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

Pharmacy use by dual-eligible non-elderly veterans with private healthcare insurance.

Lund BC, Charlton ME, West AN. Pharmacy use by dual-eligible non-elderly veterans with private healthcare insurance. BMC health services research. 2016 Sep 23; 16(1):515.

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:

BACKGROUND: Utilization of private sector healthcare services among dual enrolled veterans with private healthcare insurance plans (PHIP) has not been well-characterized. Concurrent use of Veterans Health Administration (VHA) and non-VHA pharmacies may increase risk for adverse outcomes. Thus, the objectives of this study were to determine the extent to which dual VHA-PHIP enrollees obtain medications through VHA and non-VHA pharmacies and to characterize medications obtained through non-VHA pharmacies. METHODS: This observational study used merged administrative data from VHA and a predominant regional PHIP to select veterans < 65 years of age, residing in two Midwestern US states, and simultaneously enrolled in both VHA and the PHIP during fiscal years (FY) 2001-2010. Primary outcome measures included counts of prescriptions dispensed from VHA and non-VHA pharmacies, and frequencies of medications dispensed by non-VHA pharmacies based on PHIP claims. RESULTS: Of 5783 veterans who filled 1 prescription in FY10, 2935 (50.8 %) used non-VHA pharmacies exclusively, 1165 (20.2 %) used VHA pharmacies exclusively and 1683 (29.1 %) were dual users. Health services utilization was higher for dual users compared to exclusive users of either VHA or non-VHA pharmacies across multiple measures, including total prescriptions, outpatient encounters, and inpatient admissions. The most common medications dispensed by non-VHA pharmacies, by proportion of veterans treated, were hydrocodone (20.9 %), amoxicillin (18.5 %), simvastatin (17.5 %), azithromycin (17.4 %), and lisinopril (15.1 %). Antidepressants comprised 3 of 10 most common medications dispensed by VHA, but none of the most common medications dispensed to exclusive non-VHA pharmacy users. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings align with VHA-Medicare dual enrolled veterans where only a minority of veterans used VHA services exclusively. Younger veterans relied disproportionately on VHA for mental health medications.





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.