Male providers more likely to prescribe biologic immune modifiers, oral small molecules
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Men, along with clinicians with more than 4 years’ experience, were more likely than women and less experienced providers to prescribe oral small molecule medications and biologic immune response modifiers, according to a study.
“Oral small molecules (OSM) and biologic immune response modifier drugs share some indications for use but have a different side effect profile,” Pushkar Aggarwal, MD, MBA, and Alan B. Fleischer Jr., MD, of the College of Medicine at the University of Cincinnati, wrote. “As such, certain providers may be more likely to prescribe one over the other.”
In the retrospective analysis, Aggarwal and Fleischer investigated the profile of providers who prescribe OSMs and biologics in high volumes.
Findings were culled from the Medicare Provider Utilization and Payment Data: Part D Prescriber database.
Overall, prescribing habits for 14,982 dermatology providers underwent analysis. Of this group, 424 prescribed both more than 1,000 patient-days’ worth of OSMs and more than 1,000 patient-days’ worth of biologic immune modifiers each year, according to the results.
Male vs. female providers were statistically significantly more likely to be high-volume prescribers of these medications (P < .01). Similarly, providers with more than 4 years of experience in clinical practice also were more likely to fall into the high-volume prescriber category (P < .01).
Solo or group practice providers were not found to be high-volume prescribers of OSMs or biologics, according to the findings. However, when the average provider prescribing OSMs was compared with the average provider prescribing biologic immune modifiers, those prescribing OSMs were more likely to be employed by a group.
The researchers suggested that the 4 years of clinical practice after residency may allow clinicians to grow comfortable in prescribing these medications. They added that men may be more “risk tolerant,” which could explain the higher volume prescriptions in this group.
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