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Introduction: The British Columbia Ministry of Health launched a Smoking Cessation Program on September 30, 2011, providing financial coverage for smoking cessation pharmacotherapies. Although pharmacotherapies have been shown to have a moderate short-term benefit as a quitting aid, substantial cardiovascular and neuropsychiatric safety concerns have been identified in adverse-reporting databases, leading to prescription label warnings by Health Canada and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. However, recent studies indicate these warnings may be without merit. This study examined the comparative safety of medications commonly used to aid smoking cessation.Aims and Methods: Population-based retrospective cohort study using B.C. administrative data to assess the relative safety between varenicline, bupropion, and nicotine replacement therapies (NRTs). The primary outcome was a composite of cardiovascular hospitalizations. Secondary outcomes included mortality, a composite of neuropsychiatric hospitalizations, and individual components of the primary outcome. Statistical analysis used propensity score-adjusted log-binomial regression models. A sensitivity analysis excluded patients with a history of cardiovascular disease.Results: The study included 116 442 participants. Compared with NRT, varenicline was associated with a 10% 1-year relative risk decrease of cardiovascular hospitalization (adjusted risk ratio [RR] = 0.90, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.82 to 1.00), a 20% 1-year relative risk decrease of neuropsychiatric hospitalization (RR: 0.80, CI: 0.7 to 0.89), and a 19% 1-year relative risk decrease of mortality (RR: 0.81, CI: 0.71 to 0.93). We found no significant association between NRT and bupropion for cardiovascular hospitalizations, neuropsychiatric hospitalizations, or mortality.Conclusions: Compared with NRT, varenicline is associated with fewer serious adverse events and bupropion the same number of serious adverse events.Implications: This study addresses the need for comparative safety evidence in a real-world setting of varenicline and bupropion against an active comparator. Compared with NRT, varenicline was associated with a decreased risk of mortality, serious cardiovascular events, and neuropsychiatric events during the treatment, or shortly after the treatment, in the general population of adults seeking pharmacotherapy to aid smoking cessation. These results provide support for the removal of the varenicline boxed warning for neuropsychiatric events and add substantively to the cardiovascular safety findings of previous observational studies and randomized clinical trials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Cholinesterase inhibitors (ChEIs) are prescribed to dementia patients despite their poor tolerance. Low tolerability potentially reduces persistence and adherence, while inducing switching between medications. Comparisons of these utilization measures contribute to knowledge of the relative tolerability of these medications. Aim: The aim was to compare persistence, adherence, and switching between donepezil, galantamine, oral rivastigmine, and rivastigmine patch. Methods: A population-based cohort study, using British Columbia claims data (2009-2013), assessed ChEI new users aged 40 and older. We conducted survival analysis to compare persistence and Poisson regression to estimate switching rates. Good adherence, defined as a medication possession ratio of ≥80%, was modeled using log-binomial regression. Analyses were adjusted using propensity scores. Results: Patients on galantamine had longer mean persistence and better adherence compared with patients on donepezil, with a hazard ratio for discontinuation of 0.91 [95% confidence interval (CI) 0.87-0.96] and a relative risk for good adherence of 1.01 (95% CI 1.002-1.03). Rivastigmine was associated with the shortest mean persistence [3.6 months (95% CI 3.0-4.2) and 5.0 (95% CI 4.7-5.3) for oral and patch, respectively] and the highest mean switching rates. Comparing the two rivastigmine preparations, the patch was associated with decreased discontinuation compared with oral [hazard ratio 0.79 (95% CI 0.71-0.89)] and decreased switching [relative risk 0.63 (95% CI 0.46-0.87) during the first 6 months of treatment]. Paradoxically, the patch was also associated with poorer adherence [relative risk for good adherence 0.94 (95% CI 0.91-0.98)] than the oral formulation. Conclusions: Based on estimates of persistence, adherence, and switching, galantamine was the best tolerated ChEI and rivastigmine the least. