Pharmacovigilance 2.0 Results

To describe the prevalence of medications utilized by Medicare beneficiaries and identify Target Medications

The Aim 1 cohort comprised Medicare beneficiaries who were continuously enrolled in fee-for-service Part A, B and D during the index period (2017) and who were age ≥ 65 years as of January 1, 2018 (index date). Oral prescription medications were identified (e.g., by generic name) during the study period (2018-2019). The prevalence of oral prescription medication exposure was determined, and rank ordered by the total number of unique patients with ≥ 1 pharmacy dispensing claim for a given medication. The Top 50 oral prescription medications (Target Medications) were identified and categorized by indication (e.g., hyperlipidemia) and medication class (e.g., statin).

9,826,138 Medicare beneficiaries aged 65 and older were included in the study cohort
- Average age 76 years, predominantly female (60%), and largely White race (82%)
- Approximately 50% had Medicare for over ten years
- 80% were followed for the entire two-year follow-up period
  - ~5% death annually & ~5% Medicare Part A, B, or D fee-for-service disenrollment annually
Nearly 90% were treated with one of the Top 50 most commonly used oral prescription medications (Target Medications)
- Most commonly used Target Medications were:
  - ATORVASTATIN, AMLODIPINE, LEVOTHYROXINE, AZITHROMYCIN, PREDNISONE, LISINOPRIL, AMOXICILLIN, HYDROCODONE/ACETAMINOPHEN, CEPHALEXIN, FUROSEMIDE
- Average of 6.4 of Target Medications per patient (median = 6) were observed during the two year follow-up period
- Incident or new medication use was observed for 10-30% of patients treated with chronically used medications
The stability and comprehensive coverage of the study cohort underscore its suitability for pharmacovigilance and drug safety research.