This study aims to analyze how warning letters sent to physicians prescribing high levels of the antipsychotic quetiapine affected the health and quality of life of their patients with dementia. Using a randomized controlled trial conducted by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) in 2015, this secondary study looks at the effects of potential de-prescribing of antipsychotics by study physicians induced by the letters. The central question is whether the intervention led to better health and quality of life outcomes by encouraging more guideline-concordant care and whether changes in physicians' prescription behavior caused unintended harms.
Study Type
OBSERVATIONAL
Enrollment
336,460
Letter telling patient's attributed physician they were under review for high prescribing
Letter to patient's attributed physician about unrelated Medicare regulation
Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
Boston, Massachusetts, United States
National Bureau of Economic Research
Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States
Columbia University
New York, New York, United States
Number of Days of Quetiapine Received
Days of quetiapine received during the outcome measurement period
Time frame: 90 days
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