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Mail-order pharmacy use decreased ED visits
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Patients with diabetes receiving prescriptions from mail-order pharmacies were less likely to visit the ED than those receiving prescriptions from retail pharmacies, according to Kaiser Permanente researchers.
More than 17,000 patients were included in the cross-sectional, observational study. Among patients younger than 65 years, results demonstrated that mail-order pharmacy use was linked to fewer ED visits for any cause (33.8% vs. 40.2%; P<.001) and fewer preventable ED visits (7.7% vs. 9.6%; P<.01), Julie A. Schmittdiel, PhD, of Kaiser Permanente’s division of research, and colleagues wrote.
Serum creatinine laboratory monitoring tests after administration of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor/angiotensin receptor blocker or diuretic initiation (41.2% vs. 47.2%; P<.01) also were lower among patients younger than 65 years, according to data.
“Overall, we didn’t see any safety concerns,” Schmittdiel said in a press release. “For the vast majority of people, mail-order pharmacy works well.”
Among patients aged at least 65 years, those who used mail-order pharmacies appeared to have fewer preventable ED visits (13.4% vs. 16.3%; P<.01), but more instances of overlapping days of supply of contraindicated medications (1.1% vs. 0.7%; P<.01).
“Mail-order pharmacy services, which are provided at the health care delivery system level rather than the physician or practice level, can be considered a structural or system-level intervention for improving access to chronic illness medications,” researchers wrote.
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.
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