Article ID Journal Published Year Pages File Type
5555842 Journal of the American Pharmacists Association 2017 7 Pages PDF
Abstract

ObjectivesThe purpose of this study was to describe the rates of and characteristics associated with unclaimed prescriptions during 3 seasonal months.DesignRetrospective cohort study.SettingThis study was conducted using Kaiser Permanente Colorado administrative data.ParticipantsAll patients who had a prescription prepared at 1 of 28 outpatient pharmacies during the months of November 2014, February 2015, and May 2015 were included. An unclaimed prescription was defined as any prescription medication not dispensed to a patient within 15 days after preparation. Patients with an unclaimed prescription were compared to patients without an unclaimed prescription during the study months.Main outcome measuresThe rates of unclaimed prescriptions, characteristics of patients with and without unclaimed prescriptions, and medication characteristics between unclaimed and claimed prescriptions.ResultsA total of 866,554 prescriptions were prepared during the study months, with 44,836 being unclaimed (5.2%; 95% CI 5.1%-5.2%). Of the 225,510 patients with a prescription prepared during the study months, 30,800 patients (13.7%) had at least 1 unclaimed prescription. Neither the size of the pharmacy nor the season in which the prescription was prepared had a meaningful impact on the unclaimed prescription rate. Miscellaneous (e.g., disinfectants, antidotes, medical devices) and respiratory medication classes had the highest rates of unclaimed prescriptions. Patient characteristics associated with having had an unclaimed prescription included having had a hospice, skilled nursing facility, or long-term care facility stay after the prescription was prepared (odds ratio 2.48 [95% CI 1.91-3.23]) and at least 1 other medication dispensed previously (odds ratio 1.83 [95% CI 1.73-1.94]).ConclusionThe rate of unclaimed prescriptions was relatively low; however, approximately 1 in 8 patients with a prepared prescription had at least 1 unclaimed prescription. Future research is needed to identify effective interventions to reduce unclaimed prescriptions in order to prevent potential negative health outcomes.

Related Topics
Health Sciences Medicine and Dentistry Public Health and Health Policy
Authors
, ,