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In October 2007, British Columbia started to cover the cost of cholinesterase inhibitors (ChEIs)-donepezil, galantamine, and rivastigmine-for patients with mild to moderate dementia and prominent Alzheimer's disease.Objectives: To examine the impact of this policy on persistence with ChEIs.Methods: A population-based cohort study was conducted using British Columbia administrative health data. We examined 45,537 new ChEI users aged 40 years and older between 2001 and 2012; 20,360 (45%) started the treatment after the coverage policy was launched. Patients were followed until treatment discontinuation, defined as a ChEI-free gap of 90 days, death, or December 2013. Persistence on ChEIs was estimated using survival analysis and competing risk approach. Hazards of discontinuation were compared using competing risk Cox regression with propensity adjustment.Results: Patients who started ChEI therapy after the introduction of the coverage policy had a significantly longer persistence. Median ChEI persistence until discontinuation or death was 9.37 months (95% confidence interval [CI] 9.0-39.7) and 17.6 months (95% CI 16.9-18.3) in patients who started therapy before and after the new policy, respectively. The propensity-adjusted hazard ratio for discontinuing therapy was 0.91 (95% CI 0.88-0.94). Similar patterns were observed for persistence with the first ChEI (propensity-adjusted hazard ratio of 0.94; 95% CI 0.91-0.98). In rivastigmine users, the hazard ratio was insignificant (0.98; 95% CI 0.92-1.02).Conclusions: The British Columbia ChEI coverage policy was associated with significantly prolonged persistence with donepezil and galantamine, but not rivastigmine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Knowledge translation (KT) initiatives have the potential to improve prescribing quality and produce savings that exceed the cost of the KT program itself, including the cost of evaluation using pragmatic study methods. Our objective was to measure the impact and estimated savings resulting from the distribution of individualized physician portraits of statin prescribing along with therapeutic recommendations in British Columbia, Canada. Methods: A paired community design was used to study 2 725 family physicians in British Columbia. Communities were paired according to number of physicians and geographic location, with one community of each pair randomly assigned to an early ( n = 1 349) or delayed ( n = 1 376) intervention group. The intervention was a personalized prescribing portrait on statins that included therapeutic recommendations. The primary outcome was the impact on new prescribing (defined as statin naive) for primary prevention (defined as no diagnosis of cardiovascular disease) as recorded in the administrative claims databases of the BC Ministry of Health. Results: Compared to the delayed control group, the relative probability of a new statin prescription for primary prevention decreased by 6% in the 12 months after the Education for Quality Improvement in Patient Care (EQIP) portrait compared to the preceding 12 months (relative risk [RR] 0.94; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.91-0.98). There was also a non-statistically significant decrease in new prescribing for secondary prevention in patients diagnosed with cardiovascular disease (RR 0.96; 95% CI 0.91-1.01). We estimated that 572 fewer patients started statins for primary prevention in the first year after the portrait was mailed compared to patients in the delayed practices. We estimated the statin cost for those patients as $465,000 in the first two years, while the KT program to provide statin portraits cost less than $100,000. Discussion: The individualized prescribing portrait had a significant beneficial effect on new statin prescribing for primary prevention but not secondary prevention. Provincial drug plan costs appear to have been reduced to a level that exceeded the cost of the program. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a prospective cohort study which examines the association of thiazolidinedione that is prescribed for type 2 diabetes mellitus with the increased risks of fractures in men and women. Using multivariate-adjusted Cox models, the study observed 84,339 patients from British Columbia undergoing treatment with a thiazolidinedione or a sulfonylurea. Results of the study indicate that the use of thiazolidinediones increased the risk of fractures in men and women.

