Medicare Letters To Curb Overprescribing Of Controlled Substances Had No Detectable Effect On Providers
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Medicare Letters to Curb Overprescribing of Controlled Substances Had No Detectable Effect on Providers.pdf
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606.19 KB
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Author(s)
Sacarny, A.
Yokum, D.
Agrawal, S.
Finkelstein, Amy
Date Issued
March 2016
Journal
Health Affairs
Publisher
Project Hope
Citation
Sacarny, A. et al. “Medicare Letters To Curb Overprescribing Of Controlled Substances Had No Detectable Effect On Providers.” Health Affairs 35.3 (2016): 471–479.
Version
Author's final manuscript
Abstract
Inappropriate prescribing is a rising threat to the health of Medicare beneficiaries and a drain on Medicare’s finances. In this study we used a randomized controlled trial approach to evaluate a low-cost, light-touch intervention aimed at reducing the inappropriate provision of Schedule II controlled substances in the Medicare Part D program. Potential overprescribers were sent a letter explaining that their practice patterns were highly unlike those of their peers. Using rich administrative data, we were unable to detect an effect of these letters on prescribing. We describe ongoing efforts to build on this null result with alternative interventions. Learning about the potential of light-touch interventions, both effective and ineffective, will help produce a better toolkit for policy makers to improve the value and safety of health care.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Economics
Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)
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Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike
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DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.1377/hlthaff.2015.1025
