Treatment Interruptions and Non-Adherence with Imatinib and Associated Healthcare Costs: A Retrospective Analysis among Managed Care Patients with Chronic Myelogenous Leukaemia
Theodore Darkow (i3 Innovus, Eden Prairie, Minnesota, USA) Henry J. Henk (i3 Innovus, Eden Prairie, Minnesota, USA) Simu K. Thomas (Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation, East Hanover, New Jersey, USA) Weiwei Feng (Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation, Florham Park, New Jersey, USA) Jean-Francois Baladi (Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation, Florham Park, New Jersey, USA) George A. Goldberg (i3 Innovus, Santa Monica, California, USA) Alan Hatfield (Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation, Florham Park, New Jersey, USA) Jorge Cortes (MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, USA)
Abstract
Objectives: Identify treatment interruptions and non-adherence with imatinib; examine the clinical and patient characteristics related to treatment interruptions and non-adherence; and estimate the association between treatment interruptions and non-adherence with imatinib and healthcare costs for US managed care patients with chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML). Methods: This retrospective analysis utilised electronic healthcare claims data from a US managed care provider. Adult patients with CML (as determined by International Classification of Diseases, ninth revision, Clinical Modification [ICD-9-CM] diagnosis code) were identified who began treatment with imatinib from 1 June 2001 through 31 March 2004. Treatment interruptions (i.e. failure to refill imatinib within 30 days from the run-out date of the prior prescription) were identified during the 12-month follow-up period. Medication possession ratio (MPR), calculated as total days MPR was modelled using ordinary least squares regression. Presence of treatment interruptions was modelled using logistic regression. The association between MPR and healthcare costs was estimated using a generalised linear model specified with a gamma error distribution and a log link. All models included adjustment for age, gender, number of concomitant medications, starting dose of imatinib and cancer complexity. Results: A total of 267 patients were identified. Average age was approximately 50 years, and 43% were women. Mean MPR was 77.7%, with 31% of patients having a treatment interruption. However, all of these patients resumed imatinib within the study period. In this population, MPR decreased as the number of concomitant medications increased (p Conclusions: Treatment interruptions and non-adherence with imatinib, both of which could lead to undesired clinical and economic outcomes, appear to be prevalent. Physicians and pharmacists should educate patients and closely monitor adherence to therapy, as improving adherence and limiting treatment interruptions may not only optimise clinical outcomes but also reduce the economic burden of CML.
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Article provided by Wolters Kluwer Health | Adis in its journal PharmacoEconomics.
Volume (Year): 25 (2007) Issue (Month): 6 () Pages: 481-496 Download reference. The following formats are available: HTML,
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