Talk to the Veterans Crisis Line now
U.S. flag
An official website of the United States government

VA Health Systems Research

Go to the VA ORD website
Go to the QUERI website

HSR Citation Abstract

Search | Search by Center | Search by Source | Keywords in Title

Exposure to potentially harmful drug-disease interactions in older community-dwelling veterans based on the Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set quality measure: who is at risk?

Pugh MJ, Starner CI, Amuan ME, Berlowitz DR, Horton M, Marcum ZA, Hanlon JT. Exposure to potentially harmful drug-disease interactions in older community-dwelling veterans based on the Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set quality measure: who is at risk? Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. 2011 Sep 1.

Dimensions for VA is a web-based tool available to VA staff that enables detailed searches of published research and research projects.

If you have VA-Intranet access, click here for more information vaww.hsrd.research.va.gov/dimensions/

VA staff not currently on the VA network can access Dimensions by registering for an account using their VA email address.
   Search Dimensions for VA for this citation
* Don't have VA-internal network access or a VA email address? Try searching the free-to-the-public version of Dimensions



Abstract:

OBJECTIVES: To identify prevalence and risk factors for exposure to drug-disease interactions included in the Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set (HEDIS) Drug-Disease Interaction (Rx-DIS) measure. DESIGN: Cross-sectional retrospective database analysis. SETTING: Outpatient clinics within the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). PARTICIPANTS: Individuals aged 65 and older who received VA outpatient care between October 1, 2003, and September 30, 2006. MEASUREMENTS: Rx-DIS exposure based on the HEDIS measure was identified in VA patients with dementia, falls, and chronic renal failure using VA pharmacy and administrative databases. Factors associated with Rx-DIS exposure were examined, including demographic, health status, and access-to-care factors, including VA outpatient health services use and copayment status. RESULTS: Of the 305,041 older veterans who met criteria for inclusion, the 1-year prevalence of Rx-DIS exposure was 15.2%; prevalence was 20.2% for dementia, 16.2% for falls, and 8.5% for chronic renal failure. Patients with high disease burden (physical, psychiatric, number of medications) were significantly more likely to have Rx-DIS exposure, regardless of condition. Hispanics and individuals with no copayments were more likely to have Rx-DIS exposure than whites or those with required copayments. There was variation in other predictors based on the type of Rx-DIS. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of Rx-DIS was common in older VA outpatients. Future studies should examine the risk of Rx-DIS exposure on health outcomes using separate analyses for each type of Rx-DIS separately before combining all Rx-DIS into a single measure of exposure. Studies that examine the effectiveness of interventions to reduce Rx-DIS exposure will also be helpful in improving the quality of care for older adults.





Questions about the HSR website? Email the Web Team

Any health information on this website is strictly for informational purposes and is not intended as medical advice. It should not be used to diagnose or treat any condition.