New Findings from Johns Hopkins University in the Area of Electronic Medical Records Described (Assessing the Population-level Correlation of Medication Regimen Complexity and Adherence Indices Using Electronic Health Records and Insurance …)

Insurance Daily News

2020 JUL 29 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Daily News -- Researchers detail new data in Information Technology - Electronic Medical Records. According to news originating from Baltimore, Maryland, by NewsRx correspondents, research stated, “Nonadherence to medication regimens can lead to adverse health care outcomes and increasing costs. To (a) assess the level of medication complexity at an outpatient setting using population-level electronic health record (EHR) data and (b) evaluate its association with medication adherence measures derived from medication-dispensing claims.”

Our news journalists obtained a quote from the research from Johns Hopkins University, “We linked EHR data with insurance claims of 70,054 patients who had an encounter with a U.S. midwestern health system between 2012 and 2013. We constructed 3 medication-derived indices: medication regimen complexity index (MRCI) using EHR data; medication possession ratio (MPR) using insurance pharmacy claims; and prescription fill rates (PFR; 7 and 30 days) using both data sources. We estimated the partial correlation between indices using Spearman’s coefficient (SC) after adjusting for age and sex. The mean age (SD) of 70,054 patients was 37.9 (18.0) years, with an average Charlson Comorbidity Index of 0.308 (0.778). The 2012 data showed mean (SD) MRCI, MPR, and 30-day PFR of 14.6 (17.8), 0.624 (0.310), and 81.0 (27.0), respectively. Patients with previous inpatient stays were likely to have high MRCI scores (36.3 [37.9], P<0.001) and were less adherent to outpatient prescriptions (MPR = 50.3 [27.6%], P< 0.001; 30-day PFR =75.7 [23.6%], P<0.001). However, MRCI did not show a negative correlation with MPR (SC=-0.31, P<0.001) or with 30-day PFR (SC=-0.17, P<0.001) at significant levels. Medication complexity and adherence indices can be calculated on a population level using linked EHR and claims data. Regimen complexity affects patient adherence to outpatient medication, and strength of correlations vary modestly across populations.”

According to the news editors, the research concluded: “Future studies should assess the added values of MRCI, MPR, and PFR to population health management efforts.”

For more information on this research see: Assessing the Population-level Correlation of Medication Regimen Complexity and Adherence Indices Using Electronic Health Records and Insurance Claims. Journal of Managed Care & Specialty Pharmacy, 2020;26(7):860-871. Journal of Managed Care & Specialty Pharmacy can be contacted at: Acad Managed Care Pharmacy, 100 N Pitt St, 400, Alexandria, VA 22314-3134, USA.

The news correspondents report that additional information may be obtained from Hadi Kharrazi, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg Sch Publ Hlth, Dept. of Health Policy and Management, Ctr Populat Hlth It, Baltimore, MD, United States. Additional authors for this research include Xiaomeng Ma, Hsien-Yen Chang, Thomas M. Richards and Changmi Jung.

The direct object identifier (DOI) for that additional information is: https://doi.org/10.18553/jmcp.2020.26.7.860. This DOI is a link to an online electronic document that is either free or for purchase, and can be your direct source for a journal article and its citation.