Abstract: Objectives: To examine the use and cost of health-care services in British Columbia, Canada, before and after public drug coverage for tiotropium bromide. Methods: A time series analysis was performed using data from British Columbia''s centralized administrative health-care databases. Linear regression on data from a stable 3-year prepolicy period was used to predict future use of inhaled anticholinergic (IAC) medications, visits to physicians, emergency hospitalizations, and costs. For each use measure, we estimated the policy effect as the difference between observed use in the postpolicy period and predicted use obtained from the prepolicy period. Results: In total, over the 2.5-year period after public coverage, tiotropium use increased by 24.4% more than predicted (95% confidence interval [CI] 23.9%–24.8%). Visits to physicians were unchanged, but there were between 596 and 948 more emergency admissions for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and between 582 and 1940 more hospital admissions of any kind than were predicted from prepolicy data. Total cost of inhaled IAC medications increased slightly more than predicted, by between an additional CDN$1.30 million and CDN$1.71 million, but total out-of-pocket spending by patients on IAC medications was reduced by between CDN$2.83 million and CDN$3.11 million because of public coverage. Hospital costs were between CDN$3.88 million and CDN$12.93 million greater than anticipated based on prepolicy data. Conclusions: Public drug plan coverage for tiotropium in British Columbia reduced out-of-pocket costs for patients and their private insurers. Before versus after time series analysis did not show a reduction in hospitalizations or physician visits, or costs associated with those services. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Objective: To compare the total direct health-care costs of patients treated with tiotropium and ipratropium. Methods: We conducted a cohort study of health-care costs in British Columbia, Canada, by comparing new patients on tiotropium with new patients on ipratropium. Direct health-care costs for study patients were measured in the first 2 years after initiating inhaled anticholinergic treatment. Differences in direct health-care costs between tiotropium and ipratropium patients were estimated by using quantile regression. We analyzed cost differences in the 10th percentile, median, and 90th percentile of patients by cost. High-dimensional propensity score analysis was used as a method of adjustment for potential confounding factors. Results: The study population had 3,140 tiotropium patients and 26,182 ipratropium patients. Higher health system costs in patients who started on tiotropium instead of ipratropium were observed in patients in the median and 10th percentile. The magnitude of these increases was comparable to the price difference between the two drugs. Health system costs in the 90th percentile were not significantly different between tiotropium and ipratropium patients. Conclusions: The results of this study did not support the preferential use of tiotropium over ipratropium as a basis for savings in direct health-care costs. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Introduction: Several new oral drug classes for type 2 diabetes (T2DM) have been introduced in the last 20 years accompanied by developments in clinical evidence and guidelines. The uptake of new therapies and contemporary use of blood glucose-lowering drugs has not been closely examined in Canada. The objective of this project was to describe these treatment patterns and relate them to changes in provincial practice guidelines., Research Design and Methods: We conducted a longitudinal drug utilization study among persons with T2DM aged ≥18 years from 2001 to 2020 in British Columbia (BC), Canada. We used dispensing data from community pharmacies with linkable physician billing and hospital admission records. Laboratory results were available from 2011 onwards. We identified incident users of blood glucose-lowering drugs, then determined sequence patterns of medications dispensed, with stratification by age group, and subgroup analysis for patients with a history of cardiovascular disease., Results: Among a cohort of 362 391 patients (mean age 57.7 years old, 53.5% male) treated for non-insulin-dependent diabetes, the proportion who received metformin monotherapy as first-line treatment reached a maximum of 90% in 2009, decreasing to 73% in 2020. The proportion of patients starting two-drug combinations nearly doubled from 3.3% to 6.4%. Sulfonylureas were the preferred class of second-line agents over the course of the study period. In 2020, sodium-glucose cotransporter type 2 inhibitors and glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists accounted for 21% and 10% of second-line prescribing, respectively. For patients with baseline glycated hemoglobin (A1C) results prior to initiating diabetic treatment, 41% had a value ≤7.0% and 27% had a value over 8.5%., Conclusions: Oral diabetic medication patterns have changed significantly over the last 20 years in BC, primarily in terms of medications used as second-line therapy. Over 40% of patients with available laboratory results initiated T2DM treatment with an A1C value ≤7.0%, with the average A1C value trending lower over the last decade., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2022. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)

Purpose: To describe a rapid monitoring plan to assess the impacts of a shift in drug coverage for biosimilar drugs in British Columbia following the introduction of a new policy on 27 May 2019. The Biosimilars Initiative requires users of originator infliximab or etanercept to switch to biosimilar versions of those drugs to maintain coverage. We propose a signal-detection method to provide near-real-time information to policymakers on the impacts of the policy change., Methods: The exposure will be the Biosimilars Initiative, a policy affecting patients using originator infliximab (Remicade) and etanercept (Enbrel) for approved rheumatologic or dermatologic indications. Two policy cohorts and six historical control cohorts of patients using originator infliximab or etanercept will be assembled using linked and de-identified data from the British Columbia Ministry of Health. Patients will be identified during the 6-month period before the policy anniversary. Outcomes will include medication refills and switching, hospital admissions, emergency department visits, and physician visits. Summary outcome measures, such as cumulative incidence or average quantity as applicable, will be examined daily and reported monthly for 1 year. Outcomes in the policy cohorts will be compared with historical controls using likelihood ratios., Results: The results of this rapid monitoring plan will be based on analyses involving approximately 9000 patients: four infliximab cohorts of approximately 430 patients and four etanercept cohorts of approximately 1800 patients., Conclusions: Rapid monitoring results will inform ongoing policy decisions related to the Biosimilars Initiative, in terms of impacts on both patient health and health services utilization., (© 2020 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Purposes: To assess the impact of a government-sponsored reimbursement policy for cholinesterase inhibitors (ChEIs) on trends in physician visits with a diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease (AD)., Methods: Longitudinal population-based study using interrupted time series methods. British Columbia outpatient claims data for individuals aged 65 and older were used to compute monthly AD visit rates and examine the impact of the ChEI reimbursement policy on the coding of AD. We examined trends in the number of patients with AD visits, the number of AD visits per patient, and visits with "competing" diagnoses (mental, neurological, and cerebrovascular disorders and accidental falls). Finally, we described demographic and clinical features of diagnosed patients., Results: We analyzed 1.9 million AD visits. Faster growth in recorded AD visits was observed after the policy was implemented, from monthly growth of 7.5 visits per 100 000 person-months before the policy (95% confidence interval [CI], 6.1-8.9) to monthly growth of 16.5 per 100 000 person-months after the policy (95% CI, 14.8-18.3). After the implementation of the policy, we observed increased growth in the number of patients with recorded AD visits and the number of AD visits per patient, as well as a shift in diagnoses away from mental diseases and accidental falls to AD (diagnosis substitution)., Conclusions: British Columbia's reimbursement policy for ChEIs was associated with a significant acceleration in Alzheimer's visits. Evaluations of health services utilization and clinical outcomes following drug policy changes need to consider policy-induced influences on the reliability of the data used in the analysis., (© 2019 The Authors. Pharmacoepidemiology and Drug Safety Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Objectives: Though statins are fully reimbursed by the public drug programs for seniors in British Columbia (BC) and Ontario, Canada, population-based rates of statin prescription are markedly higher in Ontario. We aimed to assess whether new statin users in BC and Ontario differ in terms of their risk for future coronary heart disease (CHD) events., Study Design and Setting: We collected information for 1998-2001 on demographics, outpatient prescriptions, physician visits, hospital admissions, and vital status from administrative databases to compare the proportions of new statin users aged 66 years and older who had evidence of an acute coronary syndrome (ACS), chronic CHD, neither ACS nor CHD but diabetes, or none of the above., Results: Approximately 15% and 20% of BC and Ontario seniors, respectively, had filled a statin prescription by 2001. Among new statin users in the two provinces, virtually identical proportions had evidence of ACS (8%), chronic CHD (25%), and diabetes (14%), for an overall proportion of roughly 50% at high risk for CHD events., Conclusion: New statin users in BC and Ontario were at similar risk for future CHD events. Poorer case selection is unlikely to explain the relatively higher rates of statin prescription in Ontario.