 or higher (PUM-ACB), any antipsychotic prescription (PUM-antipsychotic), and any PUM exposure (any-PUM). The annual number of days of each PUM exposure was also examined.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Compared with VA-only users, dual users had more than double the odds of exposure to any-PUM (odds ratio [OR], 2.2 [95% CI, 2.2 to 2.3]), PUM-HEDIS (OR, 2.4 [CI, 2.2 to 2.8]), and PUM-ACB (OR, 2.1 [CI, 2.0 to 2.2]). The odds of PUM-antipsychotic exposure were also greater in dual users (OR, 1.5 [CI, 1.4 to 1.6]). Dual users had an adjusted average of 44.1 additional days of any-PUM exposure (CI, 37.2 to 45.0 days).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Observational study design of veteran outpatients only.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Among veterans with dementia, rates of PUM prescribing are significantly higher among dual-system users than with VA-only users.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
authors.affiliation: From the Center for Health Equity Research and Promotion, Veterans Affairs Pittsburgh Healthcare System, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and Center for Health Services Research in Primary Care, Durham Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina.
authors.forename: Joshua M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Thorpe
authors.affiliation: From the Center for Health Equity Research and Promotion, Veterans Affairs Pittsburgh Healthcare System, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and Center for Health Services Research in Primary Care, Durham Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina.
authors.forename: Carolyn T
authors.initials: CT
authors.lastname: Thorpe
authors.affiliation: From the Center for Health Equity Research and Promotion, Veterans Affairs Pittsburgh Healthcare System, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and Center for Health Services Research in Primary Care, Durham Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina.
authors.forename: Walid F
authors.initials: WF
authors.lastname: Gellad
authors.affiliation: From the Center for Health Equity Research and Promotion, Veterans Affairs Pittsburgh Healthcare System, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and Center for Health Services Research in Primary Care, Durham Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina.
authors.forename: Chester B
authors.initials: CB
authors.lastname: Good
authors.affiliation: From the Center for Health Equity Research and Promotion, Veterans Affairs Pittsburgh Healthcare System, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and Center for Health Services Research in Primary Care, Durham Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina.
authors.forename: Joseph T
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Hanlon
authors.affiliation: From the Center for Health Equity Research and Promotion, Veterans Affairs Pittsburgh Healthcare System, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and Center for Health Services Research in Primary Care, Durham Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina.
authors.forename: Maria K
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Mor
authors.affiliation: From the Center for Health Equity Research and Promotion, Veterans Affairs Pittsburgh Healthcare System, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and Center for Health Services Research in Primary Care, Durham Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina.
authors.forename: John R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Pleis
authors.affiliation: From the Center for Health Equity Research and Promotion, Veterans Affairs Pittsburgh Healthcare System, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and Center for Health Services Research in Primary Care, Durham Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina.
authors.forename: Loren J
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Schleiden
authors.affiliation: From the Center for Health Equity Research and Promotion, Veterans Affairs Pittsburgh Healthcare System, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and Center for Health Services Research in Primary Care, Durham Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina.
authors.forename: Courtney Harold
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Van Houtven
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000553:Ambulatory Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014150:Antipsychotic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D003704:Dementia / Q000188:drug therapy*; D006801:Humans; D057970:Inappropriate Prescribing; D054524:Medicare Part D / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D014481:United States; D014493:United States Department of Veterans Affairs / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*
chemical_list: D014150:Antipsychotic Agents