The purpose of this study was to determine whether race is a predictor
of a patient's likelihood of being prescribed selective cyclooxygenase-2
inhibitors (COX-2s) versus other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory agents
(NSAIDs) in Medicaid managed care plans. All medical and prescription
claims for enrollees receiving at least one prescription for a COX-2
or NSAID between January 2000 and June 2002 were retrieved. Selected
for study were adults claiming at least one COX-2 prescription or NSAID
prescription with a minimum 30 days of supply after June 2000; having
60 total days of supply or more over the study period was also required
for study inclusion. The probability of being prescribed a COX-2 was
estimated as a function of patient age, gender, race, city/suburban/rural
residence, and history of rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, chronic
back pain, acute pains, gastrointestinal problems, use of anticoagulants
or corticosteroids, and comorbidities. Of the 16,868 enrollees meeting
the selection criteria, 4,005 (24%) were prescribed a COX-2 and 12,863
another NSAID. Half of the study participants were African American,
three-quarters were female, and a third were 50-64 years old. Odds of
a COX-2 prescription were a third less for African Americans and other
races compared to Caucasians. Researchers concluded that patient race
is a significant predictor of COX-2 prescriptions in the Medicaid population.
Cost to the patient was not a factor because the copayment was $1 U.S.
for any prescription. Shaya FT, Blume S. Pain Med. 2005 Jan-Feb;6(1):11-7.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=15669946&query_hl=6
Credit: PubMed, developed by the National Center for Biotechnology Information
(NCBI) at the National
Library of Medicine (NLM).